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Odd Lovebird behavior - not sure whether to be alarmed or not

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Alkuna

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I have a peach faced lovebird:
(picture unrelated to odd behavior, he ``nests`` like that all the time in our hands)
I've had him since he was weaned in 1994 (so he's about 16 years old. Old for a lovebird) and he just displayed an odd behavior that he's only showed once before, a few weeks ago. Before then, this was nothing he'd ever displayed.
First, he woke up from dozing on my chest and started flapping his wings --not sustained like a helicopter-- a kind a sporadic ``stutter`` like behavior.
I picked him up on my finger and held him over the garbage can, thinking he had to go to the bathroom.
Secondly his eyelids drooped to half mast and blinked a lot.
Thirdly he had real difficulty balancing. His right leg had no strength and he couldn't grip with it; he kept losing his grip and kept trying to gain a foothold.
I turned my hand over to make a nest for him to sit in. He hunkered down and closed his eyes and fluffed out and went immobile, like he went to sleep. His grip seemed to be fine again at this point. He remained like this for about two to three minutes.
Then he shook himself off, scratched an itch, and went back to normal. He's acting normally again as I type this out, but the odd behavior seemed to come out of nowhere.
 

Allessa

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Sounds to me like he had a seizure =( Im no expert tho. My older cockatiel has them every now and then and it sounds just like that. I have to hold her and calm her down
 

Renae

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Do you have an Avian Vet close-by? It would be worth taking him in and having him checked out.. a few things you said sound like heavy metal poisoning symptoms, but if it is only the second time he has done it, perhaps like Janifer said, it was possibly a seizure.
 

crismas

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It couldn't hurt to visit your vet, to be on the safe side. Seizures can be a symptom of a serious illness like heavy metal poisoning.

I went through something similar with my quaker last week. I suspected one leg was bothering her/ exhibited weakness, but she seemed healthy (no cuts on the leg/ response to me touching it, normal eating, vocalizing, playing.) However, she became very ill quite rapidly on Friday (overnight she went from being her playful rambunctious self to being so sick her vet thought she would not make it through the night). Today they diagnosed her with zinc poisoning. Thankfully the treatment seems to be helping.

Your lovebird is such a lil cutie, I hope everything is ok.
 

suncoast

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I would call your vet, it does sound like some kind of seizure, and get an opinion on what the best course of action might be.

Ginger
 

Billie Faye

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I'm another one suggesting a seizure/possible metal poisoning...
Make an appointment at your vets ASAP...
You also don't say where you are...if you need us, we can help you find a avian vet if you don't already have one...:hug8:
 
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waterfaller1

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Sending lots of positive healing energy.:hug8:
 

birdlady

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Last year my cockatoo had some of the symptoms you mentioned...I had her tested and it was zinc poisoning. After treatment sher never had another seizure.

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G using Tapatalk
 

Alkuna

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Help finding an avian vet would be great. I live in Pittsburg, California in the Bay Area.

I have no idea how he could have gotten a hold of any metal though, he doesn't chew on his cage bars, and I have no idea what he could have gotten a hold of to give him possible metal poisoning. If he's not in his cage, he's on my shoulder buried under my hair or nesting in my hands. I keep a close eye on him and pry objects out of his beak if he picks them up.
 
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Alkuna

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Thank you VERY much! I'll start calling them as soon as possible. :hug8:

Mmm San Francisco is a little far for me to travel, (two hours depending on traffic or BART) but I'll call the others and see how skilled they are at birds.
 

Archiesmom

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Oh no :( I hope he is doing ok. Might not hurt to call a vet.
 

Birdbabe

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Hope the little guy is OK. Hes adorable.
 

suncoast

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Many of us travel 2 or more hours to see an avian vet. We drive across the state to go to Miami with ours and it's about 2 hours and 20 minutes. But it's worth it.

Ginger
 
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