Hello all, I am looking for some general advice please. Unfortunately for our little birdy bird it’s too late as she went downhill very quickly but I am trying to educate myself on what went wrong so I know and try to come to terms.
We found a young wild ringneck in our garden, I believe she was around 10 or 12 weeks old from example photos on line. She couldn’t fly for some reason but could flap her wings, and was limping on one foot. We gently boxed her up, provided some water and fruit and let her rest in a shaded area. She was nice and active, one wing seemed to sit a bit higher than the other so maybe had a little injury. We kept her in the box overnight so she would not be attacked by a cat etc. We contacted vets/rescue places and they were not interested; said give her water and she might fly away. This didn’t feel right to me.
Next day we let her safely roam the garden under supervision (for predictors etc) and she went about her explorations with a little limp, but unfortunately still could not fly. We repeated this the following day. Each night I would pick her up and place her in her box with food and water (she didn’t seem to touch any of these, likely due to stress). She would give a little screech when picked up but was surprisingly calm.
We wanted to interfere with her little as possible as she was a wild bird and we just wanted her to be safe and fly off when she was ready.
Her balance from day one seemed off; she would kind of fall over when manoeuvring around or climbing over obstacles.
On the evening of day 2 she still couldn’t fly so we got her an indoor cage, gave her perches, shaded areas to rest, food and water. On the evening of day 2 she was in her cage and suddenly looked like she was dying. Eyes closed, no movement, flopped down rather than perched. I took her out of her cage and she was listless, no reaction at all. I held her to my chest for a little while and managed to get her to accept some drops of fresh green fruit and veg juice from a syringe. Seeing her little tongue bobbing up and down taking the juice.. After a couple minutes of this she was actively asking for the juice and she perked right up. I wanted to get as much into her as she wanted but it may have only been 6 or 8 ml, maybe a little more, when she showed she’d had enough.
On day 3 she became very friendly with us. She wanted to sit with us all day long, on our hands, shoulders, and roam about quite happily - she would climb but not fly. That day she ate some banana, blueberries, grapes from our hands and more juice from syringe (this was her favourite) but no cooked veg. She seemed to be doing good, was active and bright. Preening herself while sat on us. That night she feel fast asleep on my dad with her head tucked into her wing, both as happy as Larry.
On day 4 we got her some vitamin drops and Zupreem fruit blend pellets. She wouldn’t eat the pellets dry so we ground them up, added to fresh juice and she fed ok from the syringe (I don’t believe she ever ate enough though and she wouldn’t really take water). I weighed her at 92 grams this day.
On day 5 she more lethargic. She just wanted to be on our belly and sleep there. Then would perk up but then would sleep again. She had a little fresh fruit juice this day but wouldn’t eat anything else. She weighed 87 grams this day which I didn’t think was a good sign.
That night she fell asleep again on my dad with her head tucked and kept sleeping while I picked her up and placed her in her tank. She moved to a perch later.
On the morning of day 6 she kept sleeping much later than I thought normal. The previous days she would be up to the cage door as soon as she saw me, waiting for me to open it and would climb straight out on to my hand without prompting. She knew where the doors was that’s for sure! And she wanted to be out with us all day long and at night was happy back in her cage. I really couldn’t believe how a wild bird who was a little fiesty on day 1 and 2 suddenly became so friendly and accepting of us.
This morning once she woke she came over to me when she saw me and straight into my hand but was definitely not the same; lethargic, eyes droopy, sleeping mostly and she had an intermittent clicking sound when she would breath. I got her to the vet asap.
They said they could feel her sternum bone, said her chest muscles were non existent, her temp was low at 37.6 deg C and that she was very dehydrated and needed electrolyte fluids, vitamins and antibiotics straight away. They made up a 10ml solution and used a syringe with a rubber tube to put these directly into her crop. She didn’t like this and she regurgitated a little.
The vet told me she needed this 10ml electrolyte solution straight into her crop 3 times a day, only one of which should have the antibiotics and vitamins. They told me I had to do this administering at home. I’ve never done this before as I’ve never owned a parrot but he showed me what to do and feel for in her crop and the tube placement etc.
