Pokey is Sick....

[Sally]

Keeping fingers crossed that Pokey continues to recover.

[Babs _Owner]

lovezebs

How is the little gal doing today?

[Arama]

Poor Pokey

I hope she's doing better this morning.

[lovezebs]

Thanks everyone.

Pokey girl, is still hanging in there.
She's perching, she's eating, and drinking, but still not back to her normal self.

I still see her sitting puffed up on the flight floor occasionally, and she is spending a lot of time under a light.

I so wish that she could tell me what's bothering her.

[Spreckles]

I hope she gets better. When Blue was puffy I was so worried. She is a darling little birdie. Hope she just has her feathers ruffled and is better tomorrow.

[monotwine]

Elana when last did you treat them for anything preventatively? live worms or coccidiosis / mites? These are all common things and although not as drastic in a home caged setup as outdoor aviary, the birds can still harbour parasites.

Sometimes it can be a low level infestation that can make them miserable. I'm not always keen to just dose them up on stuff, but if you have not treated perhaps a preventative won't do any harm?
Is her poop fine? you mentioned cleaning her vent. Was it wet / messy? Could she maybe have a low grade bacterial infection?

Its just not normal for them to sit puffed up. To me that is a clear indication something is wrong.

[lovezebs]

monotwine

Hi Monique.

Poops are normal.
My initial concern, was that she might be egg bound (hence the warm soak in the tub). Her vent is clean, feathers are clean.

I don't dose my birds, as everyone is in an indoor setting, with no access to the great outdoors. Hadn't thought of the possibility of some intestinal upset, seeing as droppings are normal.

An odd behavior that I am seeing however, is that she wants her brothers to feed her and does the complete hungry baby begging display . Also, when she eats, she seems to stick her face into the seeds, and pick them up sideways, with the side of her beak (rather than the normal forward seed grab).

At times, she acts perfectly normal (for her ), other times she just puffs up and sits there.

Her breathing, is normal. She isn't bobbing her tail when she's perching. She can fly alright, and moves around freely and with ease.

It's almost as if she's gone back to being a fledgling in some ways, regressing to baby behaviour ( sounds crazy) which is something I have never seen a bird do before.

[lovezebs]

Here's Pokey (in the middle), with Dad (Luciano) keeping close watch on one side, and Merlin (Marilyn), offering moral support on the other side.

[Babs _Owner]

lovezebs

Im so glad to hear she seems to be improving! Maybe she just caught a wee birdy cold. Are the windows possibly putting off some drafts with all the ice outside?

[lovezebs]

Babs

The Pokester, is still hanging in there, and still begging family members for food (?)

Has anyone come across this behavior in an adult bird before? I'd be curious to know.

[Babs _Owner]

lovezebs

Oddly she sounds broody. I was watching some videos on females being fed by the males.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JYN7KnhR0g

Its so cute they feed their mates. Do you think she just really wants to be a momma and thats where the instinct to beg is coming in?

Maybe if you give her a nest and fake eggs to get broody on, her brothers will feed her? Worth a shot.

[Sam007]

Wishing her a speedy recovery.

[lovezebs]

Babs

If I give her a nest, her brothers will do more than just feed her...

[lovezebs]

Sam007

Thanks Sam.
I really hope she gets back to being her sweet self.

[Babs _Owner]

lovezebs

Would putting in fake eggs help? Hate to tell ya girlie, but it sounds like she wants to be a mommy to me. Either she gets a new mate or her brothers are going to make Uncle-daddy babies. **giggle**

I cant help it, Im finding this funny (no southern jokes now... Bubba will pitch a fit)

Put in a nest, let her breed with her brothers and just chuck and toss 'em and put in some plastic eggs is what I would do. She might be too far gone to wait for her to warm up to a new mate.