what does a runny bird nose look like?

[Nikki]

Toby isn't acting sick or anything, but when I picked him up out of his cage while ago, one of his nostrils has some clear stuff in there, not like running out, but just a little covering of clear stuff. It's possible that it may be food because he had some fruit and rice this afternoon with a kind of clear base to it.
When a bird has a runny nose, what does it look like is my real question. He's snorting trying to get whatever it is out, but he's not acting any different. The avian vet is 3.5 hours away and he hates the car, so I don't wanna stress him out with a visit if it's nothing, but I'm worried about him as usual. I may take him to the regular vet in the morning to get the once over. The regular vet here is a friend of my boss and does his wing clip for me so I don't have to drive him the 3.5 hours to get it done. If it doesn't disappear with a nose/face washing, I'll probably call him at home and see what he thinks I should do. I'm freaking out now :(

[Nikki]

The nostril cleared when I wiped it with a warm cloth. Then he started breathing clear bubbles like a baby with allergies. I'm just gonna go ahead and take him to the avian vet first thing in the morning whether he likes it or not. Better safe than sorry.

[Sally]

I don't know an answer to your question, hopefully someone will soon.

[Nikki]

I've been reading and it sounds like psittacosis so I will take him to the birdie vet asap :(

[Nikki]

Birdie vet confirmed... avian chlamydiosis. I've gotta find a way to get 1/2 cc of doxycycline to Toby orally twice daily for 45 days and put benebac on his food. AND... since it's zoonotic (passed from birds to humans) I have to go to my doctor now to go on antibiotics for 28 days to keep me from getting it or passing it to others.
If anyone has any ideas on how to get birds to take medications easily, please let me know.

[catfish]

sorry I haven't responded earlier, but I am happy that you took him to the vet. What I've had to do with our birdie patients is towel them in a small hand towl until only their head is out. I spend about 5 minutes or so just putting a tiny drop of the meds in their mouth at a time and allow them to swallow them. I always hold them up right, never on their back. It takes time to give it in such tiny amounts, but it makes sure that they get the majority of it and they don't feel like they are drowning.

I then like to give a little treat afterwards to make up with them...

[BeakerLuvsBunsen]

sorry to hear about the avian chlamydiosis.
It's a good thing you took him to the A.V
let us know how the meds help

[Nikki]

The vet seemed really optimistic since we caught it at such an early stage in the "clinical manifestation" of the infection. Toby hasn't slowed down. Only signs that he's sick at all is that when he breathes he blows little snot bubbles on one side of his nose and he sneezes a lot and his poops are mostly white which is a key sign of the chlamydiosis according to the vet and the CDC write-up on it. The bubble-blowing is so pitiful, but it's almost impossible not to giggle at it.

Thank you catfish. I think the towel will probably save my hands from almost certain trauma.

Is this something that he could have had since birth? The vet said that it probably came from his aviary but has just now became evident. He came from a high quality closed home aviary. The only difference I notice about him from other birds on this site is that he wasn't banded when I got him. I can't help but think that him getting sick is somehow my fault or that I'm not cleaning something right or something. It's a big stressful thing when your baby is sick :( But he's getting the best care I can give and hopefully such a long course of antibiotics for both of us will eradicate it and we won't have to worry about it anymore.

[chapala]

Wow, I am so sorry you and your bird both have to deal with this! Hope it clears up quickly for Toby, and it's so early that you don't get any symptoms at all. Good call to check with a vet right away, nothing to fool around with!
Reta

Just saw your post above after I wrote my message. No, it's a contagious disease, so unless you've taken him around other birds (never a good idea unless you're very certain of the health status of someone else's birds), it almost certainly came with him from the aviary. Not your fault! It is possible he could have picked it up at the vet's if you had him there. I would let the breeder know of the diagnosis in case he or she isn't aware that their birds might be at risk of coming down with it also.

[jodeg]

Oh Nikki! So sorry to hear of your and Toby's problem! Really a good thing you know your bird so well and watch him closely, which enabled you to catch it early and get to the vet!

We're all saying prayers for Toby's speedy recovery!

[Nikki]

I've been careful to keep him away from other birds, so it must have come from there. I guess I'll write her an email and let her know so she can keep a watch on her other little ones.
Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers :) So so so glad I caught it before it got really bad, then I really would have felt horrible.
I just went home on my lunch break to check on him and he was sitting in his food bowl eating and making a pile of sunflower seeds on the floor so I'd say he's feeling "typical Toby" and I'm more worried about him than he is. But, he's still ticked off about the car trip...lol

[Mustang99]

Nikki .. sorry to hear about Toby and the length of time on meds...so glad you caught it quickly and he's in good hands with his bird mom :) . Keep us posted and as Catfish outlined with administering meds, that is how I do it with Kiwi. In a nice soft towel and a bit at a time. Don't let him chew the towel as that was a trick of Kiwi's in which she tried not to swallow the medicine and would bite the towel and there would be the meds! sneaky little girl when she wants to be.

[Nikki]

lol he tried that with the towel! I was like OMG little bratty bird!

He is active but seems to have a harder time breathing than this morning. Hoping meds kick in soon.

