Cockatiel: Health
In general, the Cockatiel is a very hardy and very healthy species. They are not plagued by the many health complaints that some of the more domesticated species are e.g. the Budgerigar, as they have been less in-bred for exhibition size and buffness and as such are physically and mentally pretty close to the wild Cockatiel. In other words, they still possess every wild behaviour and physiological form - if you took a captive-bred bird which has had no contact with humans whatsoever and has been allowed to 'fend for itself' in a zoological aviary setting (i.e. the same set-up as would be used for the conservation of an endangered species), the Cockatiel, if released into it's natural habitat, would still be able to survive in the wild setting.
Worming
Cockatiels in an aviary setting should be wormed every 4 months. Although they are not particularly susceptible to internal parasites (roundworms transmitted via earthworms; tapeworms transmitted via beetles and woodlice; and also protozoa) when kept in a clean aviary, it is still good practice to maintain and healthy flock. Expel is a recommended brand.
External Parasites
Lice, Mites & Fleas
Lice, mites and fleas can be problematic, particularly in the Summer in an outdoor aviary. The latter are usually contracted with via wild birds or vermin entering the aviary. Two to three seperate sprays over a week of Johnsons Anti-Lice Spray and a through disinfection of the aviary will easily cure the problem.
Scaley Mite
Scaley Face-Leg, caused by a tiny mite which burrows into the skin, is not so common in the Cockatiel as it is in Finches and Budgerigars, but all the same, if encountered, a coating of the affected areas with Ivermectin solution (available from your pet shop or vet), or a through painting of extra virgin olive oil will do the trick. If the bird is suffering from a really bad case of Scaley Face/Leg, repeat applications may be required. Again, full disinfection of the aviary must occur.
Red Mite
Red-mites are tiny arachnids aka. spiders, which emerge at night to suck the bird's blood (little vampire spiders!). They are red, due to their being full of the bird's blood, about half the size of a pin-head and live in the cracks and crevices of the cage or aviary. If you cover the bird's cage at night an place a tub of clean water next to the cage, in the morning when you lift the cover, you will be able to see little red dots moving around and some may be floating in the tub of water. Red mites can be eradicated by using Johnsons Anti-Lice Spray and through scrubbing and disinfection of the environment.
Diarrhoea
Diarrhoea occurs if you have changed the diet suddenly, added a new food or the bird is stressed. Usually it just due to the bird eating too much fruit, lettuce or dandelion leaves, and is most commonly not a cause for great concern. Just maintain a close eye on the affected Cockatiel, noteing any other signs of ill health e.g. fluffed up, lethargic, sleeping all the time, not eating or drinking, not as active as usual, discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing.
If the bird seems genuinely ill (he/she may have gastroenteritis), take him/her straight to the vet, as birds conceal ill health (survival mechanism) and as such by the time the bird is looking poorly, it is in a very bad way and needs urgent veterinary attention.
The normal Cockatiel dropping is dark or black with a white centre - the urine. Diarrhoea usually presents as a watery, slightly green, grey or brownish dropping. If there is any blood present or the stool is bright green or completely white, immediate veterinary advice must be sought.
Thrush (aka Candidiasis)
Thrush is caused by the opportunistic pathogen (i.e. only becomes infectious under certain conditions) yeast Candidia albicans. It can occur as a response to stress, a Vitamin A deficiency, a high sugar diet (i.e. pet birds) or enters via an infected oral wound and colonises when the bird's immune system is suppressed (either when stressed or suffering another illness - Thrush is then a secondary infection). Symptoms are rare, but in severe cases, the bird has a white cheesy material in the mouth, around the edges of the beak and on the vent. Chicks are particularly susceptible as the yeast is passed onto them from the parents when feeding. Chick mortality due to Thrush is high.
Stress
A stressed bird e.g. moved home, lost it's partner, over-bred; will be slighty fluffed-up, lethargic, possibly have diarhoea and not eating as much as normal. Feather plucking or over-preening may also occur.
Stress suppresses the immunce system and so can lead to other more distressing and serious diseases, either via transmission from the environment/another bird or the bird may have been carrying the disease in an asymptomatic from.
Therefore, to prevent illness, the stressed bird needs rest and all known stressors must be removed or diluted. Occassionally, the bird may need to be isolated from the flock, placed in a warm, clean hospital cage and monitored over a few days. Only when the bird has perked up, must it be released back into the flock.
