[Laurapaws]

Hey all, I made an account specifically for this purpose. I know the answer really is to go to the vets ASAP, but that's proving difficult. Besides, I already took her and the vet basically said I could either pay an amount I can't afford for tests, or not do anything... (I'm moving house and started a new job recently, money is an issue).

Anyway, Freya is my female cinnamon tiel, she's probably about 2.5 years old and has laid 3 eggs in the past (infertile, I only have her). For the past few months she has been smelling more and more, as far as I can tell it's her poop. It's a smell kind of halfway between rotting eggs and TCP antiseptic. The poop itself ranges from very normal, to watery as **** and lots of it, no real pattern there.

Anyone got any good ideas of what I can do about this or what might be up? At least until I can get this house move over and be able to afford the vet.... :cinnamon:

 

[Vickitiel]

Firstly, hello there and welcome to the forum!

I'm no vet and can't diagnose Freya's illness but to me it sounds like some sort of bacterial or yeast infection. Is she showing any other symptoms?

As soon as you can you need to get her checked out by an avian vet and she will be put on some medication to treat the issue. The first test a vet does when there is an issue with a bird's poop is what's called a gram stain or fecal exam, which is basically looking at some fresh poop under a high-powered microscope for any evidence of unusual bacteria, parasites, fungus etc. This test is not usually expensive, not in my location anyway.

What are you feeding her? In the meantime you can sprinkle some probiotics over her food, which helps to restore natural gut flora, and also a drop of apple cider vinegar in her water which is like a tonic and is said to help with infections - but these are no replacements for actual vet care.

Best of luck with Freya and please keep us updated on how she is doing.

 

[Laurapaws]

I should say that she has had a minor test before under a microscope and it came back with "some bacteria". The improved test will cost around £100+treatment and is to detect which bacteria it is. That's the one I can't really afford right now.

I am starting to get really worried so I'm going to see if I can pull something together and get it done anyway

She's on a seed only diet with veggies sometimes pretty much. I've tried to convert her to pellets but she just won't have it. In fact I even gave them to her today. Came home to find her really angry, thinking I hadn't given her anything (the pellets were lightly covering the seeds). **** seed addict

 

[Vickitiel]

Ouch, that is expensive. That will be the gram stain test which identifies the specific bacteria. Is it possible for you to make an arrangement with your vet to pay off the bill in parts? Vets in my area offer this for people who can't afford large vet bills all at once but it depends on the vet. You could always try another vet, it might be cheaper elsewhere.

To get picky birds to eat pellets, the best method I've found is to keep the pellets and seeds in separate food dishes. 'Tiels will pick out their favourites if offered several types of food in one bowl, so you'll have more luck doing it this way. Is Freya tame? Does she take treats out of your fingers or hands? You could try offering her a pellet between your fingers, it may help to spark her interest.

 

[Laurapaws]

So for an update! We managed to get that gram stain test done. Apparently all bacteria is in normal levels but there might be something weird going on with some of them. Plan is to reduce her gut bacteria a lot with another antibiotic, then replace it fresh