[unpoquito]

Nikki, so sorry to hear about your baby Toby, but glad you caught it early. Be sure to get yourself on those antibiotics too.
The old towel trick sounds like a popular one. Emmie is all about chewing the towel at medicine time, and takes her medicine from the syringe when she'd like a break from the towel clicking/chewing. lol

[Nikki]

Update on Toby: He's feeling much better. I can barely hear the raspy noise in his breathing anymore and his tail has stopped bobbing which I think means that he's not having to try as hard to breathe.
Medicine time is still a challenge. Last night, it took 90 minutes total to get 1cc of medicine in him (that's just counting time spent medicating I had to give him breaks in between so he didn't get too worked up). Then, I had a bird covered in cherry syrup medicine who won't take a bath...lol Finally, he started to clean himself up. I guess as long as he's licking off the feathers, he's getting some more of the medicine in him that he spit out earlier. Then, I took him out of the cage and cleaned him up with a warm bath cloth and lots of cuddles. He burrowed down into my bra (weird bird I know) and slept there until he dried off...LOL (I made the mature decision not to take pictures of that to post on the forums :p )
This morning he was perkier and eating up a storm. He's lost a lot of weight, but he's gotta be putting it back on. He ate 1/4 cup of birdie bread and 2 tablespoons of Beak Appetit between 6am and 8am this morning...little piggie!
Thanks for all the support and encouragement. I was really scared for Toby and you guys helped calm my fears and gave me some really good information on taking care of him. :)

[BeakerLuvsBunsen]

Sounds like you are giving him excellent care

[chapala]

Glad to hear he's feeling better, and the meds are doing their job!
Reta

[catfish]

glad he's feeling better! I can't believe they have you giving 1cc for such a small bird, I've never heard of that before! But I that's neither here nor there, it just matters that he is getting better! :p

[Nikki]

that would be my bosses' fault. We have a compounding pharmacy and the vet called in a 2mg dose, he just made the liquid up as 2mg/mL. Guess he's never medicated a bird before lol

EDIT: Realized I have the power to alter that and went back to the store after hours and made up some at 8mg/ml so he only has to get 0.25mL now. Thanks for reminding me of the power to shrink volume, Catfish...lol

[Mustang99]

Nikki -- glad to read that Toby is responding to the meds. It's always good to stop the tail bob and it's great that you don't hear the raspy noise. He's in good hands. Keep up the good work!

[Vegasmom]

I'm very happy for you and Toby. Good thing you are so observant.

[Sally]

Wonderful news!!! I am so glad he is better!

[Nikki]

A quick update on Toby... He acted like he was feeling better, but started having some acute respiratory distress on Wednesday night. I took him to a new avian vet (actually certified) that was alot closer to home that I didn't even know existed until the regular vet that clips Toby's wings told me about her. So, I made the decision to get a second opinion about his treatment and to deal with the acute respiratory distress with the new closer avian vet.
Omigosh, she was AMAZING. She literally took an hour with us going over everything. She gushed over Toby and how sweet and well-adjusted he is. She has a green male pacific parrotlet herself and threatened to keep Toby so she could switch them out without me knowing :p She said she thought his chlamydiosis test was a false positive because the main involvement wasn't with his lungs because she listened to them and they are clear. After an extensive exam, she determined that he has a sinus infection which was causing him to mouth breathe which was cutting down on the amount of air he was able to move, causing the respiratory distress.
She gave him some Tobramycin (Tobi for Toby... ironic...lol) nose drops. And some Baytril to take by nebulizer both twice a day. She wanted me to add palm fruit oil to his birdie muffins because she said that parrotlets seem to be more susceptible to respiratory problems when they don't have enough antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and fat-soluble vitamins in their diet and that there isn't really a pellet or seed that supplements all of them adequately to prevent the susceptibility. I guess I kinda bought into that one, but it does make sense to me.
After two doses of these medications he's a changed bird...lol I've never seen him so active and chattery. I'm so happy that he feels better now, and I feel terrible for forcing oral meds on him when he really didn't need them. I've learned my lesson about searching for a certified avian vet and am so glad that we found such a great one.
And the big lesson here... getting a parrotlet to take oral meds is difficult, but don't complain about it -- you may end up having to give them nose drops...LOL

[lisap]

I am so happy to hear that Toby is doing well a good avian vet is a must for all birds. I loved the one I found although sadly there was nothing to be done. Avian vets are a different breed and you can see the love in their eyes when they take care of your babies. Just make sure you always guard Toby when you take him to the vets or she might switch him out for a stuffed bird and steal him away from you :D

[Vegasmom]

I bet you are so relieved! Congrats on finding that gem of a vet. I'm so happy to hear Toby'sfeeling better.:D

[Nikki]

I am so happy to hear that Toby is doing well a good avian vet is a must for all birds. I loved the one I found although sadly there was nothing to be done. Avian vets are a different breed and you can see the love in their eyes when they take care of your babies. Just make sure you always guard Toby when you take him to the vets or she might switch him out for a stuffed bird and steal him away from you :D

I'm just afraid that she'll switch him for her mean parrotlet...lol I had a hard enough time getting this one to be lovable.