Sick eclectus?

sumaya · Feb 10, 2012

I have a male eclectus who is one year old and about a week ago i bought a female eclectus who was four months old. We had her in his cage for one day before she died. The woman i bought the bird from had sold me a sick bird. What i want to know is if she could have infected my male eclectus with whatever illness she had. The day the woman brough her over, she didn't want to move at all, she would just sleep, she had bad diahorrea and she wouldn't eat, then she just died. This all happened within 24hrs. Now a week later my eclectus seems fine except i noticed today he has watery poo. Could this just be something he has eaten or could he have caught something from the sick bird?

thebirdnerd · Feb 10, 2012

I would schedule a vet visit just to be sure. A baby bird's immune system isn't fully developed, and even small bacterial infections can overwhelm a bird.. Was the bird vaccinated? Polyoma can kill a bird very quickly and show almost no symptoms until its too late. Also was she weaned? She could have been force-weaned and wasn't getting enough nutrition.. Hope this helps somewhsat and good luck!

cockatielfan17 · Feb 10, 2012

if u feed him foods like grapes or foods with alot of water or fluids thats normal. I would see a vet just to be on the safe side. U dont want to regret it if aything happens to ur sweet bird

sumaya · Feb 10, 2012

Thanks for your reply

A week before i bought her, the woman had told me that she was on one feed a day and wouldn't be ready for another week or two. Then she called me a couple of days later and said she was ready. I kept asking the woman why she was so quiet and even called her in the morning asking her about all the symptoms and she kept telling me that was all normal and to stop worrying. It makes me angry because if she knew something was wrong, she could have possibly saved the poor bird. Anyway, i think your right and i will take my gorgeous boy to the vet for a check-up. Better to be safe than sorry. Thanks again

sumaya · Feb 10, 2012

I did feed him some lychees today, maybe that was why his poo was watery?? Anyway, i will still take him to the vets just in case. Thanks for both your replies

MikeyTN · Feb 11, 2012

I hope you've learned the lesson of NOT sticking new birds together without quarantining it first!!!! Not only taking your bird to the vet, but sanitize the cage as well!!!! The WHOLE cage, perches, toys, bowls, everything!!!!!

sumaya · Feb 11, 2012

Believe me, i have santised everthing thoroughly and will be taking my boy to the vet for sure. As for putting the birds together, this woman is a very well known breeder in my area and supposedly had very healthy birds up until this point. People are always saying to steer clear from pet shops but it will be the the breeders i will be more cautious of from now on! I bought my Paulie from a pet shop and he is so healthy and well looked after. The problem is that there are too many breeders out there that care more about the money than the birds which makes me sick!!!

mnkeastman · Feb 11, 2012

did your avian vet do a check on her when you brought her home? I would think the breeder would be held responsible for the little female at least. I know I am suppose to get my new baby seen when she comes home for her health guarantee of 72 hours. Just wondering if the vet thought she was ok and fully weaned at that point.

I also know I am not an expert here but I was told the breeder needs to have stopped handfeeding completely for a week or so before it is considered fully weaned. To make sure the baby is eating and drinking well enough on its own to maintain its health. So not sure how the timing works out on what she told you before you got her home.

Hope your boy is ok and sorry for your loss.

sumaya · Feb 11, 2012

The woman said that the hen wouldn't be ready for a week or two but all of a sudden a couple of days later she said that the bird was fully weaned and eating well. From the time the woman dropped her at my house she just wouldn't eat and she was telling me it was all normal and that she was possibly just adapting to a new environment. I really felt bad for this bird because if this woman was truly a good person and loved birds, she would have taken it to a vet instead of just just trying to make money. Thankyou mnkeastman and i will be more careful from now on when introducing new birds to my household, i just love my Paulie so much

lene1949 · Feb 11, 2012

It sounds to me like to breeder knew the bird was sick, and wanted to get her money before the bird died... If that's the case, it's absolutely shocking behaviour...

sumaya · Feb 11, 2012

I really believe that she did know the bird was sick Lene and this is what upsets me.

mtdoramike · Feb 11, 2012

Are you sure the bird died of natural causes? I know if I put another bird in Mac's cage, he will kill or hurt the other bird.

I would never have done this without knowing the birds for awhile and them interacting together for quite awhile.

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss though.

mtdoramike · Feb 11, 2012

sumaya said:
I really believe that she did know the bird was sick Lene and this is what upsets me.

