Advice of expperienced parrot people needed - sudden death of pinapple conure

[AnnaP]

Hi All,

My name is Anna. I'm completely devastated and lost after the sudden death of my beloved friend - a pinapple conure who was only about 6 months old. He was perfectly fine, didn't exhibit any health problems at all, except he didn't like to fly and seemed to struggle to gain hight when he did fly on very rare occasion. Otherwise he was fine, eating healthy diet of organic cooked qinoa, grated carrot, capcicum, blueberries (one or two a day), pecan nuts (small amount), grain mix for parrots, always had fresh water. He spent most of the time outside the cage, with me.
A month ago, he had his bath (there was no more than an inch of water in the shallow bowl) and started climbing back on my showlder. I went to another room and by the time I was about to sit down on my chair, I realised there was something wrong, got up, tried to see what was happening. He was handing at the back of my cardigan and I couldn't see him. Then he made two gagging sounds and lost consciousness, released his grip on my cardigan and fell hard, head first on the wooden floor, and blood spilled out of his beak. I picked him up and he was completely lifeless. I pressed gently on his little chest, like CPR and heard this squelching sound, like there was liquid inside. And he was gone.
I brought him for the necrospy to the vet the next day. They said that there was a blod clot in his right lung but that could be from the fall. The lab results of the necropsy didn't find any abnormalities in his organs and the vet said that he likely died of aspiration - an accidental inhaling of water into the lungs.
I'm wondering, has anything like that ever happened to anyone? Is this even possible?... Could he have died just on the impact of falling head first on the wooden floor while unconscious? Any thoughts welcome. Sorry about this guys, it's just so awful to lose a wonderful little friend...

 

[onamom]

I am so sorry for your loss. It is absolutely devastating to lose a beloved pet this way and my heart goes out to you. I don’t have any advice on why this happened but I’m sure your little Conure knew he was loved and was happy with you in the time he had. Thinking of you.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

I'm sorry to hear that your conure died so suddenly. Sometimes we can do everything right and things like this can still happen. It doesn't sound like anything you did caused this, in fact it sounds like he had the best care and was loved very much

 

[LeaKP]

I’m so sorry to hear of this awful loss and what you experienced. As with all creatures and humans, things sometimes happen that we don’t understand or have explanation for. May you be comforted as you walk through this time. I’m so sorry.

 

[AnnaP]

Looking back, I probably didn't look after him well at all...
1) I have a large Philodendron and a Devi's ivy in the room next to my table. I didn't allow him to eat it but sometimes when he was walking on the table, he would jump on the Philodendron or the Devil's ivy and nibble a couple of times before I would take him off. Reading on these plants, it appears they are toxic and can cause problems. He was only occasionally biting on them and never had any gastro issues. But I should have removed these plants from the room altogether.
2) We have a mould issue in the house. There was no mould in his cage or near it but it probably was on the philodendron's dusty leaves and in the philidendron's pot and he might have picked it?... My other birds have no issues but my conure boy was only 6 months old and he was exploring the table and the panel near the plant pot... I didn't allow him to explore the soil in the pot but maybe one day he did when I was not looking and igested a mouldy potting mix bit?...
3) we had a mouse infestation in the house (it's a big problem in Melbourne currently). Once I forgot to cover the grain container for the night and the mice might have gotten in there. Could he have eated a mouse poo or a grain contaminated with mouse saliva?...
4) once a noisy miner fell down the chimney and when I undid the panel covering the chimney, it escaped into the room where my birds were and was thrashing about and losing feathers before I manged to catch and release it. Could it have spread some desease?... Though my other birds are fine..
5) we have pidgeons in the neigbourhood and they come to our backyard. Could I have brought some pidgeon poo and some disease on my shoes into the house?... Once again, my other birds are fine...
All these questions are rolling in my head. All those mistakes I've made. But with all those mistakes that I described, I thought there would be symptoms if he was getting unwell. But there were no symptoms and the necropsy showed there was no diseaase and his organs were all fine. I just can't understand why he lost consciusness after the bath and fell unconscious on the floor.
Could he have just died on the impact?... Would so much blood (about a teaspoon equivalent, from his beak) be generated by the fall when he fell head first on the wooden floor from my back?..

