Why is it important to prepare for vet visits?

Birds are particularly susceptible to acute stress (as a result of short-term sudden changes in their environment). For this reason, it is important to prepare for any potential causes of acute stress, such as using a carrier, travelling in the car, being handled, and vet visits.

What equipment will you need for your vet visit?

• A safe, secure carrier that is an appropriate size for your bird
• A towel/blanket to cover the carrier
• Treats
• A sample of their normal formulated diet and details of any fresh foods fed daily
• A sample of used cage paper for faecal/urate examination

How can you best prepare for the vet visit?

Training your bird is an important part of building their relationship and bond with you and your family. It is also a great way to enrich their lives and reduce stress for novel situations such as vet visits. Some examples of different ways to work with your bird are:

1.Socialisation and handling training

Socialisation is critically important to the health and general well-being of your bird. Being comfortable with humans and being handled by humans is particularly useful for minimising the stress of being handled when they are unwell, such as during a clinical examination at a vet's office. Birds that aren't used to being interacted with directly will find handling when sick especially distressing. 

Prepare in advance by making it part of your weekly routine. Helping your bird accept seeing and interacting with different people, as well as training your bird to be comfortable being wrapped in a towel on occasion, will greatly reduce the stress of visiting the vet. Towelling is a common low-stress handling technique used in vet clinics for physical examination, so practising at home can acclimate them to the sensation ahead of time.

2. Carrier training

Training your bird to be comfortable and familiar with a particular carrier is greatly advantageous. If your bird can arrive in the clinic minimally stressed, they are better equipped to deal with any stress that faces them when they arrive. Encourage your bird to explore the carrier often during training sessions and reward engagement with a treat to solidify a positive association.

3. Training to become familiar with travelling small distances

It is recommended to take your bird in its secure carrier on the occasional training trip to get them used to the car and travelling. If your bird is familiar with the feeling of travelling and being in the carrier, it can lay down some positive groundwork to reduce stress should the need to travel due to illness occur in the future.

You can also consider covering the carrier during travel to calm your bird and muffle the environmental lights and sounds of the car. If possible, playing some familiar music quietly can also help calm and reassure them during your trip. Keep training trips brief and ensure they end with a reward each time.

What happens at the clinic?

In the waiting room

• Aim to arrive shortly before your appointment time to minimise waiting in the waiting area where your bird could encounter predator species like cats and dogs.
• If you have to share a common waiting area, ensure your carrier is kept up high in the waiting room, away from predators and possible dangers. If the waiting room is particularly loud, ask if your bird could wait in the treatment room or perhaps stay out in the car until it is your appointment time.
• Keep the carrier covered.

In the Examination Room

• Uncover the carrier to allow your bird to acclimate to the room.
• Your vet will ask questions about the general health of your bird, their history (where they are from, any previous illnesses, and any health concerns you have about them).
• The vet will aim to minimise handling to reduce stress for your bird, usually using a towel to handle them safely. Your vet will carry out a physical exam, checking your bird from head to toe. They will weigh your bird and examine their faeces/urates in the carrier.
• Sometimes further tests such as blood samples, x-rays, or swabs may be recommended if indicated by the clinical exam. Your vet will discuss this with you prior, and potentially suggest a light sedation to aid them in ensuring these tests are completed with minimal stress to your bird.

Unfortunately, as birds are prey species, they often hide illness and so are very poorly by the time they reach a vet’s clinic. Any amount of stress on top of the stress their bodies are under due to illness, can have fatal consequences. This is why making efforts to prepare and minimise stress when attending the vet is ideal.

If you are worried about taking your bird to the vet, speak to your clinic who will be able to advise you.

What are some signs that your bird is unwell?

What are some common diseases you should be aware of?

Obesity

Obesity is unfortunately common in pet birds and is usually a result of improper nutrition. Birds fed an exclusively seed-based diet are especially prone to obesity. Pet birds are more likely to overeat when given the chance, so the proper amount of good quality commercial pellet diet supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables is recommended for a healthy bird.

