JAMES HARRIS, DVM
Scared bird will get over being medicated
 I am having an awful time with Princeton, the 9-year-old cockatiel my husband and I rescued. He is scared of everything, especially hands. We waited five weeks before taking him to the vet so that he could have some time to get used to us and trust us a little. He has come a long way. Now that I have taken him to the vet, I have to give him oral suspension flagyl for 10 days. This procedure terrifies him, of course, and I am not very good at doing it. The vet tech who demonstrated it for me held him upside down and held his neck. He didn't like it but he didn't struggle. When I tried it today, he struggled in complete panic and I had to do it twice because I missed his beak the first time. My husband will not take part in this as I want Princeton to have at least one person who is not associated with fear.
Is this the only/best treatment for giardia? Will I lose ground and lose his trust forever for doing this to him?
Obviously I will continue to give him his medicine; I am willing to do the hard things as well as the fun things. But how will this affect his training and the bonding process?
-- Katherine and Steve Adams, St. Paul, Minn., kathg@bitstream.net
 Flagyl is the usual treatment for giardia. It's effective in most cases but you must also keep Princeton's cage scrupulously clean to prevent reinfection. It's possible to add flagyl to your bird's drinking water to treat the infection, but I wouldn't advise it: birds often won't drink medicated water because it tastes funny. They become dehydrated, which further adds to their problems.
Rapid hand and arm movements can be very frightening to a bird. It's possible Princeton was handled roughly as a young bird, resulting in his current hand phobia. Try loosely wrapping him in a wash cloth to administer his medication. (Conure-size birds can be wrapped in a hand towel, Amazons need larger towels, macaws a bath sheet.) Using a towel you can immobilize the head to make administering the medicine easier.
With time, Princeton will largely forget the trauma of being medicated, and you can resume work on building his trust.
James Harris, DVM is owner and medical director of the Mayfair Veterinary Clinic in Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Australia. He founded Montclair Veterinary Hospital in Oakland, Calif., and has served as medical director and chairman of the board for the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Berkeley. Dr. Harris' numerous professional honors include California and National Bustad Companion Animal DVM Awards.
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