Falling off perch in sleep

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Falling off perch in sleep

by Ben
(Perth, WA)

Our rainbow lorikeet has recently started falling off his perch while sleeping. also as of late it looks like he's mis- judged the small leap from his ladder to the cage door (which he has done millions of times before hand). We are concerned it may be the heat but he's been through hotter summers and we have a fan blowing into his cage at nights to make sure he doesnt overheat. He's not acting any differently during the day or shows signs of stress at nights. He is about 8 years of age and when we took him to an avian vet 2-3 months ago ahe gave a clean bill of health. Just a bit concerning as birds don't usually do this.

Comments for
Falling off perch in sleep

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Mar 05, 2010

Bird falling off perch
by: The Avian Vet

This could be a neurological problem and your bird needs to be seen by an avian veterinarian as soon as possible. Something must have changed since his last vet visit. The things that can cause this are nutritional deficiencies, trauma, and toxins. Also bad wing trims can contribute. Over heating can certainly cause neurological problems, too.

Dr B

Mar 04, 2010

Falling off perch in sleep
by: Linda

FIRST, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, STOP LETTING THE FAN BLOW ON HIM EITHER NIGHT OR DAY AS THIS IS A SETUP FOR PNEUMONIA! Any kind of draft, even if it is hot, is very bad for birds, so stop the fan blowing on him. It may very well be what is causing him to fall off his perch in the night. The other thought is that he is already sick and it would be a great idea to take him back to the Avian Vet to check for upper respiratory infection as drafts--summer or winter cause pneumonia, and once he becomes sick with it, he'll stop eating and have to be handfed baby parrot handfeeding formula. Pneumonia is one of the baddies when it comes to infections, so please be careful about drafts.

Drafts are dangerous, and even on a hot day, one must not allow any cross drafts to blow on bird. This also includes putting them under or right by a heat or air vent as the same thing will happen.

So, if your house is getting so hot bird's life is in danger, keep the fan(s) blowing during the day and make sure they are not that near to bird where air can blow on him. At night, just allow things to cool down naturally. Birds cannot take temperature shifts of more than 10 degrees either hot or cold without suffering physical problems from it, so keep this in mind. You may need to board your bird somewhere until things cool off if you are experiencing such hot temperatures. Birds can acclimate to hotter or colder temperatures, but it takes a few seasons before they can go without some type of cooling, and for the colder climates, SOME TYPE OF SUPPLEMENTAL HEAT IS ALWAYS NECESSARY as birds' feet can freeze to perches, and their toes will fall off once that happens.

I'd stop the fan blowing on him immediately and take him to Avian vet because it sounds as if he is either sick with an infection or is getting sick from the heat and an infection.

To help with heat during the day, every few hours, use a plastic plant sprayer bottle filled with tepid (NOT COLD) WATER and give him a nice shower as this will help to keep him cooler. Make sure water is tepid to a little warm as cold water on a hot day can cause stroke or heart failure.

Hope this helps you and anyone else reading this.

Linda

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