Two Questions

[jdfitzwater]

I know these are strange, but these things both happened to my Eclectus and I was wondering if anybody knew why:

1. Why would water come out of a bird's nose after he drank water?

2. Is there a danger in a bird breaking a leg on Wednesday and not having surgery on it until Friday? More chance of a clot, etc.?

Internet searches have not turned up anything. Thanks.

[andyparade]

Can't answer the first one but I can say this....I was out of town for three days a while back. Got home and my budgie's leg was broken for who knows how long. Stupid person watching her but whatever. Anyways, they put the cast on and she healed just fine. she has a permanently crooked leg but she gets along fine. Their bones heal at a much quicker rate than ours i guess. so, I'd say hurry if you don't want potentially permanent damage like mine.

[jdfitzwater]

My bird had surgery for a broken leg and died a day later. When he was brought out to me to take home, he was thirsty and when he drank it came out of his nose.

He went in on Wednesday and, because they had other surgeries, he didn't get his surgery until Friday. Wondering if any of this contributed.

Necropsy report was in unreadable handwriting . . . I think on purpose.

[Willow]

I know in dogs they often prefer to wait a couple of days for surgery to allow swelling to go down, but I have no idea in birds. I'm sorry.

[NotEnoughTime]

A bird's sinuses are connected to their oral cavity - so I (personally) would not worry about water out of the nose after drinking... see:

Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - The Avian Respiratory System - Pet Birds

In humans bones do not need to be set right-away and are treated as a "non emergency" situation... And I've rescued the odd pigeon and grouse that have had broken wings and legs from cat attacks... All seem to heal well. It is not likely that a broken leg will need immediate attention - but (of course) the sooner the better!!

[Lali]

Call where the necropsy was done and ask for a translation.

[Loopey89]

Our English bulldog broke his leg one night around 11pm..we went to the closest vet we could find that night because we were in panic..
to my surprise the vet didnt seem concerned at all and wanted to wait until the next business day because the xray machines would 'take too long to warm up'. I was furious so I called another vet an hour away that did it right when we got there. I'm rambling now.. Ask lots of questions to the vet..you have a right to know.

[jdfitzwater]

I just don't trust anything this guy says anyhow. I'm amazed any bird survives surgery. I went to the first vet and they gave him a shot of calcium and antibiotics and wrapped the leg, then I went to the surgeon who took the bandage off and xrayed him (I could hear screaming), then he had surgery 24 hours later, then they filed his beak and put a collar on him that looked like a tight turtle neck. He spent most of his night trying to break out of the plastic tub I had to have him in. It seems like a lot for a little birdie.

I'm upset by the vet's behavior in Gomez's case. I also wonder if me bringing him in with the broken leg on Wednesday and surgery not being done until Friday contributed to anything. Also, when I picked him up, they filed his beak and put a collar on him. When he got into his carrier (a plastic tub), he seemed really thirsty, and the water he drank came out of his nose. The next morning he let out a few screams, stopped breathing and died.

The vet said he was shocked and offered to do a necropsy because he said he needed to find out for himself. He said he would do the necropsy that night and call me that night. He never did. I called two days later and he said that when he opened Gomez up that his intestines were full of blood. He didn't bother to call me or ask if I wanted blood work or an independent necropsy. He just disposed of the body. I told him he could do that after the necropsy, but I would think if he found something that disturbing in the necropsy that he would call.

He asked me what I fed Gomez and I said Earth's Best Organic Baby Food. He said something in the baby food killed him. Dante ate the same food and was fine. This isn't a main staple of their diet by any means. They get sprouted seed, fruits, vegetables, beans, etc as the main part. I just used maybe a tablespoon sometimes for some flavoring, especially the one that was a large mix of vegetables. Earth's Best makes it very clear that there are no food colorings, etc. I also told him before he did Gomez's surgery that I fed him this sometimes and he didn't say a word.

I asked other vets and an Eclectus specialist and they both said this explanation is impossible.

I went in person and asked for the necropsy report and was stalled and told there was a 48 hour turn around time. The vet told me I would have it that night. A week later I wrote a letter stating I wanted the report in 48 hours. The next day I got 4 pages of illegible handwriting faxed to me. In all of the scrawl I couldn't make out anything that said "babyfood" or anything about blood in the intestines.

He also offered to compensate me by seeing if he could get an unweaned baby from a breeder if I could get somebody to hand feed it. He said it would be a low cost to me to purchase it from the breeder. Selling unweaned birds is illegal in California.

Note that this guy is supposed to be one of the top avian surgeons. When I called around to reputable people looking for an Eclectus and they asked why an Eclectus and I told them, it's amazing the stories you hear. The whole thing is a nightmare.

If anybody lives in California and you have a bird that needs surgery, check with me so you don't end up in this position. Something is very weird about his behavior ever since he did this supposed "necropsy."

[kali]

DODGY!!! you need to go back there and have 'words'

[jdfitzwater]

I'm done talking. He'll be getting word from another agency who will speak for me. If he can't hear that, then I'll have to get louder. Right now I need a statement from an avian vet about his conduct. There's no body, so I can't get another opinion about what caused the death, but I can get an opinion about the unprofessional conduct and the red flags it raises.