Tips To Care For A Sick Pet Bird

Being the owner of a pet bird could make you concerned when it is sick or injured; you could overcome stress of looking after your pet bird by following the following tips and the instructions and supportive care of your vet.  

Here are some tips to care for your sick pet bird:

 
• First of all do not blame yourself for the sickness of your pet bird; birds are experts at hiding signs of illness until it is too late. Just do your best and work with the vet.

• Your sick or injured pet bird should be housed separately, away from other pets and children in a hospital or smaller cage made with a glass aquarium covered with a screen, a pet carrier, or even a shoe box with holes punched in it. Ensuring that the environment is quiet would allow some rest to your sick pet bird.

• Ensure that the pet bird is kept warm by using hot water bottles, heating pads and heat lamps; ensure that the heating lamp and pads are set up in such a way that the bird is not able to peck on the electrical cord. Ensuring a temperature of 80 to 90 degrees F would save the pet bird’s energy to keep its body warm that would facilitate its getting well soon. 

• One of the biggest dangers to sick pet birds is dehydration; ensure you provide your bird enough of fluids by dripping fluids down the sick bird’s throat with a small syringe every few hours. Some of the recommended fluids are Pedialyte or 100% fruit juice. Be gentle if you have to force-feed fluids to the sick-bird; wrap the bird in a towel and then use a syringe to put a few drops of fluid in its mouth each time. Ensure you store a few extra bottles of unopened Pedialyte in the pantry to be used for emergencies.

• Make sure you keep food in the hospital cage; it is best to provide berry and seed eating birds with a dish of bird food to which some bits of cut-up cherries or some raisins are added. Carnivorous birds love bugs; they could be given a little dish of birdseed to which some suet is mixed. Enticing a sick bird to eat can be best done by adding some of its favorite foods like good quality and fresh seed and millet. You could consult your vet regarding adding some extra supplements to your bird’s food.

• You may be required to give your sick pet bird medicines that are prescribed by the vet with a clean syringe; get the bird used to syringe by offering them special treats like warmed baby milk. Ensure that the medicines are kept refrigerated.  

• If the sick bird is not eating, you may have to hand-feed it; you could mix warm water to commercial parrot hand-feeding formula in powder form and feed it with a syringe. Ensure you store the unopened hand-feeding formula in the freezer.

• Lastly ensure that you keep the contact details of the vet and the avian first aid kit handy at all times to tackle emergencies.

Image Courtesy: Bing