Anyone else with fatty liver disease?

2860 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by StarlingWings, Dec 11, 2015

Abarriger

Discussion Starter · Dec 8, 2015

Hi all,

I haven't posted lately as I have been crazy busy. But yesterday was a hard day for Kimchi, so here I am. A few days ago we noticed that his beak seemed a little overgrown, and had a strange dark spot on it. Below is the picture from just before we went to the vet, where you can kind of see it. He was acting fine otherwise, but we knew it could be indicative of fatty liver disease and some other stuff, so we brought him to our avian vet.

Short story: Kimchi likely has fatty liver disease, and also has a low level infection, probably due to a compromised liver. What the vet, and I, struggle to understand is how he could have fatty liver disease already since he is only four months old-- but the vet says all signs, particularly the texture and condition of the beak, point to it. The only conclusive test requires taking more blood than can be safely taken from a budgie. He trimmed the beak and prescribed an antibiotic.

Obviously, I know the treatment for FLD-- diet, pellets-- but this is something we have struggled with for a while. We've been trying to get Kimchi converted fully to pellets for a few months. Kimchi does not eat exclusively seed. He refuses to eat pellets on his own in the cage (to the point of staving himself) but he will happily eat them from my hand each morning and night, so I feed him those by hand each day. He also is a pretty good veggie eater. The vet said there is likely a genetic component as well, and to keep working to change the diet now, but I can't stress him out too much since he is sick.

Does anyone else have birds with FLD? How have you handled it? We're feeling very scared and are unsure how to proceed.

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FaeryBee

· #2 · Dec 8, 2015

Amy,

I'm so sorry to hear that Kimchi is suffering from Fatty Liver Disease.

I see you are in the Chicago area.
Are you using Dr. Peter Sakas in Niles as your Avian Vet? He comes highly recommended and has written many informative articles about Avian care.
I believe he would be able help you find the best way to care for Kimchi at this time.

This article may be of some interest and hopeful helpful to you. I'll try to see if I can locate any other information that might help.

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Teddscau

· #3 · Dec 9, 2015

I'd buy some Lily of the Desert Detox Formula. It should get his liver working better and will detox his body. If you're giving him pellets, I'd recommend Goldenfeast Goldn'Obles III. I'd also recommend giving him sprouted seeds and lots of healthy veggies as the main part of his diet, with Goldn'Obles III available at all times in its own dish. You can also buy Liver Detox by AvianRX.

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RavensGryf

· #4 · Dec 9, 2015

I'm so sorry to hear about Kimchi, Amy

. I'm surprised too since he is a baby. I wish you and Kimchi the best of luck with this. :hug: Good vibes and lots of healing

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Abarriger

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 9, 2015

FaeryBee said:
Amy,

I'm so sorry to hear that Kimchi is suffering from Fatty Liver Disease.

I see you are in the Chicago area.
Are you using Dr. Peter Sakas in Niles as your Avian Vet? He comes highly recommended and has written many informative articles about Avian care.
I believe he would be able help you find the best way to care for Kimchi at this time.

This article may be of some interest and hopeful helpful to you. I'll try to see if I can locate any other information that might help.

Our vet is actually Byron De LaNavarre, out of Chicago Animal House. I too have heard good things about Dr. Sakas, but he is over an hour's drive from me, and I'm pretty happy with our doctor (who is a board certified avian vet.) I'm hesitant to go so far away since, in his condition, Kimchi will likely need to return often for check-ups and beak trimming... but if I ever question our doctor, I would certainly consider it.

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Cody

· #6 · Dec 9, 2015

Hi Amy,
So sorry to hear about this, it is certainly a surprise given the young age of Kimchi. Dr. Sakas is my vet and has treated one of my birds that had fatty liver, the bird also had other complications and passed away of a kidney tumor. A second opinion from another doctor would not hurt. I would not give Kimchi any over the counter remedies without clearing it with the vet. Sometimes these things can interfere with whatever meds the vet has given, rendering them less effective.

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Abarriger

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 10, 2015

Cody said:
Hi Amy,
So sorry to hear about this, it is certainly a surprise given the young age of Kimchi. Dr. Sakas is my vet and has treated one of my birds that had fatty liver, the bird also had other complications and passed away of a kidney tumor. A second opinion from another doctor would not hurt. I would not give Kimchi any over the counter remedies without clearing it with the vet. Sometimes these things can interfere with whatever meds the vet has given, rendering them less effective.

I do regret not going to Dr. Sakas initially-- I didn't think Kimchi had any health issues, though, and I was anticipating an easy check up on our first trip. We will see how his condition progresses, and I'll consider a second opinion, but its not a small cost. What treatment did Dr. Sakas prescribe for your little guy?

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StarlingWings

· #8 · Dec 11, 2015

I'm sorry that little Kimchi is experiencing this at such an early age!

I can say from experience that I had a scare a few months before I started posting on here where I thought Mallorn had been exhibiting the early stages of FLD (irregular droppings, overgrown beak) and she had been on an all-seed diet at the time, so I supplemented her seed with a little tumeric powder every day (has detoxifying properties) and gave her milk thistle in her water every day. She didn't have it, thankfully, but at least she learned to like pellets in that time and the tumeric and milk thistle did some great things.

I know he's on meds right now but maybe while he's in remission, one of these things could help.

I'm praying for a swift and speedy recovery! :fingerx:

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