Thanks so much for giving me your time. It means the world to me right now.
First off I want to say, this is a little long but I feel everything I included helps to paint the picture here. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated. I assume I messed up, but don't be too hard on me because I swear I mean well and I've got such a passion growing for these incredible animals. I've got learning to do, however, if I want to responsibly care for a bird again.
I'm completely new to this community. If you'd asked me 6 months ago to rate my parrot knowledge on a scale from 1-10 I'd have given myself a 9. Now I think I'm closer to a 3 or 4...
I've owned two birds in my life, both who left this world too early. First death was absolutely my fault. Skinny Bones the parakeet, hatched from my mom's pair but with splayed legs (she didn't provide adequate nesting material). I decided to try my hand at being a bird mom. There was an accident involving something hot (I'll leave it at that) and Skinny Bones had to be put down immediately after. This poor bird was dealt a terrible hand in life and I managed to screw things up even worse. Made mistakes hand feeding him (which he survived) which also just seriously makes my stomach churn to think about to this day. How could I have been so naive as to go into that blindly? He was only a few months old when he was put down, and I had fallen hard and fast for this little guy. I was wrecked for a good few weeks as a result of this. Completely blamed myself, I did nearly zero research before taking him into my home and I really blew it. I was 20. Though this whole experience was rather traumatic, Skinny showed me how much I closely I could bond with a parrot and since him I've dreamt of another chance.
My experience with bird number one haunted me badly. I waited a few months to regroup, get a larger cage and pick a species I thought would be a good fit. I got Cricket, my lovebird, in June of 2013. The breeder let me take him before he was done being hand fed (probably a sign this breeder was bad news from the start?). She gave me a lesson after I told her about what I did incorrectly with the first bird and off we went with our syringe and formula.![Green1 :green1: :green1:](/img/parrotsmilie/green1.gif)
Cricket grew up fast into a strong beautiful young man. He flew around our long, one story house with grace, he had perfect little feet (Skinny Bones had the disfigured legs so I was always happy to see Cricket's healthy little dextrous legs and feet). If I'd known then what I know now I would never have gotten one lovebird on his own. The affection he gave to certain toys made it obvious that he longed for a little buddy to give kisses to and always have at his side.
Anyways I felt like Cricket was spoiled rotten. No incense/candles, no non stick surfaces, no harsh chemicals, no sleeping in our bed, no fire in the fireplace, no ceiling fans, no gas leaks, no new carpet fumes, no open flames, no slamming drawers or doors, no walking without watching your step, no crystal clear windows or mirrors. Both my front and back doors are double doors so there's no chance of an escape. I just felt like I had my bases covered.
Three days ago I thought he maaaybe seemed a tad quiet that day? He seemed a little "sleepy" (maybe in pain? But I'd seen Skinny Bones in pain and it didn't look the same or as consistent). He'd still whistle with me and hop around his house ringing bells and cuddling his toys, he just seemed maybe 10% sleepier.
The next morning I wake up (large studio apartment) and look over to see Cricket in his cage at my bedside, laying feet up. I gasped, and called for him and shouted for my fiance, Jake. He rushed in and we both were just in awe at what we were seeing and then broke down of course. Calling our moms and crying while delivering the news. Like...we LOVED this little creature. But that was it, poof. As we slept next to him the night before, he took his final breaths. Cricket used to throw his little treat cup on the floor of his cage when he wasn't interested in it anymore. I'm a heavy sleeper, but Jake said that morning after some reflection that in his sleep he heard something fall in the cage and said "but now thinking back on it it sounded louder than his food cup falling." We're thinking that was the moment he fell (died), falling from the top of the cage by his water dish and seed cup, on the opposite side from his main perch and favorite toys where he usually sleeps. I worry about my bird's safety and often have bad dreams about bird injuries (sounds fun right?) so I'm quite sure that if I had heard any kind of sound of distress, squawking or gasping, I would have jolted awake. Certainly Jake would have because everything wakes him up, but Cricket was seriously 2 feet from us and we heard nothing. Just that thud that Jake figured was the seed cup. Cricket Bug really can chuck that thing hard if he feels like it or if he wakes up on the wrong side of the happy hut. But his seed cup was still in its place so we know it was his body falling.![Frown :( :(](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
When it happened I felt like I didn't even want to know what happened (didn't get necropsy), I heard the cost was $400 (which now I think it's cheaper than that), I felt like I'd spend the money and my bird would still be gone, and I felt like if birds are this fragile maybe I can't handle caring about another one.
