Background.
After getting Lucky (no double entendre intended) I did a lot of reading about cockatiels. One of the things I read was that if you have more the 2 cockatiels itās hard NOT to have babies. The idea of having baby cockatiels was exciting to me and I wanted to have some for several reasons. Having 2 male birds made things a bit difficult so I was always on the lookout for a for sure female cockatiel.
I think it was summer of 2013 and it was a Saturday. Coming back from the hardware store I saw a yard sale in my neighborhood and there were 2 cockatiels in a cage on the lawn. I Stopped right away to ask about them.
The cockatiels were Lutinoās and the woman selling them said she had to move to an apartment that would not take pets. I was told they were about a year old and purchased at a bird show and were not hand tame . She was selling them for $40 without a cage. I could not get my wallet out fast enough.
After having them for about 10 days I found an EGG in the bottom of the cage. You canāt imagine how happy I was when I saw that. It turned out that Lady was the bird that laid (most?) of the eggs. Pinky (named because she had a little bit of red in her eyes) I think laid 1 egg because we ended up with a total of 7 eggs and two eggs were laid one right after the other, No 2 days in between.
I donāt remember the exact sequence of events after this. I did not really think the eggs were fertile but some part of me kept the fantasy alive. I went on vacation about this time just for a week with my father. On my way back I asked my wife about the birds and how they were doing. I could tell there was something she was not telling me something was wrong but I was going to be home in a few hours and I would find out then. I think she was afraid I would drive 90 MPH to get home if she told me what was going on.
When I got home my son told me he thought Lady may have gone blind. I went to the cage immediately and I could tell she was not blind. She would move away from my hand if I got close. But there was a definite problem. She was holding her head tilted sidewise like she was looking at something on the ground. When she ate her head movements were uncoordinated and jerky. She was falling off her perch and once on the floor of the cage she would walk in circles.
I was DEVASTATED.
I made an appointment with a vet that would take birds. I did not know to ask for an avian vet or specialist. I had some hope that it would be like a person with an inner ear problem, something correctable.
This is what I was told as best as I can remember.
2 most likely causes of this behavior were.
Head trauma. The bird flew into a wall or something hard and fast and it caused damage to the brain. I know this did not happen with me because it was not hand tame and I was not letting it out to fly.
Brain Tumor. The further away from the normal grey coloring of a cockatiel the bird is the more genetic errors crop up in itās makeup.
Based on what I had been told I felt there was only one option. Lady was obviously suffering and ā¦putting her to sleep was the only way to end her suffering. I wish I had done more, got a second opinion SOMETHING.
My wife, My son, and I all suffer from migraine headaches. I know what itās like to have pain so bad that you would do most anything to make it go away. What if you were an animal that could not even let someone know you were in pain.
Pinky is still with me. She started picking her feathers about a year after Lady was put to sleep. I have made headway in taming her and she will step onto my finger if she is outside of her cage. She likes to groom my face and I think she likes me.
The last 2 cockatiels Sunny and Cheeky were both bought at least partly in hopes they would relieve Pinkyās loneliness.
After getting Lucky (no double entendre intended) I did a lot of reading about cockatiels. One of the things I read was that if you have more the 2 cockatiels itās hard NOT to have babies. The idea of having baby cockatiels was exciting to me and I wanted to have some for several reasons. Having 2 male birds made things a bit difficult so I was always on the lookout for a for sure female cockatiel.
I think it was summer of 2013 and it was a Saturday. Coming back from the hardware store I saw a yard sale in my neighborhood and there were 2 cockatiels in a cage on the lawn. I Stopped right away to ask about them.
The cockatiels were Lutinoās and the woman selling them said she had to move to an apartment that would not take pets. I was told they were about a year old and purchased at a bird show and were not hand tame . She was selling them for $40 without a cage. I could not get my wallet out fast enough.
After having them for about 10 days I found an EGG in the bottom of the cage. You canāt imagine how happy I was when I saw that. It turned out that Lady was the bird that laid (most?) of the eggs. Pinky (named because she had a little bit of red in her eyes) I think laid 1 egg because we ended up with a total of 7 eggs and two eggs were laid one right after the other, No 2 days in between.
I donāt remember the exact sequence of events after this. I did not really think the eggs were fertile but some part of me kept the fantasy alive. I went on vacation about this time just for a week with my father. On my way back I asked my wife about the birds and how they were doing. I could tell there was something she was not telling me something was wrong but I was going to be home in a few hours and I would find out then. I think she was afraid I would drive 90 MPH to get home if she told me what was going on.
When I got home my son told me he thought Lady may have gone blind. I went to the cage immediately and I could tell she was not blind. She would move away from my hand if I got close. But there was a definite problem. She was holding her head tilted sidewise like she was looking at something on the ground. When she ate her head movements were uncoordinated and jerky. She was falling off her perch and once on the floor of the cage she would walk in circles.
I was DEVASTATED.
I made an appointment with a vet that would take birds. I did not know to ask for an avian vet or specialist. I had some hope that it would be like a person with an inner ear problem, something correctable.
This is what I was told as best as I can remember.
2 most likely causes of this behavior were.
Head trauma. The bird flew into a wall or something hard and fast and it caused damage to the brain. I know this did not happen with me because it was not hand tame and I was not letting it out to fly.
Brain Tumor. The further away from the normal grey coloring of a cockatiel the bird is the more genetic errors crop up in itās makeup.
Based on what I had been told I felt there was only one option. Lady was obviously suffering and ā¦putting her to sleep was the only way to end her suffering. I wish I had done more, got a second opinion SOMETHING.
My wife, My son, and I all suffer from migraine headaches. I know what itās like to have pain so bad that you would do most anything to make it go away. What if you were an animal that could not even let someone know you were in pain.
Pinky is still with me. She started picking her feathers about a year after Lady was put to sleep. I have made headway in taming her and she will step onto my finger if she is outside of her cage. She likes to groom my face and I think she likes me.
The last 2 cockatiels Sunny and Cheeky were both bought at least partly in hopes they would relieve Pinkyās loneliness.
