Avian First Aid Kit Signs of illness What to do if your bird is sick Broken blood feather Broken toe nails Night Frights Oil or foreign object on feathers Serious injuries Accidental Poisoning Common Illnesses Uncommon Illnesses Feather plucking/overpreening How to properly restrain a cockatiel How to give a cockatiel medication Medications commonly used
A bird that shows any of these symptoms much be watched closely for additional signs.
A bird that shows any of these symptoms much be taken to an avian vet immediately!
The first thing that should be done is take your bird to your avian vet. Here is a list of Avian Vets in the US, here and here are lists of Avian Vets in the UK, and here is a list of Avian Vets in AU.
Do not try to self-medicate your bird unless you know what you are doing. What works on humans does not always work on birds and can sometimes be dangerous. The medications available in pet stores are rarely strong enough to have any effect and some can be quite harmful to your bird's health. At the very least self-medicating changes the test results, making it harder for your vet to properly diagnose your bird.
If the vet gives you medication to give to your bird, do not give your bird grapefruit seed extract (GSE). The usefulness of GSE is highly debated but grapefruit and grapefruit products are known to block absorption of many medications. I have heard that apple cider vinegar should not be combined with antibiotics but have not found any information to back this up.
Most avian illnesses are contagious to other birds so a sick bird should be seperated from other birds and any other birds should be watched closely for signs of illness. Even if the illness your bird has is not contagious you may want to seperate him or her anyway because healthy birds will often pick on a sick birds
A sick bird often does not want to eat but needs even more nutrients, so let your bird eat anything it is willing to eat, even if that is millet spray and nuts. Putting a supplement on your bird's food can help give your bird the support it needs to get better, but make sure your bird is willing to eat the supplemented food and only use a supplement intended for birds (I like PRIME, Avian Missing Link, or Nekton). Powdered supplements last longer then liquid supplements.
Heat can be very helpful for a sick bird. A heat lamp tends to work better then a heating pad, but whatever it is you use be sure that there is no chance that your bird can get to the wires or touch the heat source. Make sure that you allow your bird a chance to get away from the heat if he or she gets too hot. If a heat lamp is unavailable a reading lamp can also work. Heated perches are expensive but wonderful sources of heat. In a pinch, you can put boiling water into a clean plastic container (the type used to hold sour cream and butter), poke holes in the lid, and cover it with a towel so that your bird can not touch the hot container. This is a temporary source of heat and humidity.
If your bird has a respiratory infection humidity can make them feel much better and help them heal faster. However, do not give a sick bird a shower or a bath as this could weaken their already stressed immune system. Instead, use a humidifier (but make sure the humidifier you use contains no Teflon) or take your bird into the bathroom while you shower or run hot water.
All birds should get at least 12 hours of undisturbed sleep a night, but it is even more important that a sick bird gets that.
The cage and dishes being used by a sick bird should be kept as clean as possible to prevent them from catching a secondary illness while their immune system is fighting off their first illness. Wash dry food dishes daily and fresh food and water dishes two-three times a day. Change the paper and wipe down the cage at least once a day and thouroughly clean the cage with white vinegar at least once a week. If your bird is being treated for something that they could easily become reinfected with, such as giardia, wash the cage daily with bleach but be sure to rinse the cage very well and let it air out for about an hour after using to bleach to keep the fumes away from your bird.
If your bird is too sick to perch, line the cage floor with a dish towel covered in paper towels. This will give your bird a comfy and easy to clean surface to perch on.
Make sure you give your bird the medication exactly as instructed too. Do not skip a dose or stop the medication early. If you do not think you will be able to do this please board your bird at an animal hospital while he or she is being treated.
Blood feathers are simply feathers that are still growing in and still have a blood supply. These are normally protected by other feathers but a broken blood feather is still pretty common, especailly if your bird is clumsy, young, or clipped improperly. The first broken blood feather can be a scary thing because there is a lot of bleeding involved, but it is relatively easy to handle. The bleeding is normally too heavy to be stopped with cornstarch, and the broken feather must be removed to stop the bleeding. Hold your bird gently with one hand and firmly grip the broken feather with tweezers in the other, then give one quick pull to remove the feather. Your bird may scream from the sudden pain but the bleeding and pain stop immediately. If you do not feel comfortable doing this yourself, take your bird to an avian vet.
