Helpful Tips to Care for Your Pet Bird When it is Sick

Nurturing and raising a pet bird is no different really from having any other kind of pet. All of them need to eat healthily and a nutritious well balanced diet is very essential to a long lifespan. Birds are no exception and making sure they are given a nutrient rich diet rather than too many seeds is important.

In our article we want to focus on the right type of care for sick birds because even with the best diet and care birds do get ill.

When a bird is ill and needs to be transported to the vet for medical attention you need to minimize handling the sick bird as much as possible. Excessive handling can lead to stress, aggravate shock and even result in death. While it is best to delay treatment of non-life threatening injuries until the shock wears off, life threatening emergencies should be attended to immediately upon observation.

Sick or injured birds need to be given additional warmth because they tend to lose body heat at a very rapid pace. A quiet, dark environment that is warm is the best choice. Covering the cage with a towel; placing the cage on a heating pad on a low setting and using an infrared lamp set back from the cage to prevent overheating are all methods that can be employed to provide the right environment for a sick bird. If the bird is too warm it will hold its wings away from the body or start panting.

The right type of nutritional support is another vital aspect for the bird’s speedy recovery. Arrangements for the easy access to food and water should be made and supplements like electrolytes may need to be given. Sick birds can suffer from dehydration and water consumption should be monitored. Whatever you do in terms of caring for the bird should be done in consultation with the vet.

For a bird that absolutely refuses to eat healthy food, try warming or even cooking the vegetables. Make it a point to remove the seed dish during feeding times until your bird begins eating the food you give it.

Don’t make dramatic changes to the diet; it is far better and more effective to do it progressively. Fresh food should be provided twice daily and kept in the cage for an hour at a time. Remove the food after the hour is up or bacteria will start to form.