FoxersArtist
12-07-2010, 09:59 PM
Isabel is a scarlet macaw who was rescued in July along with a group of birds who were all flying loose in a dark basement. At first, the family who initially rescued Isabel was going to have her put down because they thought she had cancer. I asked if I could get a second opinion with my vet which I was grateful to have been granted. There were no signs of cancer but multiple life altering injuries including, full and partial blindness in her eyes, one leg that had broken and healed 3 inches shorter than the other, and a preen gland that was too badly damaged to function properly. Disease testing came back normal despite many missing feathers that were dry and brittle as well as feathers that had tried to grow but failed, shriveling up into little ingrown masses all over her body. At first we thought that Isabel may be a younger bird who had simply suffered a great deal over the course of some years, but now we are realizing that isabel is likely, much, much older based on her bodies reaction to trauma/recovery time as well as her behavior and because she sleeps a lot.
What is most amazing and unbelievable about this macaw is her unconditional love for herself, others, and the world around her despite her health and past. She is a daily inspiration and has imbedded herself deeply into my heart. Special does not begin to describe this sweety who will tolerate even the most painful treatment with love and patience, simply because she knows we are caring for her. She loves to be loved, loves to be touched, loves to be swooned and praised. She loves food and gives her best effort at trying to be "normal."
Two weeks ago today, we had Isabel in for surgery to open up and try to clean and heal an infection that was lurking underneath a pressure sore on Isabel's bad hawk. It was causing her some pain and the sore would not heal. Sadly, Isabel is not healing well from this procedure as it seemed to cause the infection to spread further, even with daily antibiotics and I have been worrying so for my little sweety. She has been in a lot of pain and we have had her in the incubator where she does not have to try too hard to keep warm. Still, the infection is wearing on her and she has lost almost 200 grams in weight, despite eating lots of nuts and other high fat foods. PDD testing came back negative, so we are not terribly worried that what is happening with her is a contageous disease process, but we feel this infection is really wearing on her body and so is the pain of a swollen, infected ankle. I brought Isabel back to the vet today with concern because the swelling has spread all the way up her bad leg, so we switched to a new antibiotic, which I am praying will really work quickly. It is a stronger drug and can be hard on the kidneys so we are taking extra care to give Isabel as much of her favorite treat as she will take - coconut water (which is a natual isotonic drink.) While at the vets I also asked for another vitamin shot (her feathers are starting to soften now, but she still hasn't had a molt) and some stronger drugs because Isabel really seemed to be in a lot of pain. She seems to be resting much more comfortably tonight. Please, please keep this sweet one in your prayers as we are terribly worried for her. She does not deserve to suffer so and all we want for her is to heal and enjoy her last days of life, knowing how loved and cherished she is.
Isabel's Pressure Sore:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/PressureSore.jpg
After surgery:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Postsurgery.jpg
What her left hawk looks like today:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Swollenankle-1.jpg
Little Peeps is a budgie who came to us when her owners could not afford medical care. She had mutilated a large area of her shoulders and back and had completely chewed off all flight and tail feathers. Because of the missing feathers, her balance was so off that we initially had x-rays to make sure everything was in order (which it was). Peeps quickly worked her way into our hearts when we realized that this is an extra special budgie with a huge heart. Peeps loves to give wild and enthusiastic kisses all over, closes her eyes for a good cuddle, and talks up a storm. We are keeping her in our bedroom where we can keep a closer eye on her for now, and it is nothing more than a joy to wake up in the morning to an adorable little voice: "I love you good girl. Such a pretty birdy. Such a good girl! I love you..."
Usually when we get birds who mutilate, we avoid putting them in a cone or collar if we can because the psychological impact is huge. My vet pulled all of the tail and primary feathers and to our amazement, peeps let them all grow in and some of her balance returned. Her right hip still seems a little weak and we think this is weakness from having a splay as a baby. Sadly, no matter what we did for her, she would not leave her skin alone and continued to have a large, open wound. Upon multiple observations, I felt strongly that Peeps was incredibly itchy and that was the cause of her mutilation. We would put ointment on her wound daily and this helped a little, but not enough. In her last home, peeps had a water bottle and we felt this was not healthy for her, so we gave her an open dish. when we did so, we noticed that peeps was constantly soaking herself in the water and a week went by where she looked constantly soaking wet. She was trying as best she could to get relief from the itch. We started her on benadryl but after the first dose, she plucked her entire chest clean of feathers and we took that as a sign that she was having an adverse reaction to the drug.
