# Coughing/Sneezing fits



## beardrex (Oct 8, 2013)

My cockatiel Chief is having some sneezing/coughing fits. She is about 10 years old. I've only had her for a year now.

I have only seen a small amount of clear mucus from her right nostril once. She doesn't appear to have any matted feathers. She's not breathing particularly heavy, but there is a small amount wheezing and clicking for a short period after the sneezing fits. She's eating and drinking fine and her stool looks normal. No swelling or discoloration around her nose or eyes.

Her behavior seems normal. If anything she seems a little less grumpy and more amiable than usual. She gets extremely stressed out on car rides, it's a bit chilly out, and the closest avian specialist is pretty far away, so I'm trying to avoid that if I can.

So from my reading I think she might have a vitamin A deficiency if it's not an infection. I've never really paid attention to if she eats her pellets or if she's just eating the seeds. Since I've had her, she hasn't been a huge fan of fresh foods. I've just been feeding her the same thing her previous owners did. Today she actually ate some broccoli and carrots. It seems like her appetite is probably bigger than usual. I got a vitamin supplement for her water just in case she didn't want the veggies.

I'm getting paranoid, but all the videos I see of sick birds seem lethargic and wobbly on the perch if not on the bottom of the cage. She seems alert and is perching fine. I have no problem spending the money to get meds if there is something I can get without a vet visit.

Any advice is welcome.


EDIT: Since it doesn't appear to be an emergency, the vet could get me in Friday evening. Hopefully her condition doesn't worsen. She still seems alert and happy.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm afraid I don't have any advise to give. I hope others can comment. I too have read that sneezing/mucus can be a Vitamin A deficiency. If your tiel isn't fluffed up, is eating, etc. I think the vet appointment Friday should be fine. Just keep an eye on her and let us know how the appointment goes.


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## beardrex (Oct 8, 2013)

Here's the update:

The vet thought she may just have allergies since she was eating and drinking fine and was active. Her mucus is clear and she looked down her nares and said there wasn't really any blockage.

She wanted to be safe so she gave me some Baytril (which I could have guessed I was getting). It's a broad spectrum antibiotic I've read about a million times. I could have bought it online without a script >_< But at least the vet was nice and made sure nothing else was wrong.


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