I'm back. And I have some horrible news.

Hi.


It has been a while since I posted here. Partly because of how busy we have been, and partly because I knew the next post I had to make, and I couldn't face it.



Fatty is dead.



I've never had so much avian tragedy hit me all so quickly, and I kind of hid from you guys. I'm sorry. After losing Pistol to lose Fatty too was just too much, and I kind of shut down for a bit.



Remember my plans for a bird farm? That is part of what did Fatty in. We were out of town looking at properties and my cat broke into his cage. I came home, heard Alex calling and assumed all was well. I went upstairs and saw Fatty's cage door sitting wide open and I just knew he wasn't ok.



Charlie had eaten his head, but I was able to recover the rest of him to bury.



And then a while later, just, *just* when I had gotten to the point that I could think about Fatty & Pistol without getting sad, my mom's landlord unplugged and emptyed my running and full freezer. It was a "misunderstanding" on her end she says, but who in their right mind thinks a full and running freezer is garbage?? My mom had asked the landlord to have her helper move the freezer out from the wall, and they moved it out for trash pickup. It had dog food, feeder rats etc for my snake, meat from my aunts farm, and animals to be taxidermied in addition to my precious Crayon, Pistol, and Fatty's bodies. I was completely destroyed, and there will be a lawsuit just as soon as I can bring myself to write up a list of what all was in the freezer.



We dug thru garbage in the middle of the night thru me sobbing my heart out, and we managed to find Fatty and Crayon. We never found Pistol. I was planning to bring my freezer to the farm on the next trip and bury my beloved birds. They deserved so, so much better than this and any time I think about it it tears me up anew.



The cage that Charlie nabbed Fatty out of, it only needed a small clip or something, and he would still be alive. I miss him so much. When I think about it, it is like it happened only just recently and I start crying again. Though, even the freezer incident was a few months ago now.





I do also have good news, though. We closed on a 60+/- acre property on September 15, and moved here roughly a month later. My man proposed to me shortly after closing on the property, and we are planning a wedding. And there is plenty of new life here, tho there will never be another Pistol with her puckish shenanigans or another Fatty Dingdong.



We have goats now. 9 of them. Also turkeys, chickens, quail, a mini donkey, rabbits, and we got some more budgies, and we are breeding them now. The first clutch is just fledging now. We left them as parent raised for the psychological and health benefits, but have been socializing them extensively. They are very sweet, cute little things, and they are a great solace.



My precious Alex bird is staying with my mom while we do a few rennovations that are too high risk for him to be around, and I miss him terribly. Going to fly back in a week ish for a visit with my mom and with him, and I am so excited!



I'm sorry I got so quiet here, and ran away from telling you guys what happened. It was more than I could handle, and I just needed a little bit of time.



I look forward to getting into more detail about how my life is now a bit later, and I look forward to chatting with you guys again and "seeing familiar faces" here again..







Here is 3 of the babies. The fourth has splay leg and does not photograph well. We have been taping his legs with sensitive skin medical tape, but do not have high hopes she will have normal legs as an adult. We likely will keep her for her entire life.

Bug

I'm so very sorry.

I'm sorry for your loss. Cats and birds are just so hard to keep together.
I'm glad as I read down that your sorrow was balanced with blessings. Congratulations on your engagement, and new farm! Those are some cute babies too.

I’m so extremely sorry for your losses!

I’ve experienced tragedy like this and my heart goes out to you.

I’m glad you are healing and moving forward!

The budgies are lovely I love that they are parent raised! Have you figured out if the splay leg is genetic, nutritional, or too little bedding? Those budgie hens can be o determined to get rid of it all!


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I looked into splayed legs as several posts have mentioned it lately.
A link to a good article.
https://www.2ndchance.info/spraddle.htm

Missed you! Sorry for your pain!

Very sorry for your losses. Watch for a lifting flock of birds in the morning Sun, may one smile your way...

Congratulations! Sounds like a win - win.

I don't know why Life throws these viciously painful things at us, but I hope you've had your share and that only good times are ahead for you. It sounds as if you're really building your dream, now, and I wish you only the best going forward. I'm glad you came back. There's nowhere quite like this place for birdie-knowledge and companionship.

I’m very sorry for your loss and the tragic way it happened. Emotional pain can be relentless and intense. I’m glad you returned, this is a wonderful place to come home to.

Congratulations on your engagement and new place, it sounds wonderful. I wish you years of happiness. Adorable babies, I hope the little one’s leg issues can be corrected, please keep us updated on all your little sweethearts.

My heart hurts for you, I’m so sorry and hope the future shines so bright that the shadows take up less space.


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I'm very sorry for your losses, and I wish you and yours a much brighter future.

I'm so very sorry for your loss. It's good to see you back but I wish it was under happier circumstances.
I am glad you had some happy news to help balance things, congratulations on your engagement and new home!

Oh, such a rough go of it, I’m truly sorry I lost a parakeet I never even met under nearly identical circumstances (was supposed to be a gift and surprise from when I got back from vacation).

But you’ve got so much happiness looking ahead, it’s so wonderful! I’m really happy for you guys, congratulations!

My deepest condolences for your most difficult losses. Glad to see you return, savor the bright spots in your life.

I'm so sorry to read that. What a period of heartache. I'm so happy there is some good news. The babies are absolutely beautiful. All the best to you and them and all the rest!

So sorry to hear this. Totally understand you taking the time you needed, but happy you came back I'm happy to hear that after what you have been through, it seems things are getting much better. Best wishes and here's to an exciting future at your new place!

Thank you for all of your kind words. It really means a lot. I have missed you guys as well, and I am glad to be back.



We are not sure of the splay leg's cause, but are leaning towards it being a bedding issue. The hen was very determined to get it all out and keep it out. Unfortunately when I first noticed the splay leg it was while I was here alone without a vehicle for a week, and no medical tape. I tried using band aids first, but the adhesive was too harsh for bitty baby bird legs. I tried wrapping the legs in tissue and putting the band aid on that, but the chick was able to kick it off. So treatment started much later than it could have and the damage is pretty well done. The medical tape is helping it seems, but the chick was not as young as I would have liked for starting working on the legs. She is a recessive pied but with a dilution factor, so not as bright as the recessive pied in the photo I attached in the first post.



Their baby names are Chomper(oldest and greenest of the two non pieds, he tried *so hard* to chew me to pieces when I first started socializing them), Snakebird(pied in photo, so named for the way baby budgies scoot around on their bellies. Snake got stuck with the name, even though they all scoot around as babies), Tinyface(the far right in photo, the most outgoing and curious of the four. Tinyface is going to be a lovely friend for someone.), and the splay chick doesn't have a name yet. One of the chicks is going to be a late Christmas gift for my mom once they are solidly weaned and ready for their new homes.