Makena Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 We must be the most unlucky grey parents ever when it comes to parasites!!! Makena started throwing up/regurgitating a lot of his food when we were feeding him. We were very worried and immediately called the vet. He said it sounded like a yeast infection and to get him in so he could swab the throat and do a gram stain. Well the throat swab came up negative for yeast, so he examined the poop under the microscope. Well sure enough it turns out little Makena has worms :sick:!! He said that he probably got them from his parents in the aviary... So as it turns out we had to end up giving him the medication that we were trying to avoid earlier for the lice. He administered "Ivomec" orally and are told it should get rid of the roundworms and kill off any left over lice. At least we get to stop using the lice spray, I hate that stuff. We have to bring in another poop sample in a week to double check... but hopefully they will be gone! Makena is doing ok... he was a little shaky earlier from the medication but seems ok now, just tired. We, on the other hand are quite frazzled and worried about our child. Hopefully there are no more problems as our nerves and pocketbooks can't handle it! Maybe you guys should start an "ailments" room for people to talk about sicknesses and vet visits. I would probably be the #1 poster ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 You are unlucky aren't you Kristin, you poor thing, one thing after another. I didn't think birds had much trouble with worms but you have proved them wrong. I feel for you, you have had much to deal with lately with your little one. Maybe now after this is all over with things will settle down and she will be fine, I will keep my fingers crossed. Keep us informed as she gets over this and any new developments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted September 9, 2007 Author Share Posted September 9, 2007 Aww... thanks for your kind words Judy ! I had no idea worms were a problem for birds either... now I know. He said we are lucky to have brought him in when we did. Apparently just like in humans the worms can grow so big that they actually block the intestines and kill them :ohmy:! I guess that is another good reason to monitor weight... Rapid weight loss is one of the symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Kristin,what an awful time for you, you have been so unlucky.Hopefully once this has cleared up Makena will go on to be parasite free forever Thank you for posting this as it is a very informative thread & shows other members it is possible for our birds to have worms Makena get well soon for your mom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Sorry to hear of this issue with your Grey. You certainly do set the example for being in tune with Makena's well-being and getting him to the vet ASAP. :-) This is an informative post as LMG mentioned. Did the Vet happen to mention if or how a Grey might contract rounds worms any other way, through food, outdoor excursions etc.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest briansmum Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 awww no so sorry to hear about the worms. poor little makena, he's just a magnet for beasties. well wishes for a speedy recovery and all my thoughts are with you, strong parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Monique Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Kristin - thank goodness you have a good vet who has known what to check them for to diagnose the problem!!! I hope everything turns out okay for your baby. I have never heard of a bird having worms before!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted September 10, 2007 Author Share Posted September 10, 2007 I did find a couple of sites that gave some good information... http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=1829&articleid=2699 http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/gesparasiten/spulwuermer_en.htm It sounds like they get it from being in aviaries or crawling on the ground. They can also get it from contaminated food or water, but how it gets contaminated I am not sure. Makena was born in a large outdoor aviary in the middle of the rainforest. It was a great place in that it is so much like their natural habitat... although he was around A LOT of other birds. Being that it was outdoors, there were a lot of wird birds like pigeons, chickens, mynas, cardinals, doves, etc. EVERYWHERE! It isn't surprising that he picked up the parasites. It does however make we worry about all the birds that are still there. I guess if one has it, there is a good chance they all have it. We just feel so dirty... We try to keep such a clean home and I give Makena fresh food and water several times a day. I know it isn't from us, but you still question your parenting! Today we are going to do a major scrub of the cage. I guess it is really important to get the poop off of everything as it can harbor eggs. Just another good reason to do a thorough wellness check. They don't commonly check for worms as they are so rare.<br><br>Post edited by: Makena, at: 2007/09/09 21:54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest briansmum Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 oh no sweety don't question your parenting, you said yourself it's not your fault and you've done an excellent job in making sure the problem is taken care of. you should be proud, makena is a very lucky bird. i think you should tell the people where you got makena about the worms too if you haven't already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Monique Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 You are parront-ing just fine!!! I know exacty what you mean. It's like when your kid has the runny nose and every time you look at it a green goblin is escaping. Some time sh$$ happens! Part of it is probably that it feels gross to have stuff like that around you so you have the icky creepy crawling feeling .. until it is all Done Over Kaput!!! But it isn't you and what you are feeling is also completely normal!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted September 10, 2007 Author Share Posted September 10, 2007 Thanks guys so much for the kind words!! You are so right Monique... I think it's that creepy crawly feeling that is getting to us the most! We were very worried yesterday about the effect of the medicine on him. He was very shaky and having trouble keeping his balance. He spent a good portion of the day sleeping. Today though he is like a whole new bird! He is running all over the place, getting into things and chatting up a storm! We gave him a full soaking shower which he really enjoyed and spent a lot of time preening after. He is just about to pass out for his first nap of the day... aww... he eyes are getting soooo heavy ! We cleaned and sanitized his cage the best we could but have decided to buy a steam cleaner to really do a good job. After going to 5 stores today we couldn't find one, so I guess we will order one online. Plus I imagine it will come in handy for lots of other things! Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much) for your support... There sure is a lot of heart and soul in this forum!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeasarsDad Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Hercules, our European Starling, had 2 kinds of worms at the same time.. It's actually very common for birds to have worms.. Their system learn to deal with them and the worms stay in check.. never really over running the birds internal digestive systems.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loviechick Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Oh my gosh I didn't know birds could get worms!!!!! Talk about unlucky, hopefully you and Makena will feel better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted September 15, 2007 Author Share Posted September 15, 2007 Well it has been a week.... We took a poop sample into the vet today.... Drum role please!!!!! NO MORE WORMS!!! YAH!!! We are so happy we don't have to do the meds again! The lice are also nowhere to be found. So after many sleepless night we are happy to announce Makena is 100% healthy!! Even though the vet didn't require it we are going to take him in again in a month or so just as a follow up. We figure it wouldn't hurt to have one more poop sample analyzed. We are about to just go out and buy our own microscope !! Hey I took biology and microbiology in college, I know how to do a gram stain!! So lets all hope for the sake of our nerves and pocketbook that he stays healthy forever!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 Great news, Here's to a healthy future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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