Baby bird inhaled some watery Exact - help

[Perkutut]

I'm raising a baby zebra dove that was abandoned. I think he's about 2 to 2-1/2 weeks old. I've had the baby about 10 days and everything was going very well until this evening. The baby eats voraciously and I've been mostly feeding him Exact from a Dixie cup with a hole in the side. Tonight he sucked it up and I'm arfraid he may have inhaled a bit. He started to cough immediately upon doing this but finished eating. He seemed ok at first. Now he has a cough and somewhat difficult breathing. He still peeps. He doesn't drink water yet. I offered him some food a little bit ago and he tried to eat but started to cough and wouldn't eat. Please advise. If he's the same tomorrow, I will take him to a vet, however, I'm not sure there is an avian vet where I live. Please help. I really love this little bird and hate to see him like this.

[fallenweeble]

hi there,
thanks for taking on this little fellow. i'm a newbie and so i don't have specific advice for you (someone will be along shortly i'm sure who will be able to give some very good info). however, i think it is a good sign that the baby did not do worse after the inital incident (i've heard that a baby who takes food into the lungs usually will go down very very quickly).
where are you located exactly?
- weeble

[Perkutut]

Thanks so much for your quick reply. This just happened about 3 hours ago. I'm in Maui.

[fallenweeble]

okay, so just stay calm and hang in there. there are many good folks on this site - and several of them have long-term bird rehab experience. i'm certain that someone will pop up soon who will have very good advice.
in the mean time just keep the baby warm and let it rest a bit. it sounds silly perhaps but try to imagine the baby bird well, warm, healthy - send that energy towards it (it certainly CAN'T hurt and it MIGHT help so why not right?).
i am in california so i don't have info on avian vets in maui. have you done a search (like google) to see if anyone is local to you?

[Perkutut]

Thanks for you reassuring words. The baby is resting, albeit wheezing a bit. I'll check on local vets. Thanks again.

[firstimer]

I found this website that might be of some help to you.
http://www.starlingtalk.com/babycare.htm
I myself have used these methods. I would suggest keeping a close eye on the little bird and keep it warm and just try to feed it a little at a time so it wont get all choked up again. I'm sure you can do this, but if you fear something is wrong then take it to the closest vet. I'll say a prayer for you guys and please keep us posted. pictures are always very helpful as well.
Good luck
and YOU CAN DO IT!

Firstimer

[Perkutut]

Thanks for the reference on taking care of baby birds and your kind wishes. I'll post some photos later and let you know how it all goes.

[Reti]

If you think she did aspirate formula, even a very thin. watery formula you will have to start her on antibiotics, preferably Baytril or Cipro. The reason is she can develop pneumonia which is deadly. The formula in her lungs is a good medium for developing bacteria.

Reti

[Perkutut]

Dear Reti,
Thanks for your reply. The baby is sleeping now and breathes heavily so I'm pretty sure it did get some in it's lungs. I will go to a vet first thing in the morning for some antibiotics.
Best regards,

[Pidgey]

Besides a systemic antibiotic, you can try a nebulized treatment of saline and Gentamicin.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

This link is to a past thread and explains that process which you will have to get your vet to do. They should have a setup for doing the same thing to small animals:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?p=184500

Pidgey

[feralpigeon]

Here's a link to our Resource Section that has alot of good info on the
care of babies:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f25/

And from the Rescue/Rehab "sticky", this link for vets in your area:

http://www.aav.org/activemembers.html#h

In the event that you have any difficulty in obtaining Cipro or Baytril at the
Vets, you can call (don't place online as you won't get the expedited shipping
option) one of the links that sell Baytril and have some expedited to you.

I believe it takes 4-5 days for Aspirtation Pneumonia to develop.
Here is the link to the Pij Supply Houses, look at the most recent entry in
that link:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=9455

Thanks for helping the baby and hope things go well for you today in procuring some meds.

fp

[Perkutut]

Thank you all so much for the information and resources. It is 6:30 am here in Hawaii and the baby is still breathing with some diffuculty but made it through the night! I will arrange an emergency visit to an avian trained vet on the list you provided here in Kihei, Maui this morning. I will copy this thread so he can see all of your suggestions. This website is so great. Thank you / mahalo.

[maryjane]

Originally Posted by fallenweeble

okay, so just stay calm and hang in there. there are many good folks on this site - and several of them have long-term bird rehab experience. i'm certain that someone will pop up soon who will have very good advice.
in the mean time just keep the baby warm and let it rest a bit. it sounds silly perhaps but try to imagine the baby bird well, warm, healthy - send that energy towards it (it certainly CAN'T hurt and it MIGHT help so why not right?).
i am in california so i don't have info on avian vets in maui. have you done a search (like google) to see if anyone is local to you?

Weeble, I love the way you think.

I hope the baby does fine after the vet visit, and thank you for taking such good care of her. Try not to feel bad as this can happen to anyone. We look forward to hearing about the little dove's progress, and pictures!

[Perkutut]

I'm sorry to tell you all that Perkutut (the baby zebra dove's name) died today. I took him to the vet here in Kihei, Maui, as soon as the his office opened at 8 am The vet's office, registered on aav.org, took him in as an office hours emergency. I wasn't able to talk to the vet because he was busy. I called at around 11 am and they said Perkutut was doing fine and had eaten. I asked them if they had done any procedures...they had not. They said to call again at around 2:30 pm. Instead of calling, I went to the office. I asked to speak to the vet. I sat around for a long while before I was able to talk to his assistant....I guess because I was an emergency and maybe this was 'just' a wild bird. Finally, an assistant came and told me that Perkutut was doing fine. She told me that the vet was going to take a culture from a swab of the dove's throat. I told her I had questions for the vet. I waited another while. Another assistant came and said they were prescribing medication. She came out with Perkutut and a vial of fluconazole suspension and told me the dosage to give the baby bird once a day. She was ready to send me away but I asked her to give Perkutut's dosage for today in order to show me how it's done. She did this in the waiting room. I was never able to talk to the vet despite asking several times. I left some written questions I had with the receptionist. They charged me $156. I took Perkutut home (a 10 minute drive) and he seemed fine. After we got home he was fine for a while then went into convulsions and, sadly, died. I really loved this little bird.

I called the vet immediately told them that Perkutut died when I got home. I got an assistant who talked to the vet. She relayed that the vet told her that the bird probably died from stress. I was somewhat shocked by this vet. He never made an effort to talk to me at all. I was never able to explain to him what happened and how the bird's behavior changed after inhaling the baby bird formula. Why did he wait so long to look at Perkutut? Why didn't he refer me to another vet if he was so busy? I asked the assistant to talk to the vet about the charges and to let me know if they could do anything about them....perhaps reducing them considering the circumstances. I am hoping this vet will see that I was trying to nurse this wild baby bird back to health (and return him to the wild). Perhaps he has no compassion? I've heard of other vets donating their services to wildlife rehab centers on the US mainland. It's now past his closing time and I'm crying due to losing the baby Perkutut and haven't heard a thing from this vet.

I know I did everything I could to save this bird's life. I sure wish I had tried to get medications and do the medicating on my own after my experience with this veterinarian. Sorry about the rant, but I am angry and hearbroken.

Thanks to all the kind-hearted people with the advice on this website. You are the best.