SkyDancer
Meeting neighbors
Hi guys,
As many of you know, it's been a really hard week. We lost our baby Amazon. She came home about 2-3 weeks ago and it was obvious shortly after she came home, she was sick. We spent the better part of the time we had her at our exotic and avian veterinarian. Despite round the clock care and many vet visits, she didn't make it. She was my bird but we also have a 2 year old daughter who has definitely been concerned and has noticed our bird is no longer here. It's been really sad.
There were a lot of "red flags" I missed during bringing her home. She came from a subpar broker disguised as a breeder. She had so many problems. I wish I had known what to look for. I posted her pictures in a couple of groups on Facebook and people said over and over again how disgruntled she looked. I really didn't see it, but she was my only "baby" Amazon I had ever worked with (I have worked with Amazons and big birds my entire life but always adults). I should have known. My only comfort is in knowing her couple of weeks she spent with us here were undoubtedly the best weeks of her entire life.
I had asked a couple of people in my vet network on recommendations of a reputable breeder (what I should have done originally) and was pointed in the direction of someone who I have had a VERY different experience with as of now. He has a baby DNA'd Yellow Nape male who we will be welcoming into our home later on in August.
He spent over an hour on the phone with me, asking me a bunch of questions to make sure WE would be the right fit for his baby (which I so appreciated). He believes in leaving wings be and free flying/flight training. He starts working with babies on desensitization and things like harness training from the time they are really small. He only does abundance weaning and won't let a baby go before that baby is ready - no matter how much a new owner wants their baby home ASAP. This is so different compared to my previous experience of someone just wanting my money and giving me a bird in exchange (and not even taking 5 minutes to educate me on how the baby was living prior or being fed).
He went over disease testing, DNA sexing, training, feeding, all of the things someone would want to know when welcoming home a new baby - about how their baby was raised previously. And he has SO many pictures, videos, etc. of the baby from the time he was super super small.
I am horribly saddened about the experience we had previously and my poor little babe who didn't make it but I am happy we will once again have a little bird and this time, it seems like he couldn't be coming from a better place. I am not one of naming pets based on previous pets, but I think we are still going to call him "Grinchie." My daughter definitely knew our bird's name and my husband is pushing me to keep it the same for her sake.
That being said, what do I need to do to make sure my home is completely cleaned from our previous bird? We are not sure why he died but Psittacosis has been suggested as a possibility. Our new bird won't be home for several weeks. I bought a huge indoor cage and lots of enrichment toys, etc. for our bird who passed (probably at least $2-3K worth of things). She was so spoiled. Do I need to throw everything out? She was hardly in the big cage (maybe 2-3 hours over the entire time we had her). She didn't use most of the things we have for her but not sure if I should just throw everything out?
How do you recommend sanitizing the cage? I want to make sure if she DID have Psittacosis or any other kind of contagious problem - it's not something we have to worry about our new baby catching.
Thank you everyone.
As many of you know, it's been a really hard week. We lost our baby Amazon. She came home about 2-3 weeks ago and it was obvious shortly after she came home, she was sick. We spent the better part of the time we had her at our exotic and avian veterinarian. Despite round the clock care and many vet visits, she didn't make it. She was my bird but we also have a 2 year old daughter who has definitely been concerned and has noticed our bird is no longer here. It's been really sad.
There were a lot of "red flags" I missed during bringing her home. She came from a subpar broker disguised as a breeder. She had so many problems. I wish I had known what to look for. I posted her pictures in a couple of groups on Facebook and people said over and over again how disgruntled she looked. I really didn't see it, but she was my only "baby" Amazon I had ever worked with (I have worked with Amazons and big birds my entire life but always adults). I should have known. My only comfort is in knowing her couple of weeks she spent with us here were undoubtedly the best weeks of her entire life.
I had asked a couple of people in my vet network on recommendations of a reputable breeder (what I should have done originally) and was pointed in the direction of someone who I have had a VERY different experience with as of now. He has a baby DNA'd Yellow Nape male who we will be welcoming into our home later on in August.
He spent over an hour on the phone with me, asking me a bunch of questions to make sure WE would be the right fit for his baby (which I so appreciated). He believes in leaving wings be and free flying/flight training. He starts working with babies on desensitization and things like harness training from the time they are really small. He only does abundance weaning and won't let a baby go before that baby is ready - no matter how much a new owner wants their baby home ASAP. This is so different compared to my previous experience of someone just wanting my money and giving me a bird in exchange (and not even taking 5 minutes to educate me on how the baby was living prior or being fed).
He went over disease testing, DNA sexing, training, feeding, all of the things someone would want to know when welcoming home a new baby - about how their baby was raised previously. And he has SO many pictures, videos, etc. of the baby from the time he was super super small.
I am horribly saddened about the experience we had previously and my poor little babe who didn't make it but I am happy we will once again have a little bird and this time, it seems like he couldn't be coming from a better place. I am not one of naming pets based on previous pets, but I think we are still going to call him "Grinchie." My daughter definitely knew our bird's name and my husband is pushing me to keep it the same for her sake.
That being said, what do I need to do to make sure my home is completely cleaned from our previous bird? We are not sure why he died but Psittacosis has been suggested as a possibility. Our new bird won't be home for several weeks. I bought a huge indoor cage and lots of enrichment toys, etc. for our bird who passed (probably at least $2-3K worth of things). She was so spoiled. Do I need to throw everything out? She was hardly in the big cage (maybe 2-3 hours over the entire time we had her). She didn't use most of the things we have for her but not sure if I should just throw everything out?
How do you recommend sanitizing the cage? I want to make sure if she DID have Psittacosis or any other kind of contagious problem - it's not something we have to worry about our new baby catching.
Thank you everyone.
