Good day all! I’m not sure if posts like this are allowed of if they make everyone sad but I don’t know what else to do. Sorry for the long post but I feel I just have to do something to try and feel better. You don’t have to respond or read it, but any words of encouragement would be helpful for us.
We lost our (wifes) parrotlet last night. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know why it’s hitting me so hard. It stayed in her office and I only helped feed and play with it. We haven't even had him a year yet (sorry couldn't figure out how to fix title). We bought him at a HERPS convention from a local pet store. We never knew they existed till we walked into the convention and heard the strange noises coming from across the hall. We wanted to see what made that noise and walked our way over and found 3 little parrotlets and fell in love immediately. We both fell in love with the goofiest one and brought him home with us that day. In the car ride hide I made a comment that he looked “strange/unhealthy” but he seemed fine. Feathers looked a little off and his beak looked strange but he was tweeting and crawling all over the cage. I didn’t know anything about them but we have other birds (budgies, finches, conure) and thought because she said he was only a couple months old he was still growing into them.
We did the cage thing and let him adjust and slowy added more toys. He was always super skittish and never let us get close for attention. We got him a bigger cage because they one they sent us home with was temporary. Months went by and he still wouldn’t come close. He made the cutest cheeps and chips. We had him eating mash of fruits/veggies with Harrison mash mix and he loved it. He was also a messy little bird and flung food everywhere. He had such a personality. He would climb all over the cage and squawk at time. He bonded with the wife more even though he never let her hold him, you could tell when I entered the room and he would back up and when she came in he would chat with her. She tried to open the cage and he came out a couple of times but he would fly so fast and hard into stuff and he would be panting and he would fall behind stuff. It was an ordeal we didn’t like to see him go through. Being that stress of things can hurt or kill birds easily. He seemed content in cage. He loved sitting on the highest perch, or nibbling on his little rope toys.
He never plucked, he never tore stuff up. He seemed content sitting there in his cage. He would throw weird chip twirp fits every now and then when left alone till we called to him and then he calmed down. He would eat like a pig and never clean his beak, and I don’t think he ever took a bath. Could he have been inbred or doomed from the start from bad breeding? The more we think about it now the more we think something was off about him. We loved him soo much and his personality although quirky made him unique. We would reach out to him and he would sit in his cage and stretch out his neck and open his beak slowly and close it slow like he was trying to nibble us from away. But when we got to close he would skitter away or flap freak out. But he seemed happy. He ate, chatted, played with his toys. I had just started putting a small tablet in the room for him next to us to watch other parrotlets to see they weren’t scary and to let him know he wouldn’t be hurt by us. He seemed intrigued and would get closer to the cage when we left to watch this other bird but he would still be spooked by us. We thought every bird was different and that he was on a different timeline so we had no problem waiting till he was ready. We never made it to that time.
I work at home and he sleeps in a little later than the rest of us so I went in there Friday morning to say good morning and do the morning feeding when I couldn’t find him. I then found him on the bottom of the cage with his right wing (looked broken and flipped up and around so it looked like his feathers were stuck and sticking out of him. I panicked for a second and went to check on him and didn’t see any blood but saw some feathers in the corner. We think he got spooked or stuck and broke it trying to get out. We think a mouse or small rat got into the office because of some poop we found under her desk and some things moved out of place. Not sure what time he actually broke his wing though. I text and called the wife and let her know and she came home from work to help me take him to the vet (only 1 car at the moment thanks COVID). That damn bird was trying to still climb and try to fly to his perches. He landed hard on the bottom of the cage and started bleeding. This is where I began to worry even more. He was staying still if I stayed still so a little puddle of blood formed on the cage beneath him but looked like it stopped. I called the vet and they said to try and put pressure and stop it in case it started again. The thing is he would get skittish and try and fly away if I got close. I didn’t want him to race his heart more. Once the wife got home she was able to get him easier but not without a fight. Because of the Coronavirus our vet was about 30 minutes away. He loved the car ride to the vet. He kept wanting to climb around and look outside. It reminded us of the time we brought him home. As we got closer my wife (I was driving) noticed he was getting sleepy eyed and she had her finger and small towel on the wound for pressure. She begged him to stay awake and that we were almost there. We made it and they ran outside and got him and wrapped him temporarily and put him in an oxygen tank. Once stable they did a little exam and told us our options. Everything from euthanasia or full wing amputation depending on the damage but they needed to do an Xray first. We said yes and they did the Xray and said that it was the best outcome they could have hoped for and it wasn’t a broken wing, but the tendons and such by flight feathers and only needed a partial wing amputation. She said full ones can be dangerous due to the proximity of the airsacs. We agreed to the surgery once he was more stable and they performed it that night. They also found a fractured toe but couldn’t fix it so they amputated it and cauterized it. They clipped his other good wing to help him with balance and to keep from flying. They kept him in the oxygen tank for some odd hours until the surgery then they performed it and said he did well. They sent us a pic of him eating afterwords and said he would need to stay the night and we could get him the next morning. They called about 10:45a and we went to pick him up. She said he used a lot of energy to eat and move but was already being lethargic again and sleepy. The vet informed my us he may not make it. He rode home in my wifes hands and we got him setup in a smaller toweled box with low food and water and she left for work. He had trouble standing on the towel so it was easier for him to grip my fingers so I held him most of the day. There would be times he would sleep and then wake up for a couple seconds to eat or drink or nibble at my hand then conked back out. I thought it was combination of stress, meds, anesthesia, and he was just in and out of it. I know when I had appendicitis and was on morphine after the surgery I was in and out of it. From noon til he died at 5:52P I held him and loved on him. I talked to him, told him it would be ok. He would wake up and I let him take some water or drinks. I gave him lots of scritches. I won’t go into the traumatic details too much but at one point you know when it’s happening and it happened. I thought he was panicking at first as drugs were wearing off or something because he breathing seemed normal to me. I loosened his bandages just incase he was panicking but I think his body couldn’t take anymore. He did one last chirp and slowly closed his eyes and curled his toes in while I was holding him telling him I’m here for him and it was ok.
