# sick cockatiel



## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

hi, need advice about my tiel joey (female). i'm not sure if it's respiratory. joey has prety much always had runny poo, everything seemed fine till about teatime (11-05-2012), since then she seems to have declined over a period of about 6-9 hrs, she has been very quiet (normally she is chirpy), then she started to lose her height when flying around (misjudging her landings). later on in the evening she has been sat on my laptop, she seems to be wanting to sleep all the time, she is on my shoulder right now (not unusual for most birds, but she never comes on my shoulder normally) and she is making a sort of clicking noise near my ear and a sort of low pitched whineing noise. could this be breathing problems?. she drinks a lot of milk, rather than water, and she likes to eat a boiled egg but only the hard yolk, could these be causing her a problem. please help if you can, thank you phil.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

You shouldn't be giving her milk. Cockatiels are lactose intolerant. 

How often are you feeding her egg?

You should really get her to a vet. It sounds like she's declining fast...


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

hi meaggiedear, thanks for your quick reply. i give her egg once a day, but only half. she does'nt eat the white only the hard yolk.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

It sounds respiratory and it sounds like an emergency. Can you get her to a vet tonight?


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

i very much doubt it, i live in stalybridge, cheshire, i dont know of any all night vets.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Respiratory symptoms are very serious. I would start looking around for a vet, even if you have to drive a distance.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

It's recommended to only feed egg once or twice a week.


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

o.k. the egg/milk i understand. i managed to locate a vet, the problrm is they want £170 to come and see her, i don't have that kind of money (unemployed). is there anything i can do for her untill 9am?


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

It's really hard to advise you since we can't see your bird. If she is in respiratory distress, she needs to see a vet now.


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## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

Hi Phil, as meaggiedear says, that's too much egg. If anything, you'd want to feed her the whites only but the yolk is too fattening and high in cholesterol. That is why we humans sometimes also avoid the yolk.  If Joey's getting half a boiled egg yolk a day, her cholesterol levels must be sky-high! Please do get her to a vet as soon as you can and keep us informed. 

While we are on the topic of egg, ideally both the egg and the yolk should be fed because I just did my own research on the Internet on eggs, and the yolk is actually packed full of vitamins and minerals a LOT more than the whites, but the yolk is fattening and has high cholesterol so be careful. My Sunny gets a bit of egg about 3 times a week and usually it's scrambled because that is how we make our eggs in my family. I would give her just a tiny piece that has yolks and whites in it so she'll get all the nutrients and I'd try to dig out a piece from the center so that it has less oil . I think that ideally we should give birds hard-boiled eggs that is oil-free, and it would also allow us to control the portion of whites and yolk a lot better.


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

when you say respiratory distress, how do you mean, she's not "puffing and panting" she is quite calm?


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

You said she is making noises when breathing? If she is clicking when breathing, that likely indicates a pretty serious issue.


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

the clicing sound is not constant.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Is she tail bobbing?


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

it was a while ago when she was sat on my laptop, she's on top of her cage right now with her tail touching the wall, so it's hard to say without disturbing her, which i really don't want to do right now.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Okay, then I can't give you any more advice. Respiratory infections can cause a 'tiel to go downhill extremely quickly. They can be critically ill or dead within a few hours of the first symptoms. But only a vet can tell you if this is what your bird has. So if a vet is absolutely not an option for you right now, then you have to take the chance of waiting. I hope she will be okay until then.


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

o.k. thank you very much for your help and advice. i will keep you informed of what happens. thank you again, phil.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Just some thoughts....egg is high in protein. And from what you posted of her past history, there is a possibility that she may be having some kidney problems. The excess protein can impair kidney function. And she's have less energy and that low whining sound you hear could also be from pain.

Other thoughts....why won't she drink water? She needs water for good hydration. IF she will *only* drink milk, what I would suggest is getting some powdered milk and coconut water from the grocery store. Use the coconut water as the fluid to mix the milk. This will help with hydration, especially if there might be renal/kidney impairment. Will she nibble on any greens. The tops/leafs of celery will be helpful, and fresh dandelion greens. Both help urine flow and will help kidneys.


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

enigma731, hi, phil & joey here. i took her to the vets this morning, he took a look at her and said it is respiratory problems, and cholesterol level, probably caused by the milk & eggs, he gave me some "baytril oral solution" so i will just have to keep a close eye on her and hope she recovers. i must say, she does seem to have perked up a little since i first posted, so maybe it is not a big problem, she is also flying about a bit, and not misjudging her landing. she's sat on my laptop right now watching what i am doing, by the way, you asked about her tail bobbing, no, it does'nt appear to be. she is now on my shoulder, which she does'nt normally do. maybe i panicked a little, i will let you know over the next 2-3 days how she is doing. thank you again, see you later. PHIL-JOEY!


