Bird CPR: what to do if your bird is not breathing

• 01Fumes or smoke? Move your bird to fresh air.
• 02Lay it on a towel, chest free, and keep it warm.
• 03Call ahead, then drive to an avian vet now.

How can I tell my bird is struggling to breathe?

At rest, a healthy bird keeps its beak shut and its tail almost still. Merck gives 30 to 60 breaths a minute for resting birds under 300 grams, the size of a budgie or cockatiel. Birds tend to mask illness, the Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV) notes, so by the time one looks unwell it may have been sick for some time.

A hen straining on the cage floor may be stuck with an egg: see our egg binding guide. If a bird turns weak after a growing feather breaks and bleeds, start with our blood feather steps.

What do I do if my bird is not breathing?

1. 01

   See if it responds

   Say its name and stroke its back lightly.

2. 02

   Watch the chest and belly

   No rise and fall means it is not breathing.

3. 03

   Move your bird to fresh air

   After smoke or a hot pan, go outside or to an open window.

4. 04

   Look inside the beak

   Lift out food or a seed you can plainly see, with a cotton swab.

5. 05

   Not breathing? Give rescue puffs

   Follow the method below; someone else drives while you work.

6. 06

   Lay it on a towel

   On its side or front, chest free, not on its back.

7. 07

   Keep it warm

   Aim for 80 to 85°F, unless it flew into something.

8. 08

   Call ahead, then drive

   An avian vet, or a 24 hour hospital that treats birds.

Lying on its back makes a bird's own breathing less efficient, an Australian avian vet notes, and Merck warns that pressure on the chest makes breathing hard. For warmth, the AAV suggests a heating pad on low with several towel layers between it and the carrier. Remove the pad at once if the bird starts breathing fast.

Save two numbers today: your avian vet, and an after-hours hospital that sees birds, since not every 24 hour clinic does. Bird first aid is also in PetAid, our free iPhone app, one tap away instead of a web search.

Can I do CPR on my bird at home?

We found no study of a home method, but at least one avian vet has written one for owners: a 2006 column by Margaret Wissman, DVM, board certified in avian practice. It starts with breaths, unlike the compressions-first method in our dog CPR guide.

1. 01

   Listen for a heartbeat

   Ear against the chest, on either side of the keel (breastbone).

2. 02

   Cover beak and nostrils

   Small bird: lips over both. Large bird: lips on beak, finger over nostrils.

3. 03

   Give 5 small puffs

   Each just big enough to make the breastbone rise.

4. 04

   Heartbeat but not breathing

   Then 2 puffs at a time, checking for breathing in between.

5. 05

   No heartbeat: add keel presses

   Small presses: 1 fingertip on a budgie, up to 3 on a macaw.

6. 06

   Then 10 presses, 2 puffs

   Repeat at about 40 to 60 presses a minute.

7. 07

   Recheck every minute

   Breathing on its own? Keep it warm and quiet.

Wissman writes that CPR has its best chance after a sudden injury and little chance in a bird that has been ill for a long time. She suggests practicing on a stuffed toy, never a healthy bird, and asking your avian vet to teach it.

Avian vets disagree about the presses. The keel shields the heart, so pressing it cannot squeeze the heart directly, LafeberVet notes, though it does push air through the air sacs. A Cornell wildlife vet warns that pumping the keel too hard can damage the ribs attached to it.

Does CPR bring birds back?

Not often. At the Tufts University veterinary hospital, 41 birds received CPR and 1 survived, and most of those arrests happened under anesthesia. The outlook is far better when only breathing has stopped than when the heart stops too, LafeberVet notes.

At home, most of what helps comes earlier: noticing breathing trouble and clearing fumes from the air. If your bird does not make it, a gap in your CPR is unlikely to be the reason.

Can nonstick pan fumes kill a bird?

Yes. PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), the nonstick coating best known as Teflon, gives off toxic gases and particles when heated past about 536°F (280°C). The AAV calls it one of the most common causes of airborne poisoning in pet birds, and Merck says it is common in birds kept in or near kitchens.

Most cases follow a pan left to overheat or boil dry, VCA says, though some birds were poisoned at normal cooking heat. The fumes have no color or smell and can reach birds in other rooms. Small birds such as budgies are considered the most sensitive.

PTFE also turns up in air fryers, irons, ironing board covers, waffle irons, heat lamps, some self-cleaning ovens and some heating elements, according to the AAV, Merck and VCA. Signs can include restlessness, fast or labored breathing, wheezing, wobbling on the perch, weakness and seizures. In small birds, Merck notes, sudden death after a slight exposure is often the only sign.

What do I do if my bird breathed nonstick or smoke fumes?

1. 01

   Get your bird outside

   Or into a room far from the kitchen, windows open.

2. 02

   Take the pan off the heat

   Burner or oven off, windows open, fans on.

3. 03

   Call an avian vet now

   Tell them it was fumes; exposed birds generally need hospital care.

Hospital care is supportive, often oxygen in a warm incubator, Merck says. The AAV warns that birds who inhale PTFE fumes often die even with fast care. If you cannot reach a vet, Pet Poison Helpline answers 24/7 at (855) 764-7661. A fee applies.

How do I protect my bird from nonstick and other fumes?

The only reliable way, VCA says, is to stop using PTFE nonstick products. If you keep them, cook with a window open and the hood fan on, stay with any hot pan, and keep your bird out of the kitchen and laundry room.

Any smoke can harm birds, from cigarettes and burnt food to a self-cleaning oven cycle or a faulty furnace, the AAV says. Its list of other airborne risks includes scented candles, air fresheners, aerosols, hair products, nail polish, paint and cleaners such as bleach. Plastic melted in a microwave has killed parrots.

VCA adds essential oil diffusers and a rule of thumb: if you can smell it, it may harm your bird's airways. PTFE fumes slip past that rule because they have no smell. During painting, the AAV suggests moving birds out of the house if you can.

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