About 30 minutes ago I was feeding the birds some whole wheat toast. Winston ate some, and at one point he flew off the plate to the playstand. He began fluffing & shaking his feathers and adjusting his crop. He shook his head at one point and and some toast came up and out. I've never seen a bird vomit so I assume this was vomit. Or did he choke/get food stuck in his crop? Then for about 10 minutes afterward he kept adjusting his crop and still fluffing feathers and shaking - it was scary. His crop was sort of extended. He sneezed a few times too - it was like something was stuck and he was trying to loosen it. I was right by his side the whole time making sure it wouldn't turn worse. I offered him water but he wasn't interested.

When he calmed down a bit I put Jerry and Lulu away and then Winston. He's been in his cage and has sat still fluffed up, eyes closed a lot. Just now he climbed down to eat - usually he's running across the cage floor clammering to get his bedtime snack.

Makes me feel better that he's eating again now, but I'm scared to go to sleep, I've never seen any of my guys do this. Ok he ate a few bites of seed and now he's climbed back up to his perch, very unlike him, his face is usually buried in his dish the longest.

What do you guys think, did something just get stuck in his crop and it irritated him?

sarah,

I would have to agree it was something that got caught on the way down. Could it have been a small splinter? I have had this happen with one of our macaws.

Sarah that's what it sounds like to me. He'll probably be fine by morning. Try not to worry too much. Please let us know in the morning how he's acting.

Could have been a small splinter, I really don't know. They were all just eating right off the heel slice.

He's been quiet - he just climbed down to eat again. He's not adjusting his crop anymore. Right after the vomit his crop adjusting was pretty rapid, more than I've ever seen them crop-adjust.

This really makes me worry that I don't even know what to do if I ever see them choking.

He slowly seems to be getting back to normal, but I will keep an eye on him for a little bit longer.

Thanks Gary and Karen.

But I'm sooooo good at worrying

My friends budgie did that and what had happened was his throat got scratched from something he ate... dont want to scare you. i am sure things will be just fine... its just that if he has scratched his throat he will need mushy stuff to help...was told to feed mushy stuff until throat healed.. she gave louie a little bit of olive oil i think she said to help move what ever was still stuck in the throat...she was here yesterday and telling me about louie.. hes beautiful .. white with black eyes. i am going to take a picture and post in a couple of weeks as she is going away... next time she goes i will be babysitting. as its only been a few days since i found out she lived in the same aprtment as i do. i have known here since i was a grasshopper.......

sure hope he gets to feeling better...

Thanks lavender. I'm wondering if I should give him anything mushy tonight, I can make him some rice & veggies. Or I don't know if I should just let him be, he looks tired, so is Jerry, it's already past their bedtime.

Whole wheat toast is usually very dry and could have caused Winston to have trouble swallowing it or maybe took a bigger bite than he should have. I would say that it was a good thing for him to vomit to rid himself of whatever was bothering him. I agree with feeding him soft foods for a couple of days just in case. I hate it when these birds scare us like that.

Thanks JR. I'll feed soft foods for a few days - just trying to figure out how that will work tomorrow while I'm gone at work. Can't leave fresh foods in for that long. Don't have any sprouts grown - or maybe I'll try to sprout some of his seed tonight? Don't know if that will work lol.

I am not an expert on those little guys, but rice, pasta, soft fruits, whole wheat bread (not toast) with peanut butter, softened pellets, just to name a few. Of course those would only be used prior to or after work when you can remove in a short time. Anyone else have any suggestions for Sarah?