Now, another day later, I've got a different mind set. I want to know, or at least try. So from here, I'm going to list off some possible mistakes that were made in the home that could have caused Cricket's death. Tell it to me straight, folks. I'm pretty sure I'm going to want another bird some day (for sure, adoption) and I want my home to be safe. I can't bare to loose another and especially so young.
Do any of these explain such a sudden death?
1. Regurgitation. Cricket reaaaally liked his set of plastic keys. We called it his girlfriend. If he had the food to spare, he'd spend a lot of time (maybe 2.5 accumulative hours a day on his worst days?) regurgitating on his keys. He kind of did this off and on. I always knew he liked his keys a lot, but sometimes they'd get extra attention and even some humping. I knew what he was doing, and I knew it was natural, but now I'm reading that they can do it too much. Could he have inhaled something while regurgitating? Or deprived himself of nutrients?He was really good at regurgitating and graceful about it so I'd be surprised if something went wrong but I'm not ruling anything out. His keys were on the other side of his cage from where he fell too so he probably didn't choke or fall while regurgitating.
2. Diet. I never got him into fruits and veggies. He would fling it around and that's the best I ever got out of him so I thought maybe he's getting plenty from his seed mix. (I know, or think at least, this is baaaaaaaaad bad bad but have heard/read mixed opinions). I had him on Sunseed VitaPrima Cockatiel Lovebird which has pellets, nuts, fruit and veggie pieces mixed in with lots of types of seed. When buying his food, I thought I could trust the companies claim on the packing that this was a complete balanced diet. Now I'm reading you can't trust them but also that if you feed your bird too much, he has the option to be picky and only eat his favorite stuff. Could Cricket have been malnourished? He was the happiest, loudest, brightest little wide eyed perfect bird. He looked like a perfect sculpture. Perfect beak and nails. Groomed himself often, never a feather out of place. From what I've read about malnourished birds he should have been looking a little disheveled or been showing symptoms of some kind.
3. Smoke. I can smell (faintly, maybe 3-4 times a week?) that the upstairs neighbors smoke pot and our air ducts are connected. Each floor of the house is very open, though not connected to each other by staircase just by vents. We always have a fan going and at least a window open, but could small amounts of smoke in the air have no affect on him at all his whole life and then one day drop him dead? Cricket lived in a big open room, it wasn't like smoke was pumping through the vents and filling a small room where his cage was or something. No excuse, the tenants leave this fall and if we get more birds, there will be NO smoke of any kind in the house except for occasional kitchen air pollution. We installed a range hood that vents outside so that Cricket wouldn't have to breath in cooking oil in the air.
The upstairs tenants also have a bird, though a medium/large one (I think it's an amazon?) that is upstairs alive and well. Not sure if the upstairs tenants overheated a teflon pan early in the morning, but if they did surely their parrot would have been killed too? If upstairs bird had an illness that hit Cricket hard and killed him wouldn't upstairs bird be sick or dead too right now?
If I adopt a bird I will honestly study my butt off to understand every aspect of keeping my next birds safe if we decide to go that route. I hope to maybe find a pair to adopt if I can get this figured out.
I appreciate your bird knowledge, your detective skills, your advice, and your support. I've got 6 more ideas typed out in comment section. Ran out of room!
