Choking parrot

[Flapjack]

Hey all,
First I want to state that I have a vet appointment that I made as soon as possible and will be taking my bird to soon. I just wanted to post here asking if anyone has had a similar experience so I can ease my mind or prepare myself.

So, this morning my green cheek conure, Kure, ate breakfast (pellets) and shortly after started making a regurgitation motion. At first I dismissed it but she continued to repeat it with small chuffing noises almost like she was coughing. I thought she was choking so I called the emergency vet and they told me that she was ok for the moment because she was making noise that meant she was breathing. During the episode she also was acting normal aside from the regurgitation, making kissy noises, walking around, etc. While on the phone she stopped and seemingly returned to normal. The odd thing is that she never got anything to come up, it was only the motion, so I’m not sure if it was her food or just a sign of another problem. There hasn’t been any other incidents as I have been monitoring her, and she has no loss of appetite. She’s acting as if nothing even happened!

I would greatly appreciate any advice or things to look out for as I watch her, or if anyone has any knowledge about this situation.

 

[Love My Perch]

Strictly from my personal experiences with my Amazon, I’ve only seen this once or twice. I’m looking forward to others replyi so I can know more about this. I’m going to assume you understand a bird will regurgitate as a tremendous sign of affection for you, you fed him now he wants to feed you a bit. The noises are alarming obviously. I would think it’s a dry bit irritating his throat or topping off his crop, MY GUESS!! That’s from the human pov. Just my 1st thought. Of course this is alarming and if it continued I certainly would bring him for a visit. It’s not happening anymore (or not for a long time at least). I’d venture to ask if birds can actually choke?? Hopefully someone with throw that in their reply. Anyway, I think you’re right for a vet visit, ease of mind, confirmation of good health etc. Please let me know what they say. BYW, I usually get regurgitated on just before he decides to try to hump my arm haha. Yes, we’re dealing with a hormonal issue in our house.

 

[Flapjack]

Strictly from my personal experiences with my Amazon, I’ve only seen this once or twice. I’m looking forward to others replyi so I can know more about this. I’m going to assume you understand a bird will regurgitate as a tremendous sign of affection for you, you fed him now he wants to feed you a bit. The noises are alarming obviously. I would think it’s a dry bit irritating his throat or topping off his crop, MY GUESS!! That’s from the human pov. Just my 1st thought. Of course this is alarming and if it continued I certainly would bring him for a visit. It’s not happening anymore (or not for a long time at least). I’d venture to ask if birds can actually choke?? Hopefully someone with throw that in their reply. Anyway, I think you’re right for a vet visit, ease of mind, confirmation of good health etc. Please let me know what they say. BYW, I usually get regurgitated on just before he decides to try to hump my arm haha. Yes, we’re dealing with a hormonal issue in our house.

Yeah at first I thought it’s was just her being hormonal, but it continued for about 15-20 min so I figured something was wrong. Good luck with your bird, they can get so crazy with hormones. Thank you for your insight!

 

[hiriki]

Your bird has continued eating & pooping since the episode? I wonder if you can poke around his crop a bit? A vet will obviously be best to say whether the crop is swollen, but I wonder if he was trying to clear his crop and couldn't, but it looked like regurgitation from your perspective... also, if there's something wrong with the crop (like an infection or injury) then perhaps there's discomfort and he keeps trying to clear his crop to get rid of the discomfort? That's where my brain goes tbh, I definitely think seeing the vet is the right move in this case.

That said, my birds frequently make regurgitation motions without actually regurgitating food... it doesn't last for 10+ minutes is the thing, but...

 

[Flapjack]

Your bird has continued eating & pooping since the episode? I wonder if you can poke around his crop a bit? A vet will obviously be best to say whether the crop is swollen, but I wonder if he was trying to clear his crop and couldn't, but it looked like regurgitation from your perspective... also, if there's something wrong with the crop (like an infection or injury) then perhaps there's discomfort and he keeps trying to clear his crop to get rid of the discomfort? That's where my brain goes tbh, I definitely think seeing the vet is the right move in this case.

That said, my birds frequently make regurgitation motions without actually regurgitating food... it doesn't last for 10+ minutes is the thing, but...

She’s been eating and drinking consistently since it happened, honestly she seems a bit more hungry than normal (but that may be because I skipped her chop after the episode). I pushed around where her crop is and she didn’t seem to be in any discomfort either, I’m not sure what was up. I’ll know for sure tomorrow after the vet. Thank you for your response!

 

[Flapjack]

The vet ended up suggesting that it was hormonal behavior. I still have my doubts but they also said that she looked to be in perfect health so either way all is well!

 

[melissa87]

The vet ended up suggesting that it was hormonal behavior. I still have my doubts but they also said that she looked to be in perfect health so either way all is well!

That is great news. I've also seen mine do it after he has given himself a good scratch.