My birds are dying, and my family is sick. Could it be bird disease?

Thanks for reaching out about your birds. There is the possibility that the first bird brought back something contagious. A veterinary visit is recommended as soon as possible. Good job isolating the birds, might slow spread of disease. Good luck.

My condolences on the loss of your bird. If you have concerns regarding Psittacosis, you can submit the body for PCR testing. Your other bird can be tested if necessary. An exam with your veterinarian or an experienced avian veterinarian would be recommended anyway since birds are quite adept at concealing illness or injury until they are in serious condition.

If your entire flock is experiencing illness and then death, it would be best to seek veterinary care in person ASAP to try and find the underlying cause and provide treatment. It would be best to remove any sick or sick looking birds from the flock and move them to isolated hospital cages to avoid spreading illness or disease among the remaining healthy birds and losing the rest of the flock. Once the underlying cause is found, you can then take measures to both treat and preventively avoid further illness.

Thanks for reaching out about this. Are we talking about chickens. No sure what diseases are prevalent in Africa but if multiple bird dying simultaneously, concerns would be around a viral etiology. Many countries have national veterinary diagnostic laboratories that might help with a diagnosis. Once a diagnosis is concluded, a treatment plan can be implemented. Isolation and quarantining any sick animals is important to decrease cross contamination. Good luck.

You should definitely keep a close eye on the other one as it could be from an infectious disease, if you see any abnormal sign such as puffed feathers, tail bobbing, reduced appetite, abnormal droppings- take him to an avian vet right away to get checked and have a fecal test done.

Internal diseases in birds can spread in many different ways- nasal secretion, lacrimal secretion, droppings and direct contact. him not being able to fly can be due to various reasons as well, i would recommend taking him to an avian vet specialist in order to get it checked.

I'm very sorry to hear that! The best way to find out what your bird died from is to submit its body for an autopsy (called a necropsy in animals.) If you call your veterinarian and ask, they should be able to help you figure out where to have this done in your area. As for your remaining bird, if you're concerned, I would recommend taking it in for a vet visit to make sure it seems healthy.