Newbies from Okinawa

[OkiF]

Hello, we are newbie lovebird owners going through a rough patch right now as we lost our 6 month old roseicollis lovebird, Inkochan, two weeks ago (showed sick symptoms on Sunday night, died Tuesday afternoon despite two visits to the veterinary and we are still not sure what happened, intoxication? Although we could not identify a potential source, this is somehow our best guess). Two days after Inkochan died, Botan chan her, also 6 month old, female buddy got paralysed from the feet. I will post more details on this issue in the medical section of the forum but this was just to introduce us briefly.

 

[Shezbug]

Welcome to the Avenue

I am so sorry to hear of your loss of Inkochan and I am also really sorry to hear about Botan chan having some feet paralysis.
Can you post some clear pictures of your cage and all the toys, toy hangers, bowls, perches etc- basically anything that you used for your birds? Some pictures and a maybe a list of what their diet includes would be a great help too.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you can figure what's going

 

[Ripshod]

 

[Zara]

Welcome to the Avenue!

I´m very sorry for your loss. It does sound like metal toxicity could be a potential cause.

 

[expressmailtome]

Welcome! I am sorry for your loss.

 

[Mark & Da Boyz]

Sorry for your loss. As was suggested list what they eat and have photos of their cage and toys. Also check to see if anything you use to cook or clean with had PTFE coatings (Non Stick).

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome! And sorry for your loss.

 

[OkiF]

Thanks all for the feedbacks. Basically they eat a mix of various commercial seed mixes, complemented by some fresh food (packchoi, and other greens that I am not sure of the English name but that are standard lovebirds and parrot food in Japan, guava leaves, branches and fruits, tiny bits of fruits depending on the season and what the garden produces, like passion fruits, mangoes, etc..), in addition, as a treat and to make them go back to their cage in last resort we fed them mini protion of "baby food" (powder "performance" food mixed with peeled millet). We also gave the fresh seeds from sprouted seeds that matured as weeds in our pots outside (of course wihtout any chemicals or fertilizers). They did have access to a cuttlefish bone (from the pet shop) and we strongly suspect that Inkochan either got intoxicated or more likely got internal damage from the hard "chitinous" edge of a giant cuttlefish bone we collected at sea (rinsed profusely, and baked in the oven). Else for calcium they had coral branches and crushed oyster shells. For the cage, they were ion this one: Flight Bird Cage - White F041 Prevue Pet Products
For Botan, she is still handicapped, but there might be some very small improvement on her left foot. But she eats well and is very active. We insisted quite a lot with the vet about the possible intoxication but because the poop looks fine, and all other symptoms of metal inotoxication are missing, they are rather thinking to a spine injury. We are still completely convinced, and keep looking for whatever they could have chewed on. The crutin rings are in aluminium and they did not chew on them, just sometimes grabbed on them to climb, they did not have access to the curtain weights, and the bells from their toys where all designed for bird toys and from rather popular companies here in Japan... So we keep looking and until we will have made completely clear that it is absolutely safe, we will not let Botan fly (anyway, now the vet recommended to keep her in her small "aquarium" for at least a month to prevent any chance of further injury, and then we will slowly increase the size of her home and see how the flying goes). Depending in the evolution of the situation, I might ask specifically in the "special needs" section for advises how to make her the best home as possible, at that time we will also re-explore the idea to give her a new partner but first she needs to heal or strengthen her ankles, so we will not rush anything. Last point about the intoxication, we read that it is easy to check for it through blood tests, but the vets we saw both recommended against it for such a small bird due to the risks of shock.

 

[Shezbug]

Any chance you can share a picture or links for the toys and bells you use? I’ve removed so many unsafe bells from bird toys I’ve purchased from well known bird toy companies.

 

[OkiF]

Sorry for the absence of the forum, I meant to post earlier but somehow did not manage to. Here are the bells of the toys. I think anyway for safety we will remove them as Botan was not really playing a lot with them. I still don't really see what cold have intoxicated them both, one suspect could be a cork for a wine bottle (they loved these) that would have had some trace of lead on it. This too will be out of the toy list from now on. Else I don't know...
Now Botan chan is improving, she can stay on a small perch and she loves there. It seems her left leg is getting ok, she can grab pretty well and her fingers are back in normal position. Today we realised that she is apparently using much less her left ankle ("knee") and she can support herself with the foot normally. Her left foot is still "all fingers forward", but it looks like the two middle fingers are functional and can grab, although it is not clear how much strength she has in this foot (but it does not stop her to play like a monkey in her reahbilitation "Tupperware".

Now we are seriously considering to get her a friend as she responds to any bird call she hears from outside (and to the beeping of the pedestrian crossroads on the way to work as we take her with us everyday to work, not to leave her alone in her small box all day long). But we will wait the green light from the vet and Botan to be back the her cage.

 

[budgieluv3]

I'm so sorry! Welcome to the forum!

 

[Maggiebird]

Welcome to the avenue!! I’m sorry for your loss!

 

[JewellBird]

 

[fluffypoptarts]

You sound like very loving and conscientious birdy caretakers. I’m so sorry for the loss of your other baby, and I hope this one continues to get stronger and recover use of her feet.

Sadly many toys sold in pet stores for birds can be unsafe. A lot of us will only buy toys from Avian Avenue vendors. Metal and metal coatings can be very risky, especially when you don’t know what they are. Unless I can be sure it’s stainless steel, I usually won’t risk it. One of the vendors here does offer stainless steel toys.

 

[Ember-Tiel]

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Small Stainless Steel Bird Toys

www.bluesbirdtoys.com

And the Sidewalk Sale is this weekend!

SALE - 2020 Avian Avenue Fall Sidewalk Sale

WELCOME to the 2020 FALL SIDEWALK SALE :Fall2: :Fall2: :Fall2: OCTOBER 30th 31st & 1st:cauldron: Tailgating Week October 25th-30th Active Raffles | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum Early Birds Get The Worm RLS! Official RLS Thread

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[OkiF]

This is actually some interesting info and I will browse a bit all these vendors, even if it is just to dream/get some ideas as being located in Japan can be a bit of a challenge to get things delivered at reasonable costs...

 

[fluffypoptarts]

This is actually some interesting info and I will browse a bit all these vendors, even if it is just to dream/get some ideas as being located in Japan can be a bit of a challenge to get things delivered at reasonable costs...

Oh I know the shipping is an arm and a leg, but if you bought some stainless steel toys, they’d last forever and you could just rotate them in and out. Even if you buy items made of sea grass and balsa, they’re typically pretty light, so might not be as bad on shipping. Otherwise, maybe look for brands that are generally bird-safe and have a good reputation.