Night frights are something all parrots have occassionally but for some reason cockatiels tend to have more often. They are your bird waking suddenly from a deep sleep and being so startled they thrash in their cage, sometimes hurting themselves. They have many causes: someone making a noise, a mouse or bug in the cage, hitting a toy or another bird while shifting positions in their sleep, or a bad dream. The best way to treat them is to prevent them. Keep bird food covered when not in your bird's dishes to prevent mice or bugs in your bird's cage. Cover your bird with a medium weight cover to prevent people and pets that are awake from waking your bird up. Give your bird a night light that they can see past their cage cover to make them less likely to panic if they do wae up in the middle of the night. If your bird is very prone to night frights, make sure the perch your bird sleeps on (usually the highest one) has no nearby toys to bump into. If your bird does have a night fright, uncover your bird and turn on a bright light. Talk soothingly to your bird (cooing or drawing out the vowels in your words work best "Ooooookaaaaay, gooooooood biiiiiiiiiiiiird"), move slowly, and wait for your bird to wake up the rest of the way and calm down. If your bird is very fond of human contact you may offer a finger to step up on if they want to, but generally it is better to not touch your bird as they are not fully awake and may be further startled or may bite. Wait for your bird to go back to their "sleep spot" and start fluffing up, getting ready to fall back to sleep before you cover him or her back up and turn the light off or you may start another night fright. Be sure to check your bird closely for injuries: if they are bleeding you need to stop it immediately with cornstarch or pulling broken blood feathers (see above), if they are bruised or simply missing feathers it can wait until morning where a warm shower can help soothe their injuries.
Broken toe nails are a very common, very easily fixed injury. Styptic powder (also called Quik-stop) is a good thing to have around for these occassions. Cornstarch can also be used, and in a pinch flour can be used. Merely apply the powder to the broken toe nail (and the broken toe nail only) and apply light pressure until bleeding stops. Most birds will favor the foot with the broken toe nail for a while, but if that continues for more then two days take your bird to an avian vet. If the bleeding does not stop or you find that your bird has been bleeding for a while, take him or her to the vet.
Since keeping their feathers in order is so important to a bird, feathers that are covered in oil of another substance that is hard for them to remove and mats their feathers (such as lotion, antibiotic cream intended for mammals, or ciggarette smoke) may cause your bird to panic or pull their feathers out. First, you must stay calm. A scared bird will get their cues from you, and if you panic your bird will too. Fill a water bottle with warm (80°F to 90°F) water and add one drop of dish soap per cup of water. Read the ingredients on your dish soap to make sure it does not contain bleach first. The safest dish soap to use is original Dawn dish soap. Soak your bird with the soapy water, then either rinse the water bottle until it no longer contains any suds or get a new water bottle, fill it again with warm water and soak your bird again until the water that drips from your bird is just water, no soap. If it is cold or close to bed time, set a hair dryer on it lowest settings and hold it one foot away from your bird to dry him or her off.
Birds are very curious creatures who want to be where you are but do not know what might be dangerous for them! By buying or adopting your bird you took responsibility for him or her, and it is your job to be aware of these common household dangers and avoid them. Remember, having a cockatiel is like having a small, flying three year old for 16-35 years.
If your bird is exposed to bleach fumes, smoke from a burnt non-stick pan, ciggarette, cigar, or pipe smoke, natural gas leaks, or eats an unsafe plant, alcohol, chocolate, or avocado, please call the Animal Poison Control number (888 426-4435 in North America and if you know any numbers for other countries please email me) and take your bird to an avian or emergency vet immediately.
