Cockatiel breeder or owner? Vet?

Question

Out of all these people someone must be able to help me. My cockatiel has been acting a little strange. Her moods are normal and she is eating and drinking normal. But her feathers have been puffed up for a few days (they will go down and puff back up very often) and she seems more sleepy than normal. According to google this is not good. I cant find a bird owner forum to get on and all my local avian vets are closed by time i get home and its been hard to make an appt! I know that when they're cold ir sleeping they'll get puffy, but what could be the reason for all day? Any advice from anyone??

Answer

I'm a vet student but I really don't know because I'm not all that great with birds and don't take all the exotics/avian electives. But I know the vet world- if you can call  your vet at work. Let them know the situation and that you're having trouble bringing your bird in. Hopefully they can make something work for you- or let you know of a clinic that's open longer hours. Also clinics have emergency hours so some clinics will have a vet around after hours and won't mind having you come in then (not all but some). You could probably even call the office after hours and leave a message. If they have an after hours number of call use that and you'll speak to a person- if it's for emergencies it's preferable that you don't call the number though unless you really have no other choice.

As for breeders and pet stores- some information they give is great and many breeders are amazing. But sometimes the information they give you isn't correct and even the opposite of what you need for the animal's health. At least it's that way for cats and dogs. It's always best to check with the vet because they can do the testing and really know medicine.

I hope your bird is ok!