Symptoms include rotund appearance, yellow fat deposits showing through the skin, internal fat deposits compressing organs resulting in malfunction and failure of those organs, difficulty breathing due to reduced capacity of air sacs with fat deposits, beak overgrowth, narrowed blood vessels resulting in high blood pressure, exercise intolerance, breathlessness, and heart failure.

Liver and kidney disease is seen as having a distended abdomen, poor feather quality, and diarrhoea. This is a common sequela to obesity due to fat deposits causing malfunction, severe illness, and death.

Proper nutrition before symptoms become severe and irreversible can treat obesity. Swapping diets from seeded diets to nutritionally balanced pellet diets supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables should be done sympathetically and slowly. Ask your vet if you need guidance with the process.

Deficiencies

Deficiencies are common in those fed improper nutrition and again, more common in birds fed seed-based diets.

• Vitamin A
  A deficiency in vitamin A leads to damage to the lining of the mouth, nose, and throat as well as kidney damage. Symptoms include enlarged blocked nostrils, tongue “abscesses,” and kidney failure. Treatment for less severe cases involves surgically unblocking nostrils to aid breathing and supplementation.
   
• Calcium
  In younger birds, calcium deficiency (hypocalcaemia) results in poor beak, bone, and feather quality. This leads to deformed beaks and predisposes birds to fractures. In older birds, deficiency results in muscle tremors, a generalised weakness, difficulty perching, seizures, and can lead to death.

A properly formulated commercial diet supplemented with fruits and vegetables should negate the need for supplementation. However, supplementation blocks or additives for water are also available.

Aspergillosis

Caused by the inhalation of the fungus Aspergillus and common in warm, moist conditions, this disease results in respiratory illness.

The disease can either be acute (fast to cause more severe disease) or chronic (slow to cause symptoms with a gradual onset). In acute disease, we see severe breathing difficulties, choking, and the rapid deterioration to a potentially life-threatening illness without emergency treatment. In chronic disease, pneumonia will develop, air sacs will become less efficient and breathing problems are more gradual. During chronic disease, fungal spores are also released into the bloodstream, affecting internal organs and causing liver failure and death.

Treatment with antifungals is often successful if the disease is caught early. Prevention is with good hygiene, maintaining cage ventilation, and removing spoiled food.

Beak and feather disease

Caused by circovirus, this disease attacks young, growing feathers and beak tissue in fledgling birds. It also damages their immune system, so they have no resistance to other diseases. Most infected birds will die, and some will survive but with damaged wing and tail feathers, leaving them unable to fly. The course of the disease varies depending on the age at infection and the infective dose of the virus. Very young chicks succumb quickly. Older birds develop characteristic feather deformities or discolourations, and the disease takes longer to take hold.

Symptoms are a generally unwell bird, eye discharge, breathing difficulties, poor appetite, lethargy, and characteristic feather and beak deformities. There is no specific treatment, the disease is often fatal, and prevention is through hygiene and sanitation.

Parrot Fever

Parrot fever, also known as psittacosis, is noteworthy as it can affect birds and humans. Caused by the bacteria Chlamydia psittaci it results in pneumonia in people or depression, ruffled feathers, loss of weight, inappetence, diarrhoea, and respiratory symptoms in birds. Birds usually have a thick nasal discharge with a sneeze and fluorescent green diarrhoea.

This can be transmitted between birds by inhalation, direct contact with sick individuals, or through faecal transmission.

Treatment is with an extended course of antibiotics. In severe cases, intensive care may be necessary including supportive treatment such as injectable antibiotics, fluids, and heat. Isolation is also needed due to the infectious nature of the condition.

Bacterial infections

Birds are susceptible to various kinds of bacterial diseases, usually caused by a lack of hygiene, brought in by new birds, or on natural perches or foods. Symptoms depend on the type of bacteria, its location in the body, and the organs it is affecting, but they are generally that of an unwell bird such as listlessness, weight loss, and loss of appetite.

Preventing bacterial infections in birds is best achieved with hygiene and sanitation with the biggest risk factors being the introduction of new birds into a home. This is why quarantining birds for a minimum of 30 days is recommended to prevent the spread of any such diseases. Ensuring cages aren’t overcrowded, are frequently cleaned, and are well-ventilated, with plenty of fresh species and appropriate nutrition available will reduce the incidence of infections. Cages should be regularly disinfected, and food stored hygienically.

