My Bird Is Sneezing And I Don't Know Why

Jammerdubbs

Regular Member
Bernie, my 20 some year old sun conure is sneezing several times a day. His nares don't have any discharge or liquid in them at all, no blockages that I can see... His eating, drinking, mood, droppings, and everything else is completely normal, just the sneezing.

We have been to the vet twice now, and she doesn't know what's wrong. She put him on some medication and he is half way through his antibiotics. No change. His environment is the same as it always has been. No new candles, no new foods, no new pets, or anything like that. I spray air freshener occasionally, but I take the birds out of the room for a while so they don't breath it in when its fresh.

Should I worry about the sneezing? It doesn't seem like he is sick, besides the sneezing. And he has been on antibiotics for a few days now, so that rules out infection. Since he has been on antibiotics, is it okay to let my other bird play with him again? They are really good buddies and they call to each other all the time, I think they really miss each other.
 
Mmmmm, thats strange. Sometimes in things like that and if you are not sure of what is the problem it can be best to work out what it is not and not what it is.

You say there are no new candles, does that mean you have some older ones you burn? Also, you say you spray air freshener occasionally, that should really be a bug NO.

I would give it a go and don’t burn candles at all and defo no air freshener. Give it 2 weeks like that and see if the sneezing stops or eases off. I have a sneaky feeling it could be one or both of those things. Even if the air freshener is only occasional it could cause sneezing and might be easing off and then you spray more at a later date starting it all off again.

Its worth giving it a try

Good Luck.
 
Sorry to hear this. I agree with Nigel to stop using candles , any sprays and so on.
Any new toys he has.
If the vet cannot diagnose anything wrong then I would think it is something in his environment.
Also consider anything you use i.e. soap.shower gel, hair sprays, all household cleaners and whatever washing powder you may be using.
a vacuum cleaner/hoover than may be giving out dust.
The list is endless, but in my opinion it is probably amongst those things.
 
Perfume is a big one used that can irritate birdies!
Hope you get to the bottom of it.
 
yeah I would stop using the freshner even though you take them out the room initially its still in the air :)
 
Sorry to hear this.
I agree with all said and I would let your bird near the others, even if he did have an infection it`s very unlikely he`d pass it on.
He hasn`t been on the antibiotics long, they work for a little while even after you finish the course so there`s still time for them to work and stop the sneezing.
However, as Di said, if they don`t work it sounds like it is environment.
My Severe Macaw sneezes a lot, and at first no discharge but after about a year it developed worse and some discharge. he has had every test going and there is no medical reason, he remains like your bird healthy, eating etc so we just manage the symptoms :)
 
Is there any nasal discharge along with the sneezing? What antibiotic has he been prescribed?

As others have said be very aware of anything perfumed...that includes bleach.

You can make a natural room freshener by pressing cloves into an orange, or bring in a pot or some sprigs of the herb Rosemary.

Also,is the environment dry? You can increase the humidity simply, by placing dishes of boiled water, you can pop a cinnamon stick in as that acts as an anti-bacterial, but change the water everyday, and you can always add some f10 just to be sure.
 
air freshener, frebreeze, spray furnature polish, candles all very bad for birds. there are alternatives.
I use wipes instead of sprays, and as for air freshener you can buy just a couple of highly scented flowers once or twice a week from florest. You don't have to buy whole bunch- they will all sell single stems to go in a bud vase.
 
There is not much to add to what has been said but something is causing an irritation do you get him outside much? the antibiotics take time to work but the complete course should be taken before you can judge the effectiveness. Even food mixes if they are dusty will cause sneezing going back I stopped using J&J for a while because of dusty food that affected some of my birds and yes they did sometimes sneeze.
 
Is there any nasal discharge along with the sneezing? What antibiotic has he been prescribed?

As others have said be very aware of anything perfumed...that includes bleach.

You can make a natural room freshener by pressing cloves into an orange, or bring in a pot or some sprigs of the herb Rosemary.

Also,is the environment dry? You can increase the humidity simply, by placing dishes of boiled water, you can pop a cinnamon stick in as that acts as an anti-bacterial, but change the water everyday, and you can always add some f10 just to be sure.
No discharge, and the medicine is called Enrofloxacin. Thanks for the tips for the air freshening. Sounds kind of cool!
 
There is not much to add to what has been said but something is causing an irritation do you get him outside much? the antibiotics take time to work but the complete course should be taken before you can judge the effectiveness. Even food mixes if they are dusty will cause sneezing going back I stopped using J&J for a while because of dusty food that affected some of my birds and yes they did sometimes sneeze.
When it's nice outside, I take my birds out. They have a small aviary outside.
 
my little one is a big sneezer. I also periodically worry but it's been a few years and she's still around, so... :)
My vet did give her these little anti-allergy drops that I sometimes use. We don't use air fresheners and candles and whatnot so I've never quite been able to figure out what is bothering her so when she sneezes a lot we put a drop or two in her water. Maybe your vet will have same?
 
Oh also... this sounds silly maybe, but unfiltered sunlight kills dust mites and other nasties. We take our pillows, mattresses, carpets etc outside for a good beating regularly and keep the windows open for a few hours a day, even in winter. (ok this might be less feasible in the uk...our winter IS your summer :) ) and we also have a very thorough cleaning lady in once a week who does the deep cleaning we don't get to in the week. it maybe sounds indulgent but we both have bad allergies and we got a big fright when birdy got sick 18 months ago so now we are really clean freaks!
 
My 7 month old Senegal has started sneezing everytime he stretches.
I've been attempting to clean up the air to prevent it and I've stopped most things.
I am starting to think it is his mimicky nature that picked up on a sneeze as a sound that was unusual and seen it as something he could empathise with
 
Check his nostrils makes sure there is nothing in there like a tiny feather or seed. Don't go poking around in there though
Things that need to be stopped around birds are any chemical sprays from furniture polish, hairspray, air fresheners, incense burners, air fresheners, carpet shampoo, things like fabrize, perfume, scented candles...... Plus many other things....
But from time to time they do sneeze and some times they copy sneezes you should be able to recognise the difference. Can't even think how to describe the sound they make though :risas3:
 
My Pionus seems to have allergies (hay fever) - he sneezes often. He has been back and forth to the vet when he was much younger to no avail. DizzyBlue's check list is great. I also made sure I washed his cage covers in non perfumed washing liquid (sometimes in just plain water) and cleaned the floor with vinegar and water. In the end the vet thought he might be allergic to his own dander and to shower him often, but I think pollen may be the culprit. However, the stinker also uses sneezes to tell me it's time to get up in the morning (he sleeps in a nightcage in my bedroom).

If it continues it might be an idea to take him for a check up with your avian vet. Ollie my Amazon came to me sneezing every minute or so - it must have been exhausting for him. He was recovering from sinusitis and Aspergillosis. He no longer sneezes like that.

Have you got a good air purifier? They are great for removing allergens and dust from the atmosphere. It also could be that the air is too dry - I have diffusers going all day.
 
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