Hyper-Ventilating?

[Ayla's Mom]

Okay, so this morning as soon as I uncovered her cage, Ayla did her thing where she acts panicky to get out of the cage and tries to open every door. So I opened the door to let her out and she flew out, but hit the sofa and fell. I picked her up and put her on my shoulder, when I noticed that she was making a coughing sound and moving her body up and down. Is this normal? Or should I worry about it?

[Keltoth]

Okay, so this morning as soon as I uncovered her cage, Ayla did her thing where she acts panicky to get out of the cage and tries to open every door. So I opened the door to let her out and she flew out, but hit the sofa and fell. I picked her up and put her on my shoulder, when I noticed that she was making a coughing sound and moving her body up and down. Is this normal? Or should I worry about it?

I would take her into the vet. Birds cannot cough (they don't have a diaphragm like we do), so if you are hearing a sound like a cough, that is definitely not normal.

I advocate vet visits whenever health issues arise; just thought I'd mention that in the spirit of fairness. Even so, if she thunked into something and then is breathing like you said, it sounds like it could be significantly serious enough to warrant a vet checking her out.

- Eric

[Janie]

My first thought when anything out of the norm is going on is to advise taking your (any) bird to a vet. I'm glad that Eric said it first but it is exactly what I'd do, too. I've heard my lovies make a "tisk tisk" kind of noise and the "clicking" noise but never anything that sounds like coughing. That would concern me.

[Ayla's Mom]

well, it wasn't really a "cough." It was more like "click-click-click" accompanied by up-down-up-down dancing, per se.
I called my vet and he said that its nothing to worry about
THANKS guys

[DebSpace]

The clicky sound with head bobbing is just fine, but if you notice unusually heavy breathing or wheezing and general lethargy, I'd bee-line it to the vet without even calling for an appt.

[sdgilley]

I hope Ayla is okay. Head-bobbing and clicking is a normal lovie sound, usually to do with courting a mate. But as Eric pointed out, birds don't have a diaphram. That's one reason you never want to hold their bodies tightly.

Part of her being frantic to be out of her cage may be hormones. So that may be why she started into the clicking and bobbing, if that is what it was.

How old is she? I'm sorry if you've already told us, my mind is a real sieve these days. (Only the big rocks stay in!) And is she DNA'd female?

[Ayla's Mom]

Hi Suzanne!
No, she's not DNA sexed yet. BUT the lady that I bought her from told me that she had observed behaviour from her and a DNA sexed male that made her believe that she was female. That and the fact that her pelvis is larger than the one on her DNA sexed males.
Ayla is about 5 mos. old now, but acts like a child in her terrible twos