It was back to the vet for little peeps and we decided to put her in a cone made from x-ray film in order to let the affected spot heal. Peeps hated it at first but adjusted after a while and we were thrilled to see that with the cone on, Peeps began a love affair with her toys in order to get out some of her frustrations. Someone was nice enough to donate a number of fun toys to peeps and suddenly, she was playing with them all!!! The wound healed and new feathers grew in rather quickly. I took the cone off last week in hopes that she would leave herself alone, but my heart sank when she instantly started digging at her back with fury and within less than a minute, she had blood on her beak. I quickly put the cone back on and consulted with my vet for another plan.
Today at the vets we took the cone off again, but peeps again started digging into herself right away. We decided to try a new device - a round plastic collar that snaps around the neck. I was sad when we got it on her to see that the collar was putting pressure on both her skull and her shoulders and seemed much less comfortable than the other cone. Peeps agreed and sat biting on anything she could reach to "passify" the stress of the collar. My vet had also sent me home with a different drug to help control itching as well as directions for some valium if she did not settle down in the new collar. The collar lasted only a few hours and although peeps had resolved herself to it, she lay depressed on the bottom of her cage, on her side, with her chin to the floor. I freed my little sweety from this monster after giving her a dose of valium and her new allergy medication in hopes that she would leave herself alone with the help of drugs. The valium clearly made her sleepy but not unaware enough to stop noticing how itchy she felt and she started digging at herself. I sprayed her with some water and she seemed instantly relieved and left herself alone for a few hours. Tonight her shoulders are a little red but not yet irritated enough to scab over. And I sprayed her down again a little while ago.
In the long run, peeps was more comfortable and happier when she was mutilating. Though the area was large, it wasn't deep and in my book, that is livable, though not preferred. Had the wounds been deep, we would have had to consider quality of life for peeps with or without a permanent collar. Peeps may or may not re open the wound she had as severely as she had it before, but I am going to leave her out of a cone/collar for now to give her a rest. I have hope that once we get her fully switched over to a healthy diet (we're almost there!!!), regular bathing, lots of toys, and consistant love and the right allergy medication might help this little one to stop suffering such a severe case of the itchies.
Peeps let some of her wounds heal and here she was growing flights and a tail:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/NovUpdate.jpg
Peeps reaction to the first cone, poor babe:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/cone.jpg
Peeps turned to toys as a distraction when the cone was on:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Toys-2.jpg
Trying to eat in her new clear round collar:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Collar.jpg
Trying to give my little sweety some comfort this afternoon:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/comfort-1.jpg
I finally caved and took it off this afternoon:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/DecUpdate.jpg
A bath helps to relieve some of peeps itch:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Wet-1.jpg
Please keep both of these birds in your prayers.
-Anna
What is most amazing and unbelievable about this macaw is her unconditional love for herself, others, and the world around her despite her health and past. She is a daily inspiration and has imbedded herself deeply into my heart. Special does not begin to describe this sweety who will tolerate even the most painful treatment with love and patience, simply because she knows we are caring for her. She loves to be loved, loves to be touched, loves to be swooned and praised. She loves food and gives her best effort at trying to be "normal."
Two weeks ago today, we had Isabel in for surgery to open up and try to clean and heal an infection that was lurking underneath a pressure sore on Isabel's bad hawk. It was causing her some pain and the sore would not heal. Sadly, Isabel is not healing well from this procedure as it seemed to cause the infection to spread further, even with daily antibiotics and I have been worrying so for my little sweety. She has been in a lot of pain and we have had her in the incubator where she does not have to try too hard to keep warm. Still, the infection is wearing on her and she has lost almost 200 grams in weight, despite eating lots of nuts and other high fat foods. PDD testing came back negative, so we are not terribly worried that what is happening with her is a contageous disease process, but we feel this infection is really wearing on her body and so is the pain of a swollen, infected ankle. I brought Isabel back to the vet today with concern because the swelling has spread all the way up her bad leg, so we switched to a new antibiotic, which I am praying will really work quickly. It is a stronger drug and can be hard on the kidneys so we are taking extra care to give Isabel as much of her favorite treat as she will take - coconut water (which is a natual isotonic drink.) While at the vets I also asked for another vitamin shot (her feathers are starting to soften now, but she still hasn't had a molt) and some stronger drugs because Isabel really seemed to be in a lot of pain. She seems to be resting much more comfortably tonight. Please, please keep this sweet one in your prayers as we are terribly worried for her. She does not deserve to suffer so and all we want for her is to heal and enjoy her last days of life, knowing how loved and cherished she is.
