Breathing differently...?

[BirdCatLady]

Recently -- maybe the past 2 weeks or so -- I've noticed that Brodie's been breathing differently. It's not sneezing, there's no discharge from his nares, he looks fine and acts fine. The breathing change (which may have been going on before and I just didn't notice it... maybe?) is very similar to what it sounds like when I breathe through my nose and then mid-breath switch to breathing out my mouth. This will happen a couple times per minute (at least, that I've noticed when I'm next to him).

Is this something I should be worried about? Or is it something that's within the realm of being normal?

 

[Greycloud]

I would definitely have it checked by your avian vet. Respiratory illnesses can start slow and worsen quickly. I he will be OK.

 

[BirdCatLady]

That's what I was thinking would be a good thing... but again, it comes back to the same issues regarding taking him to the vet that I posted about in the trimming nails thread. He doesn't regularly allow me to handle him -- we've only had him for just over a month (will be 5 weeks this Saturday) -- and I don't want to traumatize him (or hurt him) by toweling him to get him into his carrier.

At the same time, I definitely don't want him to end up getting really sick because I've been neglectful.

I haven't even called to set up a vet appointment yet with the nearest avian vet, because first, the handling issue, and second, I'm worried about the cost. But... again, I don't want him to end up a lot worse and have it be on my shoulders. (ETA: I knew that bird care would be more expensive than general cat/dog care, but I'm starting a new job next week that will be a pay increase so that's where my "let's wait to get him in for a wellness check" mentality came from.)

And the first of the month is coming up, which means rent and bills. Not saying that that's a reason for me not to take him to the vet, but it's just financially stressful.

ETA #2: I just looked up symptoms of respiratory sickness in birds (found here) and Brodie is showing none of those signs. There's just the weird breathing change, but everything else is still A-okay. No voice change, no activity level change, no nasal discharge, no difficulty breathing...

That being said, I do want to get him in to the vet's soon. But the handling issue is still stressful for me.

 

[Greycloud]

I understand the issue of him being "traumatized" if you towel him. You can also try putting very favorite treats in the crate to entice him in. It is most important to have him seen when it comes to respiratory issues. It could be an infection or Aspergullis. Can you post a vid of him breathing? Does he do this behavior while sitting still? Some cockatoos will do a little hissing noise if they are uneasy too. You have the option of trying for Care Credit to help pay for vet bills.
Healthcare Financing Credit Card | CareCredit

 

[BirdCatLady]

Thanks Grey. I was looking at the financial assistance stickied thread, and Care Credit sounds possibly helpful.

I'll see if I can get a vid of him breathing today and upload it this afternoon. (I don't have WiFi at the apartment, otherwise it'd be uploaded quicker.) And yes, he does do this behavior while sitting still.

 

[Macawnutz]

Sometimes you have to be the bad guy to do the right thing.

Care credit is very quick and easy to get, they will approve same day.

 

[BirdCatLady]

I did get a vid of him and will post it later.

I noticed, though, that he only seems to do this when I'm by his food dish or messing around with his food (mixing his dry food for the next week, tidying up the food storage containers, giving him food when he's outside the cage). That's about 99% of the time I notice him doing it. So I wonder if it's more of a territorial thing...? I don't know.

The video I got has him doing it three different times. Since it's recorded on my tablet, the sound quality kinda sucks, but at least it's something rather than nothing.

I'm looking into Care Credit now. I've never had a credit card so that makes me a little anxious, but I'm conscientious about paying stuff on time, and payment plans for vet appointments sounds very appealing.

 

[Greycloud]

As I said, some Toos can do this heavy breathing or slight hissing if upset. Hopefully when we see the vid we can get a better idea.

 

[BirdCatLady]

Hopefully! We'll be heading over to my parents' in a bit -- and they have WiFi, so I should be able to upload it (way) before noon EST. If it's just him being territorial or slightly upset, I'll be MUCH less stressed about it and will be able to enjoy my day a little more. (I know that sounds selfish. )

After I took the vid of him standing on his food dish (wherein he did the breathing behavior thing 3x in about a minute), I watched him on his favorite perch -- which is the opposite side of the cage from his food dish -- for probably a minute, minute and a half. No breathing changes, just him being his normal impish self, staring back at me like, "Whatcha watching me for, mom?" Lol.

Trying to figure out bird behavior when you're a new parront is stressful. Worth it! -- but stressful. I'll be so much happier when I've had more experience with African Greys and Brodie in particular.

 

[BirdCatLady]

Heh, I contacted his previous owners, because they're close friends of mine -- they told me that I'm being paranoid. Crossing my fingers that that's all it is.

I got the video uploaded -- here it is:

The breathing behavior occurs at 0:10 and 0:26 (there might be one more time that it occurs but I can't hear it right now). The clicking noises are apparently my tablet (?) picking up some background noise, not Brodie.

 

[parrotluv]

I am not sure. Looks more like he is nervous that you are close. If you are friends with the previous owners are they not able to come and assist you to get him in the carrier for a vet check? Have they ever had him vet checked before?

