# Breathing problems, pulling at feathers and cant fly



## magic_cockatiel (Aug 9, 2010)

My cockatiel is 17 (we've had her frm a baby). About 6 months ago she started to have heavy breathing ocassionally which at first we thought was a cold. She then started to bite her feathers, not pull them out just strip bits off of them so the feathers are still there but look severely bitten, and as a result she looks almost bald on her tummy!

The breathing has also got steadly worse so much so that shes wheezing and sneezing quite alot and cant fly! The feathers round her beak also have a sticky brown coating. Im sitting nursing the poor little things now.

We've had her to vet 3 times, but all she does is charge us around £90 for antibiotics to be added to her water, vitamin powder for her seeds and some antibacterial spray were supposed to mist around her once a day, all of which havent made the slightest difference. My mum is unwilling to take her back again due to how much it cost and the fact that none of it as done her any good, but im probs going to take her back again.

She eats and drinks normally, and her stools are same as usual.

Does anyone have any advice on what this could be or what i can do? Or can anyone recommend a good vet in the teesside area? I'l be devestated if anything happens to her.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Can you post any pix's of her...especially where she has been picking on the abdomen.


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## magic_cockatiel (Aug 9, 2010)

I've taken a pic of her but not sure how to post it, on here? I dont have a website to upload it to.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

When you see the reply window click on: Go Advanced it will bring up another window. Scroll down and you will see Manage Attachments. it will bring up a small window. Click Browse to find the pix's on your computer. Click on upload to upload the pix. Do this for each pix. Once you have the pix uploaded, close the window. Finish your post and click on Submit Reply.


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## magic_cockatiel (Aug 9, 2010)

Ah ok thanks for that! She looks in quite a pitiful state, this has been for about last 3 months.


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## Velvet (Jul 30, 2010)

OH....poor baby!!! I would go to a different Avian Vet!

Good Luck....all the best. I hope she gets better !!!


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## luther349 (Apr 5, 2010)

the birds 17 years old it may just be getting old. `15-20 is the avg for these birds. im only saying this being its age spending all that time in vet care may not be worth it if the bird is simply reaching its end of life.

trust me i know that's not a answer you wanna hear but that looks like alot of issues compounding probably due to age. trust me i had to put down my 22 year old crippled dog i had sense a kid it was pretty hard on me. at 21 years old i was told he had really bad arthritis. it got to the point he was living on pain killers but eventually they stopped working and i had to make the choice. i will admit he played like a puppy despite the pain killers. untill he got to the point he could barely move and pain killers had no effect.

so i ran up massive vet bills for a dog that died a year later. being to stubborn to accept his old age and he suffered cause of it. so your moms probably in the same line of thinking i was but making a different choice is it worth trying to save a 17 year old bird.


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## claire2010a (Aug 10, 2010)

magic_cockatiel -- I am so so sorry your poor baby is not doing well. I strongly agree that you should seek out another vet.

And please don't give up just because your baby is 17 -- I have a 17 year old tiel and the notion that he's not worth caring for because of his age is just horrific to me.

There are times when it is right to let an animal go, but it has nothing to do with their age, it has to do with their health. And IMO, you need a different vet to get an accurate assessment of your tiel's health.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

It looks like she is also getting thin. Do you have another vet you can go to...one more experienced with birds? They could check for aspirgilliosis, which is a fungal infection that can also effect breathing. This may work better for her than an antibiotic.

Beta Carotene...which can be found at a health food store in capsule form, may be a good supplement to add to anything she is eating. it may help with some of the respiratory problems. This is going to sound odd, but it worked for me many years ago when I had a couple of tiels like yours, which was after several vet visits. I started giving them a Hibiscus flower and some leaves daily for several weeks and it helped to clear up their respiratory problems.

Also...if you have any probiotics or benebac you can give her these.


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## claire2010a (Aug 10, 2010)

I don't know if it will help with your baby, but check out the "detox" section of the following page: http://www.landofvos.com/articles/wingtips/aloe.html

It can't hurt to try.


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## magic_cockatiel (Aug 9, 2010)

Thank you so much for your replies, im really relieved to hear that you dont think 17 is too old for her to still get treated, ive had alot of people who dont know much about birds saying she is just naturally dying (which I dont believe). Even the vet looked at me and said 17 is old you know, we all get things wrong with us when were old, as though that was an explanation. Am very frustrated im not helping her better.

