ORCA

Thanks Elly

Please help! This morning while sara was on my husband's hand, preening herself he felt something wet, when he looked it was blood, yes and a lot of it, she picked on her scab and started bleeding, first of all I applied pressure on the sore for a minute or so the I cleaned it with iodine solution and kept a clean cotton pad until the blood stopped, she lost a considerable amount of blood may be about 5-6 drops. after that Sara was tired and lethargic may be because of the blood she lost or may be because she was restrain for few minute to stop the bleeding, anyhow I gave her some sugar and kept her warm, after two hours she was back to her self and started to cleaning and preening again, I kept watching her because she insisted on removing this scab. in the afternoon she scratched her sore again and we had the same scenario but this time with tinny bit of blood, Now it is night time and I put her to sleep but I put the cover in a way I can peep and see her what she is doing, I am afraid I am disturbing her sleep because whenever I do I can see her beautiful eyes looking at me no matter how quite I was, but the same time I don't want her to bleed to death while I am not noticing. is there any thing I can do to stop her scratching and what do you give the bird to replace the lost blood. I'll speak with vet tomorrow morning even though I don't have any hope that it is going to help. So please advise me if there is anything I can do until then

thanks Elly.

Elly, I just noticed that on the link they mention "Aubergine(eggplant)" as safe veggies while it is under the unsafe food article on the forum (Pinned ) so is it safe or not?

I took Sara to the vet couple a days ago, she didn't find any problem with her foot or leg, also she tested her feces and there was no bacteria but she found an ingrown feather on her wing joint and she thinks this is why she is unable to fly, she tested her organs she couldn't feel any enlargement or any fluid. the vet tried to pull the ingrown feather but it was such a hard job because it was in a tight place, but she pulled as much as she could. she gave her some antibiotics in case she has some internal problem. because sara never had an ingrown feather and all of these problems happening at once the vet thinks that there is cancer and it is spreading, it is very sad, she said what ever the problem was we can't do anything about it. Sara's poo is runny with lots of liquids around it, she doesn't want to play or come out of the cage as much, may be she is still upset from the vet visit because the procedure of taking out the feather really annoyed her, also she doesn't like the medicine which she is taking twice a day. I am really sad and I hope she will get better.

maybe you like to add a field about their health issues.

I'll do first thing tomorrow, she is eating, perching and even playing alright. it is when she is standing her leg is not touching the perch, and when she walks she limps a bit, also she will attempt to fly but she will fall. she can flap her wings easily and freely, just the ability to stay in the air is the struggle. her feets feels warmer today, but no sign of redness or injury. The avian vet which I go to is quit a distance from where I live and I hope this trip is not going to stress Sara very much.

Glad to hear the update Phoebe, Great news, and I always believe that all things will work for the best even hard situations, we will come out of it happier and stronger. Good on you

I don't know why all of that is happening to me, once I'm over with one issue something else start. Sara's lump is still shrinking, it is a pea size now after it was about an inch in diameter, (that is the good bit about my story) but in the last couple of days Sara's other foot (not the one with the lump on the thigh) is hurting her, she is lifting it up all the time and it has a little if no grip, I had a thorough look at it, there is no bruise or any injury, it is not swollen or red, it looks normal apart from the toes are stretch open, the nails look fine, also, she is unable to fly, she is active and she wants to fly but whenever she trys she falls, she can flap her wings easily (she does that while she is standing on my finger or the perch but when she takes off she falls right away. I am really sad, I was excited because I saw her improving by the minute and now there is something else?? why? I thought she might have had a fall or something but there is no sign of injury. and she is eating normally, she asks to play and do her normal things, my husband is suggesting to give her some vitamins or something to strengthen her, he thinks that the previous illness weakened her and now her body is showing the signs. I don't want to go to the vet because she gave up on Sara long time ago. I had a look at the FAQ section but I couldn't find a related matter, Do you have ant thoughts?? and if I need to give her vitamins how do I do that (I never done this before).

