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Dr. PatMy bird Honey who you have answered about before had a maloclusion which is now almost gone. She had blood work which said she had liver problems - her liver count was 205 but after a month of medicine is down to 155. The vet advised to try another month to try to get it down to 100 which I am doing. However, here is my question. She has very high triglycerides - over 2200 and high cholesterol. The vet said this may be due to reproduction going on. She hasn't laid any eggs but almost died one time when she did, She said we should watch it but maybe put her on Lupron. I am reluctant to traumatize her with any more shots. By the way, your suggestion of putting the medicine on a small piece of english muffin works like a charm!
Optional Information: Pet's Gender: Female Pet's Age: >12 Type of Animal: doubleyellowhead parrot Already Tried: liver medicine...see question
Greetings, I am Dr. Pat. I have worked with birds for many years. I will do my best to help you.In my experience, I have not become a fan of Lupron. When husbandry does not change reproductive activity, I generally use HCG. There are no side effect, but it doesn't always work...but the bird is not harmed. Lupron has serious side effects as well as being exorbitantly expensive,Remember diet and photoperiod directly influence reproductive activity. I will repeat that advice below as previous in answer I have given.The thyroid levels should be checked. Low thyroid happens fairly frequently in birds.12-14 hr dark, quiet sleep at nightlow fat (no seed, low carb, high fiber) dietno nests (cabinets, closets, under furniture etc), no sexual stimuliBirds should be on a high-quality, preferably prescription, pelleted diet: I prefer High-potency Harrison's http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/products/harrisons.html TOPhttp://totallyorganics.com/t-pellets.php In addition, they should be offered dark leafy greens, cooked sweet potatoes, yams, squash, pumpkin; entire (tops and bottoms) fresh carrots and so forth. No seeds (and that means a mix, or millet, or sprays, etc. etc.) and only healthy, low-fat high fiber people food. A dietary change should be closely monitored and supervised by your avian vet. Birds should get 12-14 hours dark, quiet, uninterrupted sleep at night. Any less and they can suffer from sleep deprivation and associated illnesses. They should be covered or their cage placed in a dark room that is not used after they go to bed. The cage material should be cleaned everyday, and twice a day if the bird is really messy. Paper towels, newspaper, bath towels are ok. Never use corn cob, sawdust, wood chips, or walnut shell. Daily Maintenance Food and water dishes should be cleaned and changed daily. Keep one set cleaned while the other is in use. Fresh, perishable food should be placed in separate food bowls. Remove fresh food from the cage after a couple of hours to avoid spoilage.Change cage papers daily, and clean the grate and tray weekly. Clean food debris or droppings from toys and perches as needed (which can be as often as once a day). Grit is not necessary for birds, and will cause digestive problems and death. The best sources of minerals (and vitamins) are leafy greens. Never give grit, gravel sandpaper or cement perches. A bird will eat those to excess when it is not feeling well or if there is a nutritional deficiency. They do not need it at all (an old myth from the poultry days, even poultry do not need it). It can cause an impaction and lead to serious or fatal consequences.
what is HCG? Also my vet did do blood work but didn't mention thyroid - only the high triglycerides and cholesterol and the liver function. Should there be a value for the thyroid on the blood work but I didn;t hear it?
Thyroid is not done routinely.HCG is a hormone.
Experience: 25 years as avian-only veterinarian
Thanks to your advice my bird is doing better. She is now on pellets although they are the multicolored ones. She won;t touch the Harrison's. Also she systematically leaves all the green ones every day. She started out throwing all the blue ones out of the cage for a week or so, then the red ones, then the yellow ones. Now she eats all of those but just leaves the green ones in the bottom of the cup. Also your suggestion of giving her a whole carrot with tops and all has been a hit. But I give her one every other day or so and in between she rejects other vegetables. The maloclusion is almost gone and I am having her beak trimmed regularly. Any other eating suggestions?
Thank you for the update. I am very glad to hear about Honey.Conversion Diet for Pet Birds: Parrots, Finches, and Canaries YAM BREAD (cornbread mix+cooked yam)Conures and larger: 1 cube per bird daily Smaller birds: 1/2 cube daily Disperse cubes in branches, in forks, or spear on stumps; hand individual birds their cubes. RICE MIX (cooked short-grain brown rice plus fresh veg)VEGETABLES Entire leaves of greens poked through the cage wires or on branches Corn wheels Cooked yams pumpkin or squash Whole carrots, tops included Half of apple and whole (opened but not peeled) banana poked on sticks (in the aviaries) Grapes, citrus, pomegranate, persimmon, etc. One small slice per bird. Put on twigs etc. Kale, chard, beet tops, turnip greens, raddiccio, endive, fresh spring mix--whole leaves, not chopped, misted with fresh water