bird flu & choking

Question
hi can a caged bird get the "bird flu" or does this apply to outside or waterfowl birds only ? My husband came from work and our cocktiel was on the bottom of her cage laying on her side we had bought a new kind of food ,he said she had clear runny watery like substance out her beak could she have been choking and noone knew it.

Answer
Hi,

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. The Avian flu is not present in the United States yet. But, any species of bird can get it. I doubt that a change in food could have caused this (most brands of food use the basic same mixture of seeds, or the same ingredients in their pellets). However, if the food that you bought was spoiled, or had not been sealed properly.... something could have gotten into the food that would cause your bird to get sick.

The best thing to do would have been to put her body in the ridge and take her to an avian vet to be examined to find out what had killed her exactly. Unfortunately, birds have to be refrigerated in order for a vet or lab to examine the body.

Again, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss.

-Maggie