Parrotlets

Common Medical Disorders:

 

Just like every animal has health issues, birds are especially susceptible to diseases.  A few common medical issues include tumors, obesity, chronic egg-laying, egg-binding, internal and external parasites, and overgrowth of beak and nails.  Stress is also a common way for a bird to get sick or pass, especially when you first bring them home.  So look for the common signs of stress which are panting, extending their wings, feather plucking/self mutilation, loss of appetite, and aggression.  Eye, nose, and mouth discharge is also a sign that your bird is sick.  If they sneeze and mucous comes out, that is a sign of a possible respiratory infection.  Ruffled feathers, decreased drinking, talking, singing, vomiting, regurgitation, change in droppings, and increased sleeping and lack of a response to stimuli are also signs of an illness.

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Medical Kit - First Aid Items:

 

There are things that you should have on hand and within easy reach to get to should something go wrong.  A quarantine cage is a must if you have multiple birds so that you can put the sick or injured bird in another room, so that any illness doesn’t spread.  It’s always best to put together a little kit next to your cage of some items.  A heating pad is needed for sick or injured birds as they need to stay warmer.  Plain Pedialyte can be mixed 50/50 with water for hydration.  Hand feeding formula, baby food, baby rice, baby cereal can be fed to your bird if it is too weak or injured to crack seeds.  Aloe Vera gel or an Aloe plant on hand to use on wounds.  Vetericyn is a spray on pain reliever.  Corn Starch and Cayenne Pepper is an awesome blood stopper if you don’t have styptic powder.  Apply either directly to the wound.  Cayenne Pepper is also an excellent pain reliever and can be sprinkled on their food as well as placed on the wound.  You can also mix a pinch in a few drops of water and let them drink it two to three times a day.  Apple Cider Vinegar (make sure it says "The Mother") if your bird appears to be sick. Add 1ml to 100ml's of water until you can get to a vet.

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Molting:

 

Every so often your birds will go through a molt.  You’ll probably notice more and more feathers in their cage and around it. What happens is a feather will fall out and a new feather will take it’s place. It starts out as a white sheath called a pin feather. It is a feather that is growing inside of what is called a quill. When you’re petting them you will feel this tiny little hard piece in their feathers. It is important not to break it off, because it contains what is called a blood feather. If broken off it can cause the parrot to bleed, and possibly bleed to death. Sometimes they’re a little sensitive and when you come across one while petting they may bite because of how tender it is. If so, leave it alone as that is a sensitive new blood feather.  It’s best to allow the feather to grow in this quill. Later, as the feather grows, what you can do is roll the pin feather between your fingers and the sheath will slowly come off. You don’t have to do this, they normally will take care of it themselves. But sometimes it helps to alleviate the annoyance, because they can become grumpy about it while going through the molt. Some of us jokingly call this behavior PMS… Parrotlet Molting Syndrome. They normally go through their first molt at around four months old, and then molt once or twice a year after that, however some birds molt more than others. Some of my females go through molts every three to six months. My male parakeet seems to molt every other month. Should the bird accidentally break a blood feather off you will need to stop the bleeding as soon as possible. You can use corn starch, cayenne pepper, or flour to stop the bleeding. Should the feather only partially be broken and need to be pulled, it is best to allow a veterinarian to pull the blood feather. You can do it at home but I suggest going to YouTube and watching videos about it or researching up information, as it can be deadly. Once you have stopped the bleeding you will need to allow the bird to rest in a dark, quiet, and warm place. Once they have settled down you can clean the area and assess the situation and see if it needs to be seen by a veterinarian. Always keep a first aid kit, mentioned above, by your bird cages, because you never know when you just might need to access it.