If you are worried your bird is unwell, consult your veterinarian who will advise on the best next steps to ensure your bird gets back to full health quickly where possible.

Why does your bird hide illness?

Birds are very good at hiding illness and injury as a natural adaptation to survive in the wild. Any signs of weakness could be preyed upon by predators, so it is advantageous for wild birds to mask in order to survive. In our pet populations, however, masking signs of illness or injury makes it even more difficult to get them the timely help they might need. Therefore, observation and detection of anything out of the norm is vital. Get to know your bird and check in with them often to make sure they are fit and all is well. If you do notice something is awry, stay calm and act accordingly.

What signs of illness should you look for?

• Active bleeding
• Difficulty breathing
• Difficulty moving around
• Fluffed-up appearance
• Sitting at the bottom of the cage
• Lethargy
• Refusing food, especially treats
• Changes in behaviour

Emergencies

In the case of emergencies, it is best to stay calm and be prepared. Having a first-aid kit and basic knowledge of how to stabilise your bird prior to seeking medical help from a veterinary professional can be the difference in achieving the best outcome of returning your pet to full health.

PREPARE: What should be in your first-aid kit?

• Emergency phone number for your avian vet clinic
• A safe, secure carrier for transport
• A towel for safe restraint
• Heat pad
• Cotton balls/swabs
• Clotting agent (Styptic powder/potassium permanganate/ferric chloride/cornflour/plain flour/baking powder/talk powder)
• Disinfectant (Dilute chlorhexidine)
• Scissors
• Masking tape
• Tweezers

What should you do?

STAY CALM! Stabilise, then treat. Birds are incredibly sensitive to acute stress such as injuries and sudden onset critical illnesses so it is important to get the early stages of stabilisation correct first before jumping into treatment or they may not make it to that stage!

1. Observe – Watch them closely for signs of problems, is there active bleeding? Are they moving around OK? Are they having problems breathing?
2. Isolate – Once a problem has been identified, carefully move your bird into a quiet area on their own for assessment, stabilisation, and treatment.
3. Restrain – Using a towel for safety, restrain your bird for proper examination.
4. Stem any bleeding – Apply pressure for 1-2 minutes before utilising any clotting agents you have in your first-aid kit (see above).
5. Immobilise – Consider taping the shoulders and tips of the wings with masking tape, or using a padded box, to prevent further injury by immobilising the area of injury.
6. Warm – Shock is a big concern for our bird friends, so active warming is an important part of stabilisation. Either using a towel draped over the cage or an under-cage heat mat, actively warm your bird to between 29-32 ̊C.
7. Seek veterinary attention – Once you have stabilised your bird, it’s time to call your vet for advice and potentially schedule an emergency appointment. In the case of broken nails/claws etc, once the bleeding has been stemmed, it may be your vet can offer advice over the phone without the need to be seen. Any uncontrolled bleeding, wounds, or respiratory difficulties will need to be seen urgently.

Common emergencies

Broken beak/nail

These can happen due to traumatic injury or when owners attempt to trim them at home. Accidents happen, so be prepared to act to control any bleeding. Once bleeding is controlled, monitor closely, and keep your bird quiet and in a dark room so they can recover and heal, preventing further injury.

Broken blood feather

This can happen due to injury. Using some tweezers, grasp the broken feather at the base, pulling down sharply whilst twisting. This causes the blood vessels to recoil back and seal, stopping bleeding and allowing a new feather to grow through in a month or so. Apply pressure to the empty feather follicle for 1-2minutes. Monitor closely for further bleeding. Keep your bird quiet and calm for 24 hours to allow proper healing.

Wounds/burns

Accidents happen, and injuries can result. Apply pressure to control any bleeding and follow the steps above for stabilisation before presenting your bird to the vet. Medicines such as pain relief and antibiotics will be needed to control infection and help healing.

