Peanut Update.. long post!
I have another update on my Diamond Dove Peanut!
She's been getting SOOO much better!! This is the strongest little bird I've ever come across. Her feathers have grown in and covering her whole belly where she had the swelling. Under her wings are no longer bald. And she finally has her feathers on her head growing back!!
The feathers on her stomach, butt and wing came out from the swelling of the egg-yolk peritonitis. Her head and neck feathers came out from a mixture of getting some of the antibiotics on her face, and that stuff was so hard to get off! I think she got annoyed and took the feathers out that still had it on her. And some were pulled out by her cagemate who was sexually frustated, I guess, that she wouldn't try to mate with him. They're still separated.
Look at how she's standing too! She stands upright completely! She had a hard time holding her body weight up because she was so weak from the infection (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/Syribo/IMG_3040.jpg You can see in that picture how she would lay more than stand).
She flies around like a little bullet! She has all of her strength back! She runs around too on her feet :) She still eats like a horse. Her eyes are brighter. She doesn't spend ANY time on the bottom of her cage!
The only bad thing is that I think she's been trying to lay again. I noticed her doing what the other doves have done when we've tried removing their nests, trying to lay in the water dishes (In fact, they HAVE laid eggs in their dishes!). So I put her nest back in and she sat in it for a bit. I felt around on her bottom and don't feel any swelling, but feel like what could be the start of an egg forming.
I called my vet and he told me it's definitely time to see the Avian Specialist. My other vet is an avian vet, but he isn't a specialist. He took care of her by removing the fluids from her stomach during my emergency visit there, and prescribing anti-biotics. He was the closest avian doctor to me. The specialist is over 30 minutes away, but now it's time to go there!
I feel good about it though. Hopefully she is a candidate for Lupron shots, which my vet definitely feels like she will need since she must have some kind of reproductive problem that won't let her lay an egg at all. This vet seems to be very highly regarded as one of the best, if not the best, on Long Island by a lot of people I know.. and I was referred to him by many other people as well.
I have an appointment for Friday. We can't get out there tomorrow.. the snow is just insane out here, and I'm afraid to even take her out in it! And Thursday he is filling in at another clinic. So Friday I will hopefully have good news! I found out the shots are only $57 each for a small bird like her, which is good :) Right now I'm fighting Workers Comp for over $7000 that they owe me, and also a penatly reward hopefully since they didn't pay me the money they were ordered to in court. I was really worried the shots would cost more money and I wouldn't be able to do anything for her! But $57 every two weeks is definitely okay!
I have faith that she will make it through this.. She was literally on her death bed. I never saw a bird so sick before. When we've had sick birds in the past, they always seemed to pass very quickly right after showing symptoms of illness. Peanut was SO sick and just SO infected... and she pulled through! This is a special little bird, she really is my angel :)
Sorry for such a long post, I just know you all understand what it's like to have a sick bird that is so close to you. I also want to state, in case anyone forgot from my previous posts, that I don't encourage them to lay eggs :) My Diamond Doves (We have 8) will lay eggs NO MATTER WHAT I do! They're crazy little things. They don't stop, even by themselves and without nests. Whenever they lay eggs, I replace the eggs with wooden dummy eggs so they can sit on them for the full 14 days and not keep laying and deplete their calcium.
They also get about a 70% pellet diet right now (I slowly began converting them from seed to pellet and seed, it's working well now!) with some finch seed mixed in (The only way they'll eat the pellets!), calcium fortified grit, cuttle bones, vitamin supplements and ground oyster shell. They also get fresh foods, fruits and veggies each day. Banana, apple, sweet potato, cornbread as a treat, etc. So Peanut shouldn't be having some kind of vitamin or calcium problem.. Our other 3 females eat the same diet, and they lay eggs without a problem.
(Also, smashing up the pellets with a hammer, and hiding it in with the seed was such a good idea! It really is the only way I can trick them into eating it!) :)
Edit: Also, I never took so much care of a bird or any animal in my life as I have in the last month with Peanut! Not even when taking care of my nieces and nephews! I literally had to baby her :) Between the hot baths, then drying her off, applying mineral oil to her butt, having to give her the Baytril twice a day for two weeks, keeping the heating pad in her cage and adjusting the temperatures throughout the day, holding her up to the water dish to drink.. wow! And when she was at her most sick point, I had her laying on my chest, between folds of my blanket.. just laying there with her eyes shut. She couldnt' even move, and would fall over when she walked.. And to anyone who knwos Diamond Doves, they don't sit still! They are flighty little hyper things! That's how sick she was! It felt great to help nurse her back to health.. she truly is my little angel :) She feels more like my child than ever before (And she is my baby afterall, she's the last baby Mr and Mrs Birdy had 7 months ago! So she really IS our baby!)
