Is my cockatiel ok?

Question

My bird has been on the bottom of his cage and he waits for me to get him out before he poos and they're really big and wetter than normal.

He's also been really aggressive towards me and doesnt want to leave his cage when before he was the opposite.

Is he depressed? Does he want a friend?

Is this because of mating season?

Answer 1

I highly doubt this is from "mating season". Did you say this was a male cockatiel? Females have large, smelly poo's when nesting. But because your bird isn't even standing on his own two feet I would worry.

I'm going to tell you about my budgie, Polly. She is a spunky, 10+ yr old bird, but about 6 months ago that was not the case. She never wanted to do anything, always bit the *&%^ out of me, her feet where swolen with arthritus, feathers growing out colorless, had large poo's (bigger than a tiels) and made a pained sound while pottying.

When I finally got the money to see a vet (parents diddn't think she was ill, so I had to pay) we found out she has a benign tumor (non-spreading). Along with that, her thyroid gland was shutting down, so all her bodily functions where performing poorly as well.

The vet gave us Metacam (to stop pain from the tumor, which was causing her to be mean) and a 60 day supply of T4 (the thyriod hormone). Six months later she's still alive (even though she's only expected to live a few more months) and she's living life to the fullest. She's happy, pain free and loves her mommy.

The medications are cheap, it's the testing thats $$$. They'll probably want to draw blood, do a gram stain, and if worst comes to worst, an X-ray. If your on a tight budget tell them so and the price will drop.

Your cockatiel has a medical problem, and if your parents don't belive you, show them this post.

Answer 2

Any change in behaviour and stool habits in a bird warrants a vet check.

It could be, if your bird is a female, that she is treating the bottom of the cage as a nesting area. Breeding females will hold their stool and not defecate in the brooding area - she may be waiting to be removed from the area that she perceives to be nesting before eliminating.

The aggressiveness could be for the same reason - protecting a nesting area.

There's no real way to diagnose behaviour or health problems in birds over the internet.

Good luck.