A little while after her vet visit we noticed fresh blood in her left nostril that wasn’t there before the vet gave her the fluids. She remained very lethargic the rest of the day, sleeping on our belly and not really perking up.
Later that day she seemed to start what looked like panting - her beak was open and her tongue going in and out rhythmically with her breathing, it looked like something she wasn’t in control of and her breathing seemed laboured.
I felt her crop and it was now empty and I thought it best she gets more fluids. My wife gently held her and I slowly administered another 10ml of electrolyte fluid. I went over her tongue, gently to the back of her mouth and into her crop and felt it expand as I slowly fed in the solution. As I retracted the feeding tube connected to the syringe she regurgitated immediately and went limp, her head flopped forward and she immediately died right there.
I am absolutely heart broken.
She was such a beautiful and trusting little bird who in just a few days had such a massive impact on my families life. She deserved a full life and we really wanted her to just get better. She was only with us for a week but she has left such a hole.
We obviously don’t know why she was on the ground when found, why she couldn’t fly, why she had a limp but no sign of visible damage and why she was unable to fully balance - when she was sat on us or in our hand she could grip well but when moving we had to make sure we protected her from possibly falling.
Nor do we know what may have been wrong with her internally. But she never really seemed to have a very healthy appetite while we were looking after her and she refused water, only eating what I mentioned previously.
She seemed very perky but then suddenly late on day 5 went downhill which prompted the vet visit.
The fact she died in my hands while trying to help her weighs very heavy on me and I feel I let her down.
Is it possible that 10ml of solution was too much for her size?
Why would she have blood in her nostril after the vet gave the solution to her crop?
Why would she regurgitate immediately?
Could it have been my technique and I caused her death?
What could have caused her to die so instantly?
What is the panting type motion she was doing with her beak open and tongue in and out?
What is the intermittent small clicking sound at times when she was breathing?
As she was so bright and buoyant for the first five days and seemed to be getting better, were we just too late getting her seen on day 6?
How much should a young ringneck of this age eat daily? Should they be expected to take solid foods such as chopped up fruits and veg (which she did occasionally) or would they be expected to only eat something more like formula consistency which we also gave her?
My apologies for such a lengthy post. I would really appreciate some guidance if possible.
Thank you
We found a young wild ringneck in our garden, I believe she was around 10 or 12 weeks old from example photos on line. She couldn’t fly for some reason but could flap her wings, and was limping on one foot. We gently boxed her up, provided some water and fruit and let her rest in a shaded area. She was nice and active, one wing seemed to sit a bit higher than the other so maybe had a little injury. We kept her in the box overnight so she would not be attacked by a cat etc. We contacted vets/rescue places and they were not interested; said give her water and she might fly away. This didn’t feel right to me.
Next day we let her safely roam the garden under supervision (for predictors etc) and she went about her explorations with a little limp, but unfortunately still could not fly. We repeated this the following day. Each night I would pick her up and place her in her box with food and water (she didn’t seem to touch any of these, likely due to stress). She would give a little screech when picked up but was surprisingly calm.
We wanted to interfere with her little as possible as she was a wild bird and we just wanted her to be safe and fly off when she was ready.
Her balance from day one seemed off; she would kind of fall over when manoeuvring around or climbing over obstacles.
On the evening of day 2 she still couldn’t fly so we got her an indoor cage, gave her perches, shaded areas to rest, food and water. On the evening of day 2 she was in her cage and suddenly looked like she was dying. Eyes closed, no movement, flopped down rather than perched. I took her out of her cage and she was listless, no reaction at all. I held her to my chest for a little while and managed to get her to accept some drops of fresh green fruit and veg juice from a syringe. Seeing her little tongue bobbing up and down taking the juice.. After a couple minutes of this she was actively asking for the juice and she perked right up. I wanted to get as much into her as she wanted but it may have only been 6 or 8 ml, maybe a little more, when she showed she’d had enough.
On day 3 she became very friendly with us. She wanted to sit with us all day long, on our hands, shoulders, and roam about quite happily - she would climb but not fly. That day she ate some banana, blueberries, grapes from our hands and more juice from syringe (this was her favourite) but no cooked veg. She seemed to be doing good, was active and bright. Preening herself while sat on us. That night she feel fast asleep on my dad with her head tucked into her wing, both as happy as Larry.
