FINCHforum

Hi all. It's been a long time. I have a question and wondering if someone can give me an answer.

My male Cordon has been acting a little strange lately. Around 10 days ago he was drinking and I noticed his beak was opening and closing as if he was having difficulty breathing. So, I thought maybe some water had gotten in his nostrils accidentaly and I didn't think much of it. However, a few days ago I noticed the same thing again but this time it was worse. It was late at night when I heard like a coughing sound and I realized it was him. So I took a look and saw he was shaking his head and moving his tongue around (while his beak open) as if he had something stuck in his throat. He also kept wiping his beak as if trying to remove something. That went on for maybe 20 minutes then he was back to normal. Then this happened a third time 2 days ago. I also noticed that if he flies around in the small flight cage these symptoms get worse and I also heard wheezing one time or two. The thing is, he's not like that all the time. But I see this once or twice a day and sometimes nothing. He eats and drinks normally and isn't puffed up. But I don't see him flying around like he used to and I'm thinking because that triggers these symptoms which I do believe has something to do with his breathing and that's why I'm suspecting ASM.

I've done some reading on ASMs and I'm wondering if it could be it or some other kind of respiratory infection.
There's a place where they sell some kind of liquid that's applied to the back of the bird's neck or shoulders to kill the mites but the thing is I'm not sure if it is ASM that the bird has. Is it a bad thing to treat a bird for ASM if it doesn't have it? I keep reading I have to be sure it is ASM before I treat it. Any suggestions?
The female is in the same cage but she seems fine.

Thanks.

Ok. So I just found the topic on ASM here and I think it has a lot of info but hasn't read everything yet. So Scatt is the stuff that's applied to the bird's skin I guess. And from reading some of the posts I gather there's no harm treating a bird with scatt even if it doesn't have ASM.
I don't know why Petsmart don't have these treatments.

To be sure you are dealing with air sac mites this procedure is explained on the Coyote Creek Aviary site:
http://www.geocities.com/bjbills1/ASM.html

A diagnosis is made by wetting the feathers on the neck with alcohol and transilluminating the trachea with a bright penlight. This procedure is best performed in a darkened room. With normal vision, the mites can be seen as dark, pinhead size, moving spots in the trachea.

I would tend to lean to something more like canker or a respiratory infection. Does your bird have any other symptoms?
From these two sites:
http://www.finchniche.com/features_canker.php
http://ladygouldian.com/Respiratory-Infections-in-Birds

Signs of Canker/Cochlosoma include: diarrhea, yellowish or bright green droppings, undigested seed in droppings, butt pumping, wet vent feathers, sleeping during the day, head tucked over their wing feather, weight or feather loss.

It most often infects the crop and esophagus and causes the birds to waste away because the ulcers in the crop make it very difficult for the birds to eat. Birds with Trichomoniasis will often produce excessive mucus which will be discharged from their mouth and nostrils. You may find feathers on their face and shoulders which look wet, but are actually dry and stiff from the discharged mucus. They will sometimes be seen blowing bubbles. This mucus is what causes the raspy breathing and beak rubbing.

Hope you can figure it out quickly, best of luck

Thank you debbie for the reply. I appreciate it. The bird looks 100% normal. During the day I dont see the behaviour I described much but it's at night when I notice it seems to get worse and he starts coughing and doing excessive beak wiping (he also uses his feet to scratch his beak). I see a lot of head bobbing too as if he's trying to swallow something stuck in his throat. Most of the day he breathes normally but sometimes he starts opening and closing his beak. I didn't see any unusual droppings. No mucus or wet feathers or anything. His feathers are healthy and he eats and drinks and flies around the cage but nowhere as much as he used to before this started. He's not fluffed up and doesn't bury his head until late in the night when they're sleeping.
From what I've read so far this looks like ASM symptoms. I don't know how -if indeed it is ASM- he got it. I keep the cage clean in general and even vacuum it often. I'm a clean guy and like to keep things clean but I know things can happen.
The female still doesn't have any of those symptoms.