 

They will need extra moisture during the molting process or else the sheaths can become hard and prevent the feather from opening. You can use a spray bottle with lukewarm water and spritz them or provide a bath for them. Just make sure the room they are in isn’t too cold, or they could get sick. If the sheath on a flight or tail feather is too hard, you can use warm water to soften it up and then rub between your fingers to remove it, otherwise the feather will be useless. If this occurs often it is usually caused by a vitamin or mineral deficiency. A vet check will be needed to figure out what is causing it. If you are feeding a good diet of birdie bread, seeds, and giving them supplements, then this shouldn’t happen. You can also give them eggs (boiled or scrambled) during this process for extra protein.

 

As mentioned above, they can become grumpy during this stage. Your sweet little parrotlet might decide to bite and attack you during this stage. Don’t take it personal. It’s not a fun thing for them to go through, but it is a necessary thing. Besides, if you’re like me, you will want to keep all the little feathers they drop. I keep mine in little decorative jars or make jewelry or DIY projects with them. And after the molt is finished, they look amazing and will return to their normal behavior.

 

Plucking, Barbering, and Stress Bars:

 

Sometimes birds will pluck or barber themselves due to various reasons. It could be stress, undiagnosed medical conditions, or a number of things. Should your bird start this it is best to seek treatment as soon as possible and try to stop it, because it can become a habit that can last for the rest of their lives. Some people have had luck using supplements to stop this. I have no experience with this so the only thing I can tell you is to seek veterinarian care.

 

Stress bars are dark lines that appear on the feathers. They are caused by stress and/or vitamin deficiency during the process of the new feather growing. In babies it is normal to see stress bars, but in adults it should not happen. Should you see the darkened lines on your adults you will need to think about what could have happened to cause the bird stress. If you can’t think of what caused it then you will need to seek veterinary care to suss out the reason for them.

 

Hormones:

 

We all have hormones that affect our moods and health, and parrotlets are no different. There are things we can do to quell the hormones should they start raging. Decreasing daylight hours, feeding less protein, decrease fresh and high energy foods, rearrange the toys and items in the cage, make sure not to cuddle with your bird (and I know that is hard, but you must), only pet your bird on the head, and if they are biting or directing their behaviors towards you then you need to put them in a time out in their cage.

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Mating Dance:

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If your bird is pacing back and forth, lifting it's body up and down and making a series of chirps, this is likely doing a mating dance. If you do not want your bird to mate, then it's best to discourage this behavior when it happens, otherwise it can lead to hormonal issues like biting. You can get their attention on something else to discourage this behavior. Try talking to them when they do this, or playing with a toy. This is also why mirrors are not a good idea for cages, because they will see their reflection and want to mate with it. I have used mirrors in the past with birds who had lost mates and were depressed, and it helped to bounce them out of that depression, but that was a very special circumstance.

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Nesting Behavior:

 

If your bird is looking to hide in a dark secluded spot, shredding their toys or paper liners in their cage, and acting more territorial, chances are they are getting ready to lay eggs. To discourage this, make sure there are no shreddable toys in the cage and nothing that acts like a nest box. Also decrease daylight hours. To encourage this for breeding, add a nest box with some aspen inside. Go to my Breeding page for more information on this.

Adjusting the Crop:

 

You might see your bird lift it's head, open and close its beak, and look like it's yawning. They might do this once or twice, but can possibly do this for several minutes. They are adjusting the food in their crop. This is completely normal. The first time I saw my baby doing it, he was doing it over and over for about five minutes and I sent a frantic message to a breeder friend with a video of what he was doing. She calmly told me that he was just adjusting his crop. See, we all have our newbie freakouts when they do something that we don't understand. However if they are repeatedly doing it often, a vet visit might be warranted, as there could be something going on in the crop, like a blockage.

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Beak Grinding:

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Beak grinding is a good thing. It means your bird is happy and content, and most likely happens when they're getting sleepy. Their feathers might be fluffed up and they will grind their beaks back and forth and make a clicking sound. I have videos of my birds doing this on my Instagram. If your bird is doing this, know that he's incredibly happy, and that's a great thing to hear!

