raspy breathing

Question
Hi, I have yellow collar macaws.  I have one, Beep, who has breathed with a raspy sound ever since we became a family.  He was just over one when he moved in.  I asked the previous owner who raised him why he sounded like that especially when he became active or agitated.  He said that was normal for the bird.  He has some genetic defects, his lower mandible grows like a toe nail and has to be trimmed within every 4 weeks.  He has leg and toe issues.  Of course those only make him more special to you.  He did not fly, I feel that all birdies deserve flight time and we eventually got the little guy flying.  He loves it.  I did take him to an avian vet who said he was fine.  I had an unfortunate experience with a defective Scrubbing Bubble dispenser which discharged the entire quart of cleaning solution when I was not present.  I aired the house out immediately and kept fresh air filtering thru the house.  Of course my little Beep started with fluid running from his nose within the week.  Took him back to the vet and he received a dose of antibiotics.  I noticed the wheezy, raspy sound was worse with this infection. The vet charges were over $250.00.  They would not let me be in the exam room with my bird.  I did not like this.  They let me the time before.  I have checked around and it seems that almost all the avian specialist in my area feel the same.  Lock the human client out.  I spoke with other avian lovers and they say that my bird should have been diagnosed with chronic sinusitis and that I need to learn to irrigate his sinuses for him.  What do you think?  I don't have a big budget for my birds and I could handle another $100.00 bill but when I called and asked about this I was given the cold shoulder.  Your not a vet and we do not condone our clients treating their own pets.  What is with that, every day whether it's my human family or furred or feathered or scaled members I give them an inspection as to bright eyed and bushy-tailed assessment to insure that if they need anything related to their care, it happens before they are lying on the bottom of cage or swimming upside down.  So of course we are in effect giving them "care".  What do you suggest that I do?  Beep is 3 and will be 4 this August.

Answer
I have to say that I was a little shocked with your comment about the avian vets in your area not letting you in the exam room with your bird! I have NEVER had that experience. All vets I've been to want you in the room so you can comfort your bird, answer questions, and have some input on the procedures. If they don't let you in the room, DEMAND it. Tell them that, unless they're doing something unethical or something you would not approve of, there is no reason to keep you away and if they ARE doing something you don't approve of, that you don't want your bird to go to them, anyways. An avian vet would know best with what to diagnose Beep with, but I do think that he has some sort of chronic condition that should be treated. One of my birds has permanent lung damage (from aspergillosis) and she is not allowed to fly due to the strain put on the lungs. If Beep has breathing difficulty, you probably want to treat that before letting him fly much. Learning to clear sinuses is pretty handy to know how to do, even if he doesn't have a chronic issue. It should NOT cost $100 to learn to clear sinuses and from what I can gather, the vet didn't do anything for Beep at your last visit that would require a $250 bill. There is nothing I can think of other than surgery that would cost that much. Have your vet tell you each thing he/she is doing (all tests, procedures, etc) and tell you the COST. You should have the choice of whether these tests are being done. If he/she wont let you do this, it might be time to find a new vet.
Other than the vet issue, you are doing a great job of taking care of your animals and they are lucky to have you!

Oh, something I've heard of people using (never used myself, though) is a sort of birdie-nebulizer. It's much like a humidifier and you can put medication (or not) in it and it really helps with birds who have lung issues. If you want one of these, let me know and I can see if I can get some recommendations of good ones for you. Good luck with Beep and let me know if you need anything