An American Robin's Story / A C3D Story

[chickadeedeedee]

Hiya Mr. Sleepy.

Barry is feeling *much* better! It takes three times as long to catch him now that he sees from both eyes. ;D Hopefully he only needs to put up with getting caught and treated temporarily and can retain his sight and good eye pressures without the medicine. Time will tell.

[4pygmies]

That is, indeed, really good news C3D! Let's hope for continued improvement and eventual freedom now then as a distinct possibility. As you say, he must be feeling pretty good if he wants to sing like that - or maybe he was grateful and wanted to thank you in the only way he knew how! (The nip was just his duty really, no ill intent intended...) ;D

[The witch]

Brilliant news indeed! ;D

[chickadeedeedee]

Hi everyone. Barry and I got back from the scheduled doctor's office appointment yesterday. The fantastic news?

The pressures in BOTH eyes are normal!

The pressure should be in the 20s (like for people) and Barry had 24 in the right and a 27 in the left eye yesterday morning. Last week Barry was at 24 in the right and 49 in the left.

Hooray for Barry!

Now the plan is to cut back on the eye drops from three times a day to twice a day. We'll do that for about 2 weeks then cut back to once a day for about two weeks. If all seems OK we will try going without the eye drops for a week and check the pressures in the eyes. If they stay normal .... he is free to leave and be a wild bird again with LOTS of stories to tell his friends.

Right now all that would keep Barry here would be if the pressure goes back up as the medicine decreases. So far, so very good!


The exam? ..... The ophthalmologist put eye drops into Barry's eyes that are an anesthetic for the corneas. She then turned off the lights and examined his eyes with a light and various lenses to see the details of his retinas and other eye structures. All was normal as it has been from the first exam.

The lights were turned on again and Barry had something called a Tono-Pen placed on his eye repeatedly and that instrument measures the internal eye pressure. The doctor repeated the measurments three times on each side to make sure they were a true reading.

Here's a site that kinda describes the instrument:

vet.reicherttonopen.com/ Tono-Pen

The ophthalmologist did not see much of a light reflex from Barry's left eye. That is to say the pupil did not get smaller when a light was shined in the eye ... yet ... he did turn and try to peck at her on the left side! Just like he did with us! Hmmmm! Maybe he sees motion or shadows? Maybe he needs more time for the optic nerve to recover now that the pressure is normal? We have lots of time for Barry to recover. We won't try to rush anything but are pleased as could be that he truly is getting better!

WooooooooHooooooooo! :-) x 13!

[bogmyrtle]

That's fantastic news chickadeedeedee. You are doing an excellent job of looking after him, well done.

Keep progressing Barry!

[chickadeedeedee]

I don't know if it is time to panic and cry. Barry did not sing Thursday or Friday. Does he just not have anything to sing about or is his eye hurting him since we went from three times a day to twice a day for the eye drops?

We gave the drops three times Friday. If he starts singing again .... I guess we know he *NEEDS* to have his eye drops. A veterinarian friend will let us use his Tono-Pen to check Barry's eye pressures but we can't get that until next week.

Question for our friends here ...... Would you think it cruel to subject Barry to a life time of captivity and getting caught multiple times a day to have his eye medicated? Maybe he just needs more time to adjust but still ..... I do not want to make his time on Earth a miserable and frightening experience.

PLEASE just smack me if I am over reacting!

Right now he's singing as happily as can be. From a non-scientific data type of observation I'd say that means he is more comfortable with the three times a day schedule. The last two days also we noticed Olive was very quiet too. Did she know Barry was in pain? Did he tell her something? Is she just madly in love with him? Right now she too is merrily chattering away.

Just thinkin' out loud here .......

* Maybe he needs the drops 3 times a day longer before we start to cut back?
* Maybe we gradually go down with an alternating 2x/day - 3x/day schedule?
* Maybe I am insane and over reacting and Barry is fine on 2x / day?

I am *really* hating this rollercoaster ride!

We'd *never* end Barry's life because of his eye problem. He's too precious! We would consider ending his pain permanently with the removal of the eye if he tells us he doesn't want to be caught multiple times a day forever ... knowing he would be in jail forever after that decision. But .... if he needs eye medicine to be pain free forever ... he's still jailed!