I noticed that whenever we have a round of cold or flu in the house my birds start sneezing, I asked the vet about that long time ago and she said no, But it can't be a coincidence. does anyone have similar issue and what do you do in this case? I try to air the place as much as possible, but I can't prevent being close to the birds, they are used to being in contact with us a lot and being isolated annoys them.

Updates: I can't explain what is happening, but the lump is shrinking, it looks like an old saggy bag at the moment with some scabs from previous scratching incidents, Sara is great, happy and playful, She is a real fighter. :glare:

How is the cockatiel with the broken wing Phoebe, I hope he feels better at your care :greenb:

So sorry to hear that Fisher, Last year similar incident happened to me and I lost Birdy, and I heard lots of stories of birds coming back or found by some kind people, I hope he'll come back, don't give up hope. keep an eye on the lost and found section here on the forum also in your local newspaper and good luck. On Sunday there was a post about Jak-Jak who came back, also couple of months ago someone posted that he found a budgie at their door steps, don't give up.

Thank you everyone for the kind words and the support, I do love Sara but I think when we own a pet it is our duties to take care of them and love them, we chose to take them out of their enviroment while they had no choice, so it is the least thing we can do is to love them and it is such a rewarding thing. here's the updates of Sara's news: She is doing well, I can see her improving and I wish that this is the miracle I am praying for, my vet say not to keep my hopes up because she thinks that Sara is going to die from that. Whatever the case I am happy that she is better whether this is an improvement or not. after the accident with Tim-Tam the lump looks definitely better and sara every day is happier than the one before. But recently she is acting weird toward her shadow, as if she never seen it before, she stares at it, she chases it and sometime she just jerks , I don't know, is this a new game she is playing?? Sorry about your lose Standbyme last year, I can imagine how sad you feel, and I understand how much the time I am spending with Sara is important. talking about the one way trip to the vet, I hope I will not need it but I don't imagine I will be able to do it, earlier this year I found on the street a baby dove which has been attacked by magpie, she looked terrible, I took her to the vet and he said that she is dieing and it is a matter of minutes or hours, and he recommend to put her to sleep, I kind of had no options, and this is what we did. but I know I sobbed for hours even though I just knew this bird for two hours. So I hope and pray that no one including me will be in a position where we have to have this decision.

I spoke with the vet, she said it is good that Sara feels better but also she thinks that the liquid will fill up again, she said that I should keep the area clean so no outside bacteria will come in through the scratches, and this is what I am trying to do, Sara today was singing (I didn't hear her doing that for ages). the vet said I should ALWAYS dilute the Iodine when I use it because if it is concentrated it will dry the bird's skin and the skin will crack because of that. I am really thankful for you guys and for the forum where we can put our concerns and thoughts and you find passionate people sharing your feelings and give you good advise. THANK YOU

I left a message for my vet this morning to tell her what had happened and I am waiting for an answer, but previously I suggested draining it because it looked like a bomb about to explode and she thought that was not a very good idea because this way we are stirring the Germ center and giving it permission to move around her body. But I'll wait and see what she says today, because the lump shrunk a lot and the skin of it a bit crinkled and Sara is much happier, Her weight was 64g two days ago but today she weighs 58g, I don't know if that was the liquid which expelled or something else but, I can see her acting much better. she is eating well, even though she prefers me to hand feed her but I think this is just her being spoiled girl

Sara is doing okay, she perked up and she is playing again but she gets tired easily, she asks to go out of the cage often and she plays with us and kisses us, she really knows how to show us her love, her lump bleeds from time to time when she scratches it with her foot, but I immediatly put some iodine (sometimes I dilute it with warm water). But today something happened which scared me to death, Tim-Tam My boy budgie currently in separate cage, we took him out of the cage while Sara is out and he right away -like crazy in love- jumped on her and accidently poked her lump with his foot and a liquid started coming out of the lump (water like liquid) that reduced the size of the lump a bit and Sara felt weird so she started inspecting her lump and she scratched it badly, with lots of blood coming out, after about 10 minutes the wound stopped bleeding and she was back to normal even happier, that was this morning and now it is evening time here in sydney, she looks fine and happy, I am still using the desk lamp next to her cage because once she is in the cage she is fluffed up. I am really sorry to her about the cockatiel, and I am sure he is now in good hands Phoebe, and thank you very much for your thoughts and prayers. and about removing her poop, I am useing you advise, I am wetting some tissues and apply it on the the lump for few seconds, I am putting a dash of iodine with the warm water to make sure there is minimum germs getting in, but the best way is to clean her immediatly while it is still wet.