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Regurgitating and Vomiting:

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Regurgitating is completely normal. This is part of their bonding process with mates. They may start off with what is called wiggle necking. It's when they shake their head and neck back and forth repeatedly. Then you will see them try and feed either you, a toy, or their mate. If they are doing this to you, it is best to stop this behavior, especially in females, as it can lead to excessive hormones that can cause egg laying and even feather plucking. Vomiting is different. It is more violent head shaking with food and vomit being slung about as they shake. If they are doing this, you need to get them to a veterinarian as soon as possible. Separate them immediately from any other birds. If they were kept together in a cage, take both birds and separate them in different rooms from the rest of your birds and take them both to the vet. You likely will have to treat all of your birds though, as most diseases are airborne. Keep them in a small hospital cage and keep them in a warm and quiet place. You can use a heating pad, on a low setting, as long as it doesn't get too hot, and get them to a veterinarian that day! They can die quickly, and if they're already at the point of vomiting, then it's serious, because they hide their illnesses for a long while before they will show symptoms. Wild birds will be preyed upon if they show signs of illness, so this instinct carries on to our pet birds as well.

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Continuous Egg Laying and Egg Binding:

 

Raging hormones can lead to egg laying in females. They can lay eggs regardless if there is a male around or not. If they haven’t mated, then the eggs will be infertile, but they will still protect and care for the eggs as if they are fertile. They can lay as young as six months but it’s best to wait to breed until they are over a year old. To find out more about breeding head to the Breeding page. The following will be more for constant egg layers that won’t stop. When the female starts the egg laying process she will be having some massive poops. Some will be so big you wonder how on earth it came out of such a tiny bird. I have a female who has bonded to me so much that she is a constant egg layer. The worst thing you can do is remove the eggs, because that will keep them laying and can deplete their vitamins and minerals in their body. You will need to give them extra vitamins, especially calcium, during this time. You will also notice that their little bum appears swollen under her tail. That is the telltale sign that she is about to drop an egg. If she looks like this for longer than a few days without laying an egg she can become egg-bound. If she starts to act lethargic, is fluffed up, and is breathing heavy, you will need to take her to the veterinarian as soon as possible, as this can lead to death.

 

To prevent unwanted egg laying you will need to do a number of things. First is make sure you are not petting them anywhere on their body besides their head, as petting on wings, stomach, tail, are all erogenous zones for them. So keep the scritches to their head and neck. Absolutely no cuddling. Provide fewer daylight hours. Keep shreddable toys outside of the cage. Do not provide anything that can be construed as a nest box. No cuddle tents or anything that they can lay their eggs in. Unfortunately my one girl will lay just about anywhere, including under her substrate on the bottom of the cage. I have tried everything with her and she is just a constant egg layer. After a few weeks she will destroy the eggs and start all over again. You can also replace the eggs with dummy eggs, so you can try and curb the instinct to continue laying.

 

Wing/Beak/Nail Trimming

Wing trimming is something that is personal preference and due to the bird’s personality.  If the bird is an escape artist or clumsy in flight/landing, then perhaps you should clip their wings.  I personally like my birds to be birds and allow them all to free fly, so I don’t clip their wings.  If you have a bird with clipped wings and it lands on the ground and you have a dog or cat in the room, it makes the bird an easy target.  If they have full flight capability, they at least have the opportunity to escape.  And it’s also pretty easy enough to catch a full flighted bird if you have a hand towel or butterfly net if they’re not yet trained to step up or won’t go back to their cage on their own.  If you have enough perches of different sizes and textures, you really shouldn’t have to trim their nails or beaks, but if you do have to, it is best to let a veterinarian take care of that.

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Signs of Illness:

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If your bird is constantly staying fluffed up, lethargic, staying on the bottom of the cage, losing weight, are quieter or not chirping at all, and their droppings look abnormal (see the images below), then it is time for a vet visit. As mentioned above, they can hide their illnesses very well, so by the time they are showing signs, it's already bad. So get them to an avian veterinarian ASAP!

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These are not my images below.