For now .... Barry sings his sweet song and we'll give him the drops three times a day. Next week when we get the Tono-Pen we can measure his eye pressures when he's on the drops two times a day and hopefully have the data to back-up my insanity plea.

Whatcha all think? Sound reasonable? Other suggestions? This is too complex for my little Chickadee brain.

[4pygmies]

Well, if you don't know, I'm quite sure I don't, C3D! You are the expert.......but if you want my opinion I think that if he is singing and not too obviously being stressed by his captivity I can't see why he can't continue as he is... Once you've ascertained whether he is better with the drops twice or three times daily with the gadget, then you can make a decision, can't you?
Have you discussed this with Olive? She seems to be attuned to him - that bird is wise...... I think Barry is a very lucky young man, whatever you decide X

[chickadeedeedee]

Hi 4P!

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my plight. I am NOT an expert in anything other than how to have migraine headaches! :

Barry is still happy and singing. You are 100% right! I need to calm down .... give this time and measure his eye pressures at the twice a day VS the three times a day medication schedule. Once we see the results then I can panic ... or not!

Olive? She asks, Whatcha doing, Sweetheart?

We explain every time. So far she has not hinted that Barry is in pain or not.

Thanks again, 4P. You're the best!

[chickadeedeedee]

It's basically the same routine for me these days. I start singing around 4:00 AM after having some worms. Those waxworms are very tasty and go down really well with raspberries, blueberries and cherries.

The worms have been changed. Nightcrawlers had more of an entertainment factor when the humans would find them in the carpet. Especially the smaller one. I loved seeing her hair stand on end! Now I have the smaller red worms. While they are easier to toss out and I can fling them farther they just don't create that same surprise reaction as did the nightcrawlers.

I think Olive has tired of me somewhat. After three to four hours of morning song she tells me ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT, SWEETHEART! She is still polite about it and does come over to visit as does the speckled fellow, Kramer.

Unfortunately the humans have not tired of me. They annoy me several times daily. I am caught, some cold eye drops are given to me, I get a neck or head scratch and then released again. (I do like the neck scratching part but don't let them know.) For some odd reason I feel better when the humans annoy me more often. Don't get me wrong. I *hate* being caught! I am still a wild bird but have grown to tolerate the intrusion into my routine.

Sing. Eat. Sing. Nap at around 1:00 then eat some more, toss some worms to repopulate the carpet and sing until dark. Pooping ALL the time.

I heard the humans discussing my imprisonment and think the parole board will not authorize a release yet but I remain hopeful that they will see I have been a model prisoner. I haven't pooped on the jailers ~that much~. Seems we are in a hold pattern for a release date.

I demand a lawyer! I've done my time and not even a crime!

If the glove don't fit, you must acquit!

~Barry

[bogmyrtle]

Bless, he's singing again then, a good sign.

Thank him for telling his story via yourself C3D.

[chickadeedeedee]

Finally! Some good news!

I took Barry to the ophthalmologist yesterday. We have not given him the eye drops for 5 days and thought it best to have a proper evaluation.

Barry has NORMAL light reflexes in both eyes. :-)

The edema / swelling / blood in his left eye have resolved. :-)

Both eyes appear 113% normal. :-)

Most importantly is the pressure in the right eye is 22 and in the left is 28! :-) The pressure in the left was slightly higher due to the stress of being held. In reality the pressure is likely about 5 points lower.

