Ok so a quick recap…
In August 2023, Milo broke a piece of his beak off for the first time, I took him to the vet the same day (avian) and they put him under and filed it and took full blood tests. Everything came back normal. Vet tells me that she has no concerns, his beak is structurally strong,
October 2023 he does it again. I take him back and see a different avian vet as the first one left. Again, she puts him under, files his beak and checks him over. She too has no concerns and tells me his beak is structurally strong,
Since then, he has broken his beak every 6-8 weeks, I stopped taking him to the vets because I felt it was a lot to keep putting him under, and each time it was eventually just evening itself out with chewing,
Then I had a couple of months where nothing happened.
Then beginning of August this year he does it again, always the same bit breaks off. I’m not too concerned, I’m used to it, it was a week before I was flying to America but when I’m away my mum moves into my house as she has been with my birds since they were chicks so she knows them like I do.
So off I go on holiday,
Then a week in, my mum says, Milo has broken his beak. I said yeah I know, it will even out. She said well he’s done it more, there’s a big V shape missing in the middle. She sends me a photo and although the break is different, I’m not too concerned. Well within 20 mins I get a phone call saying he’s being sick. Instantly I know that’s not right so I tell my mum to phone the vet. It’s 11pm by this time and my vet says I need to see him. My vet is an hour away and my mum doesn’t drive.
So I’m panicking the other side of the world, arranging someone to drive my mum and Milo while talking her through what to do. My best friend goes round to help, however Milo being stubborn will not go in his travel cage.
SO
And this is where my vet is amazing,
The head avian vet who owns the surgery, drove an hour to my house to pick him up. At one in the morning.
She took him to the surgery and gave him anti sickness, inflammation meds, fluids. He wasn’t sick anymore that night.They kept him at the surgery for 2 days just because it took soo much to get him there, they wanted to be sure. They gave him pain relief and he bounced back singing and dancing. They have special consultant rooms especially for birds so instead of the table they have perches and they let him free fly in the room for the whole time. The nurse sent me an email with photos, he was sitting on her shoulder, eating grapes and drinking mango juice as if he was in a hotel. When my mum went to pick him up, he was cross with her
but happy to come home.
Anyway, so the vet checked for crop infection etc because of sickness but couldn’t work out why he was sick. She has said she thinks where his beak broke that time, it went a little bit too low and caused him pain which made him sick. She didn’t put him out again to file the beak as she said it wasn’t that bad and would straighten out, which it now has. She did say however, that his beak is slightly weak ( first time I’ve heard this as other two who works with her said the opposite) and that he’s vitamin D deficient. I have both an aviary and a UV lamp, but don’t use either of them enough ( now I feel terrible). So I’ve been told to get the lamp on for a minimum of 2 hours every day.
The only thing that’s confusing me is that if he was vitamin D deficient, it would’ve shown on his bloods? I trust her obviously and I will do everything she says, I just feel like no one can tell me why this keeps happening and what I’m doing wrong. All ideas and thoughts welcome.
Any advice on which UV lamp is the best welcome, as I want to buy a new one.
I’m now home, and he hasn’t left my side.
Sorry for long post! X