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Sad Bird Mama
![Green1 :green1: :green1:](/img/parrotsmilie/green1.gif)
First off I want to say, this is a little long but I feel everything I included helps to paint the picture here. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated. I assume I messed up, but don't be too hard on me because I swear I mean well and I've got such a passion growing for these incredible animals. I've got learning to do, however, if I want to responsibly care for a bird again.
I'm completely new to this community. If you'd asked me 6 months ago to rate my parrot knowledge on a scale from 1-10 I'd have given myself a 9. Now I think I'm closer to a 3 or 4...
I've owned two birds in my life, both who left this world too early. First death was absolutely my fault. Skinny Bones the parakeet, hatched from my mom's pair but with splayed legs (she didn't provide adequate nesting material). I decided to try my hand at being a bird mom. There was an accident involving something hot (I'll leave it at that) and Skinny Bones had to be put down immediately after. This poor bird was dealt a terrible hand in life and I managed to screw things up even worse. Made mistakes hand feeding him (which he survived) which also just seriously makes my stomach churn to think about to this day. How could I have been so naive as to go into that blindly? He was only a few months old when he was put down, and I had fallen hard and fast for this little guy. I was wrecked for a good few weeks as a result of this. Completely blamed myself, I did nearly zero research before taking him into my home and I really blew it. I was 20. Though this whole experience was rather traumatic, Skinny showed me how much I closely I could bond with a parrot and since him I've dreamt of another chance.
![Greenyellow :greenyellow: :greenyellow:](/img/parrotsmilie/greenyellow.gif)
My experience with bird number one haunted me badly. I waited a few months to regroup, get a larger cage and pick a species I thought would be a good fit. I got Cricket, my lovebird, in June of 2013. The breeder let me take him before he was done being hand fed (probably a sign this breeder was bad news from the start?). She gave me a lesson after I told her about what I did incorrectly with the first bird and off we went with our syringe and formula.
![Green1 :green1: :green1:](/img/parrotsmilie/green1.gif)
Cricket grew up fast into a strong beautiful young man. He flew around our long, one story house with grace, he had perfect little feet (Skinny Bones had the disfigured legs so I was always happy to see Cricket's healthy little dextrous legs and feet). If I'd known then what I know now I would never have gotten one lovebird on his own. The affection he gave to certain toys made it obvious that he longed for a little buddy to give kisses to and always have at his side.
Anyways I felt like Cricket was spoiled rotten. No incense/candles, no non stick surfaces, no harsh chemicals, no sleeping in our bed, no fire in the fireplace, no ceiling fans, no gas leaks, no new carpet fumes, no open flames, no slamming drawers or doors, no walking without watching your step, no crystal clear windows or mirrors. Both my front and back doors are double doors so there's no chance of an escape. I just felt like I had my bases covered.
Three days ago I thought he maaaybe seemed a tad quiet that day? He seemed a little "sleepy" (maybe in pain? But I'd seen Skinny Bones in pain and it didn't look the same or as consistent). He'd still whistle with me and hop around his house ringing bells and cuddling his toys, he just seemed maybe 10% sleepier.
The next morning I wake up (large studio apartment) and look over to see Cricket in his cage at my bedside, laying feet up. I gasped, and called for him and shouted for my fiance, Jake. He rushed in and we both were just in awe at what we were seeing and then broke down of course. Calling our moms and crying while delivering the news. Like...we LOVED this little creature. But that was it, poof. As we slept next to him the night before, he took his final breaths. Cricket used to throw his little treat cup on the floor of his cage when he wasn't interested in it anymore. I'm a heavy sleeper, but Jake said that morning after some reflection that in his sleep he heard something fall in the cage and said "but now thinking back on it it sounded louder than his food cup falling." We're thinking that was the moment he fell (died), falling from the top of the cage by his water dish and seed cup, on the opposite side from his main perch and favorite toys where he usually sleeps. I worry about my bird's safety and often have bad dreams about bird injuries (sounds fun right?) so I'm quite sure that if I had heard any kind of sound of distress, squawking or gasping, I would have jolted awake. Certainly Jake would have because everything wakes him up, but Cricket was seriously 2 feet from us and we heard nothing. Just that thud that Jake figured was the seed cup. Cricket Bug really can chuck that thing hard if he feels like it or if he wakes up on the wrong side of the happy hut. But his seed cup was still in its place so we know it was his body falling.