Accidents, Injuries & Emergancies
Minor Injuries
Minor injuries are common in the aviary or flock setting. Squabbles between birds can result in nipped toes and beaks, sometimes ocassionally breaking the skin and causing bleeding. Althernatively, the bird(s) may have been frightened by a predator or suffered a night fright and bashed or scraped themselves on the mesh causing lumps, bumps and broken feathers. Usually minor injuries will right themselves, but keep an eye on the bird to ensure that the wound does not become worse or infected.
A concussed bird which has flown into the avairy mesh, a wall or a window pane must be placed in the darkened, warm hospital cage and allowed to recover in the quiet.
Broken Blood Feathers
Broken blood feathers (i.e. flights and tail coverts with a large base) can ooze a massive amount of blood and are very painful. The bird must be caught up as soon as the problem is noticed and the broken feather removed. To do this, wrap the bird in a towel to reduce struggling, grasp the broken feather at it's base and tug firmly and quickly - do not try to ease the feather out slowly as this will only cause the bird more pain and distress. Bleeding should stop very quickly once the offending feather is removed. As mentioned above, it is always best to apply a fine powder (cuttlefish works well and is not toxic) to stem or prevent any further bleeding.
Serious Injuries
More serious injuries will require immediate attention and most likely a trip to the vet.
Bleeding
To stem bleeding, apply talcum powder, flour or cuttlefish scrapings to the affected area and apply a little pressure until the bleeding stops. If the area is covered with dried blood, using a cotton wool bud or ball, wash it away with a little saline solution (as with the electrolyte solution, a pinch of salt in a pint of boiling water, allow to cool and test in the eye- if it stings add a little more water). A saline wash is also suggested for all open wounds as it impedes infection, aiding healing by drying the tissues.
A panic within the aviary can result in torn off claws, damaged beaks, toes and wings.
Broken Bones
Broken bones cause a gross swelling of the site of the fracture and the bird will not use the limb, be it the wing which may droop, or a leg which will be held awkwardly with no weight bearing. Broken bones are always very serious and should never be left unattended - the injured bird must have veterinary attention. Ocassionally, the vet will splint the limb to aid healing, or if the fracture is intact or in an inaccessible place, for example a hip, ankle or shoulder, the vet may just advise rest for 2 weeks until the break has healed.
Even once healed, a fractured limb may not resume full function and may be visually deformed causing an alteration in the way the bird flys, moves or stands.
Broken Beak, Lost Claws & Toes
A broken beak may require surgical repair with a fibreglass replacement. Lost toes and claws are not a major concern as the bird can manage perfectly well without them, but the pain and bleeding they cause does warrant a trip to the vets.
Eye Injuries
Eye injuries are always serious as there is a possible loss of sight or entry of pathogens to the brain. Also any infection is extremely serious. See the vet!
With all serious injuries, the bird must be rested in a hospital cage until recovered.
Feather Plucking
Feather plucking and over-preening (stripping and chewing of the feathers edges) is usually due to stress, boredom and/or sexual frustration, although out-right full-body feather plucking is rare in the adult Cockatiel, unless under extreme circumstances. Plucking of chicks can occur with inexperienced parents, over-affection by the parents and thus over-preening of the young, or due to frustration that chick's are not fledging on time. The plucked chicks will feather-up as normal once thwy leave the nest.
Feather plucking in a flock is sometimes used to visually signal heirachy - the lower members usually have their necks or tops of their heads plucked by higher ranking birds or even their partners.
Egg-binding
Cockatiels are prolific breeders and hens can lay throughout the year. In the colder months or due to calcium defiiciency in the diet, the hen can be subject to egg-binding, a potentially fatal condition in which there are insufficient calcium levels to produce muscle contraction in order for the hen to pass the egg.
The hen will squat on the cage/aviary floor, be unbalanced, lethargic, fluffed-up, tail elevated and the cloaca repeatedly contracting with her visually straining. The bird must be picked up very gently so as to not break the egg inside her, some vaseline or olive/vegetable oil very gently applied to her vent and placed carefully in the warm hospital cage with some cuttlefish and calcium enriched drinking water. If no egg appears within an hour, the hen should be taken to the vet as a matter of urgency. The vet will administer a calcium injection to restore muscle contraction and then hen should pass the egg shortly. If not the vet may have to manually remove the egg or perform surgery.