We let the vet know he passed and wouldn’t be there Monday for bandage removal. She said it was probably a combination of things and we did everything we could to save him. I still feel like a failure and it was my fault. What if I had gone to wake him up earlier that day? What If we made the wrong decision trying to save him and he went through more pain than he deserved? Should I have just chased and caught him in the cage before he fell and started bleeding? Did I hold him wrong after surgery for recovery? I kept the lights dim, the tv super lower, I had a heating pad on my lap and under a blanket to promote some warmth since the house wasn’t 80 degrees.
The vet said we were good and did everything right. Maybe we did maybe not. I know they have to say that. After hearing it would be an easy surgery such a weight was lifted off us and now it’s like it went higher up into the air to come crashing down harder. We lost a dog of 15+ years earlier this year and it didn’t hurt me this bad. Was it because I knew it was her time and it was coming? Why do I start crying like a baby when I walk by and see that empty cage? My wife’s office feels so empty. I can’t chat with him in passing anymore, my conure can’t go feed him with me anymore. I just feel broken. I feel stupid. Why am I being such a baby over this little bird? Was it because he was so young? He had such a long life of fun ahead of him. I feel I failed because it was my job to care for him and now he isn’t here.
Am I making justifications now in thinking he was bred wrong or had issues? Does anyone know if that can happen? Are we thinking like this trying to see if it makes me feel better? It doesn’t. We still loved that little bird. Crying as I type this. I have to clean out the food and poop from his cage but don’t want to tear it down yet. How do I stop being such a crybaby? Nothing makes me feel better at the moment and it’s driving me mad as to why I’m crying so much and why it hurts me. If you made it this far I appreciate it. Has anyone else gone through something like this.
We lost our (wifes) parrotlet last night. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know why it’s hitting me so hard. It stayed in her office and I only helped feed and play with it. We haven't even had him a year yet (sorry couldn't figure out how to fix title). We bought him at a HERPS convention from a local pet store. We never knew they existed till we walked into the convention and heard the strange noises coming from across the hall. We wanted to see what made that noise and walked our way over and found 3 little parrotlets and fell in love immediately. We both fell in love with the goofiest one and brought him home with us that day. In the car ride hide I made a comment that he looked “strange/unhealthy” but he seemed fine. Feathers looked a little off and his beak looked strange but he was tweeting and crawling all over the cage. I didn’t know anything about them but we have other birds (budgies, finches, conure) and thought because she said he was only a couple months old he was still growing into them.
We did the cage thing and let him adjust and slowy added more toys. He was always super skittish and never let us get close for attention. We got him a bigger cage because they one they sent us home with was temporary. Months went by and he still wouldn’t come close. He made the cutest cheeps and chips. We had him eating mash of fruits/veggies with Harrison mash mix and he loved it. He was also a messy little bird and flung food everywhere. He had such a personality. He would climb all over the cage and squawk at time. He bonded with the wife more even though he never let her hold him, you could tell when I entered the room and he would back up and when she came in he would chat with her. She tried to open the cage and he came out a couple of times but he would fly so fast and hard into stuff and he would be panting and he would fall behind stuff. It was an ordeal we didn’t like to see him go through. Being that stress of things can hurt or kill birds easily. He seemed content in cage. He loved sitting on the highest perch, or nibbling on his little rope toys.
He never plucked, he never tore stuff up. He seemed content sitting there in his cage. He would throw weird chip twirp fits every now and then when left alone till we called to him and then he calmed down. He would eat like a pig and never clean his beak, and I don’t think he ever took a bath. Could he have been inbred or doomed from the start from bad breeding? The more we think about it now the more we think something was off about him. We loved him soo much and his personality although quirky made him unique. We would reach out to him and he would sit in his cage and stretch out his neck and open his beak slowly and close it slow like he was trying to nibble us from away. But when we got to close he would skitter away or flap freak out. But he seemed happy. He ate, chatted, played with his toys. I had just started putting a small tablet in the room for him next to us to watch other parrotlets to see they weren’t scary and to let him know he wouldn’t be hurt by us. He seemed intrigued and would get closer to the cage when we left to watch this other bird but he would still be spooked by us. We thought every bird was different and that he was on a different timeline so we had no problem waiting till he was ready. We never made it to that time.
