r/australia • u/scottydoeskno • 5d ago

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1.2k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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1.3k

u/The_Duc_Lord 5d ago

That cocky is very sick with beak and feather disease. Don't put any food out for it, that's likely to spread the disease to other birds that share the food.

Honestly, it sucks, but the best thing you could do for that bird is to catch it and take it to the vet to put down.

587

u/scottydoeskno 5d ago

Gotcha I'll pass it on

249

u/spacemanTTC 5d ago

Please advise if this bird is in VIC? Ex Wildlife Victoria employee here, this bird needs immediate intervention.

127

u/scottydoeskno 5d ago

Yeah it is mate, what should my folks be doing next?

167

u/Milly_Hagen 5d ago

Contacting a local wildlife service so they can catch it and put it out of its misery. Tell them it has PBFD and it is severely unwell and needs to be caught.

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u/Pikekip 5d ago

Thanks for this- I’ve seen two at my place like this. Called the vet for advice but they couldn’t help unless I caught them and I’m not fit enough to catch even a halfway featherless bird.

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u/Milly_Hagen 5d ago

No worries, wildlife rescue is who you call. They're trained to do it.

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u/Milly_Hagen 5d ago

Send them this picture

465

u/randCN 5d ago

that's a rather dark double entendre

24

u/9aaa73f0 5d ago

I, like, totally knew what that meant, but incase anyone else isnt sure. https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/examples-double-entendre

2

u/AeliosZero 4d ago

Thanks. I vaguely knew what it was but the refresh was helpful

10

u/emilihays 5d ago

Is the bird in Cranbourne? If so, I've seen him too.

28

u/Buzz1ight 5d ago

I know nothing about them, so forgive the maybe dumb question, could it be treated and recover?

171

u/eldfen 5d ago

There is no cure for psittacine disease and its highly contagious.

91

u/rewrappd 5d ago

No treatment unfortunately.

Prevention is the best method of control as there is no effective treatment for psittacine beak and feather disease. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to remove the virus once it has been introduced into a captive or wild population. The level of threat and distribution of the virus can be altered by the movements of common parrot species. Eradication of this disease is not possible at present. However, management plans can assist in reducing the impact of the disease on threatened parrot populations.

18

u/PonyPickle8 5d ago

Here I was thinking wow, a 'Turkatoo'. An ornithologist I will not make.

-2

u/Terrorfarker 5d ago

I was thinking how did my left nut get stuck to that birds breast .

0

u/PonyPickle8 5d ago

Its a Breasticle. Seems fitting for a 'cockortwo'..

42

u/spinningpeanut 5d ago

Even under the best circumstances like if they have a caring home and it was a pet that caught it, well it's no good either. It's basically an autoimmune condition like aids. They can't fight off any illness, losing their feathers is a symptom and absolutely doesn't help and birds need warmth to recover. Their feathers do a lot of heavy lifting in their health overall though. They don't survive much longer once their feathers are gone.

26

u/East-Garden-4557 5d ago

We had a rescued rainbow lorikeet with PBFD last year. They tend to not get such severe symptoms. She lived with us for 6 months before she died. We don't have any pet birds, and I don't usually do long term bird care, so we were able to keep her away from others. Other than being a runner due to losing her flight feathers she really didn't show symptoms, she just dropped dead one day. We have the cage packed away, cleaned and sterilised, in case we end up with any other PBFD birds because it is in the local bird population.

6

u/Imaginary-Owl-3759 5d ago

Exactly - and just looking at this bird you can see how that overgrown beak will make it nearly impossible to groom itself or to eat.

66

u/The_Duc_Lord 5d ago

No, unfortunately it's untreatable and 100% fatal.

They can't fly any more so they're stuck hopping around on the ground. They get infested with parasites. They can't eat so they just starve to death. It's awful.

12

u/Curious_Kirin 5d ago

Nope. By this stage they're too weak to fly or flee. You can capture them and any vet will humanely euthanise them. It's all you can do to stop other birds being infected.

20

u/bigfatfishballs 5d ago

Awww poor guy.

5

u/f14_pilot 5d ago

100% It's a sad reality but it's the right thing for it and others.

161

u/TANGY6669 5d ago

Please contact a rescue because this looks like BFD, even if it weren't that beak definitely needs a trim.

Is this in Vic? I'm with a wildlife rescue group

73

u/99patrol 5d ago

Very sick bird. Probably doesn't have long.

20

u/35_PenguiN_35 5d ago

Poor thing.

19

u/Low_Presentation8149 5d ago

Beak and feather disease. Horrible. Fatal. No cure

41

u/overpopyoulater 5d ago

Heartbreaking ;(

30

u/down_under_4_life 5d ago

Sadly needs to be put down

30

u/wherearethe_potatos 5d ago

Yes,that is a VERY unwell bird :( Please try and catch it or at very least call a wildlife rescuer who can try and catch it to put it out of its misery

13

u/One-little-pig 5d ago

Ah, no, that's so sad. PBFD. Quite advanced and contagious to other birds.

Others have already said it, but the kindest thing is to catch it for euthanasing. Then either burn or thoroughly disinfect anything it's touched.

6

u/420fox 5d ago

Oh man, I had one look exactly like this chill on my balcony the other day. Poor bird. :(

5

u/flappintitties 5d ago

That poor guy. Sad to see.

5

u/Justindulgent69 5d ago

WTF is going on here? Poor thing!!

3

u/iilinga 5d ago

PBFD :(

1

u/Justindulgent69 4d ago

That sux man! How do they get it?

3

u/iilinga 4d ago

It can spread through bird feeders/bird baths in the garden so if you see one visiting yours it’s good to put it away and sterilise it :( to minimise spread of the virus. Theres no cure and these birds slowly starve to death so euthanasia is the kinder option

1

u/Justindulgent69 4d ago

ah wow, that sounds absolutely horrible! Thanks for the heads up too so I know what to look out for

13

u/Not_loitering 5d ago

Not for long

5

u/Milly_Hagen 5d ago

That bird needs to be caught and put out of its misery asap. Poor thing.

3

u/kezdog92 5d ago

That birds not long for this world.

3

u/shimra6 4d ago

Just report him to the closest wildlife haven, and they will come and get him.

2

u/nerdb1rd 5d ago

Sweet bird, poor thing has PBFD. My heart hurts for them :(

1

u/IlluminatedPickle 4d ago

Jesus christ, don't mention what to do with these birds, some hero is reporting people for suggesting the normal course of action. My comment was deleted and my account received a warning.

1

u/snapperjaw 4d ago

Weird shit, I saw your original comment above and was like huh?!

1

u/AnimalFragrant4685 1d ago

Wouldn’t that poor creature be unable to eat with its beak in that condition?

-5

u/Covert_Admirer 5d ago

Which of the 4 Birds of the Apocalypse is this?

20

u/The_Duc_Lord 5d ago

Pestilence.

5

u/splithoofiewoofies 5d ago

All but War tbh

-5

u/grtsqu 5d ago

Long billed corella. He’s a sick boy though.

15

u/TizzyBumblefluff 5d ago

Pretty sure it’s just a cockatoo, not a corella. The overgrown beak is from beak & feather.

2

u/grtsqu 5d ago

Yep you’re probably right. Haven’t seen a corella in a long time. Forgot how short their crests were.

1

u/TizzyBumblefluff 5d ago

Their eyes don’t look like this either

-9

u/LiveRegister6195 5d ago

Aww beak and feather 🥲 kept our friend alive for 3 years... didn't come back this year though.