 

[MFajardo86]

Looking back, I probably didn't look after him well at all...
1) I have a large Philodendron and a Devi's ivy in the room next to my table. I didn't allow him to eat it but sometimes when he was walking on the table, he would jump on the Philodendron or the Devil's ivy and nibble a couple of times before I would take him off. Reading on these plants, it appears they are toxic and can cause problems. He was only occasionally biting on them and never had any gastro issues. But I should have removed these plants from the room altogether.
2) We have a mould issue in the house. There was no mould in his cage or near it but it probably was on the philodendron's dusty leaves and in the philidendron's pot and he might have picked it?... My other birds have no issues but my conure boy was only 6 months old and he was exploring the table and the panel near the plant pot... I didn't allow him to explore the soil in the pot but maybe one day he did when I was not looking and igested a mouldy potting mix bit?...
3) we had a mouse infestation in the house (it's a big problem in Melbourne currently). Once I forgot to cover the grain container for the night and the mice might have gotten in there. Could he have eated a mouse poo or a grain contaminated with mouse saliva?...
4) once a noisy miner fell down the chimney and when I undid the panel covering the chimney, it escaped into the room where my birds were and was thrashing about and losing feathers before I manged to catch and release it. Could it have spread some desease?... Though my other birds are fine..
5) we have pidgeons in the neigbourhood and they come to our backyard. Could I have brought some pidgeon poo and some disease on my shoes into the house?... Once again, my other birds are fine...
All these questions are rolling in my head. All those mistakes I've made. But with all those mistakes that I described, I thought there would be symptoms if he was getting unwell. But there were no symptoms and the necropsy showed there was no diseaase and his organs were all fine. I just can't understand why he lost consciusness after the bath and fell unconscious on the floor.
Could he have just died on the impact?... Would so much blood (about a teaspoon equivalent, from his beak) be generated by the fall when he fell head first on the wooden floor from my back?..

Don’t beT yourself up babe ::: these things happen sometime :: you’re doing your best. Look how much you care, that desire to do the right thing and analyze is gods love in you. Trust it xo

 

[LoveMyFids]

Hi All,

My name is Anna. I'm completely devastated and lost after the sudden death of my beloved friend - a pinapple conure who was only about 6 months old. He was perfectly fine, didn't exhibit any health problems at all, except he didn't like to fly and seemed to struggle to gain hight when he did fly on very rare occasion. Otherwise he was fine, eating healthy diet of organic cooked qinoa, grated carrot, capcicum, blueberries (one or two a day), pecan nuts (small amount), grain mix for parrots, always had fresh water. He spent most of the time outside the cage, with me.
A month ago, he had his bath (there was no more than an inch of water in the shallow bowl) and started climbing back on my showlder. I went to another room and by the time I was about to sit down on my chair, I realised there was something wrong, got up, tried to see what was happening. He was handing at the back of my cardigan and I couldn't see him. Then he made two gagging sounds and lost consciousness, released his grip on my cardigan and fell hard, head first on the wooden floor, and blood spilled out of his beak. I picked him up and he was completely lifeless. I pressed gently on his little chest, like CPR and heard this squelching sound, like there was liquid inside. And he was gone.
I brought him for the necrospy to the vet the next day. They said that there was a blod clot in his right lung but that could be from the fall. The lab results of the necropsy didn't find any abnormalities in his organs and the vet said that he likely died of aspiration - an accidental inhaling of water into the lungs.
I'm wondering, has anything like that ever happened to anyone? Is this even possible?... Could he have died just on the impact of falling head first on the wooden floor while unconscious? Any thoughts welcome. Sorry about this guys, it's just so awful to lose a wonderful little friend...

So sorry for your loss. Yes, unfortunately aspiration can happen with anything-water, food, a piece of a toy, a piece of fabric, etc. I think it happens more often in very young birds like yours with food though, especially soft foods like chop. Most likely the reason being that when they are young they are very enthusiastic about eating & this is something that mellows out as they get older. If they didn't find anything like aspergillosis or something ingested in the necropsy, most likely your vet was correct. However, there is always the chance that there was some genetic issue, like a genetic heart condition or something, which wouldn't be obvious on tests or necropsy necessarily. These situations are beyond our control, sadly. I just lost my soul bird of 22 yrs. to a freak accident/ingestion, which obstructed her stomach or colon. She was fine the night before & then the next morning gasping for air (she has chewed part of her cage cover) & I rushed her to an avian vet who couldn't save her. She passed in their care within a few hrs. because her system just completely crashed. It's been a month now & I'm absolutely devastated as she was like my feathered child (African Grey) whom was by my side for over 2 decades. I even used to take her to work w/me. I will never get over this loss, so I understand how you feel. It's horrible. Sending you good thoughts.

