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Preventing Diseases in Birds : Section 6
Sick Birds Masters of Disguise
 As you read this section, if you notice or have noticed any of these signs please arrange a consultation by logging in (if you aren't a member please register) so that we can better help you and your birds.
Birds are masters of disguise when it comes to hiding their illnesses, disabilities and pain.
This is probably a survival mechanism.
Obviously sick birds are quickly attacked, killed and eaten in the wild.
Most people can recognise that a bird that is fluffed up, listless, sluggish in its movements and dull or very sleepy is probably sick.
However, fewer people will realise that such a bird is very sick, if not moribund, meaning close to death.
Such a bird is in need of urgent and intense help!
It is important to know that some birds in this state can be returned to good health; others are perhaps best helped on their way out of this physical reality we think of as
"life".
Our prospects of helping sick birds are usually improved by early recognition of signs of illness and by prompt, effective and appropriate veterinary treatment.
By the time we recognise that a bird is sick, it is often already much sicker than we think. Therefore, any sign of sickness should be investigated properly and a complete physical
examination should be given.
This cannot be done over the phone!
So how do we learn to recognise the tell-tale signs of sickness in birds?
The first important step is to become observant and interested.
Analyse the appearance, movements and behaviour of normal healthy birds. Then, if you see anything that differs from this, it warrants investigation.
Some common signs of ill-health
 Sleepy and listless during the day; fluffed up and standing on 2 legs while fluffed up, not "talking".
Laboured breathing and/or shortness of breath; mouth breathing, tail bobbing and arcing, wheezing, coughing, blocked nostril; sneezing, stained feathers adjacent to nostril.
Altered angle of tail, head or neck; altered posture; dropped wings; crouched down; sitting low in cage.
Increased or decreased appetite or thirst.
Selecting only one type of food.
Changed frequency, number, quantity, consistency and/or colour of either dark or white part of droppings or the water ring around the droppings.
Overgrown, cracked or crusty beaks or claws.
Cere colour or shape change.
Abnormal swellings anywhere.
Sore, discharging or narrow ear canals.
Sore or swollen or partly shut eye; discharge or crusting around eye.
Excessive moisture or slime in mouth; swollen or encrusted tongue; food retained in mouth; difficulty swallowing; "vomiting" or repeated regurgitation; slime or crusting on feathers
around head.
Curved or twisted breastbone or keel.
Swollen convex abdomen (normally concave from sternum to vent).
Soiling, crusting, caking, swelling or bulging around vent; damaged.
Deformed and missing feathers.
Excessive preening, scratching or rubbing.
Excessive screeching; any sores on underside of feet or legs; swollen joints
Loss of weight especially thin concave pectoral muscles; reduced ability to fly
Obesity
Abnormal mating and courting behaviour; aggression or fear.
Convulsions, twitching, staggering; weakness.
Blindness; cloudy eye; incoordination;
Inflammation, discolouration, crusting or ulceration of the skin.
Pallor; bleeding; wounds and injuries.
Remember, when a bird is sick, there is usually more than one cause for the sickness. Each cause needs to be found and treated or corrected if possible. We are trained and skilled to do
this for you.
For more indepth knowledge on this topic click on "buy this section" below or log in to make an appointment with Dr Ross Perry.
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