Respiratory distress

This is an emergency situation that requires quick action. There are lots of reasons why your bird can experience respiratory distress, from poisonings, allergic reactions, blockages, parasites, and infections to heart disease and cancers. Swift action from you and treatment from your vet is important.

Preparation is key to ensuring the successful return to health of your pet bird in cases of serious illness and emergencies. Have your vet's emergency number on hand, stabilise your bird where appropriate, and then seek immediate treatment from a veterinary professional.

Why train birds?

Daily behavioural training and interaction are vital for the health of pet birds. Wild birds spend many hours foraging, avoiding predators, and interacting with companions. With smaller groups, often pairs or single birds in our homes, pet birds must get mental stimulation in other forms to keep them healthy and happy.

Without regular interaction and training, health problems can arise. Feather plucking is an unfortunately common condition in pet birds. With a diagnosis of exclusion (ruling out parasites, infections etc), it is often found that boredom is the culprit. Birds pluck out their feathers in frustration which leads to bald patches, sore skin, and the inability of that bird to carry out natural behaviours such as preening and displaying.

Training is not only a great source of enrichment for pet birds, curbing boredom and preventing stress-related illnesses, but it also strengthens the bond between you and them. Training is also a useful tool in preventing unwanted behaviours both through teaching “no” or “leave” but also by redirecting mischievous energy through mental stimulation.

General training considerations

Most birds are receptive to training. Depending on the species of bird you share your home with, the level of intelligence and therefore the level of enrichment and interaction your bird will benefit from can be determined. Some of the smaller-brained birds such as canaries and finches, will enjoy simpler training and enrichment, such as interacting with music, whistling, and singing. Some can learn to mimic very simple sounds and words. 

Larger-brained birds such as parakeets, cockatiels, and parrots, enjoy more complex interactions and enrichment and can be trained to accomplish more difficult tasks or “tricks” enhancing their mental well-being.

The most successful training supports your bird's natural behaviours. Most smaller birds aren’t natural talkers, but they will be more willing to move objects or pull levers etc. Choose interactions and “tricks” that your bird is happy to engage with and will come naturally to them.

When is the best time to initiate training?

The best time to initiate training is when your bird is calm and receptive. This is often just after a meal or before bedtime. Ensure you have a nice quiet environment without distraction and a familiar space so they feel comfortable.

Learn your bird’s cues. If they are showing signs of discomfort or not in the mood to learn, try again another time. If your bird moves away from you, pushes you away, vocalises, or tries to bite, these are clear signs that it is not a good time to initiate a new interaction or new teaching session.

Start simple

When starting to train a new idea, action, or trick, start basic and build on the behaviour slowly. It is important to remain patient as some tricks take a short amount of time to teach but others can take days or weeks to learn. Always finish sessions positively and offer a reward. Reward-based training empowers your bird to choose to be involved, leading to a keen participant wanting to learn. Never scold or punish your bird as it will deter future participation and interactions.

How to train your bird

The key to finding the right level of enrichment and introducing new objects or “tricks” is to try. Try introducing new sights, sounds, and toys to play with and watch how your bird engages with that object. If they seem to enjoy the interaction, you can add a word to it and provide a treat, in hopes of creating a connection with that object/action and a positive reaction or reward.

1. Introduce new toys/games/objects for interaction and reward engagement.
2. If wanting a specific interaction with that object, i.e., raising a flag, initially reward any interaction until it is reliably repeatable, then over time, wait for the specific action before rewarding.
3. Keep training sessions short and fun. Make sure your bird is happy and engaged with the task and remember, it is meant to be adding value to their day, so if they’re frustrated or appear to not want to continue, don’t push it. Try again another time.
4. Reward desired behaviour and distract/redirect undesired behaviour, don’t punish.
5. Repeat, be patient, and reinforce.

See, training your bird isn’t that hard after all!

Keep at it, stay calm, and remember to have fun. Reward, don’t punish, and keep training sessions short and enjoyable for you and your bird. Training will improve the bond with your bird, enrich their mental well-being and discourage mischievous behaviour so you live a more enriched, harmonious life together.

What is socialisation?

