Never show weakness!
If a bird is already suffering from a beginning infectious disease, it will usually try to make a perfectly healthy impression. In fact, this is innate behaviour and part of the survival instinct, because in the wild natural enemies, e. g. birds of prey, will always kill sick and weak flock members. Therefore, it is essential for a sick bird not to show weakness.

This behaviour is also common for pet birds. Typically, a disease is only recognized when it is nearly too late for help. As a responsible pet-owner, you should always be vigilant!

Strange, the bird has never done this before...
The mere thought should put you in absolute alert! If for example, a bird does no longer sleep perching only on one leg during the night, this can be a sign for a beginning disease. Sometimes, birds are so exhausted that they can hardly stand on their perches. They go to the bottom of the cage and take shelter in a corner (see photo on the right). This is a sign for weakness you should always take very serious. Another example is a change in the eating and drinking behaviour. If a bird drinks significantly more than usual, it may suffer from a kidney problem. Another alerting signal may be the fact that the bird eats a lot while constantly losing weight.

When birds are living as couple and one of them is currently not as interested in its mate as usual and rather wants to be left alone, this can also mark the beginning of a disease. However, the reason may also be that the bird is only moulting. If this is not the case, you should be extremely vigilant, because it may be that the bird needs more rest due to a poor health status.

From hotshot to lazybones
If your bird sleeps more than usual without any obvious reason, it is advisable to observe it very closely. A bird sleeping the whole day may be ill or it simply can't sleep in the night because the cage may be populated by mites. If there are mites in the cage can be recognized by the distribution of excrements in the cage. Another reason for sleepless nights may simply be that the cage is located in a place with too much noise.

Hey, little fatty!
If the bird looks fluffed up the whole day - thus looking round as a ball - without paying attention to its environment and mates, a beginning or chronic disease may be the reason. A bird with ruffled feathers, dull eyes and without any interest in its flock mates is definitely sick. Please note: Not in each case a bird is sick when the plumage is fluffed up. But in case the feathers show no perfect silhouette and you can see "edges" like on the photo on the right, then most probably your bird's health is poor.

Shaky and cold
Sick birds usually have a lower body temperature, i. e. less than 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees centigrade) and tend to shake heavily, which you can easily recognize looking at the fluffed up feathers. If your bird is tame, you can check the body temperature at the bird's feet. If they are extremely cold, the bird is definitely ill.

Depending on the actual disease, birds may breathe heavily and move their tail feathers up and down at every breath. In this case, the bird may suffer from a (beginning) infection of the respiratory tracts.

Go to the vet!
After you have recognized that your bird is sick, you should go to a competent vet at once. In addition, the bird must be separated from its mates. Only a vet is able to examine the bird adequately and make a specific diagnosis. Don't hesitate to go to a vet because most diseases can be cured best when recognized in an initial state.

German version of this text: Gaby Schulemann-Maier,
translation of this chapter: Stefanie Demandt.

Link tip: Do you want to discuss with experts and other bird owners about your bird's health? Then please feel free to visit the English forum of . Of course you will meet me there, too. My nickname is "Feenseeschwalbe".

This chapter in Turkish on muhabbetkusu.org