Tooki's Story

by Sharon Bloch
October 2001

History
4/49/2000
Tooki is a breeder Timneh African Grey who was wild caught. We know he is at least 21+ years old. When rescued from his older owner, he was sitting on a perch in a home filled with cigarette smoke. His nails were curled up, his left eye was collapsed in his head, the right eye was barely open. There was a growth under his beak, which was very overgrown, and his left wing was hanging down. He was almost all black, including the tail and beak. There was no Timneh coloration on him. The feathers in the front were
mottled instead of the "V" shaped pattern of dark and light feathers that most Timnehs show.

His known diet was sunflower seeds until the adult daughter had purchased a better seed mix for him recently. He did not flinch when I went to towel him. We brought him from Phoenix to Tucson. He hung from the top of the cage almost the entire trip.

First Vet Visit. 2.5 hours
Right eye. There is no current infection going on. The eye was swabbed to check and it was negative. Heart strong, lungs clear ( surprisingly for having been in a smoke filled environment) The cyst was encapsulated and was lanced.

Weight is within normal ranges. Keel bone is very pronounced ( nutritional factors most likely) Vet feels there is an infection going on as she could smell it when she was near his head, but the sinuses showed no infection. Blood drawn and culture taken. Until the results of the culture, there will be no medical action taken.

Diet Changes
Tooki was given Dr Harvey's Naturals as a seed base. He was also given a warm mix containing: brown rice, other grains, lentils, wild rices, peas, sunflower seed, millet, and buckwheat. There were also veggies mixed into this "hot meal" for him everyday. Cranberry juice was added to his water as he seemed to like it. As he started eating more of the seed mix, I would take out sunflower seeds. He would also eat scrambled eggs with garlic in them.

Results of blood and cultures
All blood work came back within normal ranges. E Coli and other bacterial agents present. The pscittacosis test had to be run again as whatever Tooki has killed all the cells. (need live cells for this test)

2nd Vet Visit
Growth again lanced. Lost 24 grams. Eye was swabbed to check for pseudemonas. Told vet about the tapeworm segments that have been hanging out his chloaca.

Discharge from the Nares. The discharge was smelly and thick. At some points in time, I would have to syringe it out 2 -3 times a day. Tooki would let me hold him on my lap while I sucked it out. His sinus under the eye would bulge out letting me know it was time to get it out. A sample of this was taken to the vet for culturing. Klebsiella and a few other bacteria were found. The initial call from the vet was to tell me that this stuff was toxic!

Tooki's General Attitude
Tooki was able to be held from the beginning. He could be preened and stroked all over his body. Surprising for a wild caught breeder grey.
Loved to explore when put on the floor. Started to play with toys.

Homeopathic consult and regimen May 2000 and up ( presented by my homeopathic educator)
Tooki was very lethargic, not very interested in anything. Did not play or speak. Displayed no usual African Grey behaviors. Had a growth on the neck area, loss of left eye, right eye held closed or half-way, eyeball appeared normal, had overall appearance of being very dull and dry. Stayed in one place in cage. Head held downward. Left eye appeared missing. Eye lids stuck in an open position to what would be eyeball. Eyeball area appeared leathery with no sign of eyeball. No history of what happened to eye.
Tooki enjoyed being held close and softly spoken to. (Consolation amel.) Didn't like being in open spaces. Wanted to hide (desire, hide).

History: Mate died (Grief). Tooki spent most of 20 years isolated with little attention (Forsaken). Lived in smoke filled environment.

Vet tests showed e-coli infection, no bacteria in right eye, blood a little anemic (low normal), everything else OK. Growth on neck was encapsulated and removed twice. After being removed the first time, it came back. After being on remedy for awhile, it did not come back after second removal.

May 9: Began Puls. 6C 1X,
Several weeks after taking this remedy, behavior changes began and tapeworm appeared hanging out of his rectum. Tooki also had yellow and green junk come out of his nares for about 2 weeks and then some coming from his good eye. (This was good sign as Puls addresses these things.) Both cleared up without allopathic medications. Searched under tapeworm and found puls is a remedy used for it. Tooki has began to play, make noises, eat well. About 4 weeks into remedy Tooki displayed anger and aggressiveness. Sharon indicated that his behavior was becoming more normal for an African Grey.

June 10: Tooki came for a visit. His left eye had changed. You could see the remnants of an eyeball, there was liquidity in the eye area, he was able to move the lids and the "dryness" was not as apparent. The eye lids looked more normal. He moved around the cage, was interested in what was happening.

June 21: Tooki is displaying more anger and much more aggressiveness. (Time for remedy change) Has started saying words and travels outside his cage onto the Lovebird's cage. Went to 2x day and will move to 9C. Day after going to 2x tapeworm appeared again and was much shorter. Tooki has also begun to molt , which according to Sharon is a sign of health in a bird. Sharon will be doing visualization of health with Tooki focused on his eyes. Tooki's feathers are brighter and he generally looks and behaves much healthier.