Socialisation is the act of integrating your bird into your human family and/or bonding your bird with a companion, whether that’s in a pair or in a larger group. Socialisation with other birds may be hard in those that were hand-reared and not exposed to other birds at a young age, but they can be easier to integrate into human families. Either way, most birds are sociable and enjoy spending time with others.

Why is socialisation important?

Lots of wild birds gather in flocks for mutually beneficial reasons, protecting them from predators in a protective unit. So naturally, birds want to be with others. Smaller species often prefer to be with at least one other bird. Some larger breeds cope with just a human family but thrive better when they have companionship. 

Isolated birds that have cages away from family activity or those that don’t frequently interact with either companionship or humans, lacking their perception of a flock, can become depressed and unwell as a result. Socialisation is important for mental stimulation and general well-being. 

A bird that is well socialised with humans also copes better with environmental changes due to having the added support of their human to comfort them in stressful situations. This is also of vital importance should they become unwell as they cope better with handling, examination, and potential treatments, giving them higher success rates in recovering from illnesses. 

What to do when you first welcome your bird home

It can be quite overwhelming for your bird when first welcomed home. Birds can be quite timid initially. It is important to give them time to acclimatise to the sights and sounds of your home for a few days, before initiating any direct contact or interactions. 

• Move slowly when tidying the cage and bringing food and water initially for the first few days until your bird gets used to you. Loud noises and sudden movements can startle your bird if they are not used to you. 
• Minimise interactions until your bird has had a chance to settle in. They will show signs of being comfortable by singing, whistling, and perhaps talking. You can then take this cue to initiate interactions slowly and build on this daily. 
• Interact more and more each day, building your bird's confidence in your relationship. Always end interactions on a positive and introduce treats or rewards.

How to socialise your bird

Depending on who you are introducing your bird to, there is a lot to consider. 

Socialising with other birds

If you are bringing a new bird into a flock or introducing a new bird in hopes of them forming a pair bond and enjoying companionship, it should be done carefully and slowly. 

1. Initially, new birds should ideally be kept in a different airspace when brought into the home and kept in “quarantine” for at least a month until you are sure they are in good health and won’t bring in any illness to the existing group/bird. 
2. Once past the quarantine phase, cages can be moved into the same room, where birds can visualise each other but initially not interact directly. 
3. Cages can be moved closer together or you can introduce structured and supervised playtime outside of the cage to see how the birds integrate. 

Some birds tolerate proximity but do not tolerate having other birds in their immediate living space. Watch body language carefully and if in doubt of serious injury from fighting, separate them immediately. Socialised, bonded birds will choose to sit near each other, groom, and preen each other.

Socialising with the humans

Birds often enjoy human companionship but can be prone, in the absence of other birds as companions, to pair bond with one particular human, especially if there is one person who predominantly cares for them. 

It is important, therefore, to share care responsibilities amongst the family to encourage bonding with the group and ensure your bird is happy with all members of the family. Ensuring that the whole family bonds with your bird will prevent unwanted behaviour such as attacking others when their “favourite person” is approached, or a hunger strike if their favourite person isn’t available for a time, for example. 

Possible bonding activities include:

• Communicating with your bird as much as possible
• Interacting using toys
• Playing games and enjoying being silly together
• Watching TV or listening to music together
• Spend time training your bird for enrichment purposes.

Socialising with other pets

It is important to remember birds are prey species and should never be left vulnerable to predation or injury from other pets (cats, dogs) that are predators to them. Other pets should therefore be removed from rooms before free-flying or if birds are unsupervised in cages, to keep them safe. 

Socialisation is important for the overall health and well-being of your bird. Make sure to initiate introductions slowly for a happy socialised bird within the family unit.

Cages

When choosing the right bird for your home, consider the available space and the appropriate species to share your home.

