Birds are prey animals and hide illness by nature. By the time a bird shows a sign, the problem is usually well advanced. It is the sentence bird owners hear most often and believe least, and it is the reason most bird cases arrive at the clinic late.

Any change in breathing is therefore taken seriously.

Signs that do not wait

Tail bobbing. The tail moving rhythmically up and down with each breath while the bird is at rest. When a bird cannot expand its chest enough, the body recruits the tail to breathe. A healthy bird at rest does not do this.

Breathing with the beak open. Briefly after flying this can be normal. If it continues while the bird is calm, it does not wait.

Sound. Clicking, wheezing or whistling while breathing. Audible breathing is always abnormal.

Stretching the neck and looking upward. The posture of a bird trying to open its airway.

Holding the body upright with the tail raised, together with fluffing up and going quiet.

If any of these is present, bring the bird in the same day. We are open at night and at weekends; if you cannot decide, nights and weekends helps.

Common causes

Respiratory infection. Bacterial, fungal or viral; common in cage birds.
Air sac mites. Particularly in canaries and finches. A clicking sound heard at night is typical.
Inhaled toxins. Fumes from non-stick pans can kill a bird within minutes. Detail in household dangers for birds.
Egg binding. In a female, a retained egg presses on the air sacs and makes breathing hard. If the abdomen is swollen and the bird is straining, it is an emergency.
Heart and liver problems. Enlargement inside the abdomen leaves no room for the lungs.
Tumours. Relatively common in budgerigars.

Before you set off

Call. With birds, preparation makes a large difference.
Keep the bird warm. A bird in respiratory distress chills quickly. Cover the carrier; do not blow hot air directly into it.
Handle as little as possible. Catching and holding worsens respiratory distress. Do not chase the bird; if you can bring it in its cage, do.
Do not clean the cage. The state of the droppings tells us things.
Take food and water out of the container. They spill on the way and leave the bird wet and cold.

Do not

Do not give antibiotics on your own. The “bird drops” sold in shops are often of uncertain content and delay real treatment.

Do not place the bird directly in front of a heat source to warm it; an overheated bird loses fluid.

Do not bathe a sick bird.

Not breathing, but just as urgent

A bite or scratch from a cat or dog, or being carried in a mouth. The bacteria in a cat’s mouth cause fatal infection in a bird within hours; even with no visible wound, the bird must be brought in the same day. Every emergency sign is on the emergency page.