Selective sneezing

[sweetpeamusic]

Recently Nico has been sneezing more than usual, ad I’ve realized it mainly happens when he wakes up (several sneezes in a row) or when he’s angry (just one or two sneezes). When he’s not in either of those states he doesn’t seem to sneeze very much. He also seems to be sneezing in his cage more than he does outside of his cage, but on the other hand he wakes up in his cage and is usually angriest when I interact with him while he’s in his cage (he’s a bit territorial). I can’t completely rule out dust (I’m not sure how much I should be vacuuming) or humidity (Bellingham summers are rather dry) but it’s summer so he shouldn’t be feeling cold. I doubt he’s having an allergic reaction to something as I haven’t introduced anything new to his environment in s while and he’s only sneezing at select times during the day.
And of course, he’s his usual healthy self otherwise. No discharge, no wheezing, good energy, eating well, poop looks fine, etc.
Is Nico sick? Should I take the 7 hour round trip to the nearest avian vet (I don’t have a car) or take him to the exotics vet in Bellingham?

 

[sweetpeamusic]

He also sneezes when he is preening.

 

[Laurasea]

You can indeed have a sick parrot with just sneezing. You don't have to see discharge. And birds hide being sick, they will hide right up to the day they die. Sometimes birds let you know they are sick by their behavior or otherwise. But birds hide being sick, it's instinctual.
Your bird could have an iritant stuck in a sinus, could be sick, or could just be sneeze, no way for us internet helpers to know....
You can make a habit to weigh your bird first thing in the morning at least every week and keep it written down, that helps sometimes...
Iost my wonderful sweet Burt The Bird a year ago. On the day of her death I saw one single clear drop in her nostril, she was playing, she took treats from me, I went outside for an hour when I came back she was dead. She never acted sick, never fluffed, never stopped eating behavior normal..... Now her background history is she only had one working nostril due to a terrible infection from aspirations from her breeder, o bought her knowing this and during her lifetime of 17 years she was prone to sinus infections. So when I saw that drop in her working nostril I planned on taking to her vet the next day.....I had medicine on hand but it was expired as her last infection had been six years prior... So even knowing her history and giving her a good once over, I had no idea she was at death's door. She didn't look or act sick..
Also a few months ago my GCC Ta-dah was just a bit off, sleeping more, a very slight tail bob , not as active and she smell yeasty. So I took her right to the vet, who was an avain specialist who only treated birds. She did not think my bird was sick. But we worked her up with culture, blood work and all. I bought a scale and started weighing her and she was loosing weight. The vet could smell the yeast but thought it was just in her feathers, she gave me a chlorhexidine spray but other members , plus my own knowledge said that could be harmful to her eyes, the vet gave me antibiotic for the heck of it, but didn't think my bird was sick. I didn't give the antibiotics because I believed she had a yeast overgrowth and antibiotics would make that much worse.. Well after spending 700 dollars and no other avain vets... I was upset. Member here recommend probiotics. Thank you EllenD and Noodles!!!! I feed her yogurt every day, in a few days she didn't smell like yeast anymore, in a week her weight went up, her tail bob went away and she was soooo much more active.
Sorry sharing such long post.
The moral is birds hide being sick, if you feel like something is going on trust your gut..
Good luck, I hope everything is fine

 

[SailBoat]

Sneezing is not commonly tied with behavioral issues.
Dust, dry skin, low humidity are more commonly the base for sneezing.

- Assure that your Parrot is bathing at least once a week More often is better.
- Everyone is different, but Mrs. Boats changes the cage bottom papers every day.
- Most Parrots naturally produce feather dust that assures that the feathers move easily over each other. As a result, they are a constant source of dust.
- In Washington State during late Summer most areas have high enough natural humidity. Sounds like you're in the drier region. Your goal should be a relative humidity in the mid 40's to the mid upper 50's.

Note: Most Parrots will sneeze a couple of times each day. The sneeze will be dry or a minor amount of moisture.

Your Parrot is very likely not sick.
Make several changes in and around his cage and see if that makes any difference.

 

[GaleriaGila]

When in any doubt, I consult my wonderful vet...
Would you like a reference?
Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.

 

[sweetpeamusic]

I think I will take Nico to the vet in Bellingham (she shows up on Ms. GaleriaGila’s second link).
More info about Nico’s current living situation:
I change his cage liner every few days. I will try to change it every day from now on to see if that changes anything. I also dusted his cage today and realized I probably need to do that more often as well.
We have an air filter that I forgot to turn back on after a power outage last night. Perhaps that’s why I noticed his sneezing especially today. I am also currently running a humidifier as well.
I vacuum around Nico’s cage about once a week.
Nico bathes about once every three days.
I took him to a CAV this spring and they told me he is low on Vitamin A. We are working on having him eat his veggies. He also had a sinus infection at that point but he recovered from that particular episode. His sneeze is back though (although not as bad as it was then).
If anyone has more any advice it would be much appreciated.

 

[Laurasea]

Hot red chili peppers seeds and all are a favorite of my birds, high in vitamin A

 

[Laurasea]

I wrote this under is my budgie sick, but you can use the same tips. Your history increases my concern.
Sorry you have worries. So stressful when we can't know for sure. Thanks for video, I have a broken phone so the video only worked a little for me. It did kinda look like a slght tail bob, but was hard to tell for sure as you will see some movements....
Diet can play a roll, what do you feed? Does your bird eat any leafy greens and veggies? Low vitamin A and low vitamin D affect immunity and can lead to them getting respiratory infection. Never add vitamins or anything to water as this can make them sick.
You can take your bird in safe secure travel cage , I zip tie my doors, and sit with your bird outside in sun and part shade. Sunlight not filtered by a window , but outside even in light shade is a wonderful thing. My vet recommend 15 miniuts a day, but I usually can do 30 min maybe once every three days.. Not only does thiscallow them to make vitamin D from oils if the preen gland that change to active vitamin D with sun exposure, parrots also have a gland in their eye that converted sunlight to vitamin D, sunshine also kills mold, yeast, bacteria, and being outside is wonderful for their mind. Feeding leafy greens helps provide vitamin A that seed diets don't have.
Keeping the cage and water very clean helps keeps bird healthy to. Parakeets can also have mites in their lungs, or if you have a female bird there are worries of egg impaction, or egg yolk infection.... .
I can't say if your bird is sick or not. But doing some sun bathing, eating veggies, maybe add probiotics that you sprinkle on food, or offer a little live culture yogurt, can only help improve immunity.
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