Barnaby Had An Emergency Vet Visit!

[DawL]

Hey everyone. So as most of you know, Barnaby was supposed to go to the vet tomorrow, but I came down and found him sleeping on the bottom of the cage. I didn't want to risk waiting, so straight to the vet he went.

 

To make a long story short, he is very emaciated, and dehydrated. The vet said that he has been deprived decent food for so long that it is finally taking it's toll, even though he has been eating pellets for the last couple days. Also, even though he is getting plenty of water, she thinks he may have a kidney issue, or fatty liver disease, so even though he is drinking all the time, he is not absorbing the water he needs.

 

He also kept peeing while he was there, which is another sign that there is an issue with his liver or kidneys. They injected him with some fluids, drew blood, and did a gram stain on his poop. On top of all of this stuff that he already has going on, he had gram negative in the fecal test

 

To sum it up, Barnaby is VERY ill. He has done nothing but sleep today, and is completely quiet. The vet said he was sick before I got him, and the stress of the move brought out the illness even more so that he could no longer hide it. I am thankful we got him when we did, any longer, and it would have been too late for him.

 

I now must give Barnaby Baytril every day for 10 days, he must drink pedialyte instead of water, he must be hand fed formula 4 times a day, and I have to continue to give him his seed for now so he will not lose any more weight. I am hoping and praying he will pull through this.

 

They sent his blood out to be tested, and I should know something by Monday of next week.

 

Everyone, please keep Barnaby in your prayers....

[Talon]

Oh my......I am sooooo sad and upset. Barnaby is in my prayers.....just remember, he can feel your love and for some reason, he was brought into your heart and you were brought into his for reasons we may never know. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

[Eshana]

I hope Barnaby gets better! Is there any chance you can call an animal rights group on his previous owners? They should be responsible for some of these vet bills that you have.

[Jimmydreams]

Here's to hoping Barnaby gets better fast! He's in the best possible place for his recovery, and he's probably tougher than you know, so with luck the road to recovery will be a quick one.

 

Crossing my fingers for you!!

[Luvparrots]

Oodles of good thoughts and prayers coming Barnaby's way. He is lucky to have found you. Be strong and positive for Barnaby and he will feel your love.

[Shelly Yokum]

this is so sad and depressing. I to hope that you can get this little guy up and going. I some how feel that the prev. owner knew of his problems and that is why he re-homed him. I love the name and the picture. Good luck to you both, and I will add him to my prayer list. I hope I can check in often to see how he is doing.

[DawL]

Thank you to everyone. I forgot to add that he weighed in at 514 grams. The average weight for a U2 is around 600 grams, so he is very thin right now. He will get 2ml of pedialyte every 6-8 hours by mouth, and I will also be mixing some with his water. I have to force feed him 10ml of formula 3-4 times daily, and slowly increase the amount to 40ml 3-4 times a day until his weight is back on track, and his breast bone is no longer prominent. Room temp must be increased, and I have to free feed him seed, but can still offer pellets, and his fruits and veggies. He will also get his .45 of Baytril once a day for ten days.

 

I decided not to involve the previous owners or the SPCA because I truly do feel like they were more ill informed than negligent. They have been completely honest with me about everything up until now, and still are. The woman even cried when I picked Barnaby up. These people are older, late 60's or so, and honestly just didn't have the knowledge to give him the care that he needs. She even told me today that she didn't think anything about his soiled vent area, and would just think he needed a shower, so she would just wash him down, and think nothing of it.

 

All I care about now is getting him healthy, and I am thankful that I got him when I did. He perked up a bit a little while ago, but is back to sleeping now. I am hoping once he puts some weight on, and gets this bacterial infection out of his system he will feel better, and be back to being a crazy Cockatoo. I would imagine that would make him happy, as I'm sure it has been a long time since he has felt well.

[DawL]

this is so sad and depressing. I to hope that you can get this little guy up and going. I some how feel that the prev. owner knew of his problems and that is why he re-homed him. I love the name and the picture. Good luck to you both, and I will add him to my prayer list. I hope I can check in often to see how he is doing.

 

Ya know, that had crossed my mind as well, but I like to think that people aren't that cruel, ya know? The reality is that some are, but I try not to think that there are such awful people in this world. Thank you for your prayers, and I hope you can check in often as well. Take care.

[JeffNOK]

Thoughts and many prayers for Barnaby

[DawL]

Thank you so much, JeffNOK.

[Eshana]

It's a very honorable thing that you're not looking for damages!

 

Best of luck to both of you, I really hope he pulls through!

[Gwen]

At this point we just take the bad with the good. I'm thankful you rescued Barnaby & he's now w/ someone who will take good care of him....

The poor guy was just tolerating life and now he will get a chance to enjoy it. I hope he feels better very soon

[kave70]

Sending lots of good thought to you and Barnaby.

He's fortunate that you have entered his life and are helping him. How is he doing this morning?

 

 

Karen and Sam

[CLB]

I am praying for you and Barnaby. You were brought together for a reason....and now we know why. Please keep us updated on his condition.

[CathyJr]

prayers going up for Barnaby

Edited December 27, 2011 by CathyJr

[birdhouse]

This is pretty horrible. I'm so sorry.

 

Try to do as much research as possible. There's a ton of information available & any of it might prove helpful when you least expect it.

 

Keeping good thoughts & hoping to hear that Barnaby's doing better soon.

[Morana]

Uh,...I hoped that you both would have an easier time but this is really serious..:-S Fingers crossed and wish you both very much luck, but as I already said, the biggest and most important thing is done- Barnaby is in safe and loving hands and from there it can only go for the better;-) Hang in there, be safe and strong and everything we'll e OK, you'll see:-)

 

Waiting for news... We all are rooting for you!!

