Pet Forum / Birds / Parrots / September 2005

You really need to get her to an Avian Vet if possible ASAP or at least call
them, tell them the symptoms to see what they suggest. Good luck and sorry
to hear about your sick bird.  --- Steve

How long has this been going on?

Did she have an accident flying around the house and perhaps got
injured?  Is she subjected to chills (open windows, air conditioners,
extremes of hot/cold as in a kitchen) or toxic fumes from household
cleaners, candles, sprays.  Is her cage kept clean?  Are the droppings
normal?  Is she molting (losing feathers?)  Have you read websites that
contain information on basic cockatiel care?

What are you feeding her?  Is she eating?  If she has NOT been eating,
she needs to see a vet right now.  If she is eating, watch her very
closely and make sure her cage is in a quiet location, perhaps with a
cloth covering over one side so she can rest.  Do not take her out for a
while until she is better.  Place foods in cups close to where she is
sitting in the cage; water too.  Put some millet spray in to see if she
if she is interested.

While only a vet can diagnose the problem, any effort you make toward
making the bird comfortable will provide more information as to what is
wrong.  If you are really lucky, making some immediate changes will
improve her condition right away.

n

Many sick or dying birds thrive  and revive on heat lamps. Careful of the
teflon coating on some of the bathroom ones.

My cockatiel is sick.  She can't fly, has the shakes, and has a real hard
time staying awake.  She used to be fiesty.  When you try to put her back
in the cage, she flies away.  She has to go in when she is ready, not
before.  Now we have no problem putting her in her cage.  She really lost
her "spunk." I live about an hour away from any place that has any avian
vets.  We gave her tonic (from local pet store).  What can we do to help
her.

Thanks.

I have had similar problems, you need a vet, I would bet its respitory, if
so, you need to get in your car and drive, the vet will probably want to try
Cefa-drops first, I would talk him/her out of it, Cefa is a temporary fix,
it does help but in my experiences the sickness comes back as soon as you
stop treating with it, ask him to give you Baytril (that is if it is
respitory)Baytril is the kickass medicine for birds, you really should go
ASAP........... Give it some Pedialyte if at all possible, its loaded with
electrolytes and can truly be a lifesaver for your bird till you get to the
vet, your local petshop should have Ornacycline too, that helps alot too
till you get to the vet, but again its for minor respitory disorders, if
your bird is sick and has been for a few days, you need to worry, not to
alarm you but tiels dont handle sickness so well, especially the lighter
colored birds, they will be dying right in front of your eyes, to you it may
look like the bird just doesn't feel good, Stop reading this and go now,
good luck to you and hope you send a message back with good news.

TRC

Give her neck a good quick twist and all of her problems (which seem to
include you) will be over.

ZQ

how is she now ?? If she has caught some disease you can get a vet to
take some poo samples and send it to a vet lab or sometimes human
laboratory to do some tests,but it would be expesnive depending on what
tests they do.
The tests i get done on them are
1) microscopy,culture and sensitivity,including blood occult
2) fungal culture
3) chlamydia

and those tests cover everything a bird could have except a throat swab
for respiratory diseases.And the lab test results will tell u exactly
what organism is causing the prob,if it is bacterial,and what
medication to give them.If you get a vet to do a Gram Stain and
Microscopy ,which is part of the first test i mentioned,they usually
cannot identify the exact organism that is causing the problem,only
whether it falls into one of two groups and will prescribe medicine for
your bird.
The vet doesnt usually offer these tests,but they are much more
conclusive than just taking the bird to the vet and letting the vet
have a look at the bird,and paying each time for each visit,which
usually adds to the same and more,as many or several diseases can cause
the same symptoms..............and without lab tests it is trial and
error which medication works.... if its not a disease that the vet can
discern correctly the first time.

how is she now ?? If she has caught some disease you can get a vet to
take some poo samples and send it to a vet lab or sometimes human
laboratory to do some tests,but it would be expesnive depending on what
tests they do.
The tests i get done on them are
1) microscopy,culture and sensitivity,including blood occult
2) fungal culture
3) chlamydia

and those tests cover everything a bird could have except a throat swab
for respiratory diseases.And the lab test results will tell u exactly
what organism is causing the prob,if it is bacterial,and what
medication to give them.If you get a vet to do a Gram Stain and
Microscopy ,which is part of the first test i mentioned,they usually
cannot identify the exact organism that is causing the problem,only
whether it falls into one of two groups and will prescribe medicine for
your bird.
The vet doesnt usually offer these tests,but they are much more
conclusive than just taking the bird to the vet and letting the vet
have a look at the bird,and paying each time for each visit,which
usually adds to the same and more,as many or several diseases can cause
the same symptoms..............and without lab tests it is trial and
error which medication works.... if its not a disease that the vet can
discern correctly the first time.