Barry doesn't need the eye drops any more. :-)

~~~> Now the downside ... The only thing preventing his release is his tail feathers have not grown back. He lost them at the beginning of the last eye exam when the assistant accidentally did a tail-pull. (At least it wasn't me! LOL!) The lack of growth may be due to the medication or may be a species variation where we need to wait for his normal moult before the tail grows in.

Either way ... Barry is now released into our large free flight area (23 ft. x 9 ft. x 10 ft.) and can regain his flight strength and hopefully his feathers.

And to think the ophthalmologist had suggested to kill him some months earlier because of his eye injury! Eeeeeeekkkkkkkkk!!!!!! The ophthalmologist cannot believe how much Barry has improved! She was sooooooooo happy to tell me that Barry will be A-OK for release ... once those butt feathers come back in. :-)

Lake Erie is literally a stone's throw from our front door so there's ample supply of fresh midges and Mayflies for us to provide Barry. Barry is very good at catching midges, Mayflies, crickets and schtuff in general.

He's been getting fresh compost to rummage around in for a while and hunt for creepie crawlies. In the last few weeks we noticed he's better able to grab for things on his left side. He had only been hunting with his right eye and now he'll even grab a midge or something that is in flight. He does a short hop and nabs his snack. :-)

He reacts to seeing something moving on either side and it appears to be equally good close up and farther away. Of course this is a subjective observation as we don't have a birdy eye chart for him and he tells us how many caterpillars or nightcrawlers he sees.

Now that he's in the free flight he can hone his dexterity even more but he seems to be doing fine. One step / the last step to his long awaited freedom ....

I'll letcha know how the tail situation progresses. It's just a matter of time now for our dear little Barry.

C with 3Ds and a Happy Barry!

[4pygmies]

Well, that's wonderful news C3D! I'm so pleased you went with your instinct and waited - your patience has been rewarded.
Congratulations and good luck to Barry too!

Hope you and yours are OK sugar - and you're having a good summer now X

[chickadeedeedee]

Still NO sign of tail feathers coming in. Barry is molting and has new feathers coming in everywhere except .... Gotta be patient I guess. Nothing else I can do!

[emseypop]

at least he can see now, you've been so patient with him, where would he be now without you ehh? Keep us posted

[chickadeedeedee]

I don't know how old Barry is. He was an adult when he came to my door back in April of this year. Yes. Barry can see and he's still hanging in there. I'm just getting anxious for him to be able to leave and go south with his friends before winter. Otherwise .... Barry is jailed until spring.

[Sleepy]

Any news on Barry C3D?

When will you know if he has to be with you all Winter?

[chickadeedeedee]

Oh My God!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I caught Barry not 30 minutes ago and ... Our dearest Barry has his tail feathers growing back in!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I honestly have tears of joy streaming down my face as I type this!!!!!!

Will they be back in time for an Autumn release? I don't know but ...... at least we now know Barry will eventually be homeward / wild-ish bound!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D !!!

[emseypop]

That's excellent news!

[4pygmies]

Good for Barry and good for you! I bet he's not the least bit grateful but never mind! We know and appreciate you on his behalf, sugar plum X

[cheerypeabrain]

This story has had me in tears more than once...but not in a bad way C3D!...I'm soooo pleased, well done Barry and well done you.

[chickadeedeedee]

Our Barry-boy is still very much a wild bird! He's sooo frightened at times when we approach! We have reassured him that he will NOT be eaten but I don't think he believes us.

I sincerely hope he can leave soon. If it is better for him to leave in the spring ... so be it! What ever is better for him. I need to consult with the Avian guy and get his opinion.

We are soooooooooooooooooo happy that he truly is homeward bound!

[chickadeedeedee]

I know this doesn't look like much but it is the start of Barry's freedom. His tail feathers are growing slowly but surely! All of him is looking a it scruffy because of his moult.

[bogmyrtle]

They are so tiny aren't they but there and growing! Well done C3D for your kindness, patience and persistance. He is on the road to his freedom (although he may not realise it yet!)

[chickadeedeedee]

The Barry Update

Barry is doing great! His tail is coming in *very* nicely ... but ....

He missed the boat. I spoke to the avian specialist this morning and asked if it would be better to keep Barry until spring or allow a release in a few weeks. We already knew the answer but the avian vet. confirmed it.

It would be best for Barry if he were to be our guest until spring. He's been inside since April and the nights are too cold and the weather too dreary now. It may be difficult for his body to abruptly adjust to real life conditions and he may develop pneumonia.

We've always wanted to celebrate Christmas with a Robin!

I'll get some new photos of him WITH a tail and post those within a few days.

That's it from this end. :-)

[4pygmies]

Poor Barry, but I guess if he's stuck anywhere it's far nicer that he's stuck with you lovely people. It'll be good to know that he's safe and well in the really bad weather too. Take care C3D X