Preventing Cockatiel Sickness

Signs of a Sick Cockatiel

One of the most important aspects of cockatiel care is being vigilant to watch for signs of illness, such as the common signs of a sick cockatiel listed below.



Cockatiels, like most birds, have the ability to conceal signs of illness, which is a natural defense mechanism needed in the wild. The illness or disease will often have reached an advanced stage before a cockatiel will show blatantly visible signs. You need to keep this in mind and ensure that you pay close attention to your cockatiel. As cockatiels thrive on affection and attention, you should be paying close attention to your bird in any case; and by doing so, you might even save your cockatiel’s life. Sign Of Sick Cockatiel 300x274 Looking for Signs of a Sick Cockatiel

Following is a general list of signs of a sick cockatiel you should watch for:

Fluctuations in Weight
You should really try to weigh your bird on a weekly basis if possible – even better would be if you could do this once a day. If you can do this, you’ll be able to detect the slow loss of weight and body mass that a cockatiel undergoes when ill. A reliable indicator of illness is if your cockatiel stops eating and a loss of weight can verify this symptom.

Feather Picking and Excessive Grooming
Feather picking is yet another one of the common signs of a sick cockatiel. There may be an underlying disease or even a parasitic infection that is causing your bird to groom excessively. However, behavioral problems can sometimes be the issue. A combination of these factors may be at play in certain cases. To determine the underlying cause, you will need to take your cockatiel to vet to rule out disease.

Ongoing Vomiting
Obviously, if your cockatiel is vomiting, this is a clear indication of illness. For your bird to develop a symptom as serious as vomiting indicates a detrimental condition. Vomiting could be indicative of critically dangerous conditions such as ingestion of some type of poison, a serious infection, or blocked bowels. If your cockatiel is experiencing continuing instances of vomiting, you need to seek assistance from a veterinarian immediately.

Continual Sneezing
Another one of the common signs of a sick cockatiel is periodic sneezing. A sinus infection is often to blame. Your veterinarian will need to examine your cockatiel to determine the infectious agent as there are numerous causes of sinus infections. The most common causes of sinus infections are fungal infections and bacterial infections such as Psittacosis (parrot fever).

Excessive Screeching
Pay attention to the normal noise level of your cockatiel and be aware of any excessive screeching in comparison. Something is definitely wrong if your cockatiel begins screeching excessively. While it might just be due to a simple behavioral problem, it might be a sign that your cockatiel is in pain, possibly from a disease or parasitic infection.

You should be able to successfully catch and prevent harmful illness if you keep a close watch on your cockatiel. 

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