What you can do while securing a vet to see your companion is supportive care.

Most birds will need a heat source to maintain body heat while you’re getting their medical treatment lined up or while you’re on your way to see the vet with them.

If perching is a problem, lower the perch to just a couple inches above the floor of the cage so falling doesn’t injure them. You might also want to remove the perch completely and layer newspapers on the bottom or put a tee shirt there. We use T-shirts because bath towels tend to have looped surfaces that can entangle little toenails.

Putting a heat source into the cage may be necessary since a sick or distressed bird tends to lose body heat. I prefer a non electric source and use rice socks.

Use a thick, clean sock and fill it ¾ with plain, raw white rice. Knot the end and microwave it for about 1 ½ minutes. Shake it afterwards to distribute the heat and be sure it’s not too hot.

Heating pad options include layering a thick towel on one side of the cage, secure with clothespins out of the reach of the bird’s beak – then clip a heating pad over the towel and set on low. Check often to be sure it’s not overheating and that the bird isn’t gnawing through. A side attachment like this will allow the bird to move closer or away as needed.

If the bird is bottom-bound, install a heating pad under about ½ of the base, again, set on low. Always check it. They have a tendency to turn off or overheat and to be honest, I rarely use them.

The rice sock option is far safer.

Cover the cage with a dark blanket or doubled over dark sheet, leaving just enough open space to be able to peek in and monitor. The bird needs to be kept calm and resting.

Gently drape a light cover over this box to further help hold heat in and keep light low.

If your bird will drink and eat on their own, excellent. If not, have an eyedropper ready to administer a few drops of plain water, or better yet, children’s Pedialyte every 20-30 minutes. Put the dropper gently inside the beak and let the drops fall into the bottom beak under the tongue rather than trying to get into the back of the throat. We don’t want to chance the bird inhaling the fluid and developing pneumonia.

Another feeding option is to offer ½ spoon of all natural, organic baby food (squash, yams, sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables) which many birds take readily; also try some pabulum or baby rice cereal and a few licks of natural (no artificial anything) yogurt.

These are just temporary supportive measures to keep your bird alive while you get professional, hands on care. These measures will not cure your bird.

Don’t mistake what looks like recovery to be a real recovery. It is very common for a bird to regain enough strength to start hiding their illness again, but what’s happening is that it’s progressing and by the time you see symptoms again, it will be much worse or too late.

I must commend you on catching this early - and doing the right things by removing her. It's also fortunate that you noticed this before the weekend. There's nothing worse than needing emergency care in the middle of the night on a weekend or holiday.

Find an avian vet near you http://aav.org/vet-lookup and

http://veccs.org/hospital_directory.php

Another very productive search site is

http://www.vetwebdirectory.net/index.php?option=com_mtzcssearch&template=2

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