My cockatiel is about 16 years old, so I don't expect him to be in tip top shape. In December, he developed a mucus discharge in his beak and my mom brought him to the avian. The avian told her that it was likely due to a bacterial or fungal infection and gave her some medicine (anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.) I administered the medicine twice a day and continued doing so until he healed and the mucus was gone.
He was mucus-free until March. My mother brought him to the avian again and they said that he was healthy but they still gave us a bit of antibiotics (same meds except for the anti-fungal which was omitted). I worried about him developing resistance to the medicine if he was fine, so I only gave him the meds about once every 3 days. I think I messed up on that and should have continued giving him meds twice every day. I don't know if that would've ended the problem, or he would be relapse again after a month.
Now his meds have expired, I don't know if it's safe to give him expired medication. We give him the healthiest seeds that we can find at our local pet store combined with probiotics powder from the vet. Besides the mucus discharge, my cockatiel's behavior seems normal. He screams so we could let him out, he flies all over the house, he's not sitting at the bottom of the cage, his poops look normal. He is fluffed up sometimes and sleeps during the daylight, but I think it's because he's old and tired. He's the same bird still.
I'm surprised that he did not choke on his seeds. The saddest thing about his situation is seeing the seeds stuck to the feathers near his beak. I try to remove as much as I can carefully with a toothbrush, but every time he goes back to eat, the seeds get stuck again. I read online that beak discharge is serious, but my bird is still alive with this condition. Can the mucus be something else besides an infection? Is it normal for an older bird to be drooling like that?
Thanks in advance.
He was mucus-free until March. My mother brought him to the avian again and they said that he was healthy but they still gave us a bit of antibiotics (same meds except for the anti-fungal which was omitted). I worried about him developing resistance to the medicine if he was fine, so I only gave him the meds about once every 3 days. I think I messed up on that and should have continued giving him meds twice every day. I don't know if that would've ended the problem, or he would be relapse again after a month.
Now his meds have expired, I don't know if it's safe to give him expired medication. We give him the healthiest seeds that we can find at our local pet store combined with probiotics powder from the vet. Besides the mucus discharge, my cockatiel's behavior seems normal. He screams so we could let him out, he flies all over the house, he's not sitting at the bottom of the cage, his poops look normal. He is fluffed up sometimes and sleeps during the daylight, but I think it's because he's old and tired. He's the same bird still.
I'm surprised that he did not choke on his seeds. The saddest thing about his situation is seeing the seeds stuck to the feathers near his beak. I try to remove as much as I can carefully with a toothbrush, but every time he goes back to eat, the seeds get stuck again. I read online that beak discharge is serious, but my bird is still alive with this condition. Can the mucus be something else besides an infection? Is it normal for an older bird to be drooling like that?
Thanks in advance.
