Vomiting Cockatiel

Question
This evening, I noticed that my 10-year old cockatiel was making regurgitating motions, and then he shakes his head and out fly a bunch of mostly dark brown seeds!  He kept doing this (every 10 minutes or so) for about an hour or more.  He's been perfectly healthy till now, and the only "change" in him is that he started molting in the last week.  He seemed kind of listless while he was throwing up, yet still flew back and forth from one perch to the other in my office (where he's usually free and has swinging perches by two windows).  He seems to be done with his vomiting woes and is eating heartily now, but I'm very concerned.  Should I be doing more for him other than observing?  We have no aviary vets anywhere within several hundred miles from us (at the least!).  Suggestions?

Answer
Hi, Daryl Ann.  Thanks for posting!

It just depends on what the problem is here.  It's not normal for birds to be throwing up seed.  When birds molt, they are under a lot of stress, so perhaps this has something to do with it.  However, there could be something more serious going on if your tiel is/has been on an all-seed diet.  An all-seed diet is a poor diet...high in fat, little nutrition.  

Has your tiel been vomiting prior to this particular incident?  Is there any chance the bird is getting into anything s/he isn't supposed to in your office, such as nibbling on plants, woodwork, painted surfaces, other?  Are his/her droppings normal?  Is the bird showing any signs of illness (weight loss, sitting fluffed up when not sleeping, other behavior changes)?  

Since you know your bird better than anyone else does, if you are concerned about him/her, there's likely a problem.  Depending on your responses to my questions above, and any other details you can provide, it might be best to have your tiel medically evaluated by an avian vet.  I cannot diagnose and treat a medical problem over an internet website...it's just not possible.  I'm also not an avian vet.  There can be many reasons why your tiel could be regurgitating like this and it might take a professional to get to the bottom of the problem, if there is one.  Sometimes, parrots regurgitate as a sign of affection toward it's human or a mate...are there any other birds present?  Has your tiel every regurgitated to you (when you've held him/her or when you've just talked with the bird)?

Chrys