Worried about my suncheeck

[Deisyg21]

I just got a suncheeck from a breeder today. I am worried because his tail is downward. Im afraid he is sick. I have had other two conures and never saw them put their tail like that. Also, my brother got a sun conure and his tail was downward too, his bird died two days later. We dont know the reason, we thought the bird was sleeping. We saw him 20 min before he died and he was ok. When he died his tail was extremely downward. More than when he was alive. Im really worried. I spent a lot of money and dont want anything to happen to him. Any advise?? Help!!

 

[SilverSage]

Go to the vet right away! A qualified avian vet.


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[Deisyg21]

I just uploaded a picture of him. Do you think that's normal? I contacted the breeder and he told me that he was fine that he is a healthy bird. But im scared. Theres no vets at this time.

 

[SilverSage]

Well he is on his back so it's impossible to tell much about his posture.


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[SilverSage]

Where do you live? There may be emergency vets within driving distance.

What's the health guarantee ? Also that looks like a pineapple, not a suncheek?


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[Deisyg21]

I live in riverside. Emergency vets are very expensive. This bird was expensive, i cant afford an expensive place right now.

 

[Deisyg21]

Uploaded more pictures.

 

[SilverSage]

I don't know where riverside is; I don't even know what state. But an emergency fund is really important to have. The price of the bird can indicate easily how expensive they will be to care for.


In the new pics yes it looks like a suncheek. If you can't afford vet care perhaps it is best to tell the breeder you would prefer a different, less expensive mutation.


Is there anything that is concerning you other than the tail posture?


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[Owlet]

Posture - The bird should maintain an erect position on the perch, weight evenly distributed on the feet, wing tips crossing over the back and the tail feathers maintaining a straight line with the back. Sick birds will sit with either one or both wings drooped and its tail directed downward. A bird that has their tail directed downward may have a respiratory tract disturbance or abdominal discomfort (infection or enlargement). Tail bobbing/flicking also can occur.

Ill parrot and sick bird information

This is all I could really find about downward tails.

 

[Deisyg21]

I just got it today in the afternoon. He has been sleeping and no i think its only the tail posture.

 

[Flboy]

riverside what?

 

[BeatriceC]

I live in riverside. Emergency vets are very expensive. This bird was expensive, i cant afford an expensive place right now.

In which of the 18 cities and towns in the US named Riverside do you reside?

ETA: And that assumes you live in the United States. There may be towns named Riverside in other countries, but I didn't look.

 

[Deisyg21]

Riverside CA

 

[Deisyg21]

Sorry I just saw your msgs. I took my bird to the emergency vet but they said the bird specialist was out of town

 

[SilverSage]

They should still be able to do a basic check, listen for junky lungs, do grams stains, blood work, and parasite screening; all VERY basic any vet can do that.


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[BeatriceC]

As SilverSage said, any vet should be able to do a basic exam and at least rule out any major emergencies. That said, if you start to get alarmed and worried that your bird might not make it through the night, I know that there's an emergency vet clinic in San Diego, about 1.5 hours from you, that does have an avian certified vet on call (actually, they have two that take turns). I'm still digging around for regular avian vets in your area, as it's Sunday night, so it'll be regular business hours soon enough.

 

[itzjbean]

Hopefully your bird is okay! I have never seen that in a bird before, but I'm no expert, either. And also.... it goes for any animal, dogs, cats, birds, reptile, rodent, etc. You should never purchase an animal if you cannot afford to take them to the vet to get them the care they need.

 

[EllenD]

OK, I'm going to be very direct with you because I don't think you're taking this as seriously as you should be, and I feel a responsibility to your baby bird to try and make you understand how serious this may be. And just to make sure you know that I'm an experienced bird owner and breeder, I'm 37 now, have had pet birds since I was 6 and was born into a bird breeding family, and bred birds myself for over 20 years.

When a bird constantly points it tail downwards like yours is doing it is usually a sign of distress, pain, or illness. It is similar to a bird "tail-bobbing" if you're familiar with that. A sick bird will often point its tail straight downward, toward the floor, and then will eventually start bobbing the tail very slightly. This is a sure sign of illness in a bird, typically a respiratory infection or sinus infection, and less often an abdominal or stomach ailment. It is also frequently a sign that a female bird is egg-bound. Obviously if you just got this baby bird and it is not a year old or older then it is not egg-bound, so chances are that your bird is very sick, most likely with a respiratory infection, and she absolutely must be taken to a certified or at the very least a qualified avian vet who will know enough to do a culture and sensitivity, diagnose the bacteria causing the infection, and will be able to prescribe the PROPER medications based on the result of the culture. Most general vet's that do not know about birds will just prescribe a broad spectrum antibiotic and hope it covers the infection the bird has; if they pick the wrong antibiotic the bird dies. This is why you must take your bird to an avian vet only, it's of dyer importance.

