re: <Sad Update>Very weak Claybirdie, help
Claybirdie passed away this morning on the way to the vets, I had managed to borrow money to take her in. I am awaiting a necropsy, but the vet is fairly sure Claybirdie had lung cancer due to her 20 years of heavy cigar smoke and the fact that she could never maintain her weight. I will miss her greatly here is her story.....
For the fist 20 years of her life she lived with a man named Clayton, he was a very heavy cigar smoker, so heavy that his house was nothing but a cloud of smoke, when Clayton died (of lung cancer), his bird (claybirdie) went to my friend,(she was covered in so much tar it took 3 month to remove it all from her feathers) she there stayed until a year ago (again eating nothing but seeds), and then to me. Yesterday claybirdie had stopped eating, her poo was normal, no signs of a cold or infection, she was not puffed up, nor did she has any nasal discharge. She then became very weak. The only outward sign was her breathing which has always been a major battle for her, and it was not that much different than before just more consistently labored. In the past she would pant if she flapped her wings and wheeze from the years of cigar smoke and vitamin A deficiency. Her nasal passages were destroyed so you would hear clicks in her beak when she breathed. When she had stopped eating, I started hand feeding her every 3 hours and by the end of the day she had made a real turn around and things look very promising, then this morning as I was able to borrow the money to see the vet, Claybirdie passed away during the trip. Her breathing had become more and more difficult, it was obvious that she only had partial use of her lungs as you could see only the top of her body expanding to breath, only right below her crop. While I am happy that she got to have a good year in my home where she was out all day everyday and got to eat like a pig and learn how to play again and to be part of a flock with Eve and Poe......it saddens me that her life was cut short because of neglect and ignorance. She was the sweetest bird, never bite, always in a good mood, never loud, never picked her feathers......and she lived the majority of her years locked in a cage with no physical interaction from her owners. I find that amazing and I am grateful I got to share my life with her. Rest in Peace little Claybirdie.
