Sneezing, Grinding beak, Yawning

[Ozzy]

As those of you who have helped me before know I recently adopted a 5 year old Blue Front Amazon. He is doing pretty well and we are working on trust. However, I have a few questions about some things I've noticed.

Ozzy sneezes, not a lot but often enough for me to notice. He usually sneezes after preening as well as random other times. There is no discharge from eyes or nose and he eats like a piglet. I have a vet appointment next week with a vet recommended to me about 1 1/2hrs from where I live. Do to the 3 hour round trip drive and my schedule I could only fit the visit in next week... is this severe enough for me to see a local vet this week that might not have as much expertise in avian care? Or should I be able to wait until next week? I know you guys are not vets but I'm curious as to what you would do?

Ozzy also yawns quite a bit. I know this can be considered a sign of contentment but he looks like hes getting ready to puke sometimes when he does it. Is this normal?

I am not sure if what he does with his beak is grinding so i will try to explain it the best way I can. He sort of vibrates his lower beak and then pushes it against his upper beak so it makes a grinding/vibrating sound. I know grinding is a normal thing I just wanted to make sure that was considered grinding.

Overall he seems pretty healthy and eats up a storm. He also has the energy to take every single piece of food he picks ups and crawl across the cage to drop it in his water bowl and then eat it. The process then continues over and over until he is full!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Von1983]

Glad all is going well!

Birds sneeze when preening and also if the seasons are changing! Cal actually "picks her nose" during a good preen. I asked my AV why. "Because it feels good." She also sneezed a lot in the first 2 weeks we had her. He said - so would you if your air system just changed ......hmmmm touche!

Vomiting is usually followed with actual vomit or a shake of the head....they have no control over what comes out, either. Yawning is usually just a sign of contentment and sleepyness.

A good rule of thumb for the future, is head shaking side to side and seemingly uncontrolled movements can be vomit and up and down controlled movements is regurgitation

Beak grinding - ditto! I'm contented and/or sleepy. It also helps keep their beaks in good shape!

As far as I can tell from your description - all normal behaviours!

As with anything though, if you're unsure or worried, trust your instincts and go to the vet. I'm no expert at all and do not profess to be but if I were you, I'd relax with my birdy and have a well earned cuppa!

 

[wildheart]

All 3 is normal in certain circumstances. Can you describe the yawning better, is he pulling his mouth open wide and keeping it for a second like that?

My girl sneezed and pulled her mouth open wide for some time after she went into a shop where they used chemicals to clean the place before they opened.

Things you can look for inside your home:
Are you using non-stick pots and pans?
Are they using chemicals to clean inside your home, window cleaner, polish etc.?
Are you using air freshener?
Is anybody smoking?
Is he against a wall, what type of paint is on there?
Is he maybe sitting in a draft or maybe not getting enough fresh air?
Did you recently clean the cage and what did you use?

Here is also a site with dangers that you can read about.
Home Safety / Common Household Hazards

I am not saying you must start to panic, I am just saying that it is good to look if there might be something that is bothering him.

 

[ozzybird]

If I did not know better I swear you have my bird. My bird is a blue front amazon, 7 years old and his name is OZZY. I just brought him home about a month ago. He has spent the last three years at a pet store. I found this site because I was looking for info about birds yawning and sneezing and this was the first post that popped up. My Ozzy does all of those things also. He had a vet check before I brought him home and has a clean bill of health. He yawns when he is standing on one foot so it makes sense he is sleepy.

 

[mygirl]

when mylah had her sinus infection she would do that yawning thing our vet said, they do it to try and released the tight feeling in there face but if the nostrils are clean i wouldn't worry, mylah demand sneezes when she wants something

 

[mgraffeo]

My yellow-naped Amazon has sneezed on and off for the 26 years that I have had her. However, she is now regurgitating phlegm often and sounds congested, as if she had a cold. My vet swabbed her throat and nothing showed up. I think that she has an allergy. There is a powerful Rabbit Air BioGS air cleaner in her room, on the allergy setting, but it only helps somewhat. Has anyone seen this before? My girl is about 40 years old, and the vet comes to see her twice per year. Any info would be SO appreciated!

 

[merlinsmom13]

Merlin has allergies. None of our tests turned up w/anything & so this is what we believe. His start in mid spring, & the symptoms stop in sept, this has been the schedule for 3 years. We have alot of trees around the house & the humidity here stays around 90%. This spring he added a symptom, snoring, so I took him back to the vet. Never assume... He takes benedryl for children, your vet can give you the dosage for your bird. It seems to help, we only use it when he is wheezie or snoring. Good luck