Tooki continued to make progress through the remedy. Went to 9C 2x a day to 12c between July and Aug. Developed swelling in right sinus area with crustiness around eye. Important to keep eye open as much as possible by wiping it with moist cloth. No sign of the tapeworm.

Oct. 7: Right sinus still filling with clear gooey mucus. Eye has clear sticky mucus in it. Feathers are growing and he is singing, chirping and walking around bird room. All signs of progress. Sharon continues to drain discharge out of sinus by sucking it out of the nare. Went to 12C 2x day.

Nov. 2: Right nare gets clogged and crusty. Nare became soft. Used very diluted mixture of Calendula and purified water for several days. Clear gooey mucus still fills sinus. Eye is looking good, but crusty (no sign of sinking in, no changes in color or size). Weight stable. Sleeps on tree perch - not have to be (nor wants to be) in cage. Will sit on Sharon's finger.
Disposition good. Allowed to be handled by vet. No cowering or hiding. Went to 12c and 15c together every other day until 11th and then evaluate. Tooki needs to be moved and handled carefully through the potencies.

Nov. 6: Stuff in Tooki's sinus is a virulent bacteria according to vet (puls is a major infection remedy). Since change in potency and frequency Sharon observed that there is less mucus, less crustiness around eye and nare. Tooki continues to eat well and thrive. His spirit is rising to the need and he is evolving nicely past his state of being.

Nov. 7: Spoke with Dr. Judy. She's very pleased with Tooki's changes. Said the bacteria could go systemic either way (surgery, antibiotics or homeopathy). She said she would rather proceed without surgery since he's doing so well. The choice, of course, is Sharon's. Dr. Judy said she was very impressed with what is happening with him. Sharon chose to
continue without surgery.

11/9: The discharge increased again. Went to 15c every other day.

11/16: Discharge is the same. He's having a great time in the bird room.

11/22: Tooki is playing with a whistle and has learned to make a whistle sound. 50% of the time his eye is not crusted in morning Sharon only has to drain mucus 2x a day.

12/5: Discharge became thick and yellow. He's miserable. Went to 1x day at 15c. He was found behind the door in a bookcase (going backward to the beginning when he wanted to hide). Stopped playing and eating. Lost 30 grams.

12/10: The 15c held for only a short time. Tooky declined again. He stopped eating and has lost weight. Very quiet.

12/12: Went to 15c & 30C together. Responded. Started eating and gained some weight back. Discharge is less and turned clear. Eye still somewhat crusty. Because Tooki has been so compromised, it is important that Sharon notify her educator of changes immediately. Appears that we have made it through this crisis.

12/20: Discharge stinky. Some distress breathing. Gained back some weight. Exploring the house. Went to 30C.

12/30: No discharge, eye open, nare is clear, and gained back some of the weight he lost.

1/20: Continues to improve on 30c. He is playing, gained back all the weight he lost, he is molting, his feathers are growing, has red feathers in back, beak is lightening up, goes all over the place and has developed quite a personality. The bad eye has continued to change composition. You can see the eye which looks "wet" whereas before homeopathy it looked leathery. You can see the parts of the eye although it is flat. Had developed a place on head that was oozing, but it has gone away. Good eye is open and he appears to be seeing better. Just recently ran across the floor!

Since this report has been given to me, Tooki has had no discharge or smell from his nares since December of 2000.

He is now on puls 100C 1x a day.
Tooki has never been on anything but his homeopathic remedy.

Spring 2001
Tooki was seen by an eye specialist in Phoenix. Her findings were that the left eye for whatever reason has just collapsed into the eye socket (trauma, a blow to the head). there is no infection or any other foreign bodies in it. Right eye seems to function normally but should have eye drops as it could be a bit drier than normal. She said he has no depth perception.
But I beg to differ when I see him chase another bird throughout the bird room.

July 2001
Today, Tooki is the terror of the bird room. He has a feisty attitude, is allowed freedom most of the time to go where ever he wants, eats well of everything that is put in his dish (and other birds' dishes), plays with toys, and is able to navigate anything. Favorite pastime is to chase the yellow collared macaw over various cages and standing trees ( macaw is flighted to get away from Tooki) and loves to be held and snuggled by me.

We have established a routine in the morning where I now pick him up and take him to be weighed. He had some serious weight losses and was being weighed twice a day for a while. He does this without any problem.
I then "hug" him to check his breathing and other physical well being and smell his nares for infection. There has been none for months.

I am allowed to do this without any aggression on his part. Formerly I would have to towel him. Now all I do is ask him to "step up" and he will.
Sometimes when he is somewhere he doesn't want to be, he will put his foot up if he hears me so I can put him back on his place. He is fearless and will take on any bird in the room (hence the going in his cage when I am not around or the other bird is out that he loves to take on).

He talks minimally and imitates almost everything that the Congo Grey does (except for words.) He is active, interacts with the other birds but especially loves to irritate them. His feathers are now the normal Timneh coloring with a maroon tail and the V in the front showing dark and light feather
coloration. His Beak remains black. His attitude is that of a normal Timneh. As we say here: Timnehs have 'tudes!

Shar Bloch