Sick Bird? Please Give Advice!

[Stasia]

When my husband and I came from work about a half hour ago, we took our 1 year old parrotlet out as always for his nightly time out and cuddles. When we took him out, he starting "yawning" a lot, opening his beak, stretching, and waggling his head a little. He does do this sometimes normally before bed, but this time was doing it much more frequently. At first we thought he was imitating our cockatiel who does this all the time and likes if you copy him and he makes a game out of it (he's been vet checked and told nothing was wrong with him). Then we noticed Pedro's (the plet) beak looked a little funny. It is more red/dark than usual. It is always a little dark, but it is much more so tonight. And the weirdest part is he keeps rubbing his beak over and over on anything that's handy. Like when he rubs extra food off, but there's nothing there, it almost looks like he's itching it. He is eating fine and besides from seeming a little extra sleepy, he's ok activity wise. I've been on the lookout ofr a fresh dropping but haven't seen one yet. My husband and I keep trying to decide if he looks puffy or if we're just over analyzing now, but he does seem a bit puffed up. I had a cold last week, could I have spread it to him?! Please give any advice! Should I call the vet asap or wait til morning or is this just a minor "something". I'm so worried about my little baby but don't want to make a big deal if he just has an itchy beak? (can that even happen)? Picture is posted below of the redness on the sides of the beak. Thanks everyone for any help!

Stasia

[Stasia]

P.S. the cockatiel seems fine, no symptoms of anything similar so far.

Stasia

[Stasia]

P.P.S. Poop looks ok too.

Stasia

[Joel]

Time for an A.V. visit Stasia (sounds like), I think tomorrow at the latest to be safe...... Until then, keep him warm - approx. 85 degrees around the clock, give some fresh pedialyte mixed with water (gatoraide can be used as a substitute I hear) in a shallow clean drinking vessel and place some of his favorite foods in there but keep fresh of course. Leave a night lite on nearby (7 watts approx. so he can find the liquids).....If you think he might not make it till tomorrow then I would call your A.V. now or get him to a 24 hr. emergency clinic with qualified staff members on hand to diagnose & treat a lil bird.....Any chance of anything toxic having been emmitted or sprayed etc. while you & hubby were at work?....Keep checking for fresh droppings also and ya might want to catch him up to feel both sides of keelbone to see if he has lost much weight and check vent area for diarreah staining and watch breathing to see if labored.......Not much else ya can do tonight yourself without crop feeding experience etc.....

[JThw8]

Let me start with saying Im not an expert on anything...and the photo may have just captured a particularly bad moment but he looks very poor in the photo and if its not just a bad moment in the photo I would probably be concerned.

Our fids hide their illnesses so by the time we see any signs at all they are already pretty advanced, if you have access to an avian vet it might be best to get him checked asap. Not worth risking it. Generally when a bird is acting outside of their norm something is wrong...it may not be serious, but Im paranoid and hate to take chances.

EDIT: Doh...posted same time as Joel....take the advice he gives :)

[Stasia]

Thanks for the replies, here's the update....

After looking at the pic I posted, it does look worse than he is, with his eyes closed and all. I think I was just so worried I threw the first pic I got up there. He really does look much more lively and healthy than that, it;s just the beak that looks abnormal. In the past hour we've been able to observe him a little more closely. Couple more poops, all perfectly normal. He doesn't look puffed really anymore (or we're just calmer now maybe) and is acting just as normal. His yawning has stopped, maybe he really was just being a clown. It's just that darn beak that is concerning us, still darker and he's still rubbing it. Is it possible for him to have an itchy beak?? Of course his health is my foremost concern, I just don't want the after hours vet charges if they are uneccesary. I am leaning towards waiting until the morning and calling his normal vet then. I have gone through his whole cage making sure everything is clean and ok and put the heat lamp on him. He is currently resting with my husband on the couch where he looks cozy and comfortable and getting lots of TLC. Would I be able to tell clearly if this were an urgent situation? Joel, in reference to the sprays or similar, there is nobody here during the day so no that is not possible. Although it did get me thinking that we moved his cage about a week ago. After really examing and thinking if that could be affecting him, I realized that he is much closer to the air vent. I don't see why that would make a problem but I've moved him back to his normal spot just in case.

[Stasia]

New idea... Can a bird simply bruise their beak? Or overgrind it for some reason? The more time goes by the more he is really up to his old tricks and acting just like his little self. He doesn't seem ill, not sleepy or puffy- no type of discharge or labored breathing. Anyone know of anywhere to get info on beak problems?


Stasia

[Monica]

It is possible to get a bruised beak, however if you could, it might still be good to take him to an A.V. just to be 100% sure...

[Stasia]

Thanks, is a bruised beak ok to wait until the a.m. you think, or should I take him to the animal er?

Stasia

Originally Posted by Monica

It is possible to get a bruised beak, however if you could, it might still be good to take him to an A.V. just to be 100% sure...

[Joel]

Stasia....I just spent about 1/2 hr. going thru my main avian medical book and read quickly over everything I could find on beak problems and unless I missed something, I could not find anything that mentions what I see in the pic....He does get adequate calcium, correct and eats a good healthy and varied diet? And another thing I would make sure of at this time (I may find something else later) is that he gets some daily direct natural sunshine (not through window glass) if at all possible. That may mean building a safe cage/flight that ya can attach to the wall outside a window of your home or get yourself a proper indoor Full Spectrum lighting set-up for him if ya don't have something like that already? I'll let ya know if I find anything else in some other medcal books asap, maybe tomorrow since it now does not sound like an emergency...

Originally Posted by Stasia

New idea... Can a bird simply bruise their beak? Or overgrind it for some reason? The more time goes by the more he is really up to his old tricks and acting just like his little self. He doesn't seem ill, not sleepy or puffy- no type of discharge or labored breathing. Anyone know of anywhere to get info on beak problems?


Stasia