On day 4 we got her some vitamin drops and Zupreem fruit blend pellets. She wouldn’t eat the pellets dry so we ground them up, added to fresh juice and she fed ok from the syringe (I don’t believe she ever ate enough though and she wouldn’t really take water). I weighed her at 92 grams this day.
On day 5 she more lethargic. She just wanted to be on our belly and sleep there. Then would perk up but then would sleep again. She had a little fresh fruit juice this day but wouldn’t eat anything else. She weighed 87 grams this day which I didn’t think was a good sign.
That night she fell asleep again on my dad with her head tucked and kept sleeping while I picked her up and placed her in her tank. She moved to a perch later.
On the morning of day 6 she kept sleeping much later than I thought normal. The previous days she would be up to the cage door as soon as she saw me, waiting for me to open it and would climb straight out on to my hand without prompting. She knew where the doors was that’s for sure! And she wanted to be out with us all day long and at night was happy back in her cage. I really couldn’t believe how a wild bird who was a little fiesty on day 1 and 2 suddenly became so friendly and accepting of us.
This morning once she woke she came over to me when she saw me and straight into my hand but was definitely not the same; lethargic, eyes droopy, sleeping mostly and she had an intermittent clicking sound when she would breath. I got her to the vet asap.
They said they could feel her sternum bone, said her chest muscles were non existent, her temp was low at 37.6 deg C and that she was very dehydrated and needed electrolyte fluids, vitamins and antibiotics straight away. They made up a 10ml solution and used a syringe with a rubber tube to put these directly into her crop. She didn’t like this and she regurgitated a little.
The vet told me she needed this 10ml electrolyte solution straight into her crop 3 times a day, only one of which should have the antibiotics and vitamins. They told me I had to do this administering at home. I’ve never done this before as I’ve never owned a parrot but he showed me what to do and feel for in her crop and the tube placement etc.
A little while after her vet visit we noticed fresh blood in her left nostril that wasn’t there before the vet gave her the fluids. She remained very lethargic the rest of the day, sleeping on our belly and not really perking up.
Later that day she seemed to start what looked like panting - her beak was open and her tongue going in and out rhythmically with her breathing, it looked like something she wasn’t in control of and her breathing seemed laboured.
I felt her crop and it was now empty and I thought it best she gets more fluids. My wife gently held her and I slowly administered another 10ml of electrolyte fluid. I went over her tongue, gently to the back of her mouth and into her crop and felt it expand as I slowly fed in the solution. As I retracted the feeding tube connected to the syringe she regurgitated immediately and went limp, her head flopped forward and she immediately died right there.
I am absolutely heart broken.
She was such a beautiful and trusting little bird who in just a few days had such a massive impact on my families life. She deserved a full life and we really wanted her to just get better. She was only with us for a week but she has left such a hole.
We obviously don’t know why she was on the ground when found, why she couldn’t fly, why she had a limp but no sign of visible damage and why she was unable to fully balance - when she was sat on us or in our hand she could grip well but when moving we had to make sure we protected her from possibly falling.
Nor do we know what may have been wrong with her internally. But she never really seemed to have a very healthy appetite while we were looking after her and she refused water, only eating what I mentioned previously.
She seemed very perky but then suddenly late on day 5 went downhill which prompted the vet visit.
The fact she died in my hands while trying to help her weighs very heavy on me and I feel I let her down.
Is it possible that 10ml of solution was too much for her size?
Why would she have blood in her nostril after the vet gave the solution to her crop?
Why would she regurgitate immediately?
Could it have been my technique and I caused her death?
What could have caused her to die so instantly?
What is the panting type motion she was doing with her beak open and tongue in and out?
What is the intermittent small clicking sound at times when she was breathing?
As she was so bright and buoyant for the first five days and seemed to be getting better, were we just too late getting her seen on day 6?
How much should a young ringneck of this age eat daily? Should they be expected to take solid foods such as chopped up fruits and veg (which she did occasionally) or would they be expected to only eat something more like formula consistency which we also gave her?
My apologies for such a lengthy post. I would really appreciate some guidance if possible.
Thank you
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