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Kakariki, Care, Breeding, Ecology, and Conservation :: View topic - sad news
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sad news

 
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Gee
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Joined: Feb 05, 2011
Posts: 222

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:10 am    Post subject: sad news

I came home from work early this evening and found my kakariki Kwibus sitting quietly in a corner, on the floor, of his cage.

So NOT like him!

I picked him up (way to easily), checked him all over, nothing wrong with legs, wings , no blood, no heavy breathing, no nothing...Just very lethargic.

I checked the feeding bowls, not much left, no way his cage buddy could have eaten all of that all by himself. So whatever happened, it happened recently.

I prepared a special emergency cage for him. Water and food nearby, extra warmth, dimmed the lights so he could have some rest.
After an hour, still no difference. He just sat there, leaning against the side of the cage.
The vet I'd called in the meantime adviced me to offer him some sugarwater. He died in my hands while I tried to give him some of it....

Kwibus was 6 months old.
No sign of illness in the past few day's. He was happy and liveley and seemed healthy as could be.
Checked the cage for broken toy's or any clue to what could have happened. Checked the water bottle as well.. still working properly..I'm completely in the dark about what could have happened. Shock? heartatach?

Sorry to bla bla bla .. it's just that.. well.. I loved him to pieces. He was so gentle and lively, funny and friendly.
And I am worried about his cage mate Qwerty. Not knowing what happened means I can't at least try prevent it from happening to him as well.

I'll call the vet again tomorrow. Maybe she can tell me what happened after autopsie.

Sad duno
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Freddie
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Joined: Aug 19, 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 12:22 pm    Post subject:

Quote:
Kwibus was 6 months old.
No sign of illness in the past few day's. He was happy and liveley and seemed healthy as could be.


Iīve had 2 kaks that died the same way, and they were around 6 month too.
Itīs not easy to know what caused it - but it could be that when they are under a year old, their immune-system is not entierly evolved (older kaks seem alot more resistant).
My family had cought a cold (both times with a year apart) prior the death of each one of the 2 kaks.
I beleve that they could have gotten sick too and couldnīt beat the virus.
Did u Gee have a cold, or someone else that have had contact with Kwibus?
Itīs so strange when a bird in top condition in the morning - then a quick deterioration for a couple of hours - ending up with the bird sitting in a corner on the bottom of the cage for a short while, followed by the breathing stops/ the birds body stiffens/streches out/and then death.

U try to do what u can to help (as u mentioned Gee) but really - in this case itīs a matter of waiting to see if the bird can knock the virus out or not.

I should ad that I dinīt breed these 2 kaks myself, I bought them 1-2 month before they died.
A sibbling of one of the above got sick too, but managed to get well after a few days.
Of the chicks Iīve been breeding myself - Iīve never had anyone die like this.
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bruce
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Joined: May 15, 2010
Posts: 174

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:41 am    Post subject:

hi gee
sorry to hear about your loss mate .... i also had two hens have exactly the same symptoms .. luckily they didn't die.
what i do know is that they were not suffering from the same illness as the second hen was deffinatly egg bound once she got the egg out she was fine again.
the first hen was different she had the same symptoms but no egg ... just nursed bk to health.
i was wondering if these symptoms are the same with other illnesses and this is just the way they show that they are sick in general???

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thanks brucie.....
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Gee
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Joined: Feb 05, 2011
Posts: 222

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:26 am    Post subject:

Thanks Freddie and Bruce.

Freddie: your suggestion about a human virus is interesting. Many people walk in and out here and Kwibus was always all over visitors and me.
I haven't had a serious cold recently. But then I am seldom ill. I could have carried a virus with me tho. Infecting him without it having an actual effect on me. Specially since I taught him how to " kiss" me by giving him something he liked from my mouth.

( Ok Steps.. go ahead...bite me :P:P )

So maybe, who knows... Sad

Bruce: I have a list on my comp with signs of illnesses with birds. It's in Dutch, of course, but I could try translate it into English and post. Could be helpful for others in the future.
Birds can show several signs... from heavy breathing, shivering to diarrhoea,
vomiting, loss of balance, secretion of fluids out of the nose etc.
But yes, the blowing up the feathers ( in an attempt to stay warm) and sitting on the floor/ perch with two legs is indeed a very common sign of illness.
The list also offers a lot of first aid tips.