To prevent egg-binding, ensure the diet provides ample calcium and Vitamin D levels - commercial supplements are available.
Clipping Beaks & Claws
Some birds have excessive growth of the beak and/or claws. This is most likely due to an internal problem, or vitamin/mineral deficiency, although is very common in pet birds who do not have access to hard surfaces to wear the claws or beak down, or are not as active as the aviary bird. Overgrown claws are dangerous as the birds is are likely to be caught up on the aviary mesh or toys.
Other birds have a claw problem e.g. curled toes/claws, paralysed toes, backward toes which means the claws are not worn properly and will require regular trimming.
To do this, wrap the bird in a towel to prevent struggling, hold the claw up to the light so you can see the vein (in Greys you cannot see the vein) and using a pair of nail clippers (I prefer human ones) trim so that the tip claw is horizontal (flat) to the bottom level of the toe. Do not cut the claw to short as if the vein is nicked with the clippers, the claws will bleed profusely - use the same method as for steming injury bleeding. Regular trimming will be required, usually every 2 - 6 weeks.
Overgrown beaks are a different concern, usually being most problematic if the bird has an undershot or overshot mandible. They can prevent proper feeding and require expert trimming, either by a vet or an experienced birdkeeper as if trimmed improperly, the condition will only worsen. Usually only trim the tip: never cut below the horn as the beak is very sensitive and can haemorrhage easily. Also do not try to shape the beak - if it is deformed seek the vet's advice. Beak trimming will be required every 2 - 4 weeks.
Please be warned, once you begin cutting claws and beaks, they will require trimming thoughout life as trimming encourages growth, which means more trimming... a vicious circle! It is better to prevent overgrowth of horn by providing sufficient beak wear (provide cuttlefish, mineral blocks and wooden toys for chewing) and leg exercise (an aviary enviroment is best, and/or a variety of perches of different textures).
Hospital Cage
A hospital cage may comprise a normal Cockatiel or Budgie cage (to limit movement), a show cage or if the bird is very ill, a brooder. Heat should be provided either by an infra-red lamp, a heat pad (with both, also use a thermometer, obviously out of reach of the bird, to maintain the temperature- never let the temperature go above 32 degrees centrigrade) or by bringing the bird inside the house into a warm room.
Cover the cage with a sheet or blanket to keep the bird in the dark so it can rest properly. The place where the hospital cage is sited should be quiet and free from distractions.
Sometimes, if it will cause extra stress to the ill bird to be seperated from it's flock, I place the bird's partner or a calm bird in the hospital cage aswell. This can give great comfort to the bird and I especially recommend if for Finches, Budgies and very bonded pairs.
Feeding an ill bird
Millet sprays and seed spread on the floor will tempt the bird to eat even at it's poorliest. Do not offer any fresh food as the bird's digestion needs a rest.
If the bird is really poorly and refuses to eat, you may have to force feed using a hand-rearing formula. Alternatively a home-made mix would comprise: 1 boiled egg, two weetabix, 1 desertspoon hulled millet or crushed hulled sunflower seeds, 1 tea spoon commercial egg food, a scraping of cuttlefish and a drop of olive oil. Place enough mix for 1 feed into individual food bags and freeze, leaving a day's worth of feeds in the fridge to defrost overnight. Place 1 feed into a small microwaveable dish/pot (I use Wilkinson's non-tip plastic hamster pots), and microwave for 20-30 seconds, using a sterilised thermometer, allow to cool to 30 - 32 degress and feed with a bent-tip spoon or syringe. A feed should be given every 2 hours.
Electrolytes
Electrolytes will help massively in boosting the bird's metabolism and thus energy. You can either buy them commercially, get them from your vets or make a home-made mix. For the latter, mix a pint of boiling water with a pinch of sea salt and a desertspoon full of honey. When cool test the water in your eye: it should not sting - if it does you have added too much salt, so dilute with more water.
Fill the water bottle with the cooled solution and place the bottle close to where the bird can reach it without much effort. If the bird cannot get to a perch or won't drink, take the bird in you hand every 2 hours and feed it the electrolyte solution into the beak via a syringe (no needle!), or if using a rodent water bottle with the twin ball tip, put the tip to the bird's beak and allow to drink. Do not drown the bird! - allow several seconds between sips for the bird to swallow. When he/she has had enough they will let you know by wriggling, spitting and moaning.
