okay I found out that some birds can go for six weeks without drinking. Since I have been told to medicate Sky's water this worries me cause I have not seen her drink the whole time I have had her so I thought that I might be able to "force" medicate her. I had a hunt around the net and here and the two ways I can see to do it are to get an eye dropper and try and get some in her mouth and hope it goes down or inject it into her crop like you would crop feed a young bird/sick bird

 

I have issues with the whole crop feeding, something I know I am going to have to get over but untill I NEED to do it I just don't think I can bring myself to do it. So was wondering what are peoples opinions on using the eye drop method? I have to catch her once a day anyway and clean her vent cause I think all the poo sticking to it has caused the feather loss and redness and I noticed that since I cleaned it last night and again this morning it looks better.

 

Anyway suggestions opinions would be great

Hey AV, that 'six weeks without water' is based on a bird consuming watery vegetable matter like grasses, etc. They may not 'drink' but they will get their water from other sources. It is highly unlikely you will see her drink, they rarely do while someone is in the room. The reason you shouldn't feed them water based vegies whil they are on the meds is because aving no water available in vegie form forces them to drink. I think you'll find she is drinking

See this annoys me this is what the first vet told me and said to keep her off water based veggies. However the second vet said that even if I just give her seed then she still may not drink. I am soooooo confused.

No water based food while on meds...it does force them to drink. No vegies and no water based soft food

Well you can only do so much. Just keep her on dry food and her medicine water.

For the duration of the meds, don't offer veggies, fruit, or cooked foods. The medicine you were given to put in the water takes into account your bird's size/weight and the fact that she is a desert bird and does not drink much anyway. If you force-feed her the meds, unless you are only giving her a very small amount (that she would normally drink in a sip or two) you risk overmedicating. I think you will find if she is only eating seeds, she will probably drink as there will not be another water source for her. Water-based meds are hit-and-miss for short-term therapy for some birds, as if they suspect the water is even a little bit 'off' they will not drink. For chronic (long-term) issues it seems to work better. If you seriously think after a few days your bird is not drinking (feces do not have the characteristic 'wet' look to them, seem harder, she seems to strain, or are sticking to the bum) then ask your vet if you can either have oral meds or add a flavor (like a small amount of Tang) to the water to entice her to drink. Bear in mind adding flavor will probably add color to the water, and if your bird is suspicious of the color change may still not drink. Ask your vet first as some meds probably shouldn't be mixed with anything but water. If you cannot get the meds into her on a regular basis in the water you will need a different strength to give via syringe. Good luck!

If you do need to ad flavour to the water, there is a powdered cordial(like Tang) which comes in sachets and has a colour free form

Thanks, at the moment she is on a seed only diet. Waiting for the poop test to come back. When the vet calls I might ask her what she thinks I should do I just want her to get better and I hate not having control over it.

I personally mix up the recommended dosage with water and crop feed individual birds... Other than that for mass treatments I do as suggested and with hold all foods except seed

Perhaps your vet can teach you to crop feed?

I balk at trying to get liquids down a bird by beak as the can aspirate so easily and take it into their lungs. You just have to assume the bird drinks even if you dont see it. Also being on vegies before would mean it drank less. Now with no other water source it WILL drink.

Did the vet tell you that mixture has to be made up fresh daily too, as it spoils really quickly.

I balk at trying to get liquids down a bird by beak as the can aspirate so easily and take it into their lungs. You just have to assume the bird drinks even if you dont see it. Also being on vegies before would mean it drank less. Now with no other water source it WILL drink.

Did the vet tell you that mixture has to be made up fresh daily too, as it spoils really quickly.

 

Oh I had not thought about aspirating.... I don't know if Sky knows what a veggie is, the guy that had her before I think feed her shell grit and her appitite is coming back with a vengence!

 

Yes new mix every day, I have found with the heater that it smells nearer the 12 hour mark so I do a new mix in the morning and another one at night cause then it does not smell so bad.