Recommendations:

• Choosing the largest cage size possible, the diameter of the cage should be a minimum of 2x the fully extended wingspan of the adult bird. The recommended cage height is 1.5x the head-to-tail tip length of your bird.
• Rectangular cages are preferred as birds tend to fly horizontally not straight up.
• Cages should be made out of a non-toxic material, ideally a metal such as stainless steel or iron.
• Cage bar spacing should be appropriate for the size of the bird to prevent their heads from getting stuck between them.
• The thickness of cage bars should be considered. Thin wire bars are inappropriate for some of the larger birds as their strong beaks can easily bend or break them.
• Cages should ideally have some horizontal bars to help with ease of climbing and exploring.
• Newspaper, paper towels, and plain paper are good options at the bottom of the cage to collect droppings as they allow visualisation of droppings so health can be monitored. Wood shavings and cat litter are not recommended as they are dusty and can grow bacteria or fungi.
• A cloth to throw over the cage or a partially covered section of the cage is a good idea to help relax, especially at night, masking the sounds of the home environment.

Perches

Perches should be provided for natural behaviour, to allow preening, playing, exploring, and foraging. They should be of varied thicknesses and textures to offer a choice of grip which is good for exercising feet.

Natural non-toxic, pesticide-free, fresh, washed branches of apple, elm, maple, or willow trees can be used but should be washed and replaced regularly.

Braided rope perches are good options but those with sandpaper should be avoided as they can cause sores and infections. Plastic perches should be avoided also as they can be slippery, and splinter if chewed.

Water and food bowls

Ideally, water and food bowls should be made from stainless steel and secured to the side of the cage with an appropriate perch to reach them. Perches should be positioned to avoid soiling food and water. Bowls should not be placed on the bottom of the cage.

Spoilt food should be removed daily and the cage should be cleaned weekly at a minimum.

Bathing

Some tropical bird species like to bathe. A large, shallow water dish for bathing can be provided, or some birds like to be misted with a fine tepid spray to keep their feathers and skin healthy.

Socialisation

Socialisation is essential. Ideally, birds should be housed in pairs at a minimum. Many pet birds will pair bond for life and enjoy the companionship of other birds. Wild birds live in large flocks. If housed alone, you are essentially a vital part of their flock so regular interaction and enrichment are important.

Toys and enrichment

Toys and enrichment are important to prevent boredom and anxiety and mimic natural behaviours. Safe toys include those made from soft wood, cardboard, paper, coconut husks, or corncobs.

Where should you keep your bird's cage?

Being highly social animals, birds prefer their cages to be in a high-traffic area so they can be involved in the “flocks” day-to-day life. Daily interaction is enriching and prevents boredom and anxiety-related illnesses.

Avoid housing your bird cage in the kitchen or too near a window as there are too many hazards in those environments such as large temperature fluctuations. Kitchens also pose the additional risk of Teflon pans, which when heated to high temperatures, release harmful chemicals that can be instantly fatal to birds.

Avoid air-conditioned areas as this can harm their respiratory system. Birds need fresh air and sunlight to regulate their body systems, ensuring vitamin D levels are sufficient for strong bones. If direct sunlight isn’t available, UV lamps can be used to help ensure they stay healthy.

Hazards in the home

Aerosols/inhalants – Avoid candles, aerosol sprays, cigarette smoke, plug-ins, and anything strong smelling that can harm the delicate respiratory system of your pet bird.

The kitchen – Birds should not be in the kitchen when it is in use due to the risk of burns and injury on the hot stove or other hot surfaces as well as cooking fumes.

Freestanding or ceiling fans – Fans are a serious hazard to injury whilst in flight and should be removed or ensured not to be in action when birds are free-flying.

Reflective surfaces – mirrors/glass – Care around reflective surfaces is needed as some birds do not perceive them as such and can injure themselves by flying into these surfaces. It may be necessary to cover these objects to prevent injury during free-flying.

Open doors/windows – Ensure doors and windows are closed to prevent escape when your bird has free time outside of the cage. Captive birds do not survive in wild environments and are liable to be attacked by wild counterparts or struggle due to a lack of foraging knowledge/improper nutritional availability.

Other pets/children – Care around other animals and children, especially when free-flying, as predator species may attack and overzealous children can cause injuries, especially with smaller species of birds. When outside of the cage, birds should always be supervised.

If you follow our guidelines including a good-sized cage, regularly cleaned, with varied perches and lots of toys for enrichment, your bird will be happily housed with you.