When it happened I felt like I didn't even want to know what happened (didn't get necropsy), I heard the cost was $400 (which now I think it's cheaper than that), I felt like I'd spend the money and my bird would still be gone, and I felt like if birds are this fragile maybe I can't handle caring about another one.
Now, another day later, I've got a different mind set. I want to know, or at least try. So from here, I'm going to list off some possible mistakes that were made in the home that could have caused Cricket's death. Tell it to me straight, folks. I'm pretty sure I'm going to want another bird some day (for sure, adoption) and I want my home to be safe. I can't bare to loose another and especially so young.
Do any of these explain such a sudden death?
1. Regurgitation. Cricket reaaaally liked his set of plastic keys. We called it his girlfriend. If he had the food to spare, he'd spend a lot of time (maybe 2.5 accumulative hours a day on his worst days?) regurgitating on his keys. He kind of did this off and on. I always knew he liked his keys a lot, but sometimes they'd get extra attention and even some humping. I knew what he was doing, and I knew it was natural, but now I'm reading that they can do it too much. Could he have inhaled something while regurgitating? Or deprived himself of nutrients?He was really good at regurgitating and graceful about it so I'd be surprised if something went wrong but I'm not ruling anything out. His keys were on the other side of his cage from where he fell too so he probably didn't choke or fall while regurgitating.
2. Diet. I never got him into fruits and veggies. He would fling it around and that's the best I ever got out of him so I thought maybe he's getting plenty from his seed mix. (I know, or think at least, this is baaaaaaaaad bad bad but have heard/read mixed opinions). I had him on Sunseed VitaPrima Cockatiel Lovebird which has pellets, nuts, fruit and veggie pieces mixed in with lots of types of seed. When buying his food, I thought I could trust the companies claim on the packing that this was a complete balanced diet. Now I'm reading you can't trust them but also that if you feed your bird too much, he has the option to be picky and only eat his favorite stuff. Could Cricket have been malnourished? He was the happiest, loudest, brightest little wide eyed perfect bird. He looked like a perfect sculpture. Perfect beak and nails. Groomed himself often, never a feather out of place. From what I've read about malnourished birds he should have been looking a little disheveled or been showing symptoms of some kind.
3. Smoke. I can smell (faintly, maybe 3-4 times a week?) that the upstairs neighbors smoke pot and our air ducts are connected. Each floor of the house is very open, though not connected to each other by staircase just by vents. We always have a fan going and at least a window open, but could small amounts of smoke in the air have no affect on him at all his whole life and then one day drop him dead? Cricket lived in a big open room, it wasn't like smoke was pumping through the vents and filling a small room where his cage was or something. No excuse, the tenants leave this fall and if we get more birds, there will be NO smoke of any kind in the house except for occasional kitchen air pollution. We installed a range hood that vents outside so that Cricket wouldn't have to breath in cooking oil in the air.
The upstairs tenants also have a bird, though a medium/large one (I think it's an amazon?) that is upstairs alive and well. Not sure if the upstairs tenants overheated a teflon pan early in the morning, but if they did surely their parrot would have been killed too? If upstairs bird had an illness that hit Cricket hard and killed him wouldn't upstairs bird be sick or dead too right now?
If I adopt a bird I will honestly study my butt off to understand every aspect of keeping my next birds safe if we decide to go that route. I hope to maybe find a pair to adopt if I can get this figured out.
I appreciate your bird knowledge, your detective skills, your advice, and your support. I've got 6 more ideas typed out in comment section. Ran out of room!
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Sad Bird Mama
![Greenyellow :greenyellow: :greenyellow:](/img/parrotsmilie/greenyellow.gif)
![Green1 :green1: :green1:](/img/parrotsmilie/green1.gif)