Allie's Vet Appointment (2,967 views)

[Bailey :)]

So I know I've only talked a little about Allie here, so here is the background on her story. I saw an ad for 4 cockatiels on Ebay Classifieds about 2 months ago and one was listed as crippled and appeared to have a "shovel-beak." The woman was located just 30 minutes from my hometown (about 5 hours total from me). So we went and picked her up the Sunday before last. Her feet are deformed, her wings are broken (possibly from laying too many eggs without a good calcium/vit D source), and she has very apparent liver issues. She is thin, has an overgrown beak, and has these wispy white feathers on her back (they remind me of shoestrings) that grow over the affected areas of the liver.

Well after a bad experience with our close-by vet clinic I decided I would not be a client of theirs any longer. So I got on yelp (a customer review website) and looked up other bird clinics near me. After some searching, I found a pet hospital about 45 minutes from me with great reviews. So I scheduled her appointment for this morning and this is how I felt about it:

So, first...I love the vet. If you're in Austin or the surrounding areas,his name is Dr Campbell at Parmer Lane Pet Hospital in Cedar Park. He is very to the point and doesn't waste your money! My favorite kind of person..

So basically, I did the exam..told him what was wrong with her, showed him her preening gland, showed him the abnormal feathers on her back (he had never seen them before so I don't know if that pointed towards liver issues in his mind), I got lactulose for her, she got a beak trim, and he wrote a prescription for doxycycline in case she has chlamydia since she has been sneezing and is a little winded after flying. We didn't do any blood tests or diagnostic tests because he said that wouldn't change the course of treatment so it would just be a waste of pain/money. He told me that a chlamydia test is always "maybe positive"or "maybe negative" so there is no definite result even if we had tested her. But, it was all up to me. I could have gotten the blood work and chlamydia test if I really wanted it.

He told me that he recognizes the fact that most people who have a sick animal have done enough research that they know about as much as he does about the subject, and that he is there for us to bounce ideas off of as far as treatment goes. I had already been throwing my ideas out there and he was giving me feedback throughout the whole consultation.

And the best part was: THE BILL!!! My whole bill was $58.50. The beak trim was only $10 and the lactulose was $5. So the exam was $43.50. I think the doxycycline we got for Kirk a while back was around $30..if I want it, I just need to call and give him a pharmacy to send it to.

Anyways, aside from that all there is to do is give her liver support and turn her diet around. He mentioned Silymarin in addition to the lactulose, which is basically a mixture of milk thistle and dandelion.

So yay! It is a bit of a drive, but I found someone who is no nonsense, no rip off, a bit comical, and super friendly and smart! I am very pleased.

[Casey]

glad to hear that you are happy with the vet!! now i must move to the states, your vet care is always cheaper!! here, an exam runs for $63-$100 depending on the clinic.... thats JUST the exam D:

i hope she starts turning around

[Bailey :)]

Well that's what I'm used to also..the vet clinic I was going to before was charging me $67 for the exam, $70 for any diagnostic testing, $60 for bloodwork..etc. Their price for nail clipping is $14! And they would not have given me any prescriptions without running cbc and testing first.

This guy will be my doctor until he dies. So he better live long, lol.

[Casey]

lol i like our cat's vet, he was the one who did destiny's surgery (destiny had breast cancer) he is also the only vet who deals with hedgehogs in our area! i need to ask still if he sees birds. hes a great vet.

vets are so expensive. testing here can run up into the hundreds

[Bailey :)]

I know; I was totally expecting a $150-$200 vet bill and when the receptionist was like your total is $58.50, my jaw hit the ground! I was very happy. Geez, I so wish I knew the guy when I had Krissi..the other clinic took $700 from me for her testing and exams.

I really hope Allie pulls through. We started her Lactulose prescription last night and I called in my Doxycycline this morning; I might also give her the dandelion and milk thistle occassionally as an extra boost to the Lactulose. I'm still giving probiotics in her water until the jug is gone since she will be on the Doxy treatment.

[Bailey :)]

And, I am going to start trying to change her diet now that she is settled in. I have her a carrot/lettuce salad topped with seed today and will later be giving her her normal seed but with pellets on top. I hope she catches on quick; it will make things so much easier.

[Casey]

hmmmm.... i would be suspicious if you say shes got liver problems and "sniffles"... i know psittacosis often affects the liver. there may be something definitely underlying so its really good to go with the meds for it!

i hope she starts eating better quick, it will be really helpful for you. ive had no problem getting my tiels to eat pellets, they love them. mine get free choice feeding, they have seed and pellets available all day plus they get veggies daily but they dont always eat them lol the lovebirds wont touch pellets for nothing, so they get nutriberries instead of pellets.


worst comes to worst, you can talk to the vet about nutriberries for her if she refuses pellets, but with luck, i hope she doesnt refuse pellets

[Bailey :)]

I already tried giving her nutriberries and she wouldn't take them. The problem is that the only seed she eats is the white millet. So the nutriberries aren't attractive to her because they have a whole bunch of different types of seeds in them.

I'm glad the vet suggested the doxy treatment since there was that chlamydia outbreak in Texas a few years ago and that treatment wasn't on my list of things-to-do.

And here is another collage I made with Picassa..that thing is so easy to use:

[Casey]

she looks a bit better

hmmm... avicakes work too if she will eat them. all they are are pellets, canary grass seed and white millet my tiels arent fans of the nutriberries either but they go nuts for avicakes.

[Bailey :)]

I'll try those if she won't eat the pellets. Her beak could be a little shorter, but they didn't want her to bleed.