Sara is a bit better today, even though she is still fluffed up but she is singing, I had the lamp on all night and I gave her some weak tea with sugar, and even she nibbled on the sugar grains, this morning she had some pancakes (I know, but I couldn't resist her eyes ). There is problem that the lump is really big and it is blocking her poo from going out easily, and because it is a bit runny the poo is sticking to the lump and the lump has very fragile skin and I don't know how to clean it, when she is trying to clean it she is poking herself. I am still not able to accept the idea that she might die, but I pray if that is going to happen, to be painless and easy on her. she is sitting inside my sleeves right now, it is her favorite place to sleep.

Sara is not well today, she is fluffed up and tired, i put a desk lamp near her cage, the weather is awful today it is cold and stormy, so I don't now if her health going down or it is the cold. I didn't see her eating much, and her poo is a bit runny and lighter in color it is kind of light green. I hope she is going to be okay.

Today sara has a wound on her lump with a bit of blood, I cleaned it and put Iodine, I am not sure whether this is a scratch she caused it or the infection start coming to the outside. I thought I will post some photos of my Sara at her good times before having this lump. This Sara sleeping on my hubby's tummy http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/orca_01/IMG_0011.jpg sleeping again http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/orca_01/Fun0005.jpg not any more http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/orca_01/100_0005.jpg now it's eating time http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/orca_01/IMG_0164.jpg okay what are you looking at, can't you see we're having a nap here?? http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/orca_01/IMG_0154.jpg the other female was Birdy which I lost last July. and the boy is Tim-Tam He is driving Sara crazy this is why I separated them. He is killing her with his love and kisses finally I can't resist posting this photo which I took yesterday when she had a bath in my parsley. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g191/orca_01/IMG_0067.jpg Thank you everyone for your thoughts, it is much appreciated.

She is still going, the lump developed some black spots on it and Sara is trying to clean that up. I am putting Iodine solution once a day to kill any outside Germs and to disinfect the scratches. Sara is still happy even though she is trying not to fly as much, or may be it is just me I am taking her wherever she wants because I feel bad when I see her flying in that zigzag path. :hap: she is eating and pooing normally. thank you very much for your concern, it is nice to think that there is people who care like you Phoebe, Thanks

I am an animal lover and I had all sort of pets and creatures but I wouldn't imagine in my life that a pet can be THAT close to your heart as Sara is, she is such a special girl with a wonderful nature. She treats each member in the family 100% different, and we all adore her. You are right, I think this is what we will do as long as she is happy, but what I didn't understand is what to expect when she is sick, is she going to be in pain? will she suffer?

She said I have to weigh the cons and pros the surgery is risky because of the anesthetic from one hand and also she thinks that Sara might get a stroke one or two hours after the operation because the fat level in sara's blood is high another thing because the lump has liquid in it and the body is using some of this liquids, the body will not handle loosing that much liquid in one go. I asked her what would you do if it is your bird, she said thank goodness it is not mine. now if we leave her this way, the bacteria inside the dead centre is increasing until it goes into the blood stream then it is matter of hours and Sara will go. i HATE to think of that. my daughters are refusing the idea of taking Sara into a surgery and not getting her back, they say if she is going to die we would like to be with her without putting her in more stress and pain. my heart is broken and I don't know what to do.

I went to the vet yesterday and I am afraid there is no good news. even the risk from the surgery is greater than what expected earlier due to the nature of the lump. Sara is still happy not showing any signs of illness (other than having this ball in her way all the time) the vet gave me an information sheet for Bird's Emergencies, I know most of this info is available at the FAQs but I would like to share it with you anyway. http://www.birdvet.com.au/birdcare/Bird%20...emergencies.htm the most interesting thing was about "the fluids which you can give the bird....."

Thanks