![]() Often what appears normal to us can cause stress in our feathered friends. And in my experience baby bird that are raised on heating pad quickly become dehydrated and again are subject to burns.ĭebilitated birds must be kept in a stress free situation. If a bird is not perching and sitting directly on the pad they can easily become overheated or burned. ![]() I don’t recommend heating pads because it is very difficult to regulate the temperature. Therefore, the entire cage should never be covered during the day. Also, during the day it is important to provide light so that they may be encouraged to eat and can be monitored. Ill birds, just like ill people, require rest and if kept under bright lights all night they will become sleep deprived. ![]() For night warmth I recommend using a red light. If you see any of these signs your bird is much too warm and the environmental temperature should be reduced accordingly. A bird that is to o hot will have very sleek feathers held tightly to the body, will hold its wings (shoulders) slightly away from its body and may pant. This will vary greatly with the individual bird so it is important to monitor your pet to ensure that you are providing the correct temperature and of course seek your veterinarian’s advice. Generally speaking we keep our sick birds at environmental temperatures ranging form 85-95F. A simple way of providing heat is to cover 1/2 of the cage with a blanket and place a heat lamp on the other side as a heat source. Therefore, what often feel warm to us can be chilly to them and this is particularly true in sick birds. A birds natural temperature is much higher then ours at anywhere from 103F-106F. Your veterinarian will determine if your bird requires hospitalization, but if home care is acceptable, I recommend creating a tent to keep your bird warm. The effort to conserve heat places an additional burden on the already debilitated bird. Ill birds will sit with their feathers fluffed in an attempt to conserve heat. Some things to pay close attention to are The key here is to follow the advice of your veterinarian and to reduce any and all stress to your recovering bird. So the take away message here is to pay attention to your instincts and to react quickly to prevent disaster. Often the only way to determine that is bird is becoming thin is to feel it, the feathers hide too much! Additionally, when petting a bird you make notices massed, abnormal or missing feathers, abnormal breathing or diarrhea staining on vent, and even a weakened grasp to feet. I highly recommend handling your birds on a daily basis not only for their enrichment but also to detect signs of disease early. Also, pay attention to drinking as either increased or decreased water consumption may indicate a problem. ![]() Occasionally a sick bird will appear to be eating but when the seeds are examined closely no shelled or cracked seeks are found. For seed eaters it is important to pay close attention to the seeds. You may notice an increase or decrease in the amount or type of food ingested. Bird dropping are composed ofĪny changes in any of these components can signify disease. An extremely weak bird will no longer perch but rather will sit on the bottom of the cage.Īnother early sign of illness is a change in the character or production of feces. If the bird is also weak you may notice that the bird is not resting with one leg tucked up to the body or you may notice the bird wobble or rock with resperations. Most commonly a bird this is not feeling well is just less active and will spend more time on a perch sitting quietly fluffed up. So we’ve established that birds attempt to hide illness but they will still give subtle clues to the attentive owner. Please may attention to your instincts and have the bird examined by your veterinarian if you feel something is awry. Often times an owner will often just feel that something is not the same about their pet but may not be able to pinpoint any one thing. Therefore, it is our job as care takers of these wonderful creatures to be very in tune to the slightest of changes in our pets. An important thing to realize is that even the tamest and most loving of pet will excel at hiding or masking any sign on illness often until too ill to pretend.
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