Am I doing the right thing?

Moderator: Mods

Post Reply
McmillanBirds
Posts: 339
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:39 am
Location: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Am I doing the right thing?

Post by McmillanBirds »

Hi all

I have been looking at the forum for a couple months now and have finally joined. I could not hold off any longer as I just had to ask my questions and gleen knowledge from those who probably know so much more than I do.
I asked this question in my introduction and it was suggested i post it elsewhere so more people could reply and give advice. I hope I have chosen the correct place to post it. This is what I asked:
My one pair of ringnecks male=blue( which i found out is split for ino by the latest clutch of babies) female=green, I think my female had a stroke last year just before breeding season, she is generally quite a calm bird, but when i went out to the aviaries i noticed she almost had a nervous twitch in her head, and upon going into the aviary to see what was wrong she could no longer fly and crashed into the wire and then into the floor. As time passed the twitch disappeared and her flying skills are better but not perfect. There is nothing else physically wrong with her and her feathers are in perfect conditon.I left her with the male as he was feeding her and did not reject her(she now goes to collect food on her own), she later went on to have a clutch of 3 babies, 2 green and 1 lutino. Am I doing the right thing by letting her stay with her partner and live out the rest of her life as stress free as possible? I am scared that if i move her she will panic and have a heart attack. We have learned to work around her by moving slowly and letting her get to comfortable positions in the avairy while we are in there.
I forgot to add that her 1 leg was also not as strong as the other and she used to get frustrated with it, that is what led me to believe it was a stroke as it was all on the right side of her body(like with humans when they have strokes, it generally affects the 1 side of the body). Her leg is fine now from climbing in the avairy, it has worked the muscle back to normal. She also holds onto her bars and flaps her wings to stretch them but does not fly very often. When i spray them she comes and has a bath without any problems.
This happened roughly 7-8months ago and no other birds are showing signs of sickness and her condition is perfect otherwise. Is it even possible for birds to have strokes?

Thanks so much for any responses
Carmen
ellieelectrons
Posts: 2708
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Re: Am I doing the right thing?

Post by ellieelectrons »

Hi Carmen

Welcome to the forum.

I found some information on the web about cerebral apoplexy which has some consistencies with what you have described:
http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/g ... all_en.htm

I have never experienced this with my birds but my layperson opinion is that keeping her in her usual surroundings with her mate (providing she can navigate adequately and eat) is a good option. Personally, I'd be inclined to take her to an avian vet. However, I do acknowledge it could stress her out so you may not want to do it especially since it's been 7-8 months anyway.

There were some additional dietary tips in the article I linked to above which could be useful.

I think the reason nobody responded to this before is I don't think many would feel qualified to answer... I know I certainly don't! My heart goes out to you and your bird.

Best wishes.

Ellie.
McmillanBirds
Posts: 339
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:39 am
Location: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Re: Am I doing the right thing?

Post by McmillanBirds »

Thank you so much Ellie. :) That info really helps and answers the questions I have been asking myself since this happened. Although her case does not look as severe as some of those poor little things. When i go to the avairy it just looks as though she is cocking her head slightly listening to us talk and her feathers are still beautiful. I am so grateful that things weren't worse because by reading that article it shows me it could have been. I have had her for 2 years and when I got her I was told she was 4, so that means she was roughly 5 when it happened(if the age is correct). I hope this post helps others if they have the same problem or if they know someone and can forward on the info. :)
sanjays mummi
Posts: 2050
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:07 pm
Location: Bedfordshire UK

Re: Am I doing the right thing?

Post by sanjays mummi »

I know i am going slightly off subje t but please bear with me, we had two elderly gsd bitches who both had strokes which they survived. They too had lopsided heads afterwards and loss of appetite, but they both made a full recovery. It takes time and patience. They went on to live to 15 and 16 yrs respectively and passed away from sheer old age. A wee tip,strokes are charaterised by flickering eyes as the animal feels giddy. Hope your little tweetheart makes a full recovery soon.
McmillanBirds
Posts: 339
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:39 am
Location: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Re: Am I doing the right thing?

Post by McmillanBirds »

Hi :)

Georgie is doing well. we constructed a metal ladder that runs the length of the aviary and up to the breeding box. she has been exercising her wings by hanging onto the ladder and flapping as hard as she can. She is loving her baths and has gotten quite easy to manoever around. All it took was a little patience but we are getting there :)

Carmen
ellieelectrons
Posts: 2708
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Re: Am I doing the right thing?

Post by ellieelectrons »

That's great to hear Carmen. Good work! I'm so pleased.

Ellie.
Molossus2
Posts: 353
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:01 am

Re: Am I doing the right thing?

Post by Molossus2 »

Look up effects of paratyphoid. It will give you another perspective.
McmillanBirds
Posts: 339
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:39 am
Location: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Re: Am I doing the right thing?

Post by McmillanBirds »

A picture update of Georgie and her mate Bluebird. She is doing well and inspecting her breeding box. She flew a short distance the other day, I
was like a proud mommy. She is recovering in leaps and bounds :)

Image

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Post Reply