We have colds.
I picked up this virus at work and the bird got it too. We've both been sneezing like, like what? My dad walking by a department store perfume counter. We're talking marathon sneezing here! I feel so bad for the little guy. All night long. *tthit,tthit! tthit!* from the little green guy. It sounds so pathetic and sad. He's miserable. He's wheezy and what he wants most is to camp out in my shirt and sleep with me. He can't do that because I don't want him getting anything worse from me, and I really don't want anything he's cultivating either.
Birds and humans can do that. Pass colds back and forth like toddlers in Kindercare if we're not careful. Hence the whole "omg! bird flu!" freak out that happens on occasion. That being said, passing colds from pet birds to humans is far less common then from human to pet bird, mostly because pet birds rarely have contact with the outside world. Green Bean hasn't had contact with anyone but Moe and I since summer and the only person in his face is me, so, yeah, we pretty much know how he got sick. I feel like a heel. I gave the bird cooties!
Bad mom!
*sigh*, He's on antibiotics.
He'll get better soon.
Still. it's makes me sad.
It's rough being little and green.
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3 comments:
Hi... sounds like you've had your bird for a while. Did he ever sneeze before as a regular occurrence, or was this an obvious sign of something wrong. I just got a new bird 2 days ago and she's been sneezing some, but I can't tell if it's normal or if I should be concerned. She also has pin feathers, so I thought that might be a cause. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Newbee
Green Bean will be 12 years old in February and we've had him since he was about six weeks old.
Sneezing occasionally isn't a problem. Birds do it to clear out vents if for instance they get dust in them while eating or water or if they are just irritated. If it's constant and your bird's vents are visibly congested, or sneezing is accompanied by wheezing or a high pitched squeaking sound, that is when you need to be concerned.
Some birds produce more dander then others (cockatiels for example) and may need a daily bath (or spray with a fine mist) to keep the dust down, so if your bird's cage area seems particularly dusty a bath or shower might help. Bathing also helps soften the sheaths on pin feathers so they can be more easily shed. It might help your bird feel better and encourage healthy preening. If you're in a colder climate make sure you give showers/baths early enough in the day so your bird isn't chilled at night.
If you're still concerned about the sneezing, take her to an avian vet if you have one in your area. I usually take my birds once a year for a check up. A good avian vet will look at things like general feather, muscle and bone health, vents to see if they're clear, they'll check stools for parasites, will track weight and look at the crop, and do annual blood work.
You can look up avian vets at:
http://www.aav.org/
Good luck!
Always funny when those parakeets sit on your finger and i read where a falmily was saved by the COACATIEL and theres one of those old comics where some guy is taken captive by giant intellegent parakeets
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