- Dec 18, 2013
- 22,301
- 4,216
- Parrots
- Maya (Female Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Jolly (Male Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Bixby (Male, red-sided eclectus. RIP), Suzie (Male cockatiel. RIP)
Hello, all.
There seems to be something suddenly wrong with Bixby. Last night I thought nothing of it, but he was far more needy than he usually ever is. Then, this morning, he took off from my arm and flew into the French doors. Not very hard. I've definitely seen him hit walls harder when he was first learning to fly. But it was strange. He has become rather skilled as a flier, and crashing into doors BEHIND his accustomed playtop is outside the norm. He stepped up afterward and seemed none the worse for wear, so I prepped his breakfast and went to eat my own.
Normally, he wouldn't call out for me until he was done, but he was insistent throughout. When I took him out, I realized that he was having trouble eating! He was hungry. Desperately so. But he couldn't open his mouth wide enough to eat. And he was frustrated. (Understandably so.)
I was able to help him by feeding him softer foods through the side of his mouth. He had the easiest time with grapes and bananas.
Also, the past four poops have been watery. Now, I know eclectus poop tends to be more watery than most other parrots because of the relative amounts of fresh fruits and veggies, but this is practically green tinted water.
And his balance seems slightly off. He's not wobbling or anything. And he can balance relatively well on my arm or even finger, but when he lifts his foot to rest he curls it into a fist, as usual, and then rests the "knuckles" against the perch. Could be a balance thing or a weakness thing. I lean more toward the former, however, since he can still fly. (He's flown since the crash. No problems.) Also, he uses his right wing (seemingly) to help maintain his balance when he has one foot lifted up. Right foot or left, he holds that wing slightly apart from his body (though still folded), so that it rests lightly against the perch. Again, seemingly more for balance than support.
I haven't ruled out the possibility of this being an effect of his impact against the doors, but I'm more inclined to believe it's something else. It wasn't that hard a hit, (though angle could be a factor, admittedly) and I don't see how such an impact would lead to watery poop. (There was a fifth just now. More solid. Could be because he wasn't able to eat much solid food until I helped him eat.) And also his behavior has seemed slightly off since yesterday.
I'm searching for an available avian vet right now, but at the same time I'm hoping someone here on the forum might be able to give me some insight as to what is wrong. Thank you.
There seems to be something suddenly wrong with Bixby. Last night I thought nothing of it, but he was far more needy than he usually ever is. Then, this morning, he took off from my arm and flew into the French doors. Not very hard. I've definitely seen him hit walls harder when he was first learning to fly. But it was strange. He has become rather skilled as a flier, and crashing into doors BEHIND his accustomed playtop is outside the norm. He stepped up afterward and seemed none the worse for wear, so I prepped his breakfast and went to eat my own.
Normally, he wouldn't call out for me until he was done, but he was insistent throughout. When I took him out, I realized that he was having trouble eating! He was hungry. Desperately so. But he couldn't open his mouth wide enough to eat. And he was frustrated. (Understandably so.)
I was able to help him by feeding him softer foods through the side of his mouth. He had the easiest time with grapes and bananas.
Also, the past four poops have been watery. Now, I know eclectus poop tends to be more watery than most other parrots because of the relative amounts of fresh fruits and veggies, but this is practically green tinted water.
And his balance seems slightly off. He's not wobbling or anything. And he can balance relatively well on my arm or even finger, but when he lifts his foot to rest he curls it into a fist, as usual, and then rests the "knuckles" against the perch. Could be a balance thing or a weakness thing. I lean more toward the former, however, since he can still fly. (He's flown since the crash. No problems.) Also, he uses his right wing (seemingly) to help maintain his balance when he has one foot lifted up. Right foot or left, he holds that wing slightly apart from his body (though still folded), so that it rests lightly against the perch. Again, seemingly more for balance than support.
I haven't ruled out the possibility of this being an effect of his impact against the doors, but I'm more inclined to believe it's something else. It wasn't that hard a hit, (though angle could be a factor, admittedly) and I don't see how such an impact would lead to watery poop. (There was a fifth just now. More solid. Could be because he wasn't able to eat much solid food until I helped him eat.) And also his behavior has seemed slightly off since yesterday.
I'm searching for an available avian vet right now, but at the same time I'm hoping someone here on the forum might be able to give me some insight as to what is wrong. Thank you.
I'm so sorry to hear. I have no idea what it could be but I'm sending positive vibes your way. I know how much I freak out when the littlest thing is wrong, I can only imagine how you are. 
