The purpose of this post is to make bird owners aware of something deadly that can occur with multiple birds. This concerns bird owners who own a macaw and one of the following: Cockatiel, Cockatoo, Budgerigars or African Grey.

A few months ago, my Green Wing Macaw lost his voice. His low volume noises were nonexistent even though we could tell he was trying and his louder sounds were very high pitched. We were immediately concerned and took him to the vet. The first thought was something lodged in his throat, but when that was ruled out, there began a series of tests. I mentioned that I owned an African Grey and Cockatoo to the vet and she began thinking that his condition was Macaw Respiratory Hypersensitivity AKA Pulmonary Hypersensitivity Syndrome. Basically the dander from my Grey and Cockatoo were causing my Macaw to have trouble breathing. The lab work confirmed this. If left alone, my Macaw could have died. Many Macaws show no symptoms before it's too late.

The vet put him on anti-inflammatory meds and advised us to take precautions. We removed the Macaw from the room with the others and installed HEPA air purifiers all around the house. Over the next couple weeks he returned to normal, but we must keep him separated and the air purifiers running. Sometimes this is not enough and the macaw (or dander producing bird) must be relocated to a different home.

tl;dr If you own a Macaw and a Cockatiel, Cockatoo, Budgerigar or African Grey, install a HEPA air purifier and seriously consider different rooms for the birds.