I work at home and he sleeps in a little later than the rest of us so I went in there Friday morning to say good morning and do the morning feeding when I couldn’t find him. I then found him on the bottom of the cage with his right wing (looked broken and flipped up and around so it looked like his feathers were stuck and sticking out of him. I panicked for a second and went to check on him and didn’t see any blood but saw some feathers in the corner. We think he got spooked or stuck and broke it trying to get out. We think a mouse or small rat got into the office because of some poop we found under her desk and some things moved out of place. Not sure what time he actually broke his wing though. I text and called the wife and let her know and she came home from work to help me take him to the vet (only 1 car at the moment thanks COVID). That damn bird was trying to still climb and try to fly to his perches. He landed hard on the bottom of the cage and started bleeding. This is where I began to worry even more. He was staying still if I stayed still so a little puddle of blood formed on the cage beneath him but looked like it stopped. I called the vet and they said to try and put pressure and stop it in case it started again. The thing is he would get skittish and try and fly away if I got close. I didn’t want him to race his heart more. Once the wife got home she was able to get him easier but not without a fight. Because of the Coronavirus our vet was about 30 minutes away. He loved the car ride to the vet. He kept wanting to climb around and look outside. It reminded us of the time we brought him home. As we got closer my wife (I was driving) noticed he was getting sleepy eyed and she had her finger and small towel on the wound for pressure. She begged him to stay awake and that we were almost there. We made it and they ran outside and got him and wrapped him temporarily and put him in an oxygen tank. Once stable they did a little exam and told us our options. Everything from euthanasia or full wing amputation depending on the damage but they needed to do an Xray first. We said yes and they did the Xray and said that it was the best outcome they could have hoped for and it wasn’t a broken wing, but the tendons and such by flight feathers and only needed a partial wing amputation. She said full ones can be dangerous due to the proximity of the airsacs. We agreed to the surgery once he was more stable and they performed it that night. They also found a fractured toe but couldn’t fix it so they amputated it and cauterized it. They clipped his other good wing to help him with balance and to keep from flying. They kept him in the oxygen tank for some odd hours until the surgery then they performed it and said he did well. They sent us a pic of him eating afterwords and said he would need to stay the night and we could get him the next morning. They called about 10:45a and we went to pick him up. She said he used a lot of energy to eat and move but was already being lethargic again and sleepy. The vet informed my us he may not make it. He rode home in my wifes hands and we got him setup in a smaller toweled box with low food and water and she left for work. He had trouble standing on the towel so it was easier for him to grip my fingers so I held him most of the day. There would be times he would sleep and then wake up for a couple seconds to eat or drink or nibble at my hand then conked back out. I thought it was combination of stress, meds, anesthesia, and he was just in and out of it. I know when I had appendicitis and was on morphine after the surgery I was in and out of it. From noon til he died at 5:52P I held him and loved on him. I talked to him, told him it would be ok. He would wake up and I let him take some water or drinks. I gave him lots of scritches. I won’t go into the traumatic details too much but at one point you know when it’s happening and it happened. I thought he was panicking at first as drugs were wearing off or something because he breathing seemed normal to me. I loosened his bandages just incase he was panicking but I think his body couldn’t take anymore. He did one last chirp and slowly closed his eyes and curled his toes in while I was holding him telling him I’m here for him and it was ok.
We let the vet know he passed and wouldn’t be there Monday for bandage removal. She said it was probably a combination of things and we did everything we could to save him. I still feel like a failure and it was my fault. What if I had gone to wake him up earlier that day? What If we made the wrong decision trying to save him and he went through more pain than he deserved? Should I have just chased and caught him in the cage before he fell and started bleeding? Did I hold him wrong after surgery for recovery? I kept the lights dim, the tv super lower, I had a heating pad on my lap and under a blanket to promote some warmth since the house wasn’t 80 degrees.
The vet said we were good and did everything right. Maybe we did maybe not. I know they have to say that. After hearing it would be an easy surgery such a weight was lifted off us and now it’s like it went higher up into the air to come crashing down harder. We lost a dog of 15+ years earlier this year and it didn’t hurt me this bad. Was it because I knew it was her time and it was coming? Why do I start crying like a baby when I walk by and see that empty cage? My wife’s office feels so empty. I can’t chat with him in passing anymore, my conure can’t go feed him with me anymore. I just feel broken. I feel stupid. Why am I being such a baby over this little bird? Was it because he was so young? He had such a long life of fun ahead of him. I feel I failed because it was my job to care for him and now he isn’t here.
Am I making justifications now in thinking he was bred wrong or had issues? Does anyone know if that can happen? Are we thinking like this trying to see if it makes me feel better? It doesn’t. We still loved that little bird. Crying as I type this. I have to clean out the food and poop from his cage but don’t want to tear it down yet. How do I stop being such a crybaby? Nothing makes me feel better at the moment and it’s driving me mad as to why I’m crying so much and why it hurts me. If you made it this far I appreciate it. Has anyone else gone through something like this.
