stockjock
New member
First post, long post, and not a very happy one.
I have extremely sad news to report. My cockatoo, who I have owned for about 35 years and who has been perhaps my best friend just passed away a few days ago.
He had been breathing slightly hard and was really breathing hard today and suddenly he started having convulsions and passed pretty quickly. I called the vet but it was too late. I am only thankful that he went quickly and did not seem to be in much pain.
He was the best pet I could ever have. Just a wonderful friend and companion and I will miss him so much.
Rest in peace Spooky you are a wonderful bird.
Here's a message I sent to his vet.
Mentioned that my Moluccan Spooky passed this morning. Won't have any testing done, but wondering if you have an idea what might have led to his demise.
Here's his story.
I got Spooky when I was in my early 20s. I'm now in my mid 50s. I call him "he", but the bird was very small for a Moluccan and was probably a she.
The bird had seizures for years. Maybe 2-3 per year. I'd hear him squawk, unusually, as if in distress and he'd be out of it with the right foot balled up underneath. I'd place him on the carpet and within 5 minutes or so, he'd snap out of it and be fine.
He was a feather picker but not a mutilator. The plucking seemed to get worse towards the end.
The bird was unusually needy towards his later days. Would want to sleep with me in the bed constantly. When I was on the sofa, he'd walk over and just stand there looking at me/us until I picked him up. Then he seemed happy.
His skin seemed to change recently. Bear in mind, many of his feathers were gone. But it seemed to go from soft to rather dry and scaly. Definitely a change in texture.
The sleep patterns also changed. Usually, he'd fall asleep maybe 9 pm or 10 pm and sleep through the night. In the final weeks, he wanted to spend time with me constantly. He'd wake up at midnight, 1 am, 2 am and beyond. He'd call for me to come and get him and then he'd seem happy.
Saturday night, I fell asleep on the sofa maybe 11 pm. Woke up around 1:30 am and he had walked into the bedroom and was staring at himself in the mirror. He loved to look in the mirror, but not at that hour. I picked up up, went to sleep in the bedroom and let him sleep on my shoulder for a few hours and again he seemed happy.
Within the last day or two, I noticed that his breathing seemed labored, but only slightly so. Today, it was much worse.
I Googled some of his symptoms and came upon a page about mites. It said a warm bath could help, so I gave him one. He fought hard, but I tried to calm him down and eventually he did, only the breathing was incredibly labored.
I took him from the bath, wrapped him in a large clean towel and held him like a baby. His breathing got worse.
I put him under the blanket with me and made kissy sounds. He repeated them, but again with difficulty breathing.
He then went into some scary convulsions and jerked his head to the side.
I laid him down, gently, on the carpet outside of his cage. His breathing was so heavy and labored that I figured it was just a matter of time. I pet him and told him what a great bird he was. He passed shortly thereafter.
I thought maybe he had a problem with Teflon, as I sometimes use that (today as well). But I don't use it much, try to keep the temperature low, and he seemed to be having distress before this.
Poor thing, I'll sure miss him. If anyone has any idea as to what was going on, let me know.
The vet did reply and said that he believed Spooky had a bad heart. He said that the birds can live to 70+, but in his experience, that was rare. Usual lifespan based on his observations was about 35-40 and he said that was likely my bird's age. He said that some of his unusual behavior prior to his passing was indicative of a bird sick with heart failure. He said he doubted that did anything wrong, and also doubted that he could have helped or saved the bird. He recommended Green Cheek Conures, or if I insisted on a Cockatoo, go with a Goffin, rose-breasted, or similar, rather than a Moluccan or Umbrella.
Also...
While I miss Spooky to death, I'm likely going to get another bird. Because my Moluccan was so tiny (smallest the bird store had seen), I'm considering maybe a different type of Cockatoo. I'd love to find one that doesn't destroy its feathers, and maybe isn't an insane screamer, but maybe that is too much to ask?
Part of me wants to buy a baby, but then I'm no baby and wouldn't be able to care for it forever. Part of me wants to get a rescue bird, but most of them are really old and have a lot of issues. One offered to me is 35, but that's not a young bird and it might also be bigger than I'm looking for (bare legs too).
I found one Citron cockatoo at a bird store than keeps coming back because it's so loud. It sounds like a shrill (did I mention shrill?) air raid siren, but is otherwise sweet with perfect feathers. 2 owners have returned him, so far. Age unknown, but I don't think too very old. I could actually return him for 2 years (store credit) if it doesn't work out, but my GF has heard him and thinks I'd be crazy to get such a loud and shrill bird.
If anyone has any thoughts, opinions, recommendations, feel free to share.
