My grandma's parakeet was accidentally left out in the rain.. help!?

Question

Lucy was out in the rain this afternoon for probably 2 hours and was completely soaked when my mom found her. Luckily it was in the high 70's, low 80's today so it wasn't chilly. I took her out of her cage and wrapped her in a towel and held her against my chest for a while. Then we dried her cage and all her stuff and put her back in it in a warm spot and covered her cage with a blanket. What else can we do to keep her from getting sick? And how will I know if something is wrong with her? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!!

Answer 1

This really isn't alot to worry about. Birds and water (even non-water birds) generally go well together. Unless it's very cold or heavy rain (enought to hurt a small bird), there shouldn't be a problem. If there was, it would probably be obvious, as birds aren't so prone to hiding their discomfort.

This is coming from someone who's very paranoid about pets being okay, even. Myself, if the parakeet isn't it's normal self tomorrow afternoon (parakeets don't hide their sickness/weakness as some animals do, like i mentioned earlier) just take it in to have it checked. You sound concerned, which is very comendable, and since you sound like a very protective pet owner (like myself) I think taking her in might be best if only to ease your worry, otherwise for the next week or two you'll be wondering if every little thing might be some illness caused by the rain.

Keep her very near (take her into whatever room you're in) and keep a close eye, watch for FREQUENT sneezing and other uncharacteristic behaviour (although some would be expected after such an ordeal).

She'll most likely be fine though. Just as with people, birds usually fall ill by contagion, not through cold or wet conditions.

Answer 2

Just take her to the vet to be sure as when a bird becomes sick they can hide their illnesses very well. Make sure you keep her warm.

Answer 3

She shouldn't get sick from getting wet.  You have done all the right things.

I wouldn't panic.  She should be just fine!  I put all my birds out in the rain all the time and they usually love it!

Nancy Daniels

Parrot Adopt Southern Ontario

www.parrotadoptontario.com

Answer 4

Im sure she will be fine but if you notice she has:

low energy

runny nose

eye drainage

doesn't clean her feathers

weird sounding breathing

take her to a vet immediately b/c she probably has a cold