Bela is Sick

[Lisa B]

himmmmmmmmmm, I see....lookin just like Emma. I wonder, how many females do this. Emma is my only girl. Wondering if its a hint of wanting to breed?

not sure about the mites. Had a keet bout 25 years ago that had scaley mites, but never really heard of any others with them.

[Bela]

I don't know about the mating thing. She is only 3yrs - seems early, no? Have you heard anything new on what started Emma picking?

I've had a busy day taking everyone out and interacting more with Bela. We even did a little photo shoot - like we did with the piano...she knows that's something we 'do' and while she doesn't actively look for those things, I don't think she sees it as a response to pulling feathers. I've since seen her preening, only a couple feathers falling, but she's not ripping them out.

Kept the AC off this morning on the chance it's that. Also, noticed her bare leg looked really really dry, probably with AC running, so I ran the humidifier next to her cage a while. So I think all of that and the aloe detox may be helping a bit. She doesn't look as scaly/dry.

Question:

We go in for bloods tomorrow and probably a gram stain for Giardia - I think they do with poop samples. So, I can 'collect' her morning poop. There's alot of it and as I understand this is often hard to diagnose b/c traces of the bacteria may appear sparatically. I'm hoping in a morning poop, there's more chance of it appearing. OK, question is, if I can't get her in until the evening, I can bag the stuff but should I keep it cold like in the fridge or will it be ok at room temp? Guessing the key is to keep it moist - or does that even matter? Just one of those questions I can't google for an answer.

[Bela]

Oh - and THANK YOU for you guys keeping us in thoughts and prayers!!! That helps more than you know!

[my-africangrey-echo]

OH my please let us know what the blood work shows! My thoughts are with you!!

[Tom Lawless]

I hope tomorrow brings you some answers and a solution. This has had to be a difficult couple of days. I am encouraged she is eating well and her weight is remaining stable. Know I am adding my prayers to everyone else's.

[Winged_Victory]

Good luck today at the vet's. A fresh poop sample is the best, maybe Bella will cooperate with that while at the vets.

[Lisa B]

Fresh is the best. She will most likely poop in her carrier, or like emma, poop while there.


Its prob not that tho....

Giardia
Giardia in Birds

Greys mature about 4-5 years of age, so she might be starting to come into that stage. Seems alot of the females who's owners I have spoken with pluck in the same area. Emma too looked dry and flakey, but thats because we are not used to seeing that part of them

Give me a call if you have any questions. I'll email ya the number

[Net]

I'm sorry to hear your bird is plucking. Unfortunately sometimes a grey will just pluck - it can be for any number of reasons. Something may have upset them you could have moved a picture, something outside the window scared them. For some birds it can then become a habit a bit like how we bite our nails!

Bela will benefit from being sprayed every day - it helps condition her skin and they tend not to pluck out feathers while they're wet. They're able to preen them but somehow don't seem to pull them if they're wet.

You also said she had a fall from her perch and that she's clumsy - these can be a sign of calcium deficiency.

You've given her shredding toys which keep her busy which is good. Another way to keep her busy is with her food, seeds take longer to eat than pellets and are more interesting as they sort through them to see which they eat first.

I'm based in the UK and over here pellet diets are not that popular - I mean would you want to eat the same thing every day? My birds get a mix of various fruits and veggies fresh every morning, some of what we eat in the evening and access to mixed seeds and nuts (low sunflower mix), this keeps them nice and busy.

Good luck with Bela. I'll quit now I've done an essay!