Choking?

[Qwerty]

It's been awhile since I posted last, and I have many questions (and worries) about lovebirds. My lovebird occassionally does something that makes me panic! She'll start choking, her beak will open, her head will jerk in spasms and her body will puff up, then go back to its normal size when she's all done, and some grainy-slimy grit-seeds will emit. I don't know if she's choking on something, sick, or regurgitating. It's horrible to watch. Has anyone seen this before?

[Janie]

Hi,

I have seen it once with my lovie, Oliver. It is regurgitating (vomiting) and something to be concerned about. In Oliver's case, it actually started at the vets office. He was there for a well bird annual check up and vomited just as we were leaving. He's older, around 10, and while I'm not sure what caused it, it was probably due to stress....the car ride and the exam. He threw up 3 or 4 times and did stay puffed up for a few hours. I watched him, kept him warm, called the vet as soon as we got home, checked in with Linda (here) and gave him 2 hours to "get back to normal" or go back to the vet. He was OK, thank heavens, but if I were you, I would take your lovie to an avian vet as soon as possible. If she's choking on something, you need to find out what's causing that. If she's regurgitating, as in trying to feed you, another bird or an object, that could be mating behavior. When Oliver did that he shook his head from side to side and it was not mating behavior. Just how often is she doing that? I would be worried and I would want a vet to check her to rule out an illness.

[LauraO]

When Oliver did that he shook his head from side to side and it was not mating behavior.

Shaking their heads and regurgitating seems to be the difference between gacking and vomiting. If any of my birds shakes their heads like this they are off to the vet immediately....I would definately keep an eye on your lovie to check for signs of illness. If he/she is just gacking then it should be okay.

[Qwerty]

Thank you for the replies. I've been keeping an eye on my lovebird, and she hasn't vomitted since yesterday. It might be different for every bird that vomits, but she's never shaken her head from side to side when this happens. The only things I can think of are, she's tried to feed me, or has chewed on the gravel at the bottom of her cage (I'm going to change this to newspaper or something else) or didn't like something I added to her cage. I took it out. I don't have the money to take her to the vet right now, and it hurts to say that. :( I have more questions, but thanks for the help!

[Janie]

Gravel/grit is not good in the bottom of a lovebirds cage because they can ingest it and it's not good for them. I'm glad you're going to remove that. :) Preferably, a cage with a grate/grill and newspaper (no color) under that or even cheap white copy paper or what I use, white paper towels will all work fine. I hope the vomiting/regurgitating doesn't start again unless this is a case of your lovie trying to feed you, his mate. No doubt about it, vet visits are expensive and always seem to come at the worst time but if this continues, I'd call it an emergency situation and would find the money to get my bird to the vet. I'd beg or borrow.