Hi,

I'm posting this on behalf of my friend who has a little parrotlet whom she loves very much.

Her bird was alone for about 2 hours this morning and when my friend got back home he was making a terrible noise, obviously in pain.

We took him to the vet, but the vet was a bit puzzled. The bird doesn't seem to have much control over his feet - sometimes he can't 'open and close' them, sometimes they're all screwed up. The vet said he was in very good condition, and gave him some metacam to try for about a week. While we were there, the bird was periodically 'twitching' - we wondered if he was having some sort of fit or stroke.

We brought the bird back home and he is now lying in a little cage with a towel in, and a towel over to make it darker. She thought he was a little cold so we have put a heatpack under the cage.

She's now worried that he can't eat - she thinks maybe his beak is clamped shut. He was very difficult to get any metacam into and as he is such a small bird he needs to eat frequently. She is going to go to Pets@Home to get some baby bird food stuff for him.

Does anyone have any advice at all? Either on what might be wrong with him, or how to get metacam and food into him, or how to make him comfortable.

This little bird means so much to her and she is very worried right now.

Thanks

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I don't suppose you know whether it's male or female

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He's a male. About 7 years old. He's a feather plucker and can't fly because of it.

My friend has just left to take him to the avian vet after your suggestion - thanks so much for that.

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I just goolgled in Parrot spasms feet and it came up with this?

Under accute especially it does mention the spasms with the feet, and its linked to symptoms like you mentioned with his feathers.

Pathogenesis of PBFD


The incubation period and clinical signs produced by this virus are very variable, depending on the infective dose (amount of virus infecting the bird), and the age of the parrot and the stage of feather development at the time of infection. As the immune system develops, birds become more resistant to infection, and the signs less severe. In general, birds over 3 years old are rarely susceptible, but cases can and do occur in older birds if heavily challenged, or maybe latent carriers become clinical following an episode of stress. In juvenile (especially hand reared) birds with an undeveloped immune system, the incubation period between infection and development of disease may be as short as 14-28 days, and illness will be severe. In older birds, incubation can be many months, and clinical signs are insidious and chronic. The course of the disease is very variable and carrier birds shedding the virus are common. It is therefore difficult to eliminate the virus from an infected population, and many collections of birds are positive.

Disease patterns may be described as:


Peracute – sudden death with no previous signs of illness in newly hatched chicks, most commonly cockatoos and African grey parrots.

Acute – mostly in nestlings or very young birds during their first phase of feather growth. There is usually a loss of powder down, with resulting shiny black beak in those birds whose beaks are usually dusty grey. There may be abnormally coloured feathers (e.g white in the normally black Vasa parrot, pink in the African Grey). Affected birds become quiet and depressed, and with a generally ‘grubby’ appearance. Many have diarrhoea, and all will succumb quickly to secondary infections. The classic manifestation of this type of PBFD is the young, recently purchased African grey parrot, showing depression, abdominal pain, bunching spasms of the legs and feet, with a post-mortem examination revealing Aspergillosis infection. This fungal invader is a common secondary problem in such an immuno-compromised bird.

Chronic – the classic form of the disease, found in older birds, with feather loss and deformity increasing with each moulting cycle. Beak and claws become brittle, necrotic, and deformed. Feather loss will eventually affect the whole body, including the head, whereas plucking parrots will have normal head feathers. This disease is invariably fatal, but individual may survive for many years if allowed to, and supported by their owners.

Carrier state – birds showing no clinical signs of the disease, but actively infected and shedding the virus to infect other birds. Usually mature birds, and commonly budgerigars, cockatoos and cockatiels.

For the full site details

Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD), veterinary advice and assistance for the parrot species

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Thanks Hawksport and SDH.

The wee chap passed on the way to the avian vet

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Yes sorry I saw after on your other thread, did post my condolences to your friend and a message on there.

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