How to Detect Illness in Your Pet Bird  

Determining whether your bird is healthy or requires medical attention can be a real challenge. Birds can hide disease for extremely long periods of time before becoming visibly ill. This ability to hide illness originated with survival skills in the wild. The day that a parrot appears sick in the wild is the day that parrot dies. A bird which appears sick attracts hungry predators. Parrots grouped in a cage together will often attack and even kill a bird that is showing any signs of illness. In the wild, this bird would be putting the whole flock in danger of attack from a predator.

The ability to appear healthy and active until the very end stage of an illness has created all kinds of bizarre and unusual misconceptions about pet birds. Pet bird owners in the past would not realize that their birds had been sick for quite a long time. Instead, bird owners would think that a pet bird which suddenly appeared sick suffered from a sudden illness. They would look at what they could observe, for example, drafts or foods the bird had just eaten. When the bird died they would convince themselves that the draft or certain food caused their bird’s death. This “cause” of bird illness would be verbally spread from bird owner to bird owner and often, even worse, be written in bird books. In reality these birds usually died of a slow and chronic illness such as malnutrition or bacterial infection. Since no autopsy was done the “cause” of death was up to the imagination of the bird’s owner.

Bird Disease Progress Quickly Compared to People

Birds have a much more rapid metabolic rate than do people. When a bird is sick the illness often worsens very quickly in people’s time frame. As a bird owner it is important to think in “bird time.” For instance, a day in the life of a parakeet is roughly equivalent to 25 days in a person’s life. If a parakeet is sick for four days, this is the same as a person being sick for 100 days or over 3 months. When a bird shows any signs of illness, prompt action is necessary. Procrastinating for even a day or two may allow a treatable illness to progress to the point of being untreatable. It is not that parrots are weak or fragile, but their rapid metabolic rate speeds up the disease process.

Body Weight

Body weight, without a doubt, is the most effective and accurate way to figure out if your bird needs medical attention. When a bird is in the early stages of a disease you will notice three things: normal attitude and behavior, increased appetite and weight loss. Of these, the obvious one that will give you any indication that your bird is sick is weight loss. Most diseases in birds cause a catabolic metabolism. This means that the bird is using its own body tissues for food. Even though the bird is eating, the bird’s body tissue is broken down and used for energy to fight the disease. A bird’s body weight can drop very rapidly. A parakeet can lose 40% of its body weight in 3 days.

A Scale is the Most Important Tool That a Pet Bird Owner Can Have

The most effective method of monitoring your bird’s health is to purchase a simple gram scale and weigh your bird daily. Get a digital scale so you can weigh your bird quickly. Think of a scale as a high tech bird health monitoring device and the cost of $50 to $100 will be put in proper perspective. Expect the bird’s weight to change gradually up and down with the changes in biorhythms and seasons. During diseases the weight will drop rapidly. Usually during the early stages of weight loss expect no change in attitude, activity or appetite.

Make a Daily Weight Chart to Monitor Your Bird’s Health

Every day should weigh your bird. This should not take more than 15 to 20 seconds. Then take this weight and chart it on a graph daily. If you have a computer you can do this quickly on a simple spreadsheet. You will quickly come to know your bird’s normal weight fluctuations. When your bird deviates from normal weight ranges you can be pretty sure that your bird is ill. This weight loss will usually occur days before any other observable signs of illness.

There are, of course, some diseases and poisons that will kill a bird so quickly that no weight loss occurs. These diseases include Pacheco’s virus, Teflon fume poisoning, chemical poisoning, sarcosporidiosis and of course trauma. For the most part, however, body weight is the best guide to your bird’s health.

Stools

Monitoring changes in stools can be very difficult and can easily be misinterpreted. Don’t fall into this trap. When a bird defecates the cloaca releases both urine and fecal material. The green or brown material is the feces and the clear to white material is urine. When examining a bird’s stool, consider the two parts of the stool, the urine and fecal, separately.

Urine

The bird’s urine can change rapidly due to diet, excitement and sometimes disease. If a Psittacine bird eats a very dry diet such as seeds, the urine is usually a pasty white material. People who feed a malnourished diet of 100% seed often mistake this dried up urine paste for the only normal appearance of urine. More knowledgeable bird owners who feed vegetables, fruit and meat often notice the urine has a normal clear liquid appearance. This is simply the bird urinating out the excess water from the food that the body does not need. It is a normal physiological function and not an indication of diarrhea. This dilute urine is an indication that he bird is well hydrated.

Occasional dilute urine, especially after moist food, is completely normal. If you notice that he urine is always clear and liquid in appearance then you should contact your avian veterinarian. This may be an early indication of kidney disease, diabetes or metabolic disease.

Dangerous Changes in the Color of Urine

A change in the color of urine is often a very obvious and visible sign of disease. The most frequent change of the color will be a yellow appearance to the normally white or clear urine. This yellow color is usually caused by biliverdin in the urine and is similar to a person being jaundiced. This is a sign that the liver is being injured by a disease. Many parrot diseases affect the liver.

A reddish brown color of the urine is another sign of illness. This change is often are seen with pet birds suffering from metal poisoning or hemorrhage from the kidneys.

If the urine color changes from clear or white to a different color such as yellow or red contact your avian veterinarian.

