# New Tiel Gasping/Wheezing



## tehya (Sep 13, 2009)

Hi All,

Any suggestions or thoughts regarding the tiels I was given today would be greatly appreciated. 

Received a healthy (so far) male tiel, age unknown, and a female tiel, age unknown from a woman that has 6 birds. The female is panting both at rest and during movement. She also wheezes while breathing. I will give all the information that has been passed on to me to help clarify the best that I can.

I am at least the third owner of these birds. The two that I was given were housed with the other 4 cockatiels and lived with them for four months. I have been told by the previous owner that this female has always breathed in this manner. All the others birds *appear* to be healthy in all regards. They have been fed exclusively a pellet diet, no veggies or fruits of any kind.

Aside from the breathing issues, the female, her name is now Silver, has a limp crest, her feathers altho' all are present are lacking in luster. She generally looks dull. Legs are in decent shape, the beak is a little rough, cere looks ok. There is no discharge from the eyes, (her eyes to me look somewhat dull as well) or cere that I have yet seen. I have yet to determine which waste is hers yet all waste present in the cage does not appear to be something that I feel concern about. From what I have been told she eats and drinks readily.

We are more than 400 km's from the closest aviary vet.

Silver and Cheepers are my first cockatiels. I would appreciate any thoughts on what might be afflicting this little girl as they are both very sweet. I am hoping with some additional information I may be able to have our regular vet take a look at her.

Thanks in advance,
Tracy


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Could be respiratory problems. I'd take her to the Vet to have her looked at, wheezing while breathing isn't a good sign, I'm surprised the poor girl's still alive. You may also want to start offering them veggies and give them some seed.

Kudos to you for taking them though, it's really good that you're at least willing to take her to the Vet which needs to be done ASAP!


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## Di_dee1 (Feb 20, 2009)

Hi. Welcome to the board. I too am way away from any avian vets. I personally would not have taken the bird as it sounds like it has an untreated illness. That may or may not spread to other birds.
My suggestion (that I have had to do) is ring around and find a "normal" vet who would be prepared to call an avian one and work in conjunction with him/her. (edit, I see you have) I feel that this bird definitely needs some help.
I also have a first aid kit on hand including store bought antibiotics (weaker than those prescribed by a vet) for use if in talking with a vet that he/she feels it would be beneficial to use.

I would also know how to do a hospital cage in case the problem gets worse. Warmth can save the life of a sick bird. A small cage or plastic container (a rack can go over the top of it. If a cage, cover 3 sides, put a desk lamp close to one side, not close enough to burn and so the bird can move away from heat if needed. Put perch, food and water down low so energy is not expended needlessly. A probiotic is good to have on hand. If not, gator aid mixed 50 50 with water can help with electrolytes. A splash of apple cider vinegar in water is also good to use. Brewers yeast sprinkled on food is good for vitamins for humans, birds and pets. Good for stress in coping with their relocation.

That all being said birds can take a while to settle in to a new place. They may not eat or drink for a couple of days. Watching their poop is often a way to first see they have illness as in the wild they hide it till they can no more as they would be attacked.
Do not freak if you feed coloured pellets and get some wonderful colours.


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## tehya (Sep 13, 2009)

Thanks to you both for your thoughts. Our regular vet is not real keen on helping at this time. I have supplied fruits and veggies. Have got the hospital cage ready altho' with her already being moved once today I am reluctant at this point to separate her from her mate. Will watch and do so if necessary.

What I can't understand, and again I've not had Tiels' only Budgies, is why she hasn't succumbed to her illness already and secondly why none of the other birds have contracted anything if contagious. All I can assume is that she has enough immune system to be keeping whatever is going on in her respiratory system at bay. Am wondering whether this may be mites or a deficiency(ies) from lack of vitamins/minerals and food variety.

Di_dee1 would the brewer's yeast be an issue if candida were possibly present? Have some apple cider w/the mother which I will present to them in the morning.

Will keep you all posted and thanks again.


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

it might not be contagious at all, she could have issues with her air sack a damaged/not fully formed lung or even heart issues ( i know i'm a human but I have a couple heart problems and one makes me breath with much difficult at times even if i've not moved in over 30 minutes)

but with out seeing a vet and getting tests/ X-rays its hard to tell exactly the problem 

but If shes had 3 owners I'm sure she's an older bird(over 1) and if no other bird including her cage mate has contacted anything I highly doubt she has anything contagious 

Also when a bird is new and scared (or just scared) it will breath hard. Mine i've had most for 2 years, If i'm staring at them(trying to see something in particular) they'll start breathing hard and they are used to me , used to me checking them etc. Even my hand fed babies do it But once I look away or walk away and talk to the other birds and glance back over they're fine


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Can you carefully pick her up and check her abdomen to make sure it is flat and taunt feeling? This could be an indication of fluid build-up and/or possibly egg related peritonitis. In either case this could cause labored breathing. (I have pix's of what to look for if needed)

Another thought...how is her weight? Thru the breast area is there alot of flesh on either side of the keelbone or little? If overweight, again check the abdomen (parting the feathers) to see if the skintone is normal or has a butter yellow look to it *under* the skin. Sometimes with being overweight the liver can get enlarges, and/or cause pressure on the other organs which again can cause labored breathing

Do you know if the previous owner had the hen setup?


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## tehya (Sep 13, 2009)

Hello All,

I want to again thank everyone for their help and the time they took to respond.

Silver went to the vet today, they did xrays and smears. From what the vet has diagnosed unfortunately it appears that at some point in her life she had pneumonia that went untreated she has now developed chronic bronchitis, the actual term began with the letter p however I can't remember the term right now, and the scar tissue within her lungs is causing the wheezing/whistling/gasping. The vet said that there really isn't anything that can be done for her as he believes even a long term course of antibiotics would not help at this point. (He actually said that he would be happy to take our money for long term care but it's his belief that there is less than 10% chance she would improve at all). So we are now trying to keep her as stress free as possible, she seems to wheeze less when her crate is partially covered, as he said there is little we can do to improve her quality of life. 

This is all a little overwhelming to our entire family as we have become attached to these little tiels really quickly.

Thank you again for taking the time. If anyone has been through this type of situation before I'd really appreciate your thoughts on how you made the decisions you did. I guess I just feel horrible not being able to do something for her.


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## lineola (Jul 20, 2009)

You did wonderful seeking out care for her! 

I guess after what the vet said I would concentrate on making her comfortable, and making sure she gets good nutrition. Keep her from stress or heavy physical activity. Also I agree with Di_dee1's suggestion of adding vegetables and a bit of brewer's yeast to her food. Drug store or health food store should have it. It has a nice balanced B-complex vitamins, which are excellent for energy and relieving stress.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=1538

Maddie


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

A narural source of Vitamin A may also help with respiratory membranes. If you have a Whole Foods nearby you can get Carotene capsules and sprinkle 1/2 cap a caouple times a week on any foods you know your bird will eat.

Carotene is better absorbed and assimulated in the body and converted within the liver to Vit. A, than using vitamin suppliments.

As mentioned above brewers yeast is an excellent suppliment too theat contains amino acids, and B vitamins...and helps releive stress and nutritional value. It can be lightly sprinkled on the food every other day.


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