Yeah, the bad thing with birds is, they don't really show signs of being sick until it's too late. It's espcially hard with a new bird because you have no past experience with the bird to go back to.

antoinette · Feb 11, 2012

Sorry I do not mean to sound harsh, BUT this tragedy could have possibly been avoided had you been more knowledgeable and better prepared.
Surely the breeder should have told you to place the bird in quarantine for 30 days...................... you should have know better
You should have taken your other bird to the vet immediately, not wasting any time.
Had one of your human children been ill, I am sure you would have taken them to the doctor immediately.

roxynoodle · Feb 11, 2012

When a bird won't eat, it's an emergency. They have very high metabolisms and use a lot of energy just to perch. The day I knew Merlin was sick she did eat breakfast, but when we got to 2pm and she hadn't eaten again I suspected something was wrong. I rushed her in and they did give her hand feeding formula straight into her crop and gave her fluids IV. And I was lucky to realize she was sick since I had only had her 6 days. The vet asked me if I was a very intuitive animal person to catch it so fast, and I said, I guess I am. She just wasn't the same as she had been the first 5 days though.

It does sound to me like the breeder should have known your bird was sick.

Pete was upset about leaving his long time home, but he did eat within an hour of being here.

I would also get a vet check asap on your other bird. The infection Merlin had was airborne. And Pete caught it as well. And yes, I should have done something to quarantine Merlin so that's on me that Pete got sick as well.

You can use a 50 parts water to 1 part bleach solution on the bird's cage and things to kill any bacteria.

sumaya · Feb 11, 2012

mtdoramike said:
Are you sure the bird died of natural causes? I know if I put another bird in Mac's cage, he will kill or hurt the other bird.

I would never have done this without knowing the birds for awhile and them interacting together for quite awhile.

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss though.

She was quiet from the moment we got her but the breeder kept saying it was normal. My Paulie just kept sitting with her, he didn't even talk the whole time she was here, so he must have sensed she was sick/dying. He only started to talk again after she died.

sumaya · Feb 11, 2012

antoinette said:
Sorry I do not mean to sound harsh, BUT this tragedy could have possibly been avoided had you been more knowledgeable and better prepared.
Surely the breeder should have told you to place the bird in quarantine for 30 days...................... you should have know better
You should have taken your other bird to the vet immediately, not wasting any time.
Had one of your human children been ill, I am sure you would have taken them to the doctor immediately.

I actually asked the breeder if i could put the two birds together straight away or if i should seperate them and she told me that they will be fine together, she said it wouldn't be a problem. It's only been a week since i had the other bird here and of course i will take my Paulie to the vets because he IS like one of my children, i love him dearly.

sumaya · Feb 11, 2012

roxynoodle said:
When a bird won't eat, it's an emergency. They have very high metabolisms and use a lot of energy just to perch. The day I knew Merlin was sick she did eat breakfast, but when we got to 2pm and she hadn't eaten again I suspected something was wrong. I rushed her in and they did give her hand feeding formula straight into her crop and gave her fluids IV. And I was lucky to realize she was sick since I had only had her 6 days. The vet asked me if I was a very intuitive animal person to catch it so fast, and I said, I guess I am. She just wasn't the same as she had been the first 5 days though.

It does sound to me like the breeder should have known your bird was sick.

Pete was upset about leaving his long time home, but he did eat within an hour of being here.

I would also get a vet check asap on your other bird. The infection Merlin had was airborne. And Pete caught it as well. And yes, I should have done something to quarantine Merlin so that's on me that Pete got sick as well.

You can use a 50 parts water to 1 part bleach solution on the bird's cage and things to kill any bacteria.

I have thoroughly cleaned the cage and all the bowls etc, i threw out his toys and will buy him new ones. I only had her for under 24hrs but my gut kept saying that this is not right. I even rang her and she just kept telling me i am overreacting and that all these signs are normal for a four month old bird. It's just so wrong and it makes me so mad!

roxynoodle · Feb 11, 2012

I certainly hope this breeder refunds your money. None of that was normal for a 4 month old bird! Pete left his home of more of than 28years to come live with me, and Merlin left hers of 21 years. They both ate and drank right away and inspected their cages. Merlin settled in right away, but Pete was upset. He still ate and drank and moved around though. And I would expect a new baby to be very active right away.

I have to admit, I would not want another bird from this person. It's quite possible her entire aviary is sick now. I would expect a full refund though.

I'm very sorry this happened to you. And make sure you get your boy checked out. It did take 6 days for Merlin's infection to affect her, and it was another was another 2 days before I knew Pete was sick, too.

If you get another bird, learn from this and my mistake to quarantine it for at least 30 days. And if they are not eating and sleepy, they are sick. Even if the bird takes time to adjust to it's new home and learn to trust it's new owner, it should still be eating, drinking and doing things in it's cage.

MikeyTN · Feb 11, 2012

Roxy,

Actually not all birds will eat and drink right away in a new environment! Its not unusual for them to starve themselves for a couple of days. When a friend of mine got her female ellie from a breeder friend of mine, that girl did not eat either! She didn't eat until the next day. Now she eats like a piglet she says.

Sick eclectus?

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