Some sick bird symptoms (2024)

And remember, birds often pretend to be fine when someone is watchingnearby (survival instinct), so observe very carefully.

• Puffed-up feathers. Birds fluff up their feathers to keep warm,and also when they relax for sleep ... and also when sick. A bird whosits puffed up much of the day is likely in trouble.
• Tail-bobbing when breathing. Birds who sit there puffed up, bobbingtheir tails, may be sick.
• Not eating their favorite food. Maybe the bird's full -- butthey need to eat often, so if after a day the favorite food isuntouched, something's likely wrong.
• Half-closed or closed eye(s) for much of the time. Alert andhealthy birds usually have both eyes wide open while awake. If theeyes start closing, and it's not because you're scratching a birdiehead and inducing pure birdie joy, the bird might be sick. Oh, and becareful: birds often close one eye but not the other. You may notnotice a bird is keeping its farther eye closed sometimes.
• Sleeping excessively. Like people, birds who sleep a lot more thanusual may be in trouble.
• Bad posture when at rest. Healthy small parrots usually sitsomewhat vertically, not fully horizontally, though it depends on thetype. Bad posture from sickness is usually combined with puffed upfeathers.
• Discharge/wetness around the nose. It may be hard to seethe nose, but it's usually at the top of the widest part of the bill,right near or under the feather line. Watch for moisture/dischargethere. An occasional sneeze is OK, but if it stays moist....
• Throwing up/getting undigested or half-digested food stuck tothe cage in weird places. Can be mistaken for harmlesscourtship-related regurgitation. New owners should play it safe andcheck with a vet. You can eventually learn to tell if it's nauseavs. lovey-dovey behavior, but watch very carefully.
• Poop sticking to the vent feathers. This is apparently a commonsign of possible sickness, especially if it keeps happening.
• Discolored, undigested, or runny poop. Watch for changes inthe shape/color of the poop. Runny poop can happen if you've justgiven your bird a bath or if it just drank lots of water, but thoseeffects only last for about an hour with small birds. Color changescan mean a change in diet (seed diets usually produce greenish poop,pellets usually produce brown), but off-colors or unusual colors are awarning sign (black is usually a bad sign). The poop should also lookwell-digested -- no lumps in it that can be identified as what theyused to be. If your bird eats seeds, there should NOT be whole,undigested seeds in the poop -- that's a sign of dreaded PDD.
• Ragged, poorly preened feathers. A sign the bird isn't feeling upto caring for its feathers, which is a bad sign, since feathers arevital to a bird's survival in the wild.
• Sneezing. Especially if it's frequent.
• Lack of energy. If a normally playful bird doesn't play verymuch any more, it may well be sick.
• Sudden temperament change. A normally mellow bird may getgrouchy and nippy, or a rambunctious bird might just get very quietand mellow. It might be just hormones or a bad feather day ... or itcould be something else.
• Weight loss. Dangerous especially to small birds, who don'thave much in the way of bodily reserves. Most casual bird ownersdon't weigh their birds very often, so it's important to work with avet to check a bird's weight. Sometimes you can tell by feeling thekeel bone, the bone that runs down the center of the bird's chest --if it sticks out like a razor, the bird is starving! In a healthybird, there's so much flesh on the chest you can hardly feel the bone.
• Crooked beak/crooked toenails. Either can be a sign of long-termillness, and should be checked out by your vet as soon as possible.
• In budgies, crusted-over nose (cere) and/or feet. Apossible sign of mites. Talk to your vet about the options.
• Dull feathers/feathers with unnatural banding. Manypossible sicknesses here! With co*ckatoos and co*ckatiels, also watchfor a lack of "powder" (though young birds don't seem to have as muchof it). If the bird's appearance is gradually getting worse, see avet!
• Plucked feathers. I've heard this is often due to parasitesor other problems, not just boredom. Get a full battery of tests. Thissite has more information.
• Any sign of blood! Bad sign. If your birdie is bleeding,you need to stop it immediately. Call your vet if you're not surehow. If it's a broken pin feather that's bleeding, apparently itneeds to be pulled out with pliers! For other cases, you needQuik-stop or other styptic (bleeding-stopping) powder (cornstarch canwork too) -- GET SOME just in case. Example of using cornstarch: Onetime one budgie of ours had a toenail clipped too short at a vet exam,and it started bleeding heavily at home. It's alarming to see bigdrops of blood falling from a tiny bird!! (Note: wounds are not alwaysconveniently visible.) Styptic stick didn't work. We grabbed thebudgie (carefully, in a small towel) and inserted the bleeding toenailinto a small glass container of cornstarch, packed the cornstarchagainst the wound, and held it there for 20 minutes (of course makingsure the bird could breathe freely while we held it). That finallygot the toe to stop bleeding, but we watched carefully for some timeto be sure.

Finally, sometimes the worst happens, despite the best care and thebest vets. Birds can and do die. Sometimes it's from carelessbreeding, sometimes it's pure bad luck, or an accident, or maybe it'sjust time for the bird to pass on. The best you can do is to get asinformed and educated as possible (from more than one source), get toknow your bird's individual quirks ... and to remember that keepingyour pet happy, well-loved, and mentally occupied is one of the bestpreventative medicines ever!

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