Sadly enough a bird will do almost anything to hide his discomfort as long as possible. Could very well be , that if I were a better interpreter of his behaviour I could have done more for him sooner.
I have been thinking all day today.. what have I missed, overlooked.. etc.
I did not have Kwibus that long. And eventhough I had that list from day one.. I checked the " what do i feed him" and " how do I tame him" list a lot more often.
Beginners mistake?

Maybe I could try translate and post the " signs of illness and first aid" list. You guy's could correct, complement, and maybe turn it into a sticky on this forum?
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Steptoe
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Joined: Oct 06, 2004
Posts: 4550

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:37 pm    Post subject:

My 1st reaction to 'sudden death' in house birds is teflon....
I have lost large parrots this way...
Do a quick search of the site for teflon, Shocked
As to transmitting a cold or flu to your parot ..very very unlikely....dont get tired up in the Avairian flu PC concept too much either.

list of order of likely issues
1/Teflon
2/ other toxic household item
3/ lung or crop worms
4/Breeding in too sterile conditions
5/genetic defects acentuated (not caused) by inbreeding...kidney, heart lungs.....

Also note and mentioned above, a bird can be ill for sometime and not show any sign, but once they do show symtoms, they go down hill very fast.

There is a lot of info on the subject of sudden death in old posts.

Quote:
I haven't had a serious cold recently. But then I am seldom ill. I could have carried a virus with me tho. Infecting him without it having an actual effect on me. Specially since I taught him how to " kiss" me by giving him something he liked from my mouth.

( Ok Steps.. go ahead...bite me :P:P )

Why....put a bit of seed on your tounge, and pull it back right into your mouth so he has to climb in to get it....
We live in a world where adverts on TV are causing huge paniks about our santitising everything in sight including the ds of our childrens penciles...all in the add of propaganda to fill the pockets of chemical company shareholders....
Its my understand that only a few generations ago we had packed dirt floors in our homes....
Building ressitance in our children (worm castings are ummy ) and our birds is of huge importance to long healthy life and prevention of allergies.
Unfortunatly many breeders breed birds in conditions far too sterile.

Short story...we where tought decades ago, (before bottled water BS) when going to a new town or country, dont drink the water...1st thing one does is take a small sip, and again 4 or 5 hrs later, and again
This alloows time for the body to build resistance to the local varity of bactica present....then the next day one can have a drink...
We used to do this in the bush on huntting and hiking trips...never had issues.

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pabloc
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Joined: Sep 26, 2007
Posts: 988

PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 2:42 am    Post subject:

hi gee,

sorry about kwibus.

As Steps says many times birds are actually sick but hide the symptoms (they are not yet domestic animals, parakeets have not been so many generations in captivity as the typical domestic animals like dogs and cats).

I have also had the odd kakariki die suddenly, one I particualrly remember was a large, beautiful healthy male, he was in superb condition, it was also younger than 1 y.o., and one afternoon found it in the floor of the aviary, it was still warm.
I think those cases are probably genetic defects, or something like that (stroke, heart attack, ...?).

I think you did all the right things by placing him in a hospital cage with a source of heat. You did your best indeed.

About hygiene, etc... I think alongside Steps, too much political correct bullsh... these days.

Cheers / Pablo

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Gee
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Joined: Feb 05, 2011
Posts: 222

PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:40 pm    Post subject:

Thanks guy's!

And I totally agree on exaggerating the hygiene.
When my eldest was little I used to wash his hands and face with antibacterial soap. After playing outside before dinner.
He soon developed weird looking white spots on his face. Took him to a doctor and he told me to stop using the soap.
The soap was not only destroying the " bad" stuff but 'eating" the good ones as well.
Leaving him with an infection that caused the spots.
He completely cured and I learned a lesson I'll never forget.

Still have no clue to what has happened. No Teflon, (not from cooking pans or from ironing) no scented candles, no.. nothing I can think of.

Thanks for the tip on lung worms.
I decided not to go for autopsy but to have Qwerty checked instead. Just in case.
I have a vet in my neighbourhood who specialices in exotic birds.
I'll give her a call tomorrow.

I buried Kwibus Wednesday evening. After showing him to his cage mate Qwerty. No idea if birds understand.. but my gut feeling was I had to.
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manders
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Joined: Mar 26, 2010
Posts: 120

PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:48 pm    Post subject:

Gee,

Sorry, for your loss, just wondered if you have any house plants that he may have eaten? We had a bird die last year from eating a poisonous plant and it the last thing we thought of as a cause, something else to consider anyway.
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