Drooping wings

[Elaihr]

Hello!

I'm posting this thread because I just read that drooping wings = illness, unless it's a part of a courtship display. In any other situation, it's a bad sign, according to a site I just visited. This worried me a bit because my Penny seems healthy in general, but after having a shower her wings droop a bit, she's not holding them up entirely so the tips don't cross behind her back (I thought she did this because the wings dry faster this way, if the flight feathers are a bit "spread out"). Her wings also droop a bit sometimes when she's sleeping, not always, but sometimes. Like I said she seems healthy in general, she's flying about, she's playing with her toys, she's curious, eats and drinks properly, her feathers look great, she is interactive... I know parrots are great at hiding illness though, which is why I'm worried. Are sometimes-drooping-wings always an indication of illness, or is it normal that they do this from time to time, for example while sleeping or after a shower? Should I be worried by this?

[Pajarita]

It's normal after a bath but I've never seen it when they are asleep. What I do see is that they fluff up and, in order to do that correctly, they don't hold their wings tight against their sides so maybe that's what you are seeing.

[Wolf]

They also hold their wings out from their body if they are too warm. May be relevant or not.

[Elaihr]

Hi!

Thanks for your replies Everything you've written makes sense, and she's so energetic and playful so it's hard to imagine she's ill, it's probably as you say because the wings just can't fit as tight around the body when they floof up, because she does do that when she goes to sleep. I just think it's kind of weird for a site to claim that slightly drooping wings is always a sign of illness, unless it's part of a courtship display, such things make me worried I'll keep an eye on her though and try not to panic, as she's acting very happy and healthy I guess there's no use in worrying. If I see any other sign of illness I'll take her to a vet though, better safe than sorry.

[Wolf]

Sounds like a plan to me. It is always a good idea to check when in doubt. I always look for at least two signs before I try to decide on anything about mine.
It is like, Kookooloo, my CAG, always stands the feathers on her head, neck and back up briefly when she is in a bad mood. All by itself this is a pretty good indicator of her mood, but sometimes she will do exactly the same thing when she is extremely happy.
My birds do speak, in parrot, to communicate with me, although I am not very good at understanding what they say verbally. But I am in luck because they are also very good at communicating with body language, which I am much better at understanding. Not the greatest, but better. But you must look at the entire body if you are to understand their body language as they have to use a variety of signals to communicate this way. no single signal will tell you anything much except that they are saying something. With Kookooloo, it may go like this; Feathers on head, back and neck are standing on end briefly, (she is having a strong mood ), head bobbing at same time, (happy and /or wants my attention), she lifts foot to grasp me,( wants me). Basically this is Kookooloo telling me that she is very happy to see me or very happy with me.
My point is that they will normally give more than one sign and that any one signal by itself has more than one meaning. She will normally stand her feathers briefly, raise her foot, narrow her eyes and then flatten her feathers to say " Leave me alone or I will bite you".
Since they communicate with each other in their flock in this manner when sound won't do it, there is very little that they do that doesn't mean something. If you are watching them close enough to learn more of their body language, you will not usually miss the signs of them not feeling well.
In case you can't tell, I am utterly fascinated with these creatures.

[Elaihr]

In case you can't tell, I am utterly fascinated with these creatures.

I can tell! And I can see why, parrots are amazing I also think it's interesting to read their body language, the problem with this whole drooping-wings-thing is that she doesn't do it when we're interacting, but rather when I'm watching her from a distance, when she's sleeping or resting. The only situations when I've seen her wings droop have been sometimes when she's asleep, and sometimes after she's had a shower, and she's sitting on her perch to dry. So I'm not sure this is because she's trying to communicate something, unless she's somehow aware of me peeking at her when she's sleeping, hehe.. Sounds like a creepy thing to do, when I think about it, to watch someone when they're sleeping.. But it's hard to keep my eyes off her, she's too adorable for that!

[Wolf]

It is only creepy because we have been taught that it is. In some cultures, especially some of the older ones, it was thought that it was by observing a person while they slept that their true face and nature would reveal itself to you.
If the only time her wings are drooping are as you just stated then it is just a relaxing thing and that is a valuable piece of information too.

[Euipoi]

Can Stress be a factor? When i first brought my Sun home, she had droopy wings too, it was a long ride and i think she may have stressed out. After a day or two she went right back to normal.

[Wolf]

One can never say that stress is not a factor, because it is a factor in almost any and everything that you can conceive of. Without any more information than you gave, it would appear that your Sunny was tired. Could the excitement of going to a new home caused enough stress to tire him out that much? Yes, indeed it could.
Stress is a strange one to deal with as it can cause issues, some of which are rather serious. Stress can be the result of some other thing and intensify whatever problem there may be. But then one also has to look at the fact that not all stress is bad. Stress can weaken us or our birds, so that we get sick or even sicker than we might have gotten, but it can also make us stronger, strong enough to ward off disease or other illness.
In my opinion, stress and its effects can never be ruled out, and we should never underestimate its power for either good or ill in our lives or in the lives of our birds.