I have extremely sad news to report. My cockatoo, who I have owned for about 35 years and who has been perhaps my best friend just passed away a few days ago.
He had been breathing slightly hard and was really breathing hard today and suddenly he started having convulsions and passed pretty quickly. I called the vet but it was too late. I am only thankful that he went quickly and did not seem to be in much pain.
He was the best pet I could ever have. Just a wonderful friend and companion and I will miss him so much.
Rest in peace Spooky you are a wonderful bird.
Here's a message I sent to his vet.
Mentioned that my Moluccan Spooky passed this morning. Won't have any testing done, but wondering if you have an idea what might have led to his demise.
Here's his story.
I got Spooky when I was in my early 20s. I'm now in my mid 50s. I call him "he", but the bird was very small for a Moluccan and was probably a she.
The bird had seizures for years. Maybe 2-3 per year. I'd hear him squawk, unusually, as if in distress and he'd be out of it with the right foot balled up underneath. I'd place him on the carpet and within 5 minutes or so, he'd snap out of it and be fine.
He was a feather picker but not a mutilator. The plucking seemed to get worse towards the end.
The bird was unusually needy towards his later days. Would want to sleep with me in the bed constantly. When I was on the sofa, he'd walk over and just stand there looking at me/us until I picked him up. Then he seemed happy.
His skin seemed to change recently. Bear in mind, many of his feathers were gone. But it seemed to go from soft to rather dry and scaly. Definitely a change in texture.
The sleep patterns also changed. Usually, he'd fall asleep maybe 9 pm or 10 pm and sleep through the night. In the final weeks, he wanted to spend time with me constantly. He'd wake up at midnight, 1 am, 2 am and beyond. He'd call for me to come and get him and then he'd seem happy.
Saturday night, I fell asleep on the sofa maybe 11 pm. Woke up around 1:30 am and he had walked into the bedroom and was staring at himself in the mirror. He loved to look in the mirror, but not at that hour. I picked up up, went to sleep in the bedroom and let him sleep on my shoulder for a few hours and again he seemed happy.
Within the last day or two, I noticed that his breathing seemed labored, but only slightly so. Today, it was much worse.
I Googled some of his symptoms and came upon a page about mites. It said a warm bath could help, so I gave him one. He fought hard, but I tried to calm him down and eventually he did, only the breathing was incredibly labored.
I took him from the bath, wrapped him in a large clean towel and held him like a baby. His breathing got worse.
I put him under the blanket with me and made kissy sounds. He repeated them, but again with difficulty breathing.
He then went into some scary convulsions and jerked his head to the side.
I laid him down, gently, on the carpet outside of his cage. His breathing was so heavy and labored that I figured it was just a matter of time. I pet him and told him what a great bird he was. He passed shortly thereafter.
I thought maybe he had a problem with Teflon, as I sometimes use that (today as well). But I don't use it much, try to keep the temperature low, and he seemed to be having distress before this.
Poor thing, I'll sure miss him. If anyone has any idea as to what was going on, let me know.
The vet did reply and said that he believed Spooky had a bad heart. He said that the birds can live to 70+, but in his experience, that was rare. Usual lifespan based on his observations was about 35-40 and he said that was likely my bird's age. He said that some of his unusual behavior prior to his passing was indicative of a bird sick with heart failure. He said he doubted that did anything wrong, and also doubted that he could have helped or saved the bird. He recommended Green Cheek Conures, or if I insisted on a Cockatoo, go with a Goffin, rose-breasted, or similar, rather than a Moluccan or Umbrella.
Also...
While I miss Spooky to death, I'm likely going to get another bird. Because my Moluccan was so tiny (smallest the bird store had seen), I'm considering maybe a different type of Cockatoo. I'd love to find one that doesn't destroy its feathers, and maybe isn't an insane screamer, but maybe that is too much to ask?
Part of me wants to buy a baby, but then I'm no baby and wouldn't be able to care for it forever. Part of me wants to get a rescue bird, but most of them are really old and have a lot of issues. One offered to me is 35, but that's not a young bird and it might also be bigger than I'm looking for (bare legs too).
I found one Citron cockatoo at a bird store than keeps coming back because it's so loud. It sounds like a shrill (did I mention shrill?) air raid siren, but is otherwise sweet with perfect feathers. 2 owners have returned him, so far. Age unknown, but I don't think too very old. I could actually return him for 2 years (store credit) if it doesn't work out, but my GF has heard him and thinks I'd be crazy to get such a loud and shrill bird.
If anyone has any thoughts, opinions, recommendations, feel free to share.