cockatiel behaviour

Question
I am looking after a 14 year old bird for a friend of mine, he sometimes sits on the bottom of the cage rocking, and recently I have noticed the feathers around his anus are being rubbed away.  His droppings are a runny green colour and he also sometimes sits on a perch with his head on it and bum in the air.  Is his normal behaviour or should I take him to the vet.  Please help I dont know anything about birds and am a bit worried

Answer
Hi, Lynne.

It's hard for me to say what's normal or not for this bird because I'm not familiar with this bird's normal behavior.  A male tiel will often rock like your describe with wings spread when he's trying to scare something/someone away, however, perhaps he is actually rubbing his bottom which is causing a bare area.  Runny droppings could be a problem, but runny droppings could mean he's drinking a lot of water or has excess water in his system.  The green color could be something he has recently eaten that is green in color (pelleted food perhaps?).  I would recommend you contact the owner of this bird and find out what's "normal" behavior for this bird, as this person would have better information than I in this regard.  Make your decision about whether to visit an avian veterinarian after you speak with the owner.

Chrys