First vet visit results

I took Josie and Hiccup to the avian vet this afternoon for a wellness check. Josie passed with flying colours (despite giving the vet a nasty bite) but not the case for Hiccup. The vet said his feathers are very, for want of a better word, ‘manky.’ He also appears to have feathers missing on his chest and he is quite skinny. As Hiccup is still new, he has not yet learned to step up. He flies around like a lunatic when I try to get him out of the cage, which is what I put the couple of broken feathers down to, apart from him being a baby.

When I bought Hiccup on Friday, the seller told me that he was missing feathers on his chest because he was only twelve weeks and it was the result of hand feeding, which he said could get mess on the birds chest and cause patchiness. The vet said this may be the case, but he wants to take a blood sample next Monday and has sent me home with a specimen jar to collect three days worth of poop from Hiccup too.

When I went to the pet shop on Friday, it was not to buy a bird, it was to get pellets for Josie. Hiccup just caught my eye and I knew he had to come home with me. The vet said he has had problems with this pet shop before, but I had no idea. I don’t regret buying Hiccup but I am worried now.

What worries me most is that because Hiccups cage has been next to Josie’s, the vet said that whatever Hiccup has Josie now almost certainly has too. I feel like a terrible parront. Apart from looking pretty unattractive at the moment, Hiccup is eating well, active, playing with his toys and chirping. The vet gave me some probiotics to put into both of their drinking water. He said the test would rule out some of the most common viruses and diseases but that if its beak and feather disease then Josie most certainly has it and there is no cure. I knew this, but to hear him say it broke my heart. Surely beak and feather disease would be something easily spotted?

The vet said that Hiccup needs to be moved to a completely different side of the house. Our house is not very big. Hiccup likes to sit on the back of my neck and nap. Do I stop taking him out of his cage? He’s so young and we were just starting to get somewhere together with stepping up and bonding. I feel very lost. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi Josie, I'm really sorry to hear this happened. Quarantine for new birds is extremely important as you now know. Even if the house isn't very big, you can still proceed with a quarantine. Put Hiccup in another enclosed room. Wash your hands before interacting with either bird and make sure no dander/poop is on you before or after you enter/leave the room. You could have specific clothes you wear into Hiccups room or maybe put a towel/robe to cover your neck and shoulder area. Make sure the two do not interact each other at least until you get the all clear on both birds. Minimum quarantine is 4 weeks but people recommend 6 weeks.

Unfortunately, it's so hard to determine if a bird is sick or not since they're so good at hiding it. Often times, by the time you can notice any actual symptoms, it might be too late. I would make sure to weigh both birds frequently to make sure they aren't losing any weight as that's always a really good determining factor.


You can make a bird perch scale for extremely cheap with PVC pipe, self adhesive bandages, and a flat scale.