Bird health: warning signs and household dangers

This guide is for guidance only: it isn't meant to help you diagnose your bird, but to help you recognise the warning signs and, above all, to remove from your home the dangers that kill birds every year. In birds this is critical, because they hide illness better than almost any other animal.

The bird hides illness

A bird is prey, and prey that shows weakness is prey that falls. That's why a bird hides that it's ill until it no longer can. When a bird clearly «looks ill», it has often been ill for some time and the situation is serious.

The practical consequence is twofold: you must know your bird's normal state very well (its activity, its appetite, its droppings, its voice) to catch the subtle changes, and you must act fast at any sign.

Signs of a sick bird

Watch for —and consult the vet about— signs such as:

• Fluffed-up feathers for long periods, the bird «balled up» and dull.
• Sleeping during the day, much stiller and with less activity than usual.
• Staying at the bottom of the cage instead of on the perches.
• Eating less or nothing, or changes in the droppings (colour, consistency, amount).
• Tail movement when breathing, laboured breathing, noises or open beak.
• Discharge from the eyes or nostrils, half-closed eyes.
• Feather-plucking or sudden changes in voice and behaviour.

If you see several of these signs, or one clear one, don't wait: contact an avian vet.

Fumes and air: the invisible danger

A bird's respiratory system is extraordinarily sensitive — far more than ours. There are substances in the air, invisible and odourless to us, that can kill a bird:

• Fumes from overheated non-stick cookware (PTFE/Teflon) · lethal within minutes. This is the reason a bird should NEVER be in the kitchen or anywhere near it.
• Tobacco smoke · very harmful to birds.
• Aerosols and sprays (cleaning products, hairsprays, air fresheners), scented candles and incense, strong cleaning products.
• Paints and solvents during building work or renovations.

Ventilate the home well, avoid these products near the bird and always keep its space away from the kitchen.

Toxic foods and plants

Some common foods are dangerous for birds: avocado, chocolate and cocoa, caffeine, alcohol, excess salt and heavily processed products. Many houseplants are toxic too. The safety rule is simple: give your bird only what you know for certain is safe for its species, keep plants out of its reach and discuss its diet with an avian vet.

Other household dangers

• Windows and mirrors · a bird in flight can crash into them; the glass must be made visible during its time out.
• Ceiling fans running · deadly with a bird flying.
• Pots, containers with water, open toilets · risk of falling and drowning.
• Other animals · cats and some dogs are predators; a scratch or bite, even a minor one, is an emergency because of the bacteria in their saliva.
• Doors and stepping on the bird · if it walks on the floor, take extra care.
• Metals · some birds gnaw metal objects that can poison them; watch what is within its reach.

Feathers and moulting

Moulting —the periodic renewal of the plumage— is a natural process: the bird loses and renews feathers, may be a little more listless and needs good nutrition to cope with it. This is normal. What is NOT normal is for the bird to pull out its feathers (feather-plucking) or for bare patches of skin, unhealthy-looking feathers or bleeding to appear: that requires a vet. Telling a natural moult apart from a problem matters; when in doubt, consult.

The avian vet

Birds need a vet who specialises in birds or exotics: their physiology is very particular. Find that clinic before you need it — in an emergency with a bird, time is decisive. Do a check-up when you adopt it and at least an annual check-up even if it seems healthy: it's the way to get ahead of what the bird hides.

When it's an emergency

Go immediately to an avian vet if your bird:

• Is at the bottom of the cage, heavily fluffed up, listless and not responding as usual.
• Is struggling to breathe, with its tail pumping, its beak open or making noise.
• Isn't eating anything or has stopped producing droppings.
• Is bleeding, has suffered a blow, a fall or an attack by another animal.
• Has been exposed to fumes (kitchen, aerosols) and shows any sign of distress.
• Has seizures, is disoriented or can't stay on its perch.

With a bird, when in doubt, it's always better to consult too much: by the time the symptoms are clear, they usually come late.

In short: a bird hides illness, so your best tool is knowing its normal state and reacting fast to any change. Remove the deadly dangers from its environment —above all the fumes from non-stick cookware, always keeping it away from the kitchen—, avoid toxic foods, have an avian vet lined up and do regular check-ups. This guide is for guidance; the diagnosis is always the vet's.