Ways to Medicate Your Bird

If your bird becomes nervous while you're trying to medicate it, it's best to release it and try again a few hours later. If not, you could cause them excessive stress that could weaken its heart.

Reviewed and approved by the biologist Cesar Paul Gonzalez Gonzalez.

Written by Cesar Paul Gonzalez Gonzalez

Last update: 21 December, 2022

Unlike some other animals, birds aren’t easy to handle. In fact, certain experience is needed in this regard, as their body is extremely fragile and it’s easy to hurt them if they’re handled incorrectly. And, unsurprisingly, if you want to medicate your bird, it becomes a complicated and quite delicate task.

Birds aren’t usually well suited to the presence of people. Even if they’ve been at home for several years, some birds are still afraid of their owners and move away at the slightest hint of movement. As if that weren’t enough, this causes them a great deal of stress that could affect their health. Continue reading and learn how to avoid this and other problems when medicating your bird.

Why do you need to learn how to medicate your bird?

For a bird to recover from an illness, the medication prescribed must be administered at the right time and with the correct dosage. For this reason, placing the drugs in their food or drinker isn’t usually the best option, as they don’t consume them in a single dose and sometimes won’t touch them at all.

Because of this situation, if you have a bird, it’s important that you learn a number of different ways to medicate your bird. If not, its health situation could deteriorate rapidly and its life may be in danger. Listed below are some of the best strategies out there to medicate your bird and what you should avoid.

1. Avoid noises and strange people

Birds are characterized by being quite nervous, so if you want to give them their medicine without any problems, you’ll need to reduce any unpleasant stimuli. Among the main ones are strangers and loud noises.

By avoiding these situations, it’s easier for the bird to remain calm and you can medicate it more easily. It’s also recommended to talk to them affectionately during the process, as this helps reduce their stress and prevents attempts to escape.

2. Get help from two people

Although it isn’t impossible to medicate a bird without any help, it’s always best to have the support of two other people. In this way, one can focus on completely immobilizing the bird, while the other two complement each other to hold its beak and administer the medication.

Of course, both people should be family members that the bird is familiar with. If you choose to do it with strangers, then you’ll only make it more nervous and stress it out. Be very careful with these points, because the stress of these situations could even cause it a cardiac arrest.

3. Get used to holding the bird firmly

One of the biggest problems that owners face when medicating their bird is the fear or worry of that they may hurt it unknowingly by holding it incorrectly. Try to make several attempts beforehand to try to hold your pet. You’ll find that you don’t need too much effort to restrain their movements, although it’s always best to get used to doing it right before you try to medicate your bird.

4. Mix its medication with food

When the medication is a pill or tablet, it’s possible to hide it in some way in its usual food ration. To do this, you should restrict its food during the day and only give it to them when it’s combined with the drug. In this way, it’s less likely to be too selective when eating and is more likely to consume its dose of medicine.

However, you should avoid using this strategy to medicate your bird if the drug is in powder form, as it’s almost certain to remain at the bottom of his food bowl. Remember that one of the things you must ensure is that your pet consumes the entire dose at one time. If you can’t meet this requirement, it’s best to opt for another strategy.

5. Using a treat

Another way to medicate a bird with pills or tablets is through soft treats such as yogurt or mashed potato. Just hide the medicine in the middle of the food and give it immediately. Because they’re usually quite palatable foods, the bird will devour them quickly without realizing.

6. If it’s liquid medication, administer it slowly

If you need to medicate your bird with liquid medicine, then you’ll have to use a syringe without a tip to administer it. During this process, you should be careful and release the dose progressively. Never try to do it quickly, as there’s a risk of your bird choking on the excess liquid in its mouth.

7. Ask your veterinarian for guidance

If you have any questions or are too scared about administering the medication to your pet, then the best thing is to always to go to a veterinarian for guidance. Depending on what you need, they can show you how to handle your bird without harming it, or they’ll offer to administer the medicine themselves.

Once you have finished giving the medication to the bird, clean up any mess that has fallen on its beak or feathers. Also, stroke it and offer it comforting words to make it feel more at ease. These last steps are important, as they impact the way your pet deals with stress. Remember that stress is your pet’s worst enemy, so help them feel better to safeguard their health.