Feeding a sick bird irresistible food

[bohemian.darling]

I'm looking for general feedback. I have a bird who has a pretty significant upper respiratory illness. Of course I didn't notice until she was already pretty weak (weak enough to actually show me any symptoms - they so love to hide their weakness from the flock). On the plus side, she was still eating and drinking when I caught it. She got an antibiotic shot at the vet today, but didn't want to eat or drink when I got her home. So I thought, "How do I get some moisture and nutrition into this bird without putting her through the stress of syringe feeding?" And the answer in my brain was "Cat food! They loooove cat food." But I only gave her a little bit, cause I know it's not a great idea for them to eat a ton of cat food. She was wayyyy into it.

Next nibbles I decided on were albacore tuna bits , and I got really smart here and poured the juice into her water bowl. She ate it up like it was Christmas, and even discovered her delicious water.

Next I'll scramble some eggs and maybe mix a little tuna in to keep it interesting.

So, any other suggestions? Should I limit the tuna and or eggs for any reason or just let her eat all she wants? I like these food choices because they are water-heavy, in case she stops drinking fluids again.

Thanks, y'all!

 

[dawg53]

I'm looking for general feedback. I have a bird who has a pretty significant upper respiratory illness. Of course I didn't notice until she was already pretty weak (weak enough to actually show me any symptoms - they so love to hide their weakness from the flock). On the plus side, she was still eating and drinking when I caught it. She got an antibiotic shot at the vet today, but didn't want to eat or drink when I got her home. So I thought, "How do I get some moisture and nutrition into this bird without putting her through the stress of syringe feeding?" And the answer in my brain was "Cat food! They loooove cat food." But I only gave her a little bit, cause I know it's not a great idea for them to eat a ton of cat food. She was wayyyy into it.

Next nibbles I decided on were albacore tuna bits , and I got really smart here and poured the juice into her water bowl. She ate it ld be up like it was Christmas, and even discovered her delicious water.

Next I'll scramble some eggs and maybe mix a little tuna in to keep it interesting.

So, any other suggestions? Should I limit the tuna and or eggs for any reason or just let her eat all she wants? I like these food choices because they are water-heavy, in case she stops drinking fluids again.

Thanks, y'all!

The problem with cat food and human foods are the high sodium content of these products. It's bad for us and it's bad for chickens. Also a diet high in protein can cause gout later down the road in poultry. Probios or buttermilk mixed with scrambled egg for a few days would be best. Then mix it in her feed to make a mash for a few more days. Then wean her off this and back to her regular layer feed. There is another option; birds with respiratory diseases should be culled to prevent the problem from spreading to other birds in your flock.

 

[bohemian.darling]

Thanks! I wondered about the sodium, although I think the tuna is in spring water so it's probably not super high in sodium content.

I'll do eggs and buttermilk, like you suggested. As for culling, I have her isolated in a crate in the house, so no worries there.

Thanks again!!