nasal discharge and sneezing

Question
hi,how can you tell if your macaw has allergies or a respitory infection?

my blue and gold sneezes every now and then. she started yesterday, and today she sneezed and ended up with mucous all over her face, and then the sneezing calmed down and stopped.

i was reccommended to treat with over the counter ornacyn plus with vitamins. i also added ornbac and a regular vitamin to her food or water as well.  she is eating fine, i feed her a pelloted diet,change the cage paper every other day, wash out the water bowls a few times a day when they are nasty, and keep fresh food for her and her cage mate who is showing no signs of any sneezing at all. i also had a vet tech tell me not to treat with the over the counter stuff. i have a vet apt tommorow. should i wait days and keep treating her with this med? they suggested i treat all my birds with it. it is eurthromiacin. thanks! nikki

Answer
Nikki, I would keep your Vet appointment.  You don't want to take any chances with birds, once you see they are sick, they have been sick for awhile.  Your Vet can listen to the air sacs (lungs) and maybe do some bloodwork to determine if this is an upper respiratory problem or not.  It sounds like you are doing all the right things for her at home, but I would steer clear of over the counter medicines for birds.  Birds are just too sensitive.  The dosages might not be accurate and the spectrum of the antibiotic might be wrong for the organism causing the problem.  It might make things worse.  Erythromiacin and Baytril are common antibiotics used on birds.  Your Vet will probably suggest treating everyone if it turns out to be an upper respiratory infection.