The vet we took her to has a special interest in exotic pets (and has her own cockatiels) so we thought this was probs our best bet, as when I google avian vet and the region i live in nothing comes up, and on lists of avain vets the nearest is about and hour an a half a way and I dont drive so could probs get someone to give me a lift a shorter distance but I dont think anyone will be willing tio drive me an hour and a half :-(

How did you decide which vet to go with? I live in the north east of england, in the teesside region. Im making a note of the conditions you mention to take with me to the vet, I hadnt thought of thinsg like fungal infections. 

Is it right that you cant x-ray/scan birds to look at their chests?


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

I am really sorry your bird is not feeling well. Hopefully the beta carotene and hibiscus flower that srtiel suggested will help. I really hope your tiel feels better soon...wow 17 years old, that is amazing, you must be doing something right please keep us posted.


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## magic_cockatiel (Aug 9, 2010)

Do I actually try and feed her the actual hibiscus flower? and is the beta carotene for sprinkling on her seeds etc. 

Not having much luck in finding an avian vet unfortunately, I might just have to try another surgery in general in the area.

Will have to post a pic of when she was looking all fluffy just a few months ago :-(


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## claire2010a (Aug 10, 2010)

magic_cockatiel said:


> Thank you so much for your replies, im really relieved to hear that you dont think 17 is too old for her to still get treated


I didn't know anything about tiels when I agreed to temporarily take care of the 17 year old guy who is now a beloved part of my family. When he got sick, I took him to the closest avian vet (that's how I chose the vet, by geography) who sent me home with meds and the expectation the tiel wouldn't live through the week. That was four months ago and he's very healthy now.

When that vet was on vacation, we had an emergency (eye injury) and I saw another avian vet -- the next closest one at one hour away. Luckily, I do drive and can make the trip, because I adore this second vet.

Try checking your area for a bird club/society. If you find one, contact them and explain the situation and ask for help. Tell them you're desperate and explain the lack of finances available. It's possible you'll find someone there willing to help.



magic_cockatiel said:


> Is it right that you cant x-ray/scan birds to look at their chests?


Absolutely not. My boy, Teelee, has a bum shoulder due to scar tissue -- we know the issue is scar tissue because we had an x-ray done. The first vet I saw wanted to anesthetize my boy and charge me $300 (USD) for an x-ray. The second vet does x-rays without anesthetic and charged me $80 (USD).

I wish I could pop over and give you a ride... really really, see if you can find a local club and do check out the link I provided and see about getting some aloe vera juice (in the US, it's available at pharmacies and health food stores). It won't hurt and certainly might provide some relief for the skin/plucking issues.


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

Claire2010a it is so sweet of you to share your story...I am sure it is very uplifting to read what your tiel has been through and doing so much better.


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

I've got a list here from the Parrots magazine website, there's a few pages to go through but hopefull you'll find someone there. I'm thinking along the same lines as srteils, could be aspergillosis/fungal infection, antibiotics alone will just make that worse, if it is fungal you'll probably be prescribed Itrafungol.

http://www.parrotmag.com/vets?catid=27


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## luther349 (Apr 5, 2010)

i wasn't trying to be mean bought it. but the bird may be dying of old age. and spending tons on vet bills on a bird that's just going to die anyways is not worth it. i could be wrong but from the looks of him it looks like a few things problem due to age.

the fungal infection may be something to look into. they will not show upon a normal checkup and can be inside will anything for years and never show up until years later. they have to actively look for such a infection if that's the case. 

btw i own 11 year old birds.


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## claire2010a (Aug 10, 2010)

luther349 said:


> spending tons on vet bills on a bird that's just going to die anyways is not worth it


Any time you go to the vet with a very sick pet, that's a risk -- regardless of the pet's age.

But the determination of "worth it" is a very personal decision that every pet owner has to make for themselves.

And while seventeen is certainly on the senior end of the scale for average lifespans of pet tiels, it's not at the, "omg, how is he still alive???" end of the scale.


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

I agree, I've come across people that have Cockatiels in their late twenties, even someone who had one that was 33. The oldest one I read about on the web was 36.


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