Taking Medications Without Training or Restraint! | Cooperative Care

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[@mehere8038]

I've become a bit of an expert on getting yucky medications into birds, due to one of my (fussy eater) lorikeet being on long term pain relief & apparently lorikeets don't like meloxicam (standard bird pain meds), despite most birds loving it. I ABSOLUTELY agree with you on the warming the food thing. It can trigger hormones a bit, but it makes life MUCH easier. For the vet formulated meloxicam at least, it dissolves MUCH better in warm vs cool liquid/paste too. My lorikeets were syringe trained well before my boy started meds, cause it was the easiest way to administer treats that lorikeets liked, but I often don't use a syringe with his meds & I think it's worth noting that this is an option. I have little, cut down human medication containers that I mostly use, cause for whatever reason, my boy just likes his meds from that better than a syringe & mixed with the right food, he'll lick the bowl, if he doesn't lick it clean, I add an extra bit of food/juice to make sure he gets all the meds. I measure in the syringe, then squirt it into the corner of a little bowl (container is about 1cm high & 2-3cms wide), then I add the food of choice (liquid or mush, either works fine in a little bowl), then I sit it on a larger container of hot water & use a metal skewer to stir (nice thin, non-absorbent stirrer, so meds aren't lost to it), or I draw up & squirt out of the syringe & swish the syringe around in it to mix it that way, then give to my bird, either in the container, or in the syringe, whichever he's in the mood for eating from at that time. If keeping the container sitting at a bit of an angle, it's possible to keep the meds & food in just one part of it, making it easier to ensure all goes into the bird too, without them needing to lick the bowl clean So for non-syringe trained birds in particular, I would actually dump the syringe & just use a small container, or lid of a container (if you can find one without ridges that catch meds & food in them), cause I think it's often easier. If using syringes though & for measuring meds, there are syringes that have plungers that extend into the syringe neck, so no meds are left behind. Other tips I have, if possible, match the food to the medication's claimed flavour, for example, my bird actually started on nurofen, due to the pandemic lockdown & trouble getting to the vet in person with that & prescribing restrictions if not physically seen. He was having grape flavour nurofen & so mixed with grape juice, he drank with no issue at all, but mixed with any other flavour, it was a struggle & a case of constantly topping up the syringe with juice hits to get him drinking it, then onto the med flavour & he'd stop, then another top up to get a little more in etc etc, but the grape juice obviously masked the meds flavour well, since I could dilute it about a 1 to 4 ratio with that, vs a 1 to 20-50 for any other juice (the longer it went on for, the more dilution was needed, cause he got wise to the meds being in the syringe). Other option to consider is talking to the vet about different options for the meds to be prescribed in. While having HUGE dramas getting the vet's meloxicam into my bird (and high expense for it) a human friend with arthritis offered to share her meloxicam with my bird to save me money - well it not only saved a LOT of money ($41.80 for equal to 2 human capsules worth of meds, vs 30 human capsules here costs just $10), but the MUCH bigger discovery was that in the human form, it was such concentrated powder, that it was super easy to get into him, so vet's reviewed how I'm "compounding" it myself at home & is happy with it & bird's lost weight (rather important with arthritis), cause of no longer needing a tonne of treats mixed in with the meds to get them into him, plus on the meds, he actually exercises, cause the pain's controlled. I mix one human capsule contents with 50 measures of his regular nectar mix, then give 1 measure per dose, with equal amounts water to nectar mix. The measure I use is a 1/8th tsp of nectar & 1/8th tsp water or grape juice (juice if he's not hungry at the time), in a little bowl & he licks it clean & if he doesn't, I put an extra 1/2ml or so of grape juice into the container after he's had his meds from it & shake it round to pick up any remaining meds, then he licks that all off to get all his meds. Occasionally he does a head shake, when he clearly got a grain or 2 of the meloxicam powder on his tongue while doing the final bowl lick, but overall, the amount is so low, he doesn't even taste it & it was clearly whatever it had been compounded with by the vet that he hated, not the meds themselves. There is a LOT of cross over with human & animal meds & a lot of human pharmacies can compound for bird & other animal meds, so if you get a script from the vet, rather than the meds, you can often talk to them about how it will be administered, to make it as suitable as possible for the bird. General rule, if the meds are liquid, they need to be compounded with a liquid, if they're solid, they can be compounded with a powder if preferred. If the pharmacy is compounding, they will generally want to put each dose into a capsule, so there's no chance of incorrect dose, but no reason not to give the pharmacy the baby bird food or whatever the bird most likes & have them use that as the base to compound the meds into, then just open the capsule contents into a little container, mix with warm water & either suck up into a syringe, or let the bird eat directly from the container. I totally agree, talk to your bird's avian vet about options & note there are a variety of flavour options they have for meds if a bird hates a particular one, but if stuck, hopefully some of the above will help in the conversation with the avian vet, as to what the options are for ease of delivery

[@galeem713]

As a former nurse, I can control the syringe easily. All my birds take to the syringe. I give them great stuff in the syringe sporadically. I use a delmonte mix of applesauce, peach and carrot. If you pull in some air into the syringe and put the tip down to bring the bubble to the plunger, and then bring the food to the tip, you get all of your meds out with a little fart at the end.

[@FlockTalk]

Ooh that’s clever! I’ll have to try that air trick!

[@kate_is_great]

Courtney, this is off topic, but I would really LOVE to see more videos about making toys. I would like to see how you would make one from scratch, using spare parts you have on hand. Thanks!

[@FlockTalk]

I’ve been wanting to do more like that lately I’m just struggling on a format I’d like to do it in!

