Cecilia, Me, and PBFD

[Tupelo]

I'm the 22-year-old owner of a beautiful Umbrella Cockatoo. Her name is Cecilia. I absolutely adore my bird, but sadly she is living with my mother until I can afford a bigger apartment. I miss her terribly, and try to see her as often as possible, which is never more than a week or two.

Cecilia has PBFD, which makes it even harder for me to be away from her. She's actually doing very well, considering, as she has actually been growing back feathers and is just a happy little soul. She still looks like a raggamuffin, but for the first time in over a year she has yellow feathers again. My biggest concern at this time, at least when it comes to her PBFD, is that she is underweight. She also has quite a bit of anxiety, and spooks easily, so she doesn't always want to be handled.

My mother works twelve-hour days, and while she's good about making time for Cecilia in the evening, she isn't always able to take Cecilia out in the morning - she only spends an hour or two outside of her cage, most days. My mother is really doing the best that she can, but I know my bird must get lonely. She does have 2 cats and a dog in the house, so it's not too quiet there. But I know that this isn't enough.

I'm not going to lie - I didn't do my reading before we bought her. But I'm learning now, and doing my best to be there for her and keep her happy. She's a bubbly 2-year-old now, but I have concerns for her as she matures. She absolutely cannot be around other birds, and will never be able to fly.

I guess the reason that I'm here is to learn more about what I can do for her. I want as many resources as I can. I would also love to meet other owners of birds with illness or special needs.

 

[Peeker]

I'm glad you joined the forum! How awful to have to be apart from your bird. I hope you are able to get a larger place and have her with you soon.

PBFD is one of my fears. I don't know alot about it, but it is a horrible disease and I'm sorry your bird has this. I think there is also someone with an Eclectus here that has PBFD as well. I hope they will write in and that any others will too. It's always nicer to have a support group when you are facing something like this.

I hope your Cecelia gains some weight and lives many healthy years.

Did you know she had this when you got her? If you are ok with it, I would love to hear how you came to have her and when you got the diagnosis.

 

[MikeyTN]

My heart goes out to you and Cecilia!!!! Tarryn was one of the members that used to come on here, her bird Twilight have PBFD and I haven't seen her on in ages. I don't know if Twilight is still alive or not, if that's the reason why I don't see her on anymore. It is one of my fears too with PBFD getting more regular in the pet trade because of carelessness and bad breeders just trying to make a buck. It is very unfortunate and sad that this has to happen. It also takes a special person like you and your mom to care for a life long disease with Cecilia.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Welcome to the forum Tupelo & Cecilia.

I whole hearted agree with Mikey. It takes one very special person to care for your sweet bird. It must be so difficult to be away from her.

 

[Tupelo]

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

We did not know Cecilia was ill when we bought her from a pet store exclusive to birds. The owner is a very passionate and friendly woman, and even though I had no intention of buying a bird, used to let me hang around the store.

While again, I hadn't done my reading, the decision wasn't totally spontaneous either. I'd been going there for several months before we brought Cecilia home. She was so spirited and affectionate - I've yet to meet another bird with such personality. And she's been a really good bird, for the most part. She went through a biting phase early on, but otherwise never bites and never screams. She loves to sing, and we sing back and forth to each other, which is such a great way to bond when she's too nervous to sit with me. Her voice absolutely melts me!

Cecilia is very active, and loves to do flips on her rope perch. She used to spin around until it sometimes put her to sleep. Initially, we thought she was just knocking off her feathers. We were also getting nervous, as she always has bloodfeathers, so we bought her a bigger cage. We also replaced the rope perch and got her a ladder for when she wanted to climb down to the floor... money well spent, she is afraid of both the ladder and her bigger cage!

Cecilia continued to lose feathers, and was now losing weight, despite my efforts to spoon-feed her. We finally brought her to a vet, who did not suspect PBFD, as it is "rare". Thank god we had him do it anyway. I think what's most frustrating about her diagnosis is that the disease is so unpredictable - we don't know how quickly it will progress, or just how long she'll live.

But again, she's actually starting to grow back feathers, which is something she's not supposed to do. She still has weight issues, and her anxiety is noticably worse, but I hope it signifies something on the positive. As long as she's willing to hang in there, so am I!

 

[Tupelo]

Wow, that was long. Would you believe me if I said I didn't consider myself a "bird-person"?