Puffing - always a sign of illness?

[beephonkbeep]

I have three birds, two zebbies and a Gouldian. I'm worried they might be ill. I've heard puffing/fluffing is a sign of sick birds, but I'm not clear on EXACTLY what it means.

I know it's bad if your bird sits around looking puffy all or most of the time. Does "puffing" also include occasional puffing up, though? Mine are usually tight in the feathers but sometimes they will puff up briefly, sort of ruffle their feathers, and then deflate again.

I'm not sure if I should be worried... It doesn't seem like much but I know signs of bird illness can be subtle. Plus, one of my birds was sick before, and seems to have completely recovered except for this one symptom... And now I see my other two birds doing it a bit more than they used to. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time during the day to watch them closely, so I'm not sure if this is my imagination or what.

I know the best course of action would be to take them to the vet but at the moment I don't have any form of transportation I really appreciate any advice.

[ac12]

First item, IMHO zebras and gouldians in other than an aviary or LARGE cage, do not mix. Zebras (at least mine) are VERY pushy and would chase the passive gouldian to his detriment.

Birds will puff up to sort out their feathers. Kind of like you shaking out the blankets to puff it up.

But puffing and lethargic is NOT a good sign.
I would immediately put it into a hospital cage with a heat lamp on the cage to provide warmth. Then give it a week or so, to see if the warmth helped it fight off whatever was making it fell unwell.

I am not attached to my birds as if they were close family pets, nor do I have a lot of $$$ to spend on vet bills. So, my personal opinion. I might take the gouldian to a vet, but I would not for the zebras. That vet bill will be expensive, and be MUCH more than the zebras are worth. My zebras will get home care and that's it.

From what I've read, many vets don't handle the small birds like finches, so they may not be able to do much anyway. You need to call and ask if they have small bird experience.

The hardest part about home care is diagnosing the problem. There are many site that will give you hints, but sometimes the symptoms point to several different problem. So the illness is hidden until too late and you can't do much if anything at that point.

Gud Luk

[beephonkbeep]

Thanks so much, ac12. I think I am going to make an effort to keep an eye on them more, just to be certain they aren't more lethargic than usual.

Yeah, the Gouldian was sick for awhile (she SEEMS to be improving, but she's not at 100%...hopefully by the time I'm done with this tetracycline) but I had to play Website Roulette instead of taking her to a vet because there's no exotic vets anywhere near me and I don't have a car

It's been stressful; I'm rather attached to the little guys. So, I'm truly grateful for the advice!

[ac12]

Do you have an incandescent lamp that you can put close to and shining into the cage. That is a good source of heat. I use a small 40 watt bulb in my lamp.