Is Chikki Sick?

[karunk]

All.. I havent been posting very actively here for the last month and a half.. sorry about it.. the last couple of days have been a bit concerning to me..

 

I got Chikki a t stand and it has kinda become his potty stand.. so if he feels like pooping, he lets me know by either slightly biting my fingers or my ears depending on where he is on me .. i take him there and he happily sits on the t stand and poops.. this has gone well so far.. in the last couple of days he has been a bit weird, he gives me a slight bite(they know the right pressure, which hurts and which dont) to get my attention, and when i take him to his stand he doesnt poop, well sometimes i know before hand that he wants something else, because it would be 2 minutes after his last potty that he bit me..

 

i am not sure what he wants.. but he is happy to eat when i give him something to eat after the attention grabbing bite.. my wife is at home, and she has just emailed me saying Chikki seems to be eating a lot more today than usual.. i knew he was a lot hungry yesterday when i went home and i fed him a lot last night as well..

 

is this something to worry about.. does he need a vet visit??.. so far he has been doing fine.. has his toys.. has his noisy time.. has fitted well with the family(no longer attacks my wife or my bros).. gets 4 or 5 hours out of the cage time everyday and more during weekends.. its been perfect so far.. he will be nine months old on the 1st of jan FYI.. or is this just a period of edginess they go thro from time to time??

[ecodweeb]

I wish I could be more helpful. When in doubt, a visit to the vet never hurts.

[Greywings]

A few questions-how old is Chikki? Is he producing a normal amount of droppings? Do the droppings look normal? Are you certain this is male?

[karunk]

Greywings.. I am not sure if Chikki is male.. I have got used to calling him a He.. he is 9 months old almost.. everything else about him is normal.. i cant see any difference in his droppings!!

[Greywings]

Then it sounds like we are looking at the behavior possibly being related to his age but to be certain a Vet visit or at least a phone call might be in order. If the droppings are normal in appearance and volume and your baby is both eating and drinking, not looking droopy or fluffy then it may not be a health issue. these little stinkers sure can make us worry sometimes. Do let us know what you decide and how he/she is doing.

[Dave007]

So basically, you're worrying about the fact that he's not pooping on his stand even though he's nipping at you? But he is pooping in other areas. Right?

 

You're worried that he's eating more than usual?

Count your blessings. A bird who is ill will stop eating. He's growing up and is more active and using up more energy.

 

There isn't anything that you mention that suggests edginess of any type. Being a bit willful? Yes. More obstinate? Yes.

Most of the time, people don't wait until a bird nips at them to tell the person that they have to poop.

 

You can go to a vet but I guarantee you that he'll tell you the same thing UNLESS that vet is the type of person who sees a chance to do unneccesay tests in order to make money and believe me, there's loads of those types of vets out there but I'm not saying that he is that type of person.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/12/11 17:51

[ecodweeb]

Ah, yes, I have to side with Dave.... we have a rather well known vet here who advocated a food brand with dyes in it that prevent you from checking the poop color of your bird and suggests twice a year fecals and once a year full blood work..... ie, a bit of a 'scam.'

[Char]

Whisper will often give me that same pressure beaking that you are talking about ( I don't consider it a bite, I consider it communication) if she is trying to tell me she wants something like scratch harder. She will also do it to show her displeasure if I won't give her something she wants like the tv remote.

[Luvparrots]

You are the only one who can decide whether Chikki should see a vet. You see him 24/7. Call Chikki's vet and see what they think if you are really worried.

[karunk]

Thanks for your inputs.. yep, it is generally his beak that he uses to communicate to me.. be it pooping or any annoyance.. but annoyance notification is a bit harder ..

 

I came home and found him still a bit nippier.. though not painful, its not his usual self.. i put him back in his room and left the room for 2 minutes.. when i went back to his room and picked him, he was fine and has been behaving for about a couple of hours since then.. looks like i was a bit too paranoid here.. i am going to see over the weekend, if he gets back to old ways.. if he doesnt, i will check with the vet on monday..

 

now he is watching some videos of African greys talking on Youtube!!