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

srtiels hi. she will drink water, but she goes crazy (whistling and flying around) if i dont give her milk? i cannot get her to eat any greens or fruit, she will take one look at it and think sod it thats not for me. the things you are suggesting i will try out. thank you for your tips, see you later phil.


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## squeeky (May 9, 2012)

good that you got her to a vet. good luck.


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

squeeky, hi there. thank you for your comment. she seems to have perked up a little since giving her the baytril this morning. she is flying about a lot better now and not misjudging her "landings" that in itself must be a good sign, hope it is. thanks again, see you later, phil.


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## squeeky (May 9, 2012)

that sounds good, but, when a bird is ill its always adviced to keep it in the cage. So they rest and restore. They shouldnt be flying. I got the same advice myself from the vet, thou i knew this from before.
And keep in mind that birds hide that they are unwell. So if she _seems_ to be ok, yes she might be a bit better, but it doesnt mean she´s healthy. Thats something i dont like with birds as pets, but what can you do. I wish they didnt hide their sickness until its too late.

One of my budgies died from lyphoma recently, and i can tell you she had both *normal poop* all the time and *was keeping her weight*.  Not that i think we could of saved her, but i could of spared her a lot pain she suffered.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Really glad you got her to vet. Just cut back on that egg and milk.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

squeeky said:


> that sounds good, but, when a bird is ill its always adviced to keep it in the cage. So they rest and restore.


This really depends on the bird. Yes, they need to be kept low-stress and allowed to rest, but for some birds, it would be more stressful to suddenly be confined to the cage. If gentle handling is comforting to your bird, I would continue to do it even while she is sick. This type of support can be very important for an ill animal.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> This type of support can be very important for an ill animal.


I was told that sometimes this is the difference between life and death...a bird that is extremely bonded to you will try to stay alive just to please you. So sometimes holding them is in their best interest.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Regarding the milk: you don't want to stress her unnecessarily while she's sick, but once she's feeling better it's best to just stop giving her the milk. If possible, don't even let her see any milk. She may freak out at first but she'll get over it, and it's not good for her.

There's obviously something in milk that she craves, and the first thing that comes to mind is calcium, and maybe also the vitamin D that's added to milk. So make sure she has cuttlebone and other calcium sources. Take her out for some sunshine or use a full-spectrum light; these things help with vitamin D synthesis. Teach her to eat pellets if she isn't doing it already. See if you can locate a UK source of cockatiel-size Nutriberries (Lafeber Company); they're equivalent to pellets but more attractive to cockatiels.


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## rockysmum (Mar 1, 2011)

You can get the nutriberries in the UK at northern parrots
Glad she has perked up, have you looked at the birdcare company they sell calcium supplements and other useful bird products the staff will always help you with advise on products to use , remember to tell them she is on baytrill as some products mustnt be used with antibiotics


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

o.k., thanks for all your comments and concern, it is appreciated. the milk & egg i stopped right away. @squeeky. i understand what your saying, we've had joey for 3-4 years or so, and we give her full freedom of the home for most of this time, she hardly ever stays in her cage, she does go in but only for half an hour or so, then she comes out. as enigma731 says, to put her in her cage could cause stress because she is'nt used to it. @tielfan. i thought that myself, something she craved for, thats why i kept giving it to her. i had no idea that it would do something like this to her, obviously if i had known sooner i would have stopped. i am so annoyed at myself for not looking into the kinds of food she can eat and can't. as i mentioned in an earlier post when i try her on new foods fruit/veg etc, she looks at it for a few seconds then thinks no way, thats not for me, cuttlebone, yes she uses this. people are mentioning harrisons and nutriberries, but the pet shops where i live don't stock these products?. as mentioned by rockysmum, yes i will take a look on the internet for these and purchase them. this is the sort of info i need. it is much appreciated. i have'nt been on the internet that long (4-5 months or so), so getting info was difficult, now i am getting good info, this will change, and help me care for joey a lot better. i have to say that this site is marvellous, i am begining to find my way around prety well!. i will let you all know how she is over the next few days, and thank you again for your concern and advice, it is appreciated. see you all later, phil.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> people are mentioning harrisons and nutriberries, but the pet shops where i live don't stock these products?


These are both American products that are available primarily in the US and Canada. Harrisons is a brand of organic pellets that is actually one of the more difficult pellets to convince cockatiels to eat - apparently they don't taste very good! There should be good-quality pellets available in the UK, and maybe one of the UK members can recommend a brand.

Nutriberries are more unique - they're nutritionally equivalent to pellets but they look like seed balls, and it's usually MUCH easier to convince a cockatiel to eat them than it is to get a tiel to eat pellets. But their international availability is pretty limited, and international shipping would be insanely expensive if you ordered them from the US. 

