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Post by gmcgoy on Jan 15, 2014 21:52:51 GMT
We have had little Kili for 3 days now and he has started eating! Even chirped a few times. But my daughter Adi notices that he may sneeze 3 times within half an hour when she has him out. I have him out daily but have not noticed sneezing except one time. His nostils are clear, eyes are bright, he is not listless or puffed up, and now he is eating well. Is it normal for parakeets to sneeze? I want to catch any problems early, but he acts well (I know birds mask illness). I hate to stress him out with a trip to the vet if this is a normal behavior and since he seems active and alert. Any opinions? Thanks. Gail
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Post by Pammy on Jan 15, 2014 22:13:12 GMT
So he only sneezes when your daughter has him out? Has she heard him sneezing when he's in the cage? Can you take a close look at the area she uses to play with him, when she takes him out? Does she spritz a lot of body spray in that part of the house? Is there a scented oil plug-in nearby? Or maybe a kitty litter box? Excessive dust? Anything at all that might make you sneeze?
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Post by dianapalmer on Jan 15, 2014 22:38:19 GMT
If your daughter hasn't had prior experience with budgies, I wonder whether she might be intepreting some normal budgie sounds as sneezing. My budgies make a noise that sounds kind of like a human sneeze as part of their normal singing routine.
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Post by gmcgoy on Jan 15, 2014 22:50:35 GMT
Thank you for responses! No we don't use any scents or chemicals as we have fish too and they are very sensitive (and so am I). My daughter does not wear makeup or perfume. Perhaps I need to dust! Also, my daughter was allowing him to cuddle while she was sitting in one of those dish type chairs. I don't think she has vacuumed it for awhile...
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Post by Pammy on Jan 16, 2014 0:40:21 GMT
I thought maybe if your daughter took Kili into the laundry room and he waddled behind the dryer or something....
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Post by gmcgoy on Jan 16, 2014 4:22:02 GMT
No dryer for him. His label says line dry only!
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Post by Sarah on Jan 16, 2014 22:01:12 GMT
It is very common for budgies to sneeze: they create quite a lot of dust and dander from the healthy maintenance of their feathers, and tend to sneeze when preening or whenever their feathers have become ruffled up. So long as there is no discharge or other sign of illness, I would count this as a normal behavior for parrots in general. My cockatiel, Pirate, will end his grooming session every day by scratching his nose, which inevitably ends in a fit of 3-6 sneezes back to back
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Post by gmcgoy on Jan 18, 2014 0:53:11 GMT
I sure appreciate the reassurance on the sneezing. Almost every other pet I have had sneezes from time to time, but when birds do it I always go on alert! Kili is doing well. Won't try the pelleted diet we have. It is a bit bigger than the Harrison's the breeder had. We keep offering treats when he is out. I always sneak that in as a choice. I hope he eventually tries it. He still does not chirp or play with toys, but he preens now and eats treats we offer by hand when he is out. He steps up on our fingers and does not mind being stroked. I guess that is a start! Gail
Oh, and his cere is getting blue around the nostrils. Hope this is not a bad sign that he is a girl! ;0
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Post by dianapalmer on Jan 18, 2014 1:56:28 GMT
How about a picture of your Kili.
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Post by gmcgoy on Jan 18, 2014 1:58:52 GMT
Hi Diana. There is one under the "what is the gender of parakeet" thread. I took it through the bars so not the greatest, but not bad. I will get some new ones on here! Gail
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Post by dianapalmer on Jan 18, 2014 16:16:00 GMT
Cannot find the picture of kili.
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Post by luvsanimals2 on Jan 18, 2014 16:44:51 GMT
i still think its a boy lol
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Post by gmcgoy on Jan 19, 2014 6:30:19 GMT
Good Luvs! One of the four babies had a very different colored cere. Almost white. The other three had these darker purple ones. So we have our fingers crossed! Diana - it is the jan 15th post about gender. Or see above in Luv's post
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Post by dianapalmer on Jan 19, 2014 15:46:18 GMT
He looks like a a boy to me too, and very cute.
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Post by luvsanimals2 on Jan 19, 2014 16:04:11 GMT
if there is any white, it is female
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