[@selinamularz9194]

Thank you so much for this video. I adopted a rescued cockatiel a week ago, and he was very sick. We managed to get him to the vet in time to save him, but he absolutely hates me for all the toweling. My hand raised girl that ive had for 6 months has tested for gastric yeast, and she's going to need meds for a month. She trusts me and I'm so worried that I'm going to lose her trust if i towel her. She's a piggy so I'm hoping i can get her to eat her meds willingly.

[@galeem713]

Smart bird. Peanuts have a lot of mould in them. I use cashew butter.

[@djcripel]

Thanks for the video! Experienced tips, e.g., using another syringe first. Good job Newt too!

[@susannemichelsen8879]

My bird is very anti veggies. I tried everything from veggie bake, chop, and feeding by hand ....he walks around veggies and picks seeds or pasta or quinoa. For a while, he liked the bake and my baked cookies made from pumpkin, applesauce, and oats. I had to stop to introduce him to a different approach because he didn't eat it anymore. I am still not happy when I see other birds on these KZbin videos eating their chop. Unfortunately, I am not home in the morning to watch what he eats, but on the weekend .... and I am not happy and content with what he eats. You adopted your bird. Did the previous owner disclose what he liked? I did not have any info. So, any tip you might have I appreciate. I listened to so many already, but nothing makes him love chop more. Everyone on here has some new ideas that I used in the past and helped with other issues. Thank you for reading/listening 😊

[@fountainpeninsanity3344]

I never knew that hot water was what made my syringes stop working. The whole video is great information to have, but this information in particular will be frequently useful to me. Thank you!

[@hijadewebber]

Your videos are extremely helpful, thank you! I am going to start training pikachu with a syringe hopefully before we have to try this

[@audiepaudie6613]

This is really helpful, thank you! Hope you and Newt are doing great❤

[@DBoyd-qq8zt]

Firstly, I’m so sorry about Mia. I know pet loss, for me is just as bad as losing any other family member. I’ve been having to give my CAG 5 different meds for about 6 months now for an injury in his “arm pit” region that won’t heal quickly due to the specific area of injury. I wish I had known about this technique. Thank you for sharing! ❤ …

[@kate_is_great]

Great video. You have been on my mind Courtney...I know you are grieving and I can relate too well. You will find peace in time. Sending my love to you and your flock.

[@StoneE4]

I haven't seen peanut butter separate like that since the mid 90's when I was eating it out of an MRE. The packeted, spreadable cheese did the same thing. If you didn't knead your peanut butter and cheese properly you were in for an unpalatable, oleaginous surprise... Good times. 😏

[@rajatcn]

Very helpful! And Newt is so cute (hey that rhymes too!) :)

[@alaakhalifatouahria9861]

Is peanut butter okay for canaries and gouldian finches ?

[@WonderfulWorldofAwesomeness]

This is awesome. I had to administer an antibiotic to my parrotlet and now he’s scared to ride my shoulder into the bathroom because that is where the “horror” of me grabbing him occurred. Can I ask what flavor baby formula you used? Thank you again for this video

[@FlockTalk]

It doesn’t specify a flavour on the bag, it’s just Harrison’s recovery formula which I imagine tastes like a mix between pellets and seeds since it’s nutritionally complete highly concentrated food for sick animals

[@audiepaudie6613]

Hey Flock-Talk I have a question Since Newt is a Green cheek conure (I think, I may be wrong) Would you recommend a conure for a 5 person family? I've been deciding on getting a conure but my father constantly tells me that conures constantly scream and they only get attached to one person. Is this true? He says that conures are generally an aggressive bird type and that the only thing they do is scream. I don't think this is correct and I have tried telling him; but he tells me that his friends whom have gotten conures told him and showed him that all they did was scream and bite. I've told him that I've been researching ever since I can remember but he says he still knows better than me as he had experience with birds in the past (I don't remember if he said they used to breed birds or what he said, something similar) Honestly, I'm considering getting either a sun, cinnamon or green cheek conure now. Please tell me what he says isn't true, because I don't believe a bird can just be born aggressive without it being workable (by that I mean it can't be trained otherwise) I do want to add that it's outside aviary will be a few meters long and about a meter and a half wide. I will have an inside cage that will be completely for bedtime, nothing else. And I will only be getting the bird once I've got time, as I live on a farm and will be staying at a hostel. One more question, I will be going to America in a few years so is it possible to fly with a conure? I don't think I could trust anyone to take care of my bird properly while I'm away, plus the bird might enjoy it there. Thank you for reading anyway, bye! ❤

[@FlockTalk]

Newt is a maroon bellied conure which does have some different character traits from a GCC. In general neither are particularly prone to aggression, aggression is a behaviour not a personality trait. Some birds can be prone to one person aggression and that usually relates back to their natural flocking patterns. In general birds who live in large flocks or social nests will be more open to multiple people while birds who live in smaller flocks and form pairings for life may present more aggression. That’s a trait that’s dictated by their genetics but doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t be worked with. You can teach them to tolerate multiple people even if they mostly attach to one. The first few months with a new bird are what tend to influence one person aggression severity. If you make a point of having every family member play a critical role to the flock (feeding, cleaning, handling, preening) then everyone will have value to the group and it’s less likely for them to attach to one person.

[@FlockTalk]

Travelling with birds is totally possible it’s just very stressful for them and can be quite a process with some airlines requiring the animals to be held in quarantine at their facility for a period of time prior to the travel. It’s usually less stressful on the bird if you make the time to teach someone how to care for them so they don’t have to adapt to a whole new environment, loud scary planes, and quarantine periods.

[@tarajh]

If "all" a bird does is scream and bite, that's a failure on the part of the person, not the bird.

[@dellieb6337]

Baby food?

[@FlockTalk]

Like the jars of puréed fruits and veggies! Not human baby formula