I don't know how much experience you have with owning pet birds, if any at all, since you just got this baby bird yesterday, but let me try to explain the urgency of getting your bird to an avian vet immediately to you...Birds are not like dogs or cats or any other type of pet when it comes to being sick and needing to see the avian vet at the moment they show any signs of illness. Birds in the wild instinctively hide any outward signs of illness or injury for as long as they can as a protective mechanism. If they show symptoms of being sick or injured they are automatically singled out as targets by predators, as they will be seen as the weak and easiest prey to catch in a flock. They will also put their flock in danger if they show any outward signs of illness or injury, so if they do they will also be abandoned by their flock. Even birds that are born in captivity and are pets still maintain these protective instincts, and as a result they do everything they can to hide all outward signs of illness or injury for as long as they can. So by the time they DO SHOW outward signs of illness, like your bird is now doing and has been doing for at least 24-48 hours, this means they can no longer hide their symptoms and that they have been sick for a long time and are very seriously sick at this point.

So chances are your baby bird has been sick for quite a while, long before you brought her home yesterday, and now needs to be taken to an avian vet immediately to receive medical treatment or she is going to die. I'm not trying to be harsh or rude to you, but I am trying to scare you because you don't seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. And as far as how "expensive your bird was" and "how much you paid for your bird", I can only comment by telling you that when you decide to be responsible for a pet and to bring a pet into your home, you are now the sole caretaker of the pet. You should have known going into this that vet care is an expensive yet very necessary and required part of your responsibility to the little baby bird you purposely brought into your life. And this doesn't mean anything to you, perhaps the fact that your baby bird may die in the near future if you don't take her to an avian vet and get her medical treatment will get through to you, as at that point it won't matter how much you paid for her...

Now you did do a good thing by getting her from a breeder, I don't know if it was a reputable breeder or not, but if it was then you should have some kind of health guarantee from your breeder. Most reputable breeders require you to take your new bird to a certified or qualified avian vet within 3 or so days of bringing him home in order to make the health guarantee valid. I have no idea what your agreement with the breeder is, but if you still refuse to take this bird to an avian vet immediately then my suggestion is that you take the baby back to the breeder if she is willing to give you your money back, and insist that she take the baby to an avian vet immediately. Any breeder that would tell you that a bird that has its tail constantly pointing downward or is tail-bobbing, constantly fluffed up, etc. is fine and not to worry about it is trying to avoid admitting that they sold you a sick bird. Your breeder may not have known that this bird was sick at the time she was sold to you, I'm not saying that, but now that the breeder knows your bird is showing classic signs of illness they should be stepping up to help, or at the very least advising you to take the bird to an avian vet immediately.

And just to make a point to you, Riverside, CA is a suburb of Los Angeles, I'm very familiar with the area, and there are surely multiple certified or qualified avian vets within an hour or so of you. A simple Google search for "avian vets in the Riverside, CA area" will reveal dozens of results, as I just did it...Los Angeles is only a little over an hour away from Riverside, I've driven that route several times, so you have absolutely no excuses for not being able to find either a certified or qualified avian vet within an hour of you. Please do the responsible thing, fulfill the commitment you made when you bought your bird, and get her to an avian vet ASAP.

Just to clarify, a general vet at this point is much better than no vet, so if a general vet is all you can get her to immediately then by all means, please take her ASAP.

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[IndySE]

Poor thing

Riverside CA isn't too far where I live... I take Kermit to Muirland Animal and Avian Hospital. It is a bit on the expensive side, but they are specialized to take care of birds and seem to be highly regarded. I've never had an emergency like this, so I don't know their policy in emergency situations, but I hope you can get your little guy taken care of fast !

Also, if an avian vet DOES find something wrong with your bird, I'd consider taking the costs to your breeder because they really should refund you some of the money If they have any sort of reputation, I'd think they'd want to compensate you.

 

[SilverSage]

Agreed. Even if it isn't in writing, and decent ethical breeder will pay the expenses for an illness that obviously began before the bird left their care.


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