First, I know that nobody here can make a diagnosis, and I am working with a vet. Second, this is not regular behavioural regurgitation.
So my bird's a couple years old. About a year ago I woke up one morning and found his face all matted up with dried on, for lack of better words I'll call it 'vomit'. His regular avian vet was out of town, so had him looked over by a general vet who sees a lot of birds. No tests were done, but he had no problems afterwards.
He had a regular check-up with the avian vet this winter. Everything looked good, but the weight was maybe a little on the low end? Nothing that concerned the vet though.
Last month it happened again. I noticed him sleeping during the day for a couple days, and then one morning woke up to find him with 'vomit' over his face. Found out my avian vet stopped practicing and now refers her patients to a general vet who owns birds, sees birds, and consults with avian vets. Otherwise, the nearest avian specialist vet is over 8 hours away, and is not a viable option. So, I took him to the referred vet.
During the vet examination he began 'vomiting' when being toweled. The vet said that given the volume of how much was coming up, it was coming from lower than just the crop. He also noted that his weight seemed low. Otherwise everything else seemed good. He ordered a crop smear and a gram stain, and put him on a round of baytril (antibiotics).
He did not vomit again afterwards (even being toweled twice a day to administer antibiotics). After the round of antibiotics, he was back to his singing chattery self. The crop smear and gram stain came back and didn't show anything.
A few days ago I noticed him sleeping during the day again.
Yesterday I woke up, and his head was covered in 'vomit'. He's been having small amounts come out since, but not enough to make a big mess, and it seems like he's able to bring it up himself (he bobs his head a bit before it comes out, more like a regurgitation). He's still alert and active, with some moments of lethargy/napping.
He's never lost his appetite, and he's drinking plenty of fluids. Droppings are normal and healthy. No vent staining or anything to indicate diarrhea.
He's eating primarily Harrison's pellets, which I also feed to my budgies. They are healthy and have had no issues. I used to feed Roudybush but made the switch last winter. I have noticed he seems to eat less of the Harrisons, so I try to supplement with some whole foods as well (berries, cooked grains, spinach, squash, etc. I always refer to a "safe foods" list). However, he has not had whole foods recently surrounding this 'vomit' incident, or the previous one.
I always supervise him when he's out of the cage, and he generally insists that he stay on my shoulder, so I know he couldn't have gotten into something. I also know that only stainless steel is safe for toys, etc.
So.... I know nobody here can diagnose him or anything, but if there's any thoughts or considerations that end up helping, I'll take the help wherever/however I can get it. Last I spoke to the vet he was talking about possibly doing x-rays to look for internal obstructions. He's closed over the weekend, so I'm waiting to hear back on Monday about this latest incident.
So thanks if you've read this whole thing. Any information is appreciated.
(Also, he flies normally, no tail bobbing, grooms himself, etc. The only unusual behaviour is less singing, more fluffed-up napping, and I've noticed the last couple days he's been climbing down to the cage bottom in the early mornings to sit in the direct sunlight - Direct sun only hits a small patch of the cage floor in the mornings, at no point during the day does direct sun hit any of his perches)
So my bird's a couple years old. About a year ago I woke up one morning and found his face all matted up with dried on, for lack of better words I'll call it 'vomit'. His regular avian vet was out of town, so had him looked over by a general vet who sees a lot of birds. No tests were done, but he had no problems afterwards.
He had a regular check-up with the avian vet this winter. Everything looked good, but the weight was maybe a little on the low end? Nothing that concerned the vet though.
Last month it happened again. I noticed him sleeping during the day for a couple days, and then one morning woke up to find him with 'vomit' over his face. Found out my avian vet stopped practicing and now refers her patients to a general vet who owns birds, sees birds, and consults with avian vets. Otherwise, the nearest avian specialist vet is over 8 hours away, and is not a viable option. So, I took him to the referred vet.
During the vet examination he began 'vomiting' when being toweled. The vet said that given the volume of how much was coming up, it was coming from lower than just the crop. He also noted that his weight seemed low. Otherwise everything else seemed good. He ordered a crop smear and a gram stain, and put him on a round of baytril (antibiotics).
He did not vomit again afterwards (even being toweled twice a day to administer antibiotics). After the round of antibiotics, he was back to his singing chattery self. The crop smear and gram stain came back and didn't show anything.
A few days ago I noticed him sleeping during the day again.
Yesterday I woke up, and his head was covered in 'vomit'. He's been having small amounts come out since, but not enough to make a big mess, and it seems like he's able to bring it up himself (he bobs his head a bit before it comes out, more like a regurgitation). He's still alert and active, with some moments of lethargy/napping.
He's never lost his appetite, and he's drinking plenty of fluids. Droppings are normal and healthy. No vent staining or anything to indicate diarrhea.
He's eating primarily Harrison's pellets, which I also feed to my budgies. They are healthy and have had no issues. I used to feed Roudybush but made the switch last winter. I have noticed he seems to eat less of the Harrisons, so I try to supplement with some whole foods as well (berries, cooked grains, spinach, squash, etc. I always refer to a "safe foods" list). However, he has not had whole foods recently surrounding this 'vomit' incident, or the previous one.
I always supervise him when he's out of the cage, and he generally insists that he stay on my shoulder, so I know he couldn't have gotten into something. I also know that only stainless steel is safe for toys, etc.
So.... I know nobody here can diagnose him or anything, but if there's any thoughts or considerations that end up helping, I'll take the help wherever/however I can get it. Last I spoke to the vet he was talking about possibly doing x-rays to look for internal obstructions. He's closed over the weekend, so I'm waiting to hear back on Monday about this latest incident.
So thanks if you've read this whole thing. Any information is appreciated.
(Also, he flies normally, no tail bobbing, grooms himself, etc. The only unusual behaviour is less singing, more fluffed-up napping, and I've noticed the last couple days he's been climbing down to the cage bottom in the early mornings to sit in the direct sunlight - Direct sun only hits a small patch of the cage floor in the mornings, at no point during the day does direct sun hit any of his perches)