 

[BirdCatLady]

I know he's not usually nervous around me, but -- as aforementioned -- he is fairly territorial about anything food related (and in that video he's perched on his food dish). If he were nervous I'd be expecting more pinning, fluffed feathers, and possibly him saying "woomph" (or "waauk"), which is what he does when I do something he's not really expecting and/or that he doesn't like (but that isn't harmful to him).

His previous owners may be able to come help me with toweling, but they're very busy with work and family obligations so I'm not entirely sure. He did have a vet check once but it was a long time ago, which is why I want to get him there fairly soon just to be checked over. Aside from that weird breathing, he's acting fine.

 

[Greycloud]

Jeezy hodie! I thought you were talking about a Too! You should have corrected me! I cannot hear him at all. There is some rapid breathing. I think he is just nervous. Greys are not like other parrots. Some fluff. Many hold their feathers close to their body, wings will lift out away from the body. He did this once. Some will sway back and forth. I think he appears a bit stressed and cautious. He is on alert and does not know what you want from him.
I still totally agree that he needs a vet visit. I would have the vet listen to his breathing and do a blood panel. Fecal culture is always good.
Try talking softly to him while you are working around him. Drop a very favorite treat/nut etc in his dish, praise him for good behavior and walk away. I think he just needs time to settle and trust you.

 

[BirdCatLady]

Yeah, I'm going to see about getting him in to see the vet soonish (hopefully before Christmas, but not emergency ASAP). I have been planning to do a wellness check for him, and the first of the month is past, things will be a little less tight financially. I'll probably call on Monday to at least get an estimate about how much a wellness check will cost (assuming there's nothing wrong with him), then see about scheduling him.

Sorry! I got a little confused too, regarding Toos being mentioned here, but felt a little unsure about pointing it out.

The thing with Brodie is that he lifts his wings away from his body very frequently, but if you say "jet fighter!" he'll dance/bob his head while lifting his wings. So I don't think that's necessarily a sign of distress for him, since he loves it when I sing those words to him and will mimic me if I dance/head bob. (I feel stupid doing it but oh well. ) His previous owners told me about him doing that, and they also said that they think it's kind of a flight response -- he can't fly because his left wing was broken and didn't set right when he was a juvenile, but that desire is still there, of course.

And admittedly, he is also not a bird that loves his picture being taken. I didn't talk to him during the video, and he was probably tired of being recorded, since I got a video of him singing and talking earlier this morning (although I was much, much further back from his cage than the vid I linked). So that could also be where some of the stressed-looking actions come from. At 00:15 and 00:16, where he's looking down, he's looking towards the food bins where I store his treats/other food.

I do talk with him when I'm around him -- never loudly, but sometimes more excitedly/happily than other times. And similarly, other times I'll talk calmly and very quietly to him. I do praise him a lot, and when he does something that I asked him to (for example, when he stepped up, I praised him while he was on my hand, and afterwards I thanked him for trusting me enough to let me handle him and told him that it made me really happy). He seems to be settling in fairly well considering this is only his 5th week here, but this week and part of last week, I've been very stressed -- and honestly this just kinda smacked me in between the eyes -- so he's probably picking up on that too.

Thanks for replying, though! and sorry I didn't correct the Too misunderstanding.

 

[gibsongrrrl]

It sort of sounds like a hiss to me. I don't know that greys hiss, so maybe he picked it up at some point from another bird like a tiel or too? Could even be trying to mimic a sniff. I did notice the wings being slightly away from the body so it could just be a back off warning.

 

[Greycloud]

Greys can hiss. Keene makes a small hissing noise but she is happy when she does it. Almost like a deep breath over and over. Then she is fine. She wants to be touched all the time!

 

[Greycloud]

OK, I enlarged the screen and turned it way up! That is what Keene does. But she does it when we scritch her head. it is her happy sound.

 

[BirdCatLady]

I'm sorry for the crappiness of the sound quality. I'm not sure why it came out SO quietly, because when I play that video on my tablet, his hissing/breath noise thing (I don't even know what to call it, haha) is audible. And earlier when I came on here, on my tablet, after I'd posted the video, I could hear it just fine. I guess my tablet doesn't like cooperating with computers, lol.

I know that at his previous owners' place, he didn't live with any other birds. However, prior to living there (I'm his 3rd rehome), I have no idea what the living conditions were like, if that couple had any other birds, etc. It's totally possible that he picked it up from hearing it somewhere, though, even if it weren't from other birds. I really don't know.

He's also been asking for a scratch a lot lately, but has been very hesitant to receive scratches. Morning or evening, as long as I'm not in the room, he'll say "Wanna scratch?" or "Bend over" (which was the phrase his first owner used to tell him to lean his head down for a scritch). But when I'm in the room, 98% of the time when I ask him if he wants a scratch, he'll look at me and sidle away a little, or he'll stand there but his eyes will be pinning (and not in the excited way, I don't think). He has let me scritch him a couple of times -- sometimes out of the cage, sometimes when there's the safety of the bars between us -- but I wonder, if part of his stress/uncertainty is because he really wants scritches more often but he doesn't quiiite trust me enough yet.

Oh, birds. Life with Brodie will certainly never be boring...

 

[Greycloud]

I think the sound problem is due to I am deaf in one ear! Baby steps! You'll get there!