If you’ve been blessed with not having to endure the panic of rushing a Sick-bird to your Veterinarian, preparation for such an event may seem overly dramatic. Having lived with a parrot with a weaken immune system, I can assure you, it is not! Time is either your friend or it’s your enemy. Preparation buys time!

In my first column (The Avian Disease Nightmare), I established that avian diseases are a constant threat to our parrots and the importance of a healthy parrot to fend-off those threats. In the second column (Developing a Well-bird Historical Document), I presented a framework for developing a historical document for your parrot. In both columns, a strong emphasis was placed on the importance of yearly Veterinarian visits and the need for a detailed medical file. The goal of those columns was to support the development of a detailed medical file for your parrot, all to allow maximum focus on diagnosing and treating your Sick-bird.

Like your Doctor, the Veterinarian has seen hundreds possibly thousands of clients, since your last visit. With only a yearly visit, the Veterinarian will be reliant on your parrot’s medical file. Your active participation in the development of, and knowledge of, your parrot’s medical file will greatly aid in the diagnosing and treating your Sick-bird. Since, your parrot cannot communicate with its Veterinarian, the more aware and observant you are, the more helpful the information you will provide. Your Veterinarian will look for changes from your parrot’s medical file and the historical document (which you previously provided), especially with a Sick-bird. As part of each visit, your Veterinarian will update your parrot’s file and specifically upon ‘you’ noticing a change in its health.

As part of a Sick-bird examination, your Veterinarian will question you regarding the following.

Specific Medical Review
Reviewing with you; those items that are commonly covered as part of each Well-bird/Sick-bird examination, examples being a specific medical problem, prior illness, injury, or surgery.

Presenting Medical or Emotional Problem
How long has the problem been apparent? General details regarding the problem, examples: Any changes in appetite or activity levels? Has there been any specific change in behavior? The Veterinarian may also ask you what you think the cause of the problem is and why.

Presenting Medical Signs
Specific details regarding the medical problem, examples: Have you noticed your parrot coughing, sneezing, voice change, pant or labored breathing, breathing clicks, tail pumping, regurgitation, diarrhea, feather picking, lumps or bumps on the skin, appetite loss, change in water intake, bleeding? Etc….

Presenting Emotional Signs
Specific details regarding the emotional problem, examples: Have you noticed your parrot plucking feathers, excessive preening, change in the nature of the parrot, become withdrawn, change in vocalizations, or any other behavioral change(s)? Etc….

Environment Changes
General details regarding possible contributing factors, examples: Has there been a recent change in the parrot’s life? Has there been any loss or addition of family members, either human or animal? Has there been a recent move of home or cage location? Has there been any remodeling or workers in the home? A recent vacation or change in daily pattern? Parrots are creatures of habit and any change can be stressful. This can lead to disease as well as behavioral problems.

Home Treatment (if any)
What has been used and for how long? What was the response? If any medications have been used, bring them along, and show them to the Veterinarian.

Having developed a detailed medical file and a written historical document will save time and provide a comparative benchmark for the examination of your Sick-bird. Once again, time is either your friend or it’s your enemy. Preparation buys time!

It is important to have a ‘well-read’ avian medical resource and an emergency medical kit in your home. Valerie Wilson creates an excellent laminated medical ‘flash-card’ set and an emergency medical kit; both cover and support the most common emergency medical issues. The GLAS library has “Parrots in Health and Illness”, an older, but still very relevant resource. We have the “Compete Pet Bird Owner’s Handbook” (New Edition), which is an excellent resource.