Goofy the goffins had a vet visit today..very, very scary news...

[TaraRose]

I haven't posted much but tonight I need really some opinions and information. I have a 2 1/2 year old goffins cockatoo. I have had him for about the last year, he began plucking at approximately 1 year old after a traumatic break in at the gun store he was living at. When I got him he had already been plucking for almost 6 months. He stopped plucking immediately after I brought him home and was fully feathered (beautiful, perfect feathers) except for his tail and flight feathers. Then in february of this year he suddenly chewed off all of his feathers again over a 3 or 4 day span. So in may I decided it was time for a visit with the vet for a workup. His bloodwork came back showing mild elevations in his uric acid (renal values) and cholesterol. The vet elected to try a prescription renal diet from Roudybush to see if that has helped.

He has been on the diet about 5 months now and he is looking better, so I decided it was time to recheck his bloodwork and I had a few other things I wanted to talk to his vet about. So we went in today and the visit actually went better than I had hoped. He is also very, VERY phobic so it was incredibly traumatic from start to finish for the poor guy really and he bit both the vet and I pretty badly, but that's no big deal. But we were able to draw blood without anesthatising him and on the first stick to boot, which is a miracle in itself!

But he dropped a tailfeather during the exam and because of the way the feather looked the vet suspects he may have PBFD We sent out some blood and a few bloodfeathers to the lab, but the test takes like two weeks to get back and I am really freaking out. I have a quaker who lives in the same room who has undoubtedly been exposed if he does have it :(

Wondering if anyone can give me info on PBFD. And please pray for little Goofy

[Halo]

Lots of prayers coming your way from me, Diddle, and Lilly!!

[angelicarboreals]

I am so sorry to hear this...I am praying for you and your fids!

[Tom Lawless]

I will keep all of you in my prayers. I don't know anything medical so I'll keep quiet on the diagnosis and just hope it comes back clean.

[catschair]

Sending positive energy!

[Bellco]

Here is a link for some info Bird Diseases PBFD. I think its pretty basic info but its a start.

[sassie]

OMG Tara!!!
Girl, I am soooo sorry for the upset you are ALL going through. You & the goofster are going to be #1 in my thoughts & prayers. I cant imagine going 2 weeks being scared for his life IF you need me or want to talk - call me. Im sending you my number now.

HUGS -

[xafsmom]

That is sad news indeed... but keep your hopes up! I had one bird that had a lot of feather abnormalities and we tested for PBFD just SURE she had it, but she didn't. So, just because you have a lot of visual suspicion, it's sometimes something else completely. Keep hope.

[Winged_Victory]

Please try and relax. It does no good whatsoever to show frustration around your bird as they pick up on it. There is a very good chance something else is going on with your bird rather than PBFD.

Thank you for caring!

gary

[TaraRose]

Thank you all. I would never show stress around the babies, especially with my goffins. He is such an emotional wreck to begin with that any sort of stressed behavior from me really throws his world for a loop.

Does anyone know..if he is positive is it a given that my quaker will get it? They live in the same room (seperate cages of course) and seperating them is not an option for several reasons. Also in which order the symptoms progress? I spotted another black flight feather on one of his wings today but I can't get close enough to him to examine it closer. I just got home a few hours ago and he is still in that 'you haven't yet proven to me since you've been home that you are not going to kill me this time' frame of mind and won't let me near him right now. It is so strange how he acts, this morning he was sitting on my shoulder and snuggling and playing games. I left for 3 1/2 hours and came back and now he is terrified of me again.