Shaking & quiet

[TaylorZazu]

Hi everyone! First post here.

My 2 year old sun conure, Zazu seems a bit puffy these days. On top of that she does seem to be shaking/quivering a bit like she’s cold but my apartment is a good temp. She stayed overnight and had blood work at the avian vet this past weekend. Everything came back fine mostly. They did think her air sac sounded louder than it should but after her overnight stay and 1st round of antibiotics they said it was much better so they didn’t think putting her under anesthesia to get X-rays was the best route to go. They prescribed her baytril 2x a day at .08 ml for 4 weeks. Overall they didn’t seem too concerned that she was super sick and in danger. She has no nasal discharge, no tail bobbing, and eats and drinks very well. She still plays with her toys but I do think she’s been more calm and quiet. Oh, and she’s going through a pretty extensive molt.

Zazu was my moms bird up until 2 months ago. She had spent lots of time with me so her transition wasn’t too intense and she seemed to do very well. Since being with me she can be a lot quieter and sleep later in the morning. I’m wondering if it’s a change in environment and going from an early rising, loud and active household to a more relaxed and quiet one that has resulted in this change. The paranoid part of me worries it’s something more.

Has anyone experienced a birds sleeping habits change due to change in environment? What about the shaking? My mom thinks I’m staring at her too much and that she’s fine. Any advice would be great!

 

[SailBoat]

Yes, changing the location of the cage can effect sleeping habits, plus different locations in a room can in affect move a bird to an area that may have a draft and/or shadows that can effect their comfort and/or sleep.

Do you cover the cage at night?
Medication should be give for the full-length of time as some illness are prone to re-infect the parrot.

 

[quackerz]

You already went to the vet so health should be no problem. When your mom is around, does Zazu still act quiet? You might need to excuse yourself and let them be alone to rule out any stress caused by your presence.

Zazu I assume spent its first two years with your mom. Then the sudden change of environment definitely can affect it. I boarded my 1 year old conure for 4 months at the pet shop and it took him ~2 weeks after I got him back to adapt and return to the state before I left. I would only imagine a 2 year old bird taking longer. Another possibility is that Zazu is bonded to your mom as in it sees your mom as its significant other. This can also lead to the behavior change you described.

In both cases, interact more with it and the situation will improve with time. Just watch out for any mental issues developing though such as plucking.

 

[Laurasea]

I'm sorry to disagree with my above freinds.

I believe you are right, your bird is sick.
When moving to a new home the stress even if things go smoothly, is enough to allow something that was simmering to over take them.

Very often I hear of this. A burd just bought and brought home suddenly gets sick. A bird moved to New home with owners suddenly gets sick. They didn't suddenly get sick, they were fighting and keeping something under control...

Personally im not the biggest fan of baytril. It is a powerful antibiotic, but csn be hard on them. It also allows yeast or fungus to get out of walk more so than antibiotics. It is broad spectrum, but does not work against some of the common infections. For example , chlamydia. Nearly all birds have been exposed to this bacteria. Abd its a tricky one , it can go dormant and hide in the liver or body for years.....then a stress happened and they get an active infection. The number one antibiotic to treat this is doxycycline sbd ut takes 41-45 days of doxycycline to treat. And even then you might have a relapse. So if a vet just wants to throw an antibiotic at a bird the first choice might be better to choose doxycycline.

I'm not saying your bird has chlamydia, only that it is a real possibility.

It might also be something else, chronic fungal like aspergillosis, or yeast overgrowth. Chronic low Vitamin A, or other.

Was the bird in a smoking household?
What has the burd been fed?
Do the poops have a green ring around them?

Supporting care for birds is warmth. Extra extra warmth. 80-90f. K and H makes a cage heater. Sweeter heater is a radiant heat panel sold in Amazon. I use thus the small one, I have to set it back 6 inches ir so from cage. Its powerful, if you choose thus hold you hand a few inches away and judge and adjust as needed. Normal house Temps are not enough fir a sick bird.

Since your burd is on antibiotics. I highly recommend feeding some Greek yogurt, check that it has live Acidophilus as one of the cultures. Make sure not artificial sweetners. A glob to cover your finger tip is enough, you can do once or twice a day while on antibiotics. Mine lick from my finger. If yiu hold your finger out they will come and investigate and try it. If not beak tip touch abd wait. Usually after they taste and think about it they will eat it.

You need to get a digital kitchen gram scale. Weigh your bird. Weigh daily first thing in morning. Usually a sick bird will loose weight. Fir little birds a few grams is a lot. But % is best way to track. This us done by taking the number if grams lost and ÷ by normal weight then x 100 = % lost. More than 3% a sick burd more than 5% a very sick bird. Mine lost between 4-12% when sick. Suck burds burn 2 times their normal calories. So even when eating they often can't keep up.

So you work hard for nutritious foods , but sick birds get to eat. Offering a millet spray helps add calories. I like Offering a little boiled egg, fir protein, for vit E abd B. Offer bell peppers. Yellow is a hut and has much needed vitamin A, and cooked and mashed served warm sweet potatoes, cooked carrots, cooked butternut squash. If tgey don't eat pellets try grinding them up, add a few drops of apple juice then mix in warm oatmeal. Iv had successfully that way.

A good avian vet is very important. Contact your vet and discuss what you see and your worries. I think doing a fecal gram stain can be helpful, also swab the mouth and do a gram stain, or send out cultures.

If yiu can share poop picture, abd pictures of yiur burd thst is helpful.

If yiu burd csge us by a window and Temps outside are less than 70, then move the cage away from the window to sn interior wall. There us quite a cold pockets and leaching of heat by windows

Tips fir sick birds
https://www.littlecrittersvet.com/sick-birds.pml

 

[TaylorZazu]

Hi everyone,
I really appreciate all the advice and responses. Since Friday Zazu has been acting like her old self again. She screams, she chatters, she is all over me again unlike the previous week when she preferred being on her cage by herself. She is eating and drinking normal, dancing, and her poop is perfect. I think the antibiotics are kicking in and she’s getting better. She’s still shaking a little but I looked at old videos and it’s the normal amount she’s always done, I just never looked that closely in the past. Thanks again for all of your advice and I’ll be sure to check back if anything changes and update everyone!