Solo's First Vet Visit

[Astrid660]

I am not sure who was more stressed over the whole ordeal, me or him. We were both pretty nervous. I had to wait in the waiting room for a while, and the passing dogs / a couple of noisy children made me feel even more stressed..Solo was shaking a bit... eventually the vet came in to see him and I began to feel a little better. She admitted she only sees about 3 parrots a year which made me feel antsy again... She got an assistant to help with the nail trimming, and I stood there telling Solo it would be okay. I admit I was probably a little annoying to them because I kept saying 'that is short enough' when they were trimming, afraid they would make him bleed, and just generally acting like an overprotective bird mom at the end she said, " I know what I'm doing" and I felt bad for trying to intervene at all.
The whole thing cost $50 and his nails are nicely trimmed now (and I, for the very first time, came out of a nail clipping experience with no bites!) and they also informed me that his keel bone is prominent, meaning he is on the thin side. I had no idea, I thought he was a plump little bird

She recommended the next step is a 130 dollar poop analyzation (they have to send it away to get results), to see if his feces will indicate a health problem. I am going to try and get the money real soon, hopefully I can do that by next week. I really want to find out what is wrong with him before anything gets worse. I feel bad and guilty even letting him go without a visit for this long, knowing he was not exactly the healthiest bird. I was just afraid that the vet would stress him out so much more. She said the yellow feathers he has molted into probably aren't normal.. and that maybe he has a liver/kidney problem from his previously poor (mostly doritos from what the previous owner told me, she fed him mostly seeds) diet and I have no idea how old he is, so that could be a factor too..
He did well though, seems very happy to be home again.

What should I do to help Solo gain weight though ? I always thought he was eating all the stuff I gave him, maybe he's just shredding the broccoli and apple into pieces instead.

[hollyhawkz]

Pepper was so very underweight when we got him. In a year with regular good foods he gained 31 grams on his own. Keep checking his weight so you can see if he is progressing. Stay away from fatty foods if it is his liver.

Did she do a blood test? I thought usually it's fat birds that have liver troubles. It all seems a little odd. Is there another vet with more experience that could give you a second opinion before you go back there for a gram stain?

[Astrid660]

^ I am thinking to call all the vets in my area to see if there is a more experienced one I could see. Unfortunately she said the closest avian vet is about 4 hours away, but I suppose that might be the best option..

He doesn't really eat any fatty foods... What should I feed vs. not feed? He seems to like his veggies. I think he eats more seeds than pellets, but I have seen him nibble on the pellets ..

She did not do a blood test, she said today it would be best to just do the nail trim because she did not want to stress him out further. She recommended that I invest in a scale to weigh my birds, which I do agree with.... She said that his stomach is sunken in, which indicated no tumors, just that he was skinny.

[misty83]

oh wow! poor boy, i hope you can find out what is wrong with him soon :( Me, SunShine and Peach are praying he gets 100% better soon.

[LovelySydney]

you gotta fatten solo up!! = ) I leave pellets in both babies cages all day. This gives them the option to eat if they dont want their healthy fruits & veggies. I wonder if you can offer some millet too? Although I know that millet is pretty healthy, even though it is regarded as "treat". Im glad the vet visit went well & you came out with no bites - thats always a plus!!!!!!

[girly]

I had my blue front for 30 years, as I have mentioned here a few times. The reason I'm saying it again is that he was never sick a day in his life. When I brought him to the animal hospital for a bruise he had, I was told he was a little thin. They sold me all kinds of stuff to fatten him up.

Well, bottom line is that he never gained any weight. He didn't want to be fattened up, and since he was not sick for almost 30 years at that point, why should I try to fatten him up? It it's not broken, don't fix it!