Following the suggestion of rockysmum, I looked on the Northern Parrots website and found some nutriberries at http://www.northernparrots.com/parr...ption=m9#filterkey=brand&brand=LAFEBER&page=1 But this is the size for larger parrots so I'm not sure how appropriate they are for cockatiels. The nutritional content should be about the same as the cockatiel size, but I don't know how easy it is for a cockatiel to eat them. Maybe someone with experience in offering this size to tiels can provide information.

Edit: I just discovered that Northern Parrots also has Harrisons pellets. This is the size that my tiels eat: http://www.northernparrots.com/harrisons-adult-lifetime-fine-prod5807a/


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## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

Hi Phil Hope your cockatiel recovers fast All the best X x


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

tielfan, your right, iv'e just been having a look for nutriberries £4.99 for the product, £24 for shipping? crazy!. i will take a look at your link, see what happens there. thanks for your info, see you later, phil.


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

nassrah, thank you for you concern, phil.


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## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

My Sunny is on Harrison's but I can only buy it from one of the three vet clinics here in Toronto that treat birds because they order Harrison's products regularly. The regular pet superstores and the regular dog/cat clinics won't carry this brand. Maybe you can contact the vet clinics in the UK that have avian vets and ask them if they carry Harrison's products. This is apparently the most highly recommended by avian vets (which, I'm sure, is debatable, just like everything else ). It is not that expensive for me but I heard that in some parts of the world it can be quite expensive. As to taste, Sunny seems to like it pretty well. And I didn't even ease her into it either----I just switched her to Harrison's one day, cold turkey, and she just came over and started eating it like she had been eating that since she was born or something.  Sometimes I even buy the high potency coarse pellets for her and crush them into a powder and she eats that too.  If you're interested, you can call Harrison's and ask them to send you a free sample (ask for the high potency fine or superfine---both are suitable for tiels, only difference is the size) and see if your tiel would eat it. If your tiel is introduced to Harrison's for the first time, she should be on the high potency fine/superfine for 6 months, then switch to the adult lifetime fine/superfine for good. 

I trust Harrison's because I like that it's the only organic bird food brand. Sunny also gets the organic red palm oil (the Sunshine Factor) once a week as a booster.


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

annie hi, i followed tielfans link, and took a look, funny thing is, this place is only a few miles away from my home, and pretty cheap prices too, so i will take a trip sometime this week. thanks for your info, i may look into that. see you later. phil.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The Harrisons price wasn't bad at Northern Parrots but I thought the Nutriberry price was outrageous. 28 pounds for a 12 ounce tub?!?!? You can get the 4-pound tub for $26 on Amazon.com but I'm sure you have to be in North America to get the free shipping. 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=cockatiel+nutriberries

Unfortunately they're not available at Amazon.co.uk


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## squeeky (May 9, 2012)

roxy culver said:


> I was told that sometimes this is the difference between life and death...a bird that is extremely bonded to you will try to stay alive just to please you. So sometimes holding them is in their best interest.


I had no idea about that. But now i know. (wonder if that applies to budgies too) That might be the case with our Squeeky too. He needs us apprently. Maybe he was a bit down sitting in his cage. When we let him out and socialised with him last night he ate heaps. Thou thats not the case today.


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

squeeky said:


> I had no idea about that. But now i know. (wonder if that applies to budgies too) That might be the case with our Squeeky too. He needs us apprently. Maybe he was a bit down sitting in his cage. When we let him out and socialised with him last night he ate heaps. Thou thats not the case today.


"she is on my shoulder right now (not unusual for most birds, but she never comes on my shoulder normally) and she is making a sort of clicking noise near my ear and a sort of low pitched whineing noise"

this is what joey may have been doing the other night?. i thought it was strange myself, she had never done this before, now i know why. phil


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

That sounds like a hen making a mating noise...was she bent low with her tail in the air?


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

hi roxy, i dont know, her tail was trailing towards my back, so i could'nt see. my tiel has been very ill over the weekend as you probably know. she was doing a lot of strange things throughout her illness, this was just something that made me realize there was something wrong, because she had never done this before. she is fine now, and she has not been on my shoulder since. therefore i'm not sure what to make of it.


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

hi everyone, phil & joey here. i just thought i would let everyone know that joey is doing very well, i have seen a few behavioural changes in her the last 2-3 days, she fly's onto my shoulder a lot now, without asking her. if i am in the kitchen, she will follow me a minute or two later, and land on my shoulder!. she has also started to eat a few veggies, which she never did, only a nibble but it's a start. thank you all very much for your help, advice and concern. see you all later phil & joey.


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## Cryren8972 (Oct 3, 2007)

Great news! =)


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## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

Glad to hear that Joey is doing fine.Hope she continues to improve X x


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## phil (Jan 14, 2012)

cryren, nassrah, thank you, to both of you. phil & joey.


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

That's great news Phil,glad Joey is doing better and trying veggies.


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