Today after my mom gave the qp some of the core of brocolli, i noticed it was wet around his nostril and he sneezed multiple times. Could he have a food allergy? Also it was around dinner time so could the smells of the other food cooking maybe be bothering him? I just hope he's not sick.
Also ive noticed that he grooms A LOT. Much of it is just preening but i've also seen about 3 small chunks of down in his mouth. Could this be the start of plucking or is he just pulling out the pin feathers? He also itches around his face a lot with his feet. Is this something i should worry about? He's going to the vet this friday for his first check up.

with the weather turning colder, the air inside tends to get very dry. could be that his skin is dry and he's itchy. you could try misting him or an outright shower.

our birds sometimes pull out the downy feathers too, not a biggie. some days it seems as though we have enough downy feathers to fill a comforter, other days not so much.

sneezing in and of itself is not cause for alarm. if you notice discharge as a normal consequence of the sneezing (meaning more times than not he has a wet one), and he's sneezing a lot more than the "normal" nose tickler, that might be the start of something. keep an eye on his poop (color, consistency, frequency, etc), appetite and activity level. and definitely ask when you go to the vet on friday.

kris

I use a cold humidifier in the winter just for the feathered friends and it helps me too. Now the wet around the nostrils is something to watch. Personally I would take him to the Vet asap, as a bird with wet nostrils is not a well bird normally. I have never seen a bird with wet nostrils that is not sick.

Wet sneezes indicate a sick bird, except if a feather might have gotten lodged in the nostril and he needed that extra umph to get it out. However it would be just the one time and not as much as you describe. I would hate to see him be sick and you not take him to the vet, I would much rather you take him and he be fine. That is how I play it here!

OK that makes me feel better about the down thing. It's after dinner now and his notril is all dry, and no more sneezes...maybe it was just the smell of the food? I am keeping a close eye on him though.
He is still very active and eating normally.
I think it may be the pin feathers causing him to itch but he doesnt really let us pick them out, nor do i even know how to get them off. He's had 2 baths since thursday but i don't really spray him much. Could he be preening and itching so much from the baths?
When should i be expecting a baby's first moult?? maybe its that?? hes only 15 weeks...

Just wondering if you've taken him for his first baby birdie check-up with your avian vet? It's always a good idea to go right in the beginning to establish a relationship with them, get some baseline values of what your QPs 'normal' is and have a place to go in case of an emergency (if you're already a client they are more likely to take you)

If you haven't gone yet I highly recommend it plus you can ask questions and make sure he is a healthy little guy!

Normally a juvenile bird will have their first molt at about 4 months of age where he will switch to his adult plummage. It will probably be a little brighter than he was.

As far as him preening more, if he's beginning to molt its understandable, the pin feathers are pokey and they work pretty constantly to get rid of them. They cannot reach the back of their neck or the top of their head and face by themselfs other than with their feet so scratching arount the face and head isn't unusual but you can help him by snuggling him up close and piching the pin feathers between your thumb and index finger, its like the covering on the ends of your shoe strings; squeeze it and it will break up into small pieces. Be careful though because those feathers can still be blood feathers, meaning they have a blood source to help them grow until they've reached full length and at that stage they can be pretty tender.

Could the birds nares have been wet because the broccoli he was eating was wet, and they rubbed up against the broccoli?

If you notice he's continuing to sneeze and his nares are wet again, don't wait, get him to the vet as thats usually a sign of an upper respiratory infection, especially he he starts shaking his head a lot.

Hope all is fine with the birdie.

Thanks so much for your help...i guess my bird will be getting his adult feathers soon he is almost around that age..I've heard that salt can cause them to preen excessively...and my dad (without me knowing) gave him a salted pistachio, before we all found out that salt is really bad for them. Could that have something to do with it?
I've also noticed tonight that a couple of times (while he was grooming) he opened his mouth up as if he were yawning (but it wasnt a yawn) and he scratched his ears at the same time...i dunno guys am i just being paranoid now? He's still playing and eating..maybe i should get him to the vet sooner than friday for his first check up but i work all day .

Casey will yawn and scratch her ear so that's not always abnormal. If his nostrils aren't wet anymore then I wouldn't be as concerned, but like Connie said if it persists then I'd be worried. If everything else (poops, appetite, activity level etc.) is normal then I'd probably just wait for his vet appointment on Friday... but that's your call. Everyone is a little extra cautious in the beginning as they aren't sure what their QP's 'normal' is and what things to look for etc. try to relax a little, but I know being a new parront is stressful!

Giid luck!

Zoey my plumhead is 3 1/2 years old and has wet sneezes. She's been checked a few times by the vet and things are always clear so they said it's probably allergies. It does seem to come at certain times of the day when dust is flying around. If I get near her with my cloths I wear to work she has a sneezing fit. I clean houses and she's allergic to cleaning supplies that some of my customers use. I change before I go near the birds, but I'll never forget the day I went in and her nostrils flared up and turned all red. Her eyes got all big and she had the worse reaction I had ever seen. I thought she was going into respiratory failure and it scare the heck out of me. As soon as I ran out of the room it stopped. She has them less frequently now as she gets older. I assume her immune system is improving

Thanks so much for all your guys helppp...
Pitou is acting a little more normal today. No more wet nostrils or yawns or feathers on the bottom of the cage. He is even preening less...maybe all the salt is out of his system or maybe it's just the bath that makes him preen all day..
I'll let you all know how the vet trip goes on friday

I read somewhere -- might have been here -- that when they scratch near their ears, they have a reflex yawn-type reaction. Clyde does it all the time. I don't think I'd worry about that, but the other stuff is worth a vet visit. Since you're going anyway, the vet can look at him and make sure everything's all right.