Fecal

The fecal part of the stool should be monitored for consistency and color. The color can change from green to brown depending on the food that the bird eats. A startled bird releases a loose stool. Examine a stool that has been passed after the bird has calmed down. Berries can cause the fecal or urine to be discolored.

Dangerous Changes in Color or Consistency

If the fecal sample is red, black, or grey, contact your avian veterinarian as this is often a sign of disease. If the fecal part of the stool becomes very loose or runny, contact your veterinarian. This can be a sign of diarrhea that can result from many diseases ranging from lead poisoning to bacterial or fungal infections. Diarrhea often results in dome of the droppings being stuck to the feather around the bird’s vent. This is called a “pasty vent.” This is no way to diagnose an exact disease by observing the urine or the feces, but it can be an important sign that something is wrong. Veterinarians analyze the stool by performing cultures, gram stains, and chemical analysis. Then your veterinarian compares these values to the physical exam, X-rays, biochemical changes in the blood and the complete cell count to determine if a disease is present.

Attitude

A bird’s behavior or attitude is often difficult to pinpoint. Parrots have a tremendous range of emotions and pout, become jealous and hold grudges. When a person and bird form an emotional bond many pet owners become much attuned to their bird’s normal behavior and moods. Even though very subtle, a change in a pet bird’s normal moods can be the first clue that a bird is sick. Often what is noticed is that the bird does not want to play or the bird seems distant. Birds that are very vocal talkers stop talking when ill. Their eyes may not seem as bright. These mood changes can sometimes just indicate that a bird is pouting or holding a grudge so it is important not to over interpret your bird’s every emotion, but if these changes persist a disease is often the cause.

When birds are very sick there are some common changes in attitude that you will commonly observe. These changes include fluffing up their feathers, resting their head over their back, remaining very still, not eating and showing little response to activity around them. These are very serious signs of illness and always indicate an emergency situation.

Severe depression is a clear indication to seek veterinary care as this indicates the bird is very sick. Severe depression with a very sudden onset is often seen in poisonings, viral diseases or sarcosporidiosis. Birds with acute severe depression appear lifeless, hold their heads down, respond weakly to stimulus and are not really aware of their environment.

Neurological Signs of Disease

When the bird’s nervous system is affected by a disease there are often clear and obvious signs of illness.

Falling off the perch, seizures, abnormal head tilts or paralysis are all clear indications to call your veterinarian.

Respiratory

Often the respiratory system gives early signs of illness. The most serious includes tail bobbing. This is a movement of the tail when breathing at rest, indicating severe respiratory distress. Open-mouth breathing is another indication of respiratory disease and should be considered an emergency. This can occur acutely, as with Teflon poisoning. Other signs of respiratory disease are wheezing, coughing or frequent sneezing.

Nasal discharge is also an indication of disease. Such discharge can be very subtle, appearing only as a discoloration of the feathers around the nares. If the feathers around the nares or the openings at the base of the beak appear matted, there is usually a respiratory disease. Sometimes there is an obvious discharge accompanied by sneezing.

If you observe obvious respiratory signs of illness, contact your avian veterinarian immediately. Birds have a hardy respiratory system that is very resistant to disease. Because of their tremendous cardiovascular abilities, birds can compensate and appear normal even when much of their respiratory system is diseased.

If your bird is showing labored breathing which causes the tail to bob with every breath or is breathing open mouthed it is an emergency. This means that the bird is having a very difficult time getting oxygen into its body. Simple uncomplicated nasal discharge with no other signs of distress is not usually critical and does not require an after hours emergency visit.

Eyes

If you observe changes in the eyes such as discharge, redness or holding an eye closed, contact your veterinarian. If the clear outer layer of the eye (called the cornea) is injured, contact your veterinarian immediately.

 

 

Bleeding

Bleeding should always be considered an emergency.

If the bleeding is on a toenail, try to stop it with cautery powder, flour, candle wax or pressure. If this is unsuccessful then hold pressure to the toe and go to your veterinarian.

Bleeding feather or broken feathers can often be stopped by plucking the affected feather and applying pressure to the empty feather follicle. If this is not possible, apply pressure to the base of the feather follicle and go to your veterinarian.

Feathers

Feathers should be bright and vibrant in all Psittacine birds. Feathers are a slow indicator of illness or malnutrition, like hair is in people. Often a sign of malnutrition is darkened, black feathers where there should be colorful ones. This occurs quite commonly in Amazon parrots. When these birds are fed a seed diet their chest feathers will loose the natural green color and, instead, have a darkened appearance. This can also occur in birds that are handled often. The friction from hands rubs off the natural pigments.

Psittacine birds do not molt all at once like many other types of birds. Instead, they have a continual loss and continual replacement of feathers. Sometimes the loss of feathers is more intense than other times. During these periods you may notice small fluffy feathers, called down feathers, all over the cage. In a Psittacine bird (parakeets to macaws) there should never be a time where skin can be seen, except on the face and legs. Parrots that have patches of down feathers visible or have actual skin visible are abnormal and need to be checked by your avian veterinarian. Feather loss can be caused by both psychological and medical disorders.

Summary of Signs that Indicate Illness

Weight loss Coughing

Fluffed Feathers Tail bobbing

Droopy wings Changes in droppings

Reluctance to move on perch Pasty vent

Nasal discharge Falling of perch

Runny or red eyes Seizures

Wheezing Increased water intake

Loss of appetite