Parro’Talks Health— How do I know if my parrot is sick?
Determining if your bird is sick is difficult. By their nature, birds are prey animals, so they will attempt to conceal any external signs of illness on instinct. Still though, there are quite a few different ways to tell if your bird is out of sorts.
The first way to tell is poop. You should monitor your bird’s poop and note if anything changes. Note the color, consistency, size, and timing. Are any of these different, and if so, how much can be explained by changes in diet? If it is different and inexplicable, take note. Different poop by itself isn’t a concern, but is definitely one of the earliest warning signs you can see if your parrot is sick. Also, note that “pasting” poop, in other words, poop being stuck to the “butt” feathers, is extremely bad. Poop stuck on the vent should warrant an immediate vet visit!
The second way to tell if your parrot might be sick is its weight. You should weigh your parrot at the same time every day and note any trends upward or downward. Any quick weight gains or losses (10% in a few days) should definitely be a concern. There are quite a few gram scales with perches built in that are purpose-built for parrots, and are relatively inexpensive. Additionally, the purpose of weighing the bird at the same time is that any food intake/poop output can drastically change the results, so weighing at the same time between meals is the best way to control for this.
Although poop and weight are the earliest ways to identify illnesses, there are also other indications which are more evident, and include:
- Vomiting (shaking or bobbing the head and expelling food) — you may not directly witness the vomiting, but if you see food particles mysteriously stuck in parts of the cage that aren’t normally there, take note.
- Nostril discharge — this will appear as a mucousy film on the top of the bird’s head
- Drooping wings, bobbing tail — this indicates that the bird is having difficulty breathing or is exhausted. Note that a bird that was just frightened and/or panicked may exhibit a bobbing tail as it recovers from the emotional shock (i.e., not sick, just scared)
- Difficulty perching on one foot — most birds when tired or sleeping will perch on one foot and tuck the other one in. If your bird isn’t doing this, or attempts to do this and loses balance, this is definitely a concern
- Difficulty perching, period — if your bird can’t maintain balance and instead chooses to sit on the bottom of the cage
- Refusal to eat and/or major change in appetite ( had a personal incident that I experienced with my bird, shared it at the end of this article)
- Plucking feathers — while physically healthy birds may pluck due to emotional issues, sick birds or birds that are deficient in nutrients may pluck, as well. Don’t confuse plucking with preening and normal feather loss
- Constant ruffle of feathers and excessive sleeping patterns or change in usual sleeping position
- Sudden aggression — biting, hissing, lunging, and excessive screaming can start almost overnight and are signs that should not be overlooked
If you see any of these signs, especially in conjunction, a trip to the vet is absolutely necessary. If you’re actually noticing that your bird is sick, this means that the situation is critical — chances are that your bird has already been sick, and can no longer maintain the illusion of health. Take this very seriously — I am often tagged as a “paranoid parront” by my friends but the vets always appreciate my proactive and observational approach.
In the meantime before the vet visit, separate the bird from the rest of the flock if you have more birds, and ensure that the bird has a quiet, warm, and comfortable place to relax. The goal is to minimize any environmental stresses that might exacerbate the illness. Using a warm water bottle to provide warmth is a good idea. Provide fresh food and water all the time. I have talked more about fresh food, food pellets and water in the other blogs.
How did I observe my 70-day old sick bird, Shw
Talking about Shw’s incident, here’s a few history data-points that I tracked. (Might have missed on a few opportunities to catch her signs that I couldn’t guage on. Even if you happen to face something similar, do NOT conclude anything from my incident and reach out to a vet. Please do not self-medicate)
- Travelled for almost 7–9 hours — 9th February
- A minor fall in appetite and activity level — 10th Feb
- Mild to none-level of stress due to wing clipping — 11th Feb (morning)
- Poop is more watery + not interested in self-feeding from 11th Feb (afternoon)
- Started medication recommended by Vet from 11th Feb (evening)
- All test + X-ray results from Vet visit tagged as “Perfectly Healthy”
- Slight decrease in food intake + Watery droppings — 13th Feb (morning)
- Dropped off with the breeder for observation — 13th Feb (noon)
- Breeder noticed GI issues & breeder gave Gripe Water — 13th Feb (night)
- Usual levels of activity + Normal poop — 14th Feb (morning w breeder)
- Excessive sleeping + Feather ruffling + usual levels of activity + breeder medicated her in the morning w Gripe Water - breeder asks me to visit a Vet again — 14th Feb (morning)
- Shw is picked up from breeder and a Vet visit is made right after — 14 Feb (noon)
- Vet senses a GI issue/infectionn + Shw is on new meds + Her hand-feeding formula is changed from Petslife to Nutribird A19 — Feb 14 (night)
- Food and activity levels finally return to normal — 15th Feb
- Medication dosage is to be continued until 20th of Feb and BirdPlus (Immunity Booster) prescribed for a month
The point here was to notice the stool-health, activity levels, appetite and general feather-centric body language on an hourly level (rather, as closely as possible)