| Simple upper respiratory infection | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cause | One of many types of bacteria | Prevention | Proper hygeine, quarentining all new birds for at least a month, but almost all birds will develop an upper respiratory infection at some point in their lives |
| Symtoms | Sneezing, poor appitite, lethargy, red nares, discharge from nares, difficulty breathing, tail bobbing | How it is diagnosed | Physical exam, occassional nasal flush |
| Treatment | Antibiotics, bird will sometimes fight it off on their own | Prognosis | Good if treated early |
| Common? | Yes | Contagious? | Yes, to other parrots |
| Crop infection (infection of the digestive tract, sour crop) Commonly called a crop infection, this infection can also be found in other areas of the digestive tract, and is caused either by yeast or bacteria. | |||
| Bacterial Crop infection | |||
| Cause | One of many types of bacteria | Prevention | Proper hygeine, remove fresh food after no longer then two hours |
| Symtoms | Regurgitation, vomiting, weight loss, loss of appitite, lethargy | How it is diagnosed | Physical exam, often a crop flush is done |
| Treatment | Oral antibiotics | Prognosis | Good if treated early |
| Common? | Yes | Contagious? | Depends on the type of bacteria, but only to other parrots |
| Yeast infection (Candidiasis) | |||
| Cause | Candida albicans | Prevention | Proper hygeine, remove fresh food after no longer then two hours, proper tempurature for hand feeding formula, many birds will develop a yeast infection when young |
| Symtoms | Regurgitation, delayed crop emptying, foul breath, depression, loss of appitite | How it is diagnosed | Physical exam, possible crop flush |
| Treatment | Medication, apple cider vinegar added to water | Prognosis | Good if treated early, can be poor in very young chicks |
| Common? | In chicks, not in adults | Contagious? | No |
| Scaly Face mites (beak mites) | |||
| Cause | An external parasite (Cnemidocoptes pilae) | Prevention | Proper hygeine, quarentine all new birds for at least a month |
| Symtoms | White crusty build up on and around beak and cere and near eye, severe cases may have small holes in beak | How it is diagnosed | Physical exam, facial scrapings |
| Treatment | Ivermectin (an antiparasite drug) given twice intravenously by the vet over a two week period, antiparasitic creams applied daily | Prognosis | Good if treated early |
| Common? | In budgies, not in other parrots | Contagious? | Highly contagious to other parrots |
| Vitamin A deficiency | |||
| Cause | Improper diet | Prevention | Proper diet |
| Symtoms | White build up in and around mouth, eyes, and sinuses, recurrent sinusitis, conjuctivitis, or foot infections | How it is diagnosed | Physical exam, blood work |
| Treatment | Change in diet, vitamin A supplements | Prognosis | Good if treated early |
| Common? | Yes | Contagious? | No |
| Calcium deficiency (Calcium, Phosphorus, Vitamin D3 Imbalance | |||
| Cause | Improper diet | Prevention | Proper diet |
| Symtoms | Difficulty moving, stress fractures in legs, lethargy, feather plucking, bone malformation in chicks, tremors, seizures | How it is diagnosed | Physical exam, blood work, possible x-rays |
| Treatment | Change in diet, calcium supplements, sunlight | Prognosis | Variable, may cause permanent problems |
| Common? | Yes | Contagious? | No |
| Egg Binding | |||
| Cause | An egg gets caught in a hen's pelvis | Prevention | Avoid overbreeding, provide extra calcium and humidity to egg laying hens, do not allow young hens to lay eggs |
| Symtoms | Straining, difficulty walking, change in behavoir, squating on bottom of cage, feces and urate passing may stop | How it is diagnosed | Physical exam, possible x-rays |
| Treatment | Immediate calcium supplements, medication to stimulate the ovarian muscles, supportive heat and humidity. Surgery if egg is not passed. | Prognosis | Good if treated immediately, very poor if treatment is hesitant |
| Common? | Yes | Contagious? | No |
| Polytetraflouroethylene Toxicosis (Teflon Poisoning) | |||
| Cause | Exposure to Teflon fumes | Prevention | Avoid non-stick pans or use them very carefully (do not overheat non-stick pans) |
| Symtoms | Sudden death | How it is diagnosed | Sudden death after exposure to fumes |
| Treatment | None | Prognosis | Very poor |
| Common? | Yes | Contagious? | Not from bird to bird but all exposed will die |
Since feather plucking is such a difficult problem with so many possible causes, I have a seperate page dedicated to it. Feather Plucking
Needed:
I use a small towel or cloth to hold the bird and not gloves because the towel is softer and often less frightening to your bird. If your bird is used to being held and will not bite, you don't need the towel, but it can still be helpful because chewing on the towel offers your bird something to do to take their mind off of the stress of being restrained. Some people feel that using a relaxing color such as white or blue for the towel is better.
