Recognizing Signs of Illness

Early signs of illness are often not recognized by the pet owner. Birds survival instincts have made them masters of disguise. In the wild a sick bird will attempt to maintain a normal appearance for as long as possible, so that by the time any signs of illness are apparent, the bird may have been ill for some time.

While there are definite signs of illness it can still sneak up on you. Little things change over time that are easily explained away. Your bird may become grumpy, and you attribute it to hormones, not enough sleep, or something in the diet that may need tweaking. They may change some eating habits, you notice, but think their tastes have changed and they no longer like what you offered.

You know your bird best. If something about their behavior or demeanor is sending up a red flag to you, go with your instinct, and consult with your vet.

It’s very important to observe droppings. Number, volume, color and consistency should be noted daily. Be on the look out for any decrease in the total number or volume, change of color, increased water content, decrease in feces with increased urates or an increase in urine.

While I keep a close eye on any abnormal droppings I usually don’t become overly alarmed at the odd colored one as it may the result of coloring in foods that have been eaten such as beets or a watery one may be attributed to consuming a high water content piece of fruit. But if droppings are consistently ‘not right’ for 24 hours that is the time I put a call into my vet. You can find more information about droppings in the link below;

1. Guide to test results 2. Poop-ology

Signs to pay attention to;

Prolonged molt or continual presence of pin feathers
Feather picking
Shifting of feet
Lameness
Stain or debris in feathers over the nostrils
Crusty material in the nostrils
Loss of feathers or swelling around the eye
Excessive sneezing
Excessive clearing of the ears
Excessive scratching at head
Overgrowth of beak or nails
Baldness
Sores on feet
Decreased or excessive food or water consumption.
Change in attitude, personality or behavior
Decreased activity
Decreased talking/singing
Increased sleeping
Change in appearance or posture - ruffled feathers
Weakness, inability to stand
Staying on the bottom of the cage,
Sitting low on the perch
Drooping wings
Convulsions.
Change of respiration
Noticeable breathing movement (e.g. tail bobbing)
Heavy breathing after exertion
Change in quality of voice
Respiratory sounds such as sneezing, wheezing or clicking
Change in weight or general body condition
Enlargement or swelling of the body
Injury or bleeding.
Vomiting
Discharge from nostrils, eyes or mouth.

If you have something else to add to the list of things to watch for, please add them. We can never be too careful about what we need to observe.

This is such good information. I sometimes feel I am paranoid because I watch so closely. Just last week Mango, our Blue Throat macaw didn't chew his wood blocks for two days and we were extremely concerned because it was not normal for him. He would chew endlessly every day. Fortunately, he is now chewing double time, LOL, and maybe hurt his beak somehow so it didn't feel comfortable to chew. Changes such as this should at least alert us to watch them more closely.

I do not think I dupicated any...


•Swelling around the eyes

•Obstructed nostrils

•Matting of feathers around top of head or ears

•Scaly skin around eyes, beak, legs or feet

•Inability to manipulate food within the mouth

•Gagging or stretching of the neck

•Decreased preening and feather maintenance

•Equilibrium problems – very serious

•Swollen feet or joints

•Undigested food or blood in droppings

•Open-mouthed breathing when at rest – very serious

•Tail pumping (rhythmic back and forth motion of tail when resting)

•Lumps or masses anywhere on the body

Thought this would do with a look over.

I was amazed at how quickly Laker turned from a happy Budgie into a puffed up one with laboured breathing & hours later watery poos.

The one thing that I knew for certain when illness first manifest itself - he wasn't himself. Get to really know your healthy bird & you will see the difference right away.

The next step is knowing what to do. If a Vet visit isn't right away - what steps can you take for certain illnesses?

I agree Jac, this is a topic that should always be fresh in our minds. I posted this last fall when I mistakenly explained away a change in behavior as being hormonal when in fact both the birds got stressed over our remodeling and moving them and they got sick;

They're better now, but I still kick myself that I didn't recognize the problems earlier.

Thanks for the list. I am going to save it to my computer. UMMMMMMMM What does the sneezing excessively mean? I mean why does say a macaw do that? Some of you have heard me talk about what was our friends with the macaws. Well the blue and gold always sneezed. I mean alot, all the time, day after day, week after week, and month after month. I asked about it and they said oh she just does that and they didnt know why. She has done it since they got her. I know you probably think that maybe they sneeze alot but, that is what is odd. They dont and they hardly get sick. I dont think she is just copying what they are doing cause they dont do it. So if a bird isnt copying, then what does it mean? They dont take her to vets niether. ~Jenna

Hind sight is so much clearer.
Now when I look back I think of changes in Laker that could have made me more aware of his condition - if in fact it was cancer.

He loved to nap [even after he got a pal] & although he flew a lot he didn't fly as much as the young one. I thought it was an age thing but now I think he never had the energy or stamina.

His poos although normal looking got quite small over the summer - I thought they looked small but it didn't register. He seemed grumpy more often & less social.

That's a lot of sneezing! If I owned the bird it would be into the vet. Lots of things can cause sneezing; sinusitis, Vitamin A deficiency, low humidity, something stuck in the nares, toxins in the air or poor air quality, just to name a few.

We had a couple of birds who were sneezing and we wondered why. We started using HEPA filters in our central air system and they stopped. It may be something to consider.

This is such good info. The 2 things I am always on top of is poo & weight.

Both birds are weighed weekly & poo is checkly a few times daily.

A couple of months ago Kiwi was diagnosed with Psittacosis and it was only because I insisted on going into the AV - her poo was bright yellow green & foamy - and she lost 30 grams in 5 days!

Vet took one look at the poo & verified my worst fear - so 3 days of quarantine with tube feeding & doxy injections followed by 7 weeks of doxy injections.

Everyone has a clean bill of health now, including myself - YES, I was sick - bad. I am the only one who cleans up after them & we needed everyone to stay away so they wouldn't get sick.