# Cockatiels voice turning into a squeaky wheel



## Sir Squawks (Apr 9, 2012)

My 2 1/2 to 3 month old cockatiels voice the other day seemed to be getting hoarse. Now today it seemed to be getting slightly worse but on occasion his voice returns to normal for a few minutes. He eats and drinks normally and I know they don't show symptoms well. He has no redness around the nose and seems to be like his normal self. Even now hes making beak grinding sounds and hissing at things he doesn't like. He doesn't seem to be breathing heavily and his poop seems normal with green poop and a little bit of white urates. His water is changed daily and I add Vita Drops for birds. Hes been eating carrots, celery, whole wheat toast, and romaine lettuce when I serve it to him. I'm currently giving him a mix of seeds and pellets but I don't think he ever touches the pellets. On the other hand hes in love with his millet, but I only give him a quarter of a piece a day. Prior to this happening he has been very vocal with squawking. So I'm wondering if its from the excessive squawking hes been doing? I'm just trying to get some input on what it could possibly be. I will be making an emergency call to my local vet the AM.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Sounds like it could be a respiratory infection. Also, I'd remove the vitamins from his diet. He's getting more than enough from the veggies and pellets, and they can be harmful if your bird gets too much.


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## Sir Squawks (Apr 9, 2012)

Thanks for the help. I just got back from the vet and they said that its not a viral or bacterial infection. But to be on the safe side they swabbed his mouth and fanny to test for any infections and prescribed Baytril . They did say to aid him in feeding because he is on the lighter side and prescribed a dietary supplement AVIx Booster.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm glad it wasn't an infection. Keep us posted and I hope he's better soon.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Are they doing any tests to determine whether there might be a fungal infection? If there is, prescribing Baytril without an antifungal could make the infection worse. Did they explain why they didn't feel it was a bacterial infection?


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## Sir Squawks (Apr 9, 2012)

The test they did do was to check for the polyoma virus. They checked his mouth and throat and didn't notice any type of swelling or abnormalities. His nostrils weren't red and they determined that he is healthy except for being slightly underweight. I have to call anyway the next morning to give them a status update so I will ask again about it being fungal. But I believe they ruled that out too.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

There is no way to conclusively rule out infection without bloodwork and xrays.


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