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Question

I have a lutino female cockatiel that is roughly 5 years old. She is caged with a male gray cockatiel. She seems to be spending a lot of time on the bottom of her cage the last couple of days. I watched her unsuccessfully struggle to climb to a perch. I picked her up and placed her on one. She was unsteady and her feathers were fluffed out. After a couple of minutes she fell to the bottom of the cage again.

There are several kinds of perches in the cage. There are simple straight wooden dowels, a varing width wooden dowel and a rough "sandpaperish" type perch. All of these perchs have bgen in the cage for several years.

I feed them exclusively Harrisons Adult Lifetime Fine. Droppings appear normal.

Submitted: 344 days and 6 hours ago.
Category: Pet
Value: $15
Status: CLOSED
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Optional Information

Age: 5; Female; Breed: Cockatiel

Already Tried:
Nothing

Posted by Dr. Briggs 344 days and 5 hours ago.

Info Request

Has this bird every laid eggs in the past?

344 days and 5 hours ago.

Reply

No never.

Accepted Answer

It's not normal for her to be spending so much time on the cage bottom..birds don't like to be low but that may be where she feels most 'stable'. Given her history of having a problem maintaining her balance on your good variety of perch types, I'd be concerned there is possibly something else going on - does her abdomen appear puffy/enlarged? If she is egg-bound or has yolk peritonitis, it is an emergency situation and she really should get checked out ASAP by your avian vet. EXCELLENT choice of diet btw - it's what all my guys eat ;)
docB

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Expert: Dr. Briggs
Pos. Feedback: 100.0 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 12/13/2008

Veterinarian

16+ yrs experience with many species including birds, reptiles and small mammals (plus dogs& cats!)

344 days and 5 hours ago.

Reply

She is definetly more "puffy" than normal. I took her out of her cage and examined her. She is shaky even on a flat surface and doesn't appear her normal alert self. She appears tired. I cannot tell if her abdomen is distended or not. I think you're right though, a trip to the vet is probably in order. Any other suggestions?

Edited by XXXXXXXXX on 12/13/2008 at 2:51 PM

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