[MarcusCAG]

I am just so sorry to read everything in your post that is making Barnaby feel so sick right now--he must be in a lot of pain. I never would have imagined he would have so many issues!!! But, at the very least, at least you know what you're dealing with now, and he is responding on many levels to your loving care and attention, and his new diet and such. It will probably take some time, but it sounds as though Barnaby is a fighter to have lasted this long with such neglect, and I truly hope that he will overcome these 'life bumps' with love and the proper care and, as was highlighted already, in a few months he'll just be so happy and greeting every morning with joy and energy and happiness.

 

<3 Hugs to your little man...

[DawL]

Thank you so much everyone! It is so uplifting every day to read your posts. It really picks me right back up!

 

BARNABY UPDATE:

 

His feeding is going well, he takes it like a champ, along with his pedialyte, and his antibiotics. It is honestly amazing to me how gentle he is. It breaks my heart to know that he was neglected so much, but you are all right. We were brought together for a reason, and I think it was so I could save his life, and give him the life he deserves. I honestly can see in his eyes that he knows that he is going to be okay now, and it really looks like he understands all of this, and that I love him, and have his best interest at heart.

 

So Barnaby had his first shower today, and he really enjoyed it I have the shower head that you can remove, and spray it where ever you want, and he was letting me lift his wings and spray underneath them, and he loved getting his feet sprayed down. After he was done I filed his nails down a bit, and he acted like he enjoyed that as well. I think he is relishing all of this fuss over him !

 

After he had his shower he went in the kitchen with me for a bit, and then back onto his cage. He has actually been acting a little better today. He hasn't been as fluffed up, and has been moving around more, no more sleeping on the cage floor, and has vocalized a bit. When I go over to talk to him he will come right up to me and say "What'cha Doin'"? He actually has quite a vocabulary.

 

I called the vet today to ask her a few questions, and she did say that I should see a difference in him within 36 hours of the first dose of Baytril It has been almost 24 hours, but I can tell that it is helping a bit. She said it may not be a HUGE difference because he is underweight, but there will be some improvement. That was some good news! She also said that our target weight gain for him will be 100 grams. In total we would like around 614 grams. We have a long way to go, but I think we will get there. He will be going back to the vet next week so that she can check his progress, and by then I should also have his blood work resuts back. She said once we get him up to weight we can work on changing his diet, and then we can improve his diet to begin working on the issue he might have with his liver. Guess we will know for sure about that next week.

 

I will keep everyone updated on him as I know more, but so far we have had a better day

[Talon]

That is a wonderful update! You are an angel to him and he knows it! Hope you can smile and relax a bit, you a redoing the best you can and it is making a huge difference in his life, he knows it.

[Jimmydreams]

Wonderful news indeed!! I'm sure you'll see continued progress in Barnaby's health and vitality. 50% medical treatment, 50% love!!!

[DawL]

Wonderful news indeed!! I'm sure you'll see continued progress in Barnaby's health and vitality. 50% medical treatment, 50% love!!!

 

That is very true! I think my love for him will definitely help him to feel better sooner. Also, just wanted to let everyone know that earlier Barnaby did flock call for maybe 15 seconds... let me tell you, music to my ears! Also, he decided he would start a game a peek-a-boo with me. I was standing there talking to him, and he said " peek-a-boo" and just looked at me as if he was saying "your turn mommy"! So I played along and would cover my face, and then pull my hands away to play the game. Then he would whip his head to one side and say it again, and then to the other side and say it again. He had his crest up completely, and you could tell that he was so excited that someone was playing with him. I feel so incredibly accomplished to have seen him even come this far, I can only imagine where he will be in a couple months!

 

I am now going to give him his night time feeding, and pedialyte. Will update again soon!

[CLB]

This is great news. It is so much easier to heal when you are feeling loved and he obviously knows you care!

[DawL]

Hello everyone! I have another update on Barnaby:

 

Today has been a good day. Barnaby has taken to me so well. When the kids are up, or the husband is home, he stays very quiet, and just sits on top of his cage. When hubby is at work, and the kids are finally in bed, I will come back into the living room, and once he figures out that it is just us he starts talking up a storm, flock calling a little bit, and then earlier he even came down off of his cage onto the floor! He only stayed down there for about 30 seconds, but it is definitely progress. Once he really tries to walk around on the floor, he will no longer be aloud to though. He has done with his feedings and meds today as well. He actually really enjoys the handfeeding. I hold him like a baby, and I will put some formula into his mouth, and once he is done swallowing he will reach up and beak the syringe, and pull it towards him. I made him birdy bread, and he wouldn't touch it, but I then put some veggies and fruit into my food processor and sliced it down really well. I mixed it in with his seed, and he was actually willing to try it! I am keeping an eye on him to make sure he is eating some, if not, I will remove it for now. Also, I looked over him earlier, and his vent area is CLEAN! I was so incredibly happy, and feel like he is really making some progress.

 

I was going to take a video of him being silly and talking but he decided he didn't want to and chewed through my usb cord for my camera Guess the shelf was too close to his cage LOL! I will see if I have an extra and get some pics and vids of him now that he is feeling better, and more comfortable with me.

 

Right now he has bitten an entire large wooden block off of his toy skewer, and is sitting on top of the cage chewing away! Seems to be feeling much better!

[Luvparrots]

Oh I love this update. Such good and encouraging news about Barnaby!!! That he is playing with his toys is wonderful and that his vent area is clean is phenomenal. I am happy, happy for Barnaby and Kudos to you Dawl for being a great parront!!!