She's been getting SOOO much better!! This is the strongest little bird I've ever come across. Her feathers have grown in and covering her whole belly where she had the swelling. Under her wings are no longer bald. And she finally has her feathers on her head growing back!!
The feathers on her stomach, butt and wing came out from the swelling of the egg-yolk peritonitis. Her head and neck feathers came out from a mixture of getting some of the antibiotics on her face, and that stuff was so hard to get off! I think she got annoyed and took the feathers out that still had it on her. And some were pulled out by her cagemate who was sexually frustated, I guess, that she wouldn't try to mate with him. They're still separated.
Look at how she's standing too! She stands upright completely! She had a hard time holding her body weight up because she was so weak from the infection (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/Syribo/IMG_3040.jpg You can see in that picture how she would lay more than stand).
She flies around like a little bullet! She has all of her strength back! She runs around too on her feet :) She still eats like a horse. Her eyes are brighter. She doesn't spend ANY time on the bottom of her cage!
The only bad thing is that I think she's been trying to lay again. I noticed her doing what the other doves have done when we've tried removing their nests, trying to lay in the water dishes (In fact, they HAVE laid eggs in their dishes!). So I put her nest back in and she sat in it for a bit. I felt around on her bottom and don't feel any swelling, but feel like what could be the start of an egg forming.
I called my vet and he told me it's definitely time to see the Avian Specialist. My other vet is an avian vet, but he isn't a specialist. He took care of her by removing the fluids from her stomach during my emergency visit there, and prescribing anti-biotics. He was the closest avian doctor to me. The specialist is over 30 minutes away, but now it's time to go there!
I feel good about it though. Hopefully she is a candidate for Lupron shots, which my vet definitely feels like she will need since she must have some kind of reproductive problem that won't let her lay an egg at all. This vet seems to be very highly regarded as one of the best, if not the best, on Long Island by a lot of people I know.. and I was referred to him by many other people as well.
I have an appointment for Friday. We can't get out there tomorrow.. the snow is just insane out here, and I'm afraid to even take her out in it! And Thursday he is filling in at another clinic. So Friday I will hopefully have good news! I found out the shots are only $57 each for a small bird like her, which is good :) Right now I'm fighting Workers Comp for over $7000 that they owe me, and also a penatly reward hopefully since they didn't pay me the money they were ordered to in court. I was really worried the shots would cost more money and I wouldn't be able to do anything for her! But $57 every two weeks is definitely okay!
I have faith that she will make it through this.. She was literally on her death bed. I never saw a bird so sick before. When we've had sick birds in the past, they always seemed to pass very quickly right after showing symptoms of illness. Peanut was SO sick and just SO infected... and she pulled through! This is a special little bird, she really is my angel :)
Sorry for such a long post, I just know you all understand what it's like to have a sick bird that is so close to you. I also want to state, in case anyone forgot from my previous posts, that I don't encourage them to lay eggs :) My Diamond Doves (We have 8) will lay eggs NO MATTER WHAT I do! They're crazy little things. They don't stop, even by themselves and without nests. Whenever they lay eggs, I replace the eggs with wooden dummy eggs so they can sit on them for the full 14 days and not keep laying and deplete their calcium.
They also get about a 70% pellet diet right now (I slowly began converting them from seed to pellet and seed, it's working well now!) with some finch seed mixed in (The only way they'll eat the pellets!), calcium fortified grit, cuttle bones, vitamin supplements and ground oyster shell. They also get fresh foods, fruits and veggies each day. Banana, apple, sweet potato, cornbread as a treat, etc. So Peanut shouldn't be having some kind of vitamin or calcium problem.. Our other 3 females eat the same diet, and they lay eggs without a problem.
(Also, smashing up the pellets with a hammer, and hiding it in with the seed was such a good idea! It really is the only way I can trick them into eating it!) :)
Edit: Also, I never took so much care of a bird or any animal in my life as I have in the last month with Peanut! Not even when taking care of my nieces and nephews! I literally had to baby her :) Between the hot baths, then drying her off, applying mineral oil to her butt, having to give her the Baytril twice a day for two weeks, keeping the heating pad in her cage and adjusting the temperatures throughout the day, holding her up to the water dish to drink.. wow! And when she was at her most sick point, I had her laying on my chest, between folds of my blanket.. just laying there with her eyes shut. She couldnt' even move, and would fall over when she walked.. And to anyone who knwos Diamond Doves, they don't sit still! They are flighty little hyper things! That's how sick she was! It felt great to help nurse her back to health.. she truly is my little angel :) She feels more like my child than ever before (And she is my baby afterall, she's the last baby Mr and Mrs Birdy had 7 months ago! So she really IS our baby!)