Senegal Parrot - Need some insight

[Michelle0420]

Hello! My name in Michelle and my birds name is Sora. She's a little over a year old now. My concern started just today when I got home from work. I instantly noticed she was not too energetic as she usually is during this time of day. I noticed just some old orange I had...accidentally left in her cage. Completely my fault and I'm aware to take old foods out. I thought I had gotten it all but I'm short and it was against the side of her play pen bars and I didn't notice it. The only thing I can think of to make her seem almost lethargic is eating an old piece of orange.

She's been in a "resting state" since I've been home. (got off work at 5). My room mate said she was acting "normal" earlier, eating her millet too, I'm unsure if she ate any of her pellets. Her poops appear to be normal and healthy looking. I know for a fact she would never tolerate me sort of playing with her beak. I'm just testing her patience and its unlike her to let me hold onto it and just gently move her head side to side. She'll usually try to bite at me or move away if I play with her beak. When I had her it seemed like she was trying to regurgitate and her poops seem more frequent. There were no seeds in these oranges. My dumb self let her pretty much eat fermented pieces of orange and rind.

I am of course in a state of panic. My avian vet is closed and I'm dreading my wait till tomorrow morning. She's never acted like this before. She's usually very spunky, and even when she's sleepy or napping, I know its normal behavior. This off behavior is enough for me to notice.

Until I see the vet tomorrow does any one have any suggestions or similar instances? Should I be freaking out? edit: found and on hold currently with a emergency clinic. I was told it might be a stomach ache but she should be ok but to keep an eye on her. I just saw her munching a liiiitle on some millet but not much.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[Wolf]

Birds hide their illnesses until they cant hide it any longer. This may have very little to do with the piece of orange and may have been building up from some other cause. If you found an avian emergency room, then If I were you, I would have already been on my way there to have the vet help my bird.

I hope that this helps you know what to do.

[Michelle0420]

Sort of helpful...but thanks. Shes been seemingly in peak, active condition lately. It was just noticed today. One of the tech I spoke to said to keep an eye on her tonight.

[Michelle0420]

8:18 PM Update so far. Seems more lively again but I have an emergency line if necessary. Still seems too quiet for my liking.

she's eating her pellets...seems normal again. I'll still bring her to her normal Dr tomorrow ASAP

[Wolf]

I really Have no idea why a vet office would say that your bird might have a stomach ache, when they do not have stomachs. And I don't think that the piece of orange had anything to do with it either, although it appears that many birds prefer their fruit to be a bit on the over ripe side of things.
Still I am not a vet and I did consider the possibility of a slow or sour crop. Even if this is the case it does not address the real issue of what would have caused it. There are a couple of vitamin deficiencies that could be responsible for your birds lethargy with vitamin A being the one that comes to mind at the moment and could be very likely if you bird is free fed seeds. If the cage is an older cage or shows any signs of the powder coating being chipped or worn thin or if there is any rust evident on it then I would add heavy metal toxicity to my list of possible culprits.

Probably less likely is too many vitamin/ minerals, this comes to mind since you mentioned feeding pellets. Most pellets have many usually artificial vitamin/ minerals at high levels, and if you supplement with additional vitamin/ minerals, this is also possible.

Does your bird get out of cage time to explore her room and hang out with you? if so I would also check around to see if there is any evidence of chewed woodwork that has been either stained or painted.

If there has been new carpeting of new painting done recently in the home then there is the possibility of off gassing playing a role as indoor air quality is known to not be the best.

There are others here with much more experience than I have and they may be able to give you a better idea of possibilities. My advice is still to see the vet as it is better to be safe than sorry. To me a bird going to ground is always just cause for alarm.

[Pajarita]

There is so little info that it could be anything. If she is moving, eating, drinking and pooping, it can wait until the morning but, if this lethargy continues, I would definitely take her to an avian vet. I have to agree with Wolf on the technician saying it could be a belly ache - that person obviously knows nothing about birds but it's no surprise because vet technicians don't cover birds in their training.

[seagoatdeb]

Vets,, cant really diagnose over the phone. If the parrot is better may be no cause for immediate alarm, but you are going to the vet anyway. Let us know what happens.

Many years ago, my Redbelly was doing a lot of chewing on her metal that attached one perch to her cage, and i noticed one day she was acting lethargic. I replaced the washers and wing nut with stainles steel from the hardware store, and it never happened again.