Due to their small size, cockatiels are relatively easy to restrain properly, but at the same time can be a little daunting because they seem like they are so small and easily "breakable". Don't worry, cockatiels are much more hardy then they look.
Use your palm and three fingers to support your bird's back and cover their wings. Hold firmly so that they can not move around, but gently. If you feel yourself pressing into their wing muscle or chest muscle, you are pressing too hard. Picture
Gently wrap your thumb and index finger around their neck. Do not press firmly here, your bird should still be able to move their head but not able to pull their head out or lean too far forward. Picture
I also like to wear a zip-up sweatshirt and lean the bird against my chest. I feel this gives the bird additional support and comfort, plus the zipper can be such an interesting thing that they sometimes forget they are being restrained. Chewing on the zipper also gives an open beak that can be used to sneak a medication syringe in to
Important note: Unlike mammals, birds do not have a diaphram. They breathe using their lungs and air sacs alone, and neither is elastic like mammalian lungs are. So if you compress a bird's chest they will suffocate. Try to avoid putting pressure on a bird's chest. More information about avian respiration.
First, use a clean or new syringe to draw the reccomended amount of medication before you get the bird.
Next, restrain the bird as indicated above or as your veterinarian instructs. Even the most tame bird will usually not quietly accept foul tasting liquid in their mouths unless they are very sick.
Luckily a cockatiel is usually full of attitude and will bite or chew on the syringe when it is placed near their beak, making it easy to slip it into their beak. If your bird refuses to open their mouth, use the finger and thumb that is around their neck to very gently press on the sides of their beak. Gentle pressure is enough to force the beak open.
Slowly press down on the plunger to empty the syringe. If this is done quickly there is a small chance of accidently getting medication in the lungs rather then the crop, possibly causing pneumonia. Most birds will try to pull away when the medication enters their mouth so be sure you are supporting their back and the back of their head.
When you remove the syringe from their beak the first thing a bird will do in shake their heads, spraying medication everywhere. Not only is this messy but it reduces the amount of medication you bird actually gets, so try to hold the head steady so that they are unable to shake it for a minute or two. Very few birds will refuse to swallow if they are unable to fling it everywhere. If your bird is one of those few talk to your veterinarian, he or she might instruct you to give a little bit more to make sure your bird gets enough or may be able to tell you how to keep your bird from being able to fling it everywhere. Do not try to increase the amount without talking to your veterinarian first
Another option to give medication is a product made by Lafebers (the same company that makes Nutriberries) called Mediberries. These are Nutriberries that are intended to soak up medication and cover the taste so that your bird eats the medicated treat on their own. These are only available from your veterinarian and although I have not tried them as a way to administer medication I have put 15cc each (the equivilant of much more medication then a cockatiel would be getting) of pinapple juice on a few one and it quickly soaked up all of the medication and was enjoyed by my birds.
Please do not try to administer medication in your bird's water. Cockatiels, being desert birds, drink very little water and it would require a large amount of medication to give them enough. Also, it is impossible to regulate the amount of medication your bird is receiving if the medication is in their water. Some birds will even refuse to drink any water at all if there is something strange in their water.
After your bird has been given their medication, I like to give them a treat to help them calm down and to get the taste of the medication out of their mouth. Even when it is flavored the taste does not seem to be enjoyed. I have tried a little, and I don't blame them! Also, most sick birds are not eating as much as they normally do, so a treat can get some extra nutrition into them.
If you feel your cockatiel is sick please do not waste your money on the medications sold in pet stores. These medications are not strong enough to treat illnesses and are sometimes quite harmful to your bird. At the very least they will alter test results and make it harder for your veterinarian to properly diagnose your cockatiel.
If your bird requires intravenous, intramuscular, or subcutaneous medication or medication given via a tube, please ask your veterinarian to show you how to administer medication or board your bird for treatment.
