My sister left for college last summer, and left her 5 year old cinnamon female cockatiel behind, in my care. I only know the basics of bird care, but I am learning. A couple od days ago, she started looking sick. She was puffed up on her perch, was having trouble balancing, and was shaking. Lucky for me, she decided to begin this on sunday, when all the vets are closed. Great. Again, I don't know much about birds, but I do know that when small animals are sick, you need to keep them warm. I placed her in a laundry basket lined with a towel, with a heating pad under it. After a while, she began to eat and drink again, and was becoming livelier. Yesterday we took her to the vet, and said she had a bacterial infection in her intestines. She is on SMZs now, although I am having a hard time giving them to her. I also fear that there is an underlying cause, like a bad liver or kidneys. does anyone here have any advice or information about cockatiels? She looks worse again today.
Sick Cockatiel
- Thread starter OrkyBetta
- Start date
Synirr
"No one is a failure unless you try"
Oh no, the poor dear 
What are you feeding her, and does she drink from a dish or a bottle? Does she get fresh fruits and veges on occasion?
One possible contributing factor is a diet too high in seed. Seeds are very fatty and too many can be bad for birds, particularly sunflower seed. If her food is high in sunflower seeds, you might try switching to a budgie diet mix for a while, and buying a good quality pellet food to mix in with it. You can also buy powdered avian vitamins to mix in with her food, which will help her get what she needs to make a fast recovery. Adding some molting formula food to her diet will also help her to recover, as will putting her cage in a sunny window a few hours a day to let her get some sunlight. Offering her a bit of boiled egg yolk might do her some good as well.
Was the vet you took her to an avian specialist? Birds have some pretty specific needs that "normal" vets aren't always familiar with, so if not, you might want to locate an avian vet and at least call in and ask for some advice. Best of luck, I hope she gets better soon!
What are you feeding her, and does she drink from a dish or a bottle? Does she get fresh fruits and veges on occasion?
One possible contributing factor is a diet too high in seed. Seeds are very fatty and too many can be bad for birds, particularly sunflower seed. If her food is high in sunflower seeds, you might try switching to a budgie diet mix for a while, and buying a good quality pellet food to mix in with it. You can also buy powdered avian vitamins to mix in with her food, which will help her get what she needs to make a fast recovery. Adding some molting formula food to her diet will also help her to recover, as will putting her cage in a sunny window a few hours a day to let her get some sunlight. Offering her a bit of boiled egg yolk might do her some good as well.
Was the vet you took her to an avian specialist? Birds have some pretty specific needs that "normal" vets aren't always familiar with, so if not, you might want to locate an avian vet and at least call in and ask for some advice. Best of luck, I hope she gets better soon!
Well, she is definately sick to answer the first question! Fluffing up the feathers and shaking is a bad sign. I dont know what it could be (could be a number of things) but if you are at all unsure about the first vet's diagnosis get a second opinion asap.
As Synirr said, birds need very specialist medical treatment so if the vet wasn't a qualified avian vet definately find one that IS a specialist in birds and take it to them. Unfortunately very few normal cat and dog vets know anything at all about birds and they may end up doing more damage than good..
As Synirr said, birds need very specialist medical treatment so if the vet wasn't a qualified avian vet definately find one that IS a specialist in birds and take it to them. Unfortunately very few normal cat and dog vets know anything at all about birds and they may end up doing more damage than good..
UPDATE everyone.
Thank you so much for the replies. I did take her to a specialized avian vet. She was diagnosed with an intestinal bacterial infection, and I was giving her SMZs twice a day for 10 days. She was severely underweight, so I incorporated some more millet and whole grains into her diet. She was eating more fervently than ever before and drinking up a storm. I thought she was going to make a full recovery until yesterday. She was laying chest down in her laundry basket, she was shaking, and was incredibly thin. Her feet were swollen to three times their size. I rushed her back to the vet. The vet confirmed my fear of kidney disease, she had goiter in her feet, and she had lost 20% of her body weight in about 10 days, despite being on a high fat diet. We kept her at the vet's, where she was put on IVs with a saline solution, to try and flush some toxins out of her kidneys. She was back on the antibacterial medicines, and was in an incubator to keep her warm.
Unfortunately, we recieved a call this morning telling us that Regan has passed on. They found her breathing fervently, shaking despite the warmth, and even thinner and more swollen than before. She died minutes after.
She will be strongly missed. We've had her from birth, and have raised her for five years. Rest in peace, old girl.
]
This is how I most vividly remember her, she was often a grumpy girl.
Thank you so much for the replies. I did take her to a specialized avian vet. She was diagnosed with an intestinal bacterial infection, and I was giving her SMZs twice a day for 10 days. She was severely underweight, so I incorporated some more millet and whole grains into her diet. She was eating more fervently than ever before and drinking up a storm. I thought she was going to make a full recovery until yesterday. She was laying chest down in her laundry basket, she was shaking, and was incredibly thin. Her feet were swollen to three times their size. I rushed her back to the vet. The vet confirmed my fear of kidney disease, she had goiter in her feet, and she had lost 20% of her body weight in about 10 days, despite being on a high fat diet. We kept her at the vet's, where she was put on IVs with a saline solution, to try and flush some toxins out of her kidneys. She was back on the antibacterial medicines, and was in an incubator to keep her warm.
Unfortunately, we recieved a call this morning telling us that Regan has passed on. They found her breathing fervently, shaking despite the warmth, and even thinner and more swollen than before. She died minutes after.
She will be strongly missed. We've had her from birth, and have raised her for five years. Rest in peace, old girl.
This is how I most vividly remember her, she was often a grumpy girl.
zelandonia
Fish Crazy
I'm so sorry to hear that Regan passed away. It sounds like you did everything you could to make her better though. Birds are so stoic that they rarely even show they are sick until it is already too take to resolve the problem. RIP Regan. 
z.
z.
Im sorry you lost her but you couldnt have done any more for her by the sounds of it.
Thats a fantastic pic of her by the way. RIP Regan
Thats a fantastic pic of her by the way. RIP Regan
wendywc
Rocking a crabshell for a hat.
Sorry for your loss. She was gorgeous.
sheba
Fish Fanatic
I was really sorry to hear about your loss - very sad
My own cockatiel Charlie is at least 22 yrs old. We got him in 1984. Does anyone know how old cockatiels can live to? We always think of him as a boy but I seem to remember him laying an egg once! He has had two 'friends' whohave both sadly passed on. He's a tough old bird!
My own cockatiel Charlie is at least 22 yrs old. We got him in 1984. Does anyone know how old cockatiels can live to? We always think of him as a boy but I seem to remember him laying an egg once! He has had two 'friends' whohave both sadly passed on. He's a tough old bird!
Bloo
~ I learn something new ~ ~~~~ every day ~~~~
So sorry too hear about your loss Orky RIP little Regan 
That's fantastic. Their top range is around 30 years, but you already have a very healthy long-living pet there
RIP little Regan I was really sorry to hear about your loss - very sad
My own cockatiel Charlie is at least 22 yrs old. We got him in 1984. Does anyone know how old cockatiels can live to? We always think of him as a boy but I seem to remember him laying an egg once! He has had two 'friends' whohave both sadly passed on. He's a tough old bird!
That's fantastic. Their top range is around 30 years, but you already have a very healthy long-living pet there
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