Accepted Answer

There could be any number of things going on with your lovey and obviously the only way to know for sure is with a hands on exam. This could be Torticollis (wry neck) which may occur in birds infected with Pasteurella bacterial infection, also known as Fowl Cholera.

A bird may be a chronic carrier, living with one or multiple symptoms; however, many birds that are infected with this bacteria progress rapidly with a high mortality rate.

Symptoms include (but not all need to be present): Lethargy, going off food/water, discharge from the mouth (often described as salivating or drooling), rapid breathing, fever (feet will be extremely warm), conjunctivitis (red, swollen, itchy eyes) and localized infections.

When the middle ear, cranial bones or meninges are infected, ‘wry neck’ (Torticollis) is seen.

Treatments include antibiotics such as Sulfonamides or in some cases, Penicillin. Be sure you have an experienced vet since Sulfas have toxic levels.

Other bacterial infections that may cause similar symptoms are:

Chlamydia, mycobacteria, salmonella, yersinia and others.


Tests should include sampling (and culture) of the nares (nostrils), oral cavity, cloaca,
etc., but if the vet isn’t knowledgeable about the normal flora in the bird species they are
examining, the results may not mean much. Inexperienced vets will find that the culture
grows something and often base their diagnosis on what they know of mammals.


Sounds like you caught this early and since your little lovey is 16 years old, you've been
doing a very good job for a very long time. Keep it up!

Good luck

Expert:	S. August Abbott, CAS
Pos. Feedback:	99.6 %
Accepts:
Answered:	3/21/2009

Certified Avian Specialist

Cert. Avian Specialist; Int. Assoc.Animal Behavior Consult; Pet Ind. Joint Advisory Council; author