Illness
Code Red: Emergency Illness and Your Bird
When you bird suddenly becomes ill, your very first step should be to call your vet. However, there are things you can do to prevent your bird from dying and to make your bird more comfortable while waiting for your vet or while on the way to the animal hospital. Birds make wonderful pets, but they require lots of work and attention, so if your bird becomes ill suddenly, it is important to provide the best care possible.
First, keep your bird hydrated. Just like humans, a sick bird can easily lose hydration, which can lead to a number of problems. Eating is important as well. If necessary, force-feed your bird. This will provide your bird's body with the needed energy for fighting the illness. Your vet can instruct you on what to feed your bird and how to do it. In general, you should remove other foods from the cage to ensure that your bird is eating only the healthy foods for sick birds that you are providing.
It is also important that your bird be warm. A heater or light can make your bird uncomfortable, but make sure that your bird's cage is in a warm room and provide a hot water bottle in the cage for your bird. Sick birds should have an environmental temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius, unless instructed otherwise by your vet.
When your bird is sick, quarantine from other birds or pets is usually recommended. Have an extra, smaller cage on hand use for this purpose and keep the ill bird in a different room. Use disinfecting sprays when handling he sick bird and clean his or her cage often to kill bacteria. To keep the germs low, keep the water levels in the cage as low as possible and replace often in order to stop bacteria from breeding.
If your bird is very ill, do not hesitate to take him or her to the local animal hospital. If possible, have someone else call or announce that you will be coming and get on the road, early treatment is the key to saving your bird's life in many cases. Sometimes, no matter how well you care for your pet bird, his or her health will simply suffer. Make sure that you are providing the best home possible, and the rest is up to chance. The important thing is to look after your bird when he or she is sick to help your bird heal and become well again as soon as possible.
Bird Health
Bird Health
... that your bird doesn't get sick or injured. You always want to be on the lookout for things that will help your bird be happy and healthy, and you never want to be in a situation where you have done anything careless that is going to let your pet bird become sick. Birds and metal poisoning is something ...
... cause real medical problems. Molting is generally normal for a bird. As long as you see new feathers growing and there are no bald spots on your bird, there is usually no reason to worry. Your bird may pick out some feathers, but this is fine as long as your bird is generally in good health. There are ...
... sharp eyesight, much better than that of humans. Birds are able to reproduce by making sperm and fertilizing eggs in order to breed. All in all, the anatomy of the bird is very interesting and different from that of mammals. If you are going to be a bird owner, and if you are going to know everything ...
... the best nutrition. Also, you can feed your bird other things as well. There are many things that are made that are good for birds, including millet sprays and food sticks that have been fortified so you can put them in the bird cage and therefore make sure your bird is getting the right nutrition. Another ...
... you wouldn't expect a macaw to weight the same as a lovebird! There's also a range for bird weight, just like humans. Birds are typically weighed in grams, and this can be done at home if your bird is well trained or your bird can be weighed at the vet's office. Either way, your vet should be able to ...
Pets and Animals is part of the Find Any Info education and information network.