Isabel's Pressure Sore:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/PressureSore.jpg
After surgery:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Postsurgery.jpg
What her left hawk looks like today:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Swollenankle-1.jpg
Little Peeps is a budgie who came to us when her owners could not afford medical care. She had mutilated a large area of her shoulders and back and had completely chewed off all flight and tail feathers. Because of the missing feathers, her balance was so off that we initially had x-rays to make sure everything was in order (which it was). Peeps quickly worked her way into our hearts when we realized that this is an extra special budgie with a huge heart. Peeps loves to give wild and enthusiastic kisses all over, closes her eyes for a good cuddle, and talks up a storm. We are keeping her in our bedroom where we can keep a closer eye on her for now, and it is nothing more than a joy to wake up in the morning to an adorable little voice: "I love you good girl. Such a pretty birdy. Such a good girl! I love you..."
Usually when we get birds who mutilate, we avoid putting them in a cone or collar if we can because the psychological impact is huge. My vet pulled all of the tail and primary feathers and to our amazement, peeps let them all grow in and some of her balance returned. Her right hip still seems a little weak and we think this is weakness from having a splay as a baby. Sadly, no matter what we did for her, she would not leave her skin alone and continued to have a large, open wound. Upon multiple observations, I felt strongly that Peeps was incredibly itchy and that was the cause of her mutilation. We would put ointment on her wound daily and this helped a little, but not enough. In her last home, peeps had a water bottle and we felt this was not healthy for her, so we gave her an open dish. when we did so, we noticed that peeps was constantly soaking herself in the water and a week went by where she looked constantly soaking wet. She was trying as best she could to get relief from the itch. We started her on benadryl but after the first dose, she plucked her entire chest clean of feathers and we took that as a sign that she was having an adverse reaction to the drug.
It was back to the vet for little peeps and we decided to put her in a cone made from x-ray film in order to let the affected spot heal. Peeps hated it at first but adjusted after a while and we were thrilled to see that with the cone on, Peeps began a love affair with her toys in order to get out some of her frustrations. Someone was nice enough to donate a number of fun toys to peeps and suddenly, she was playing with them all!!! The wound healed and new feathers grew in rather quickly. I took the cone off last week in hopes that she would leave herself alone, but my heart sank when she instantly started digging at her back with fury and within less than a minute, she had blood on her beak. I quickly put the cone back on and consulted with my vet for another plan.
Today at the vets we took the cone off again, but peeps again started digging into herself right away. We decided to try a new device - a round plastic collar that snaps around the neck. I was sad when we got it on her to see that the collar was putting pressure on both her skull and her shoulders and seemed much less comfortable than the other cone. Peeps agreed and sat biting on anything she could reach to "passify" the stress of the collar. My vet had also sent me home with a different drug to help control itching as well as directions for some valium if she did not settle down in the new collar. The collar lasted only a few hours and although peeps had resolved herself to it, she lay depressed on the bottom of her cage, on her side, with her chin to the floor. I freed my little sweety from this monster after giving her a dose of valium and her new allergy medication in hopes that she would leave herself alone with the help of drugs. The valium clearly made her sleepy but not unaware enough to stop noticing how itchy she felt and she started digging at herself. I sprayed her with some water and she seemed instantly relieved and left herself alone for a few hours. Tonight her shoulders are a little red but not yet irritated enough to scab over. And I sprayed her down again a little while ago.
In the long run, peeps was more comfortable and happier when she was mutilating. Though the area was large, it wasn't deep and in my book, that is livable, though not preferred. Had the wounds been deep, we would have had to consider quality of life for peeps with or without a permanent collar. Peeps may or may not re open the wound she had as severely as she had it before, but I am going to leave her out of a cone/collar for now to give her a rest. I have hope that once we get her fully switched over to a healthy diet (we're almost there!!!), regular bathing, lots of toys, and consistant love and the right allergy medication might help this little one to stop suffering such a severe case of the itchies.
Peeps let some of her wounds heal and here she was growing flights and a tail:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/NovUpdate.jpg
Peeps reaction to the first cone, poor babe:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/cone.jpg
Peeps turned to toys as a distraction when the cone was on:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Toys-2.jpg
Trying to eat in her new clear round collar:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Collar.jpg
Trying to give my little sweety some comfort this afternoon:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/comfort-1.jpg
I finally caved and took it off this afternoon:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/DecUpdate.jpg
A bath helps to relieve some of peeps itch:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/Foxersartist/Fosters/Wet-1.jpg
Please keep both of these birds in your prayers.
-Anna