This is relatively unusual in such a young bird. The pet store was mystified as they did not have many other birds in the store, and the babies had been in the store for only a few days before the first one was sold. Investigation showed that the breeder had been using a spare room in the nursery to quarantine some new breeding amazons, and that in all likelihood one of these adults had been shedding chlamydial organisms. Perhaps a carelessly washed hand, or a contaminated smock or bowl had somehow come into contact with one of the babies or their food before they were shipped out. The other two babies were treated preventatively and also did well.
Psittacosis is a common and important disease in pet bird medicine.
A decrease in the number of imported birds has led to a welcome drop in its frequency in large parrots. Unfortunately, however, the disease does still exist in some breeder flocks, as the parent birds often are imported. Some commercial cockatiel operations have had problems with enzootic psittacosis. The urates, which are normally white, often turn yellowish green or lime green. Diagnosis of psittacosis is generally based on more than one test or kind of test.