Dennis was OK this morning at 8am, but steadily got worse through the day. It's Sunday but I managed to get an appointment in Worthing 12 miles away, the chap there wasn't an avian vet but gave a shot of Baytril which Den has had before. I'll be seeing the avian vet tomorrow if Den is still around. She last saw him about 2 months ago as he had an ear infection, and he was in great shape a couple of weeks afterwards..

The bloke I saw today said I have to get fluids into him and I have a 1cc syringe - for lack of anywhere open who sells glucose powder, I have dissolved a little sugar and a tiny amount of salt in water and I'm using that, but has anyone any better ideas?

I'm picking him up and dropping water into the gap in his beak, he is very weak and emaciated due to a longer running condition which he's had since I got him last October and I think he's run out of energy.

Any tips on giving him the best chance would be appreciated...

Update - Well my attempts at getting water into him may have been in vain, he went just after 6-30. God bless you little Den!

What a shame...Sounds like he needed help a long time ago.

Anyone wanting glucose...go to your local supermarket with a pharmacy...they should have it,and many open late.
The first thing with a sickly bird is provide heat...but make sure the bird can move away from the heat source if it wants to.Heat can recover more birds than anything else short term.Around 80/90f.

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Sorry to hear about your loss. Birds tend to mask the signs of illness very well. Once you notice something is wrong, it is often an emergency situation where time is of the essence. Also when they are really weak, for instance can't stand up on their own, giving them oral rehydration can make the situation worse for them - sub cutaneous administration of fluids is better. Warmth, low stress and fluids can be enough to save a bird in the short term, but in your case it sounds like your little fellow had a worse underlying problem and he was just too weak to respond to your care.

Thanks for your replies - when I got him I didn't have the benefit of knowing what he was like in perfect health, also the first vet I took him to wasn't great with hindsight.

I thought he was just a laid-back bird. 2 months ago he had an awful ear infection and I ended up with 3 different meds to give him for 10 days - after that he really perked up and was singing like I had never heard him before, but then started quieting down again. I had a phone consultaion with the vet after that, had him on Metronidazole (I think) for a bit, but he just ran out of fat/muscle reserves in the end I suppose.

But I'll do my head in wondering if I could have done this or that better! So had better not - instead I'll focus on the good bits, I expect he might have known how loved he was.