so ivy and i had our 2:30 appointment for her runny nose. the doc looked her over and said the inside of her nose is really red and there is a lot of mucus built up in her sinuses. he said that he thought ivy was probably swallowing down a lot of mucus today. he did a culture which will come back on friday and she is currently on baytril at least until then. if she has an infection, she will stay on it for a while longer. but the vet said he is leaning towards allergies over an infection. i've been racking my brain though and i can't think of anything new she has been introduced to. no new foods recently, no sprays in the house...i just can't think of what could be causing it. i have allergies myself, so i would think i would be affected to if it were pollen/mold/etc.

are there things that birds are "commonly" allergic too? i hope i can pinpoint it if it is indeed allergies. i know how miserable it feels to be stuffed up like that.

any help, ideas, or suggestions are much appreciated.

Sweet Ivy! I am glad it doesn't seem to be anything very serious. Wonder what in the world she came in contact with. Give her love from us! Ruby says "blow your nose Ivy!"

Poor thing. I am glad that it seems to be something, that isnt a serious thing. I was worried cause I never seen anything like that. I want to know more when you find out though cause, its nice to know things, when I finally do get a bird. Especially since I want a macaw. Anyways keeps us posted. ~Jenna

i hope its nothing too serious

if they are leaning towards allergies it could be pollen

we are having things start to grow here and those that do suffer from allergies are already into drugstore looking for their
meds for allergies..

Emily, is Ivy's cage or play gyms located near an air vent?

We are actually going through something similar with our Miligold macaw Phoenix. She may be allergic to our ferrets as that is the only thing that has changed in our home. We noticed a very slight clear discharge from her nares and some sneezing, we have them on newspaper so it's not from bedding or anything that could be in the ferrets cage besides the actual musk smell from them. They are descented but still have that slightly skunky smell to them as is normal. Our avian vet is doing some research regarding allergies and her and we should find out something within the next day or two. Do you have other animals that she could possibly be allergic to? If so, did the home she was raised in prior to coming to you have animals? From what our avian vet told us macaws of all types can be very sensitive to smells and dander from things including other pets.

I already asked about Ivy on the last thread. Irritation and redness in her nares could indicate allergies, irritants or an infection. It became quite cool in South Florida, lots of rain and very windy the last couple of days. How is it in the Orlando area?

Maybe me and Ivy can cuddle up together and share a box of tissues! I hope she is ok.

it got pretty cold over the weekend here, yes. warmed back up again today though. do you think weather could be an irritant?

we have two dogs, but she has been fine with them this whole time (4.5 months now). we use an air filter and have laminate floors that i sweep often. i have allergies myself so i try to keep on top of it

allergies are so hard to get to the bottom of! thanks for your thoughts.