A cockatiel in the aviary at a friends house seems to have some sort of disease that causes air or gas to blow up its skin like a balloon. It will get very big and then deflate after a couple of days. It is quite disturbing to see. Any ideas on what could cause this.
It has been like this for years and is in an aviary with about 25 other cockatiels.
2007-03-23 12:54:57 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Birds
i'll try to get a photo of it, apparently you can pop it with a pin, or another bird often bites it and it deflates. it looks a bit like pumpkin head
2007-03-23 15:02:37 · update #1
This problem is caused by a ruptured air sac most of the time.
It is not home treatable and can lead to severe respiratory infection and death. It is not contagious as far as I know.
I have seen birds live a mostly normal life with this condition untreated, but without exception it causes early death. Just because it has had this problem for a long time does not mean it isn't suffering un-necessarily. Cocktiels often live 25 years or longer, so if this problem cuts 10 years off the birds life it lived a long time yes, but not as long as it could have if it were treated.
I lost a beloved lovebird to this problem myself. I figured he'd been that way for 3 or 4 years at least, so what was the harm. When he died suddenly at only 6 years old when he could have lived to 20, I felt pretty bad. So your friend should think this over carefully.
Gale
2007-03-23 16:05:29 · answer #1 · answered by Gale C 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yeah. Sounds like an air sac rupture. It's quite uncomfortable for the bird and it makes breathing difficult. Air sacs are the main part of a birds' respiratory system and an untreated air sac problem like this can lead to (as others have said) shortened life span, infection and a really weird looking bird. The only effective way to stop the problem is to visit a vet who teaches you how to drain the sac properly.
2007-03-24 02:59:04 · answer #2 · answered by white_ravens_white_crows 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have seen parrots with a condition where the food in their crop produces a lot of gas and puffs up.
Many birds will fluff up their feathers if they are col or sick , are you sure its the birds skin ?
If its been doing it for many years its probably not something to wworry about . It hasnt exploded yet ! :)
2007-03-23 20:02:22 · answer #3 · answered by mark 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would bet that he is puffing up his feathers to keep warm (like a fur coat).
He is probably sick; have his owner take him to the vet.
2007-03-24 08:19:26 · answer #4 · answered by Rev. Two Bears 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have never heard of anything like this. Could it have something to do with his diet?
Have you taken him to an avian vet when he is "puffed up" to see what they say?
2007-03-23 19:58:32 · answer #5 · answered by Christie D 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