 

[Farnoosh]

Looking back, I probably didn't look after him well at all...
1) I have a large Philodendron and a Devi's ivy in the room next to my table. I didn't allow him to eat it but sometimes when he was walking on the table, he would jump on the Philodendron or the Devil's ivy and nibble a couple of times before I would take him off. Reading on these plants, it appears they are toxic and can cause problems. He was only occasionally biting on them and never had any gastro issues. But I should have removed these plants from the room altogether.
2) We have a mould issue in the house. There was no mould in his cage or near it but it probably was on the philodendron's dusty leaves and in the philidendron's pot and he might have picked it?... My other birds have no issues but my conure boy was only 6 months old and he was exploring the table and the panel near the plant pot... I didn't allow him to explore the soil in the pot but maybe one day he did when I was not looking and igested a mouldy potting mix bit?...
3) we had a mouse infestation in the house (it's a big problem in Melbourne currently). Once I forgot to cover the grain container for the night and the mice might have gotten in there. Could he have eated a mouse poo or a grain contaminated with mouse saliva?...
4) once a noisy miner fell down the chimney and when I undid the panel covering the chimney, it escaped into the room where my birds were and was thrashing about and losing feathers before I manged to catch and release it. Could it have spread some desease?... Though my other birds are fine..
5) we have pidgeons in the neigbourhood and they come to our backyard. Could I have brought some pidgeon poo and some disease on my shoes into the house?... Once again, my other birds are fine...
All these questions are rolling in my head. All those mistakes I've made. But with all those mistakes that I described, I thought there would be symptoms if he was getting unwell. But there were no symptoms and the necropsy showed there was no diseaase and his organs were all fine. I just can't understand why he lost consciusness after the bath and fell unconscious on the floor.
Could he have just died on the impact?... Would so much blood (about a teaspoon equivalent, from his beak) be generated by the fall when he fell head first on the wooden floor from my back?..

Hi Anna.
I'm so sorry to hear about this devastating loss. It is tragic and I completely feel your pain.
Reading your post above with all of the points you made that could be possibilities for why your beautiful bird passed away reminds me of when I lost my Daisy, pineapple green cheek, and how desperate I was to find the reason. Luckily for me the necroscopy showed the reason why she passed away, but having nothing show up as is the case for you Makes it even harder and gives you no closure.
Firstly, please try not to blame yourself for any reason. Some of the reasonings you're mentioning here, like the mould in your house, or the mouse droppings, or plant toxicity, makes me think that these things should have showed up when they did the examining. What occurred to me when I was reading your story was that perhaps (since your bird was very young) your bird had a birth defect in the lungs – in fact I thought about this even before I got to the part when you said that they found a blood clot in the lung. A bird's flight has a lot to do with the strength And function of their lungs , of course this is an oversimplification, but there is a link here. So the fact that your bird couldn't fly to begin with or had trouble with flying, to me is an indication of the lung problem perhaps – but of course I'm just giving my own thoughts I am not an animal Dr. or an avian specialist.…
In any case, that was just my initial thought. In which case, that would mean that it would have nothing to do with anything you did or anything you didn't do. Sometimes we can drive ourselves crazy finding a "reason"...And in reality, the reason can be very complex that not even a doctor can figure it out sometimes (and that goes with humans as well)
Sending you healing thoughts and hope you can come to a place of acceptance with time.
Peace and blessings,
farnoosh

 

[AnnaP]

So sorry for your loss. Yes, unfortunately aspiration can happen with anything-water, food, a piece of a toy, a piece of fabric, etc. I think it happens more often in very young birds like yours with food though, especially soft foods like chop. Most likely the reason being that when they are young they are very enthusiastic about eating & this is something that mellows out as they get older. If they didn't find anything like aspergillosis or something ingested in the necropsy, most likely your vet was correct. However, there is always the chance that there was some genetic issue, like a genetic heart condition or something, which wouldn't be obvious on tests or necropsy necessarily. These situations are beyond our control, sadly. I just lost my soul bird of 22 yrs. to a freak accident/ingestion, which obstructed her stomach or colon. She was fine the night before & then the next morning gasping for air (she has chewed part of her cage cover) & I rushed her to an avian vet who couldn't save her. She passed in their care within a few hrs. because her system just completely crashed. It's been a month now & I'm absolutely devastated as she was like my feathered child (African Grey) whom was by my side for over 2 decades. I even used to take her to work w/me. I will never get over this loss, so I understand how you feel. It's horrible. Sending you good thoughts.

Thank you for your analysis and thoughts. And I'm so sorry for your loss. This is awful and tragic and I agree, we never get over this, this is like the death of a child. Thank you for sharing. After 20 years, your pain is unimaginable...Sending you good thoughts too.

 

[AnnaP]

Hi Anna.
I'm so sorry to hear about this devastating loss. It is tragic and I completely feel your pain.
Reading your post above with all of the points you made that could be possibilities for why your beautiful bird passed away reminds me of when I lost my Daisy, pineapple green cheek, and how desperate I was to find the reason. Luckily for me the necroscopy showed the reason why she passed away, but having nothing show up as is the case for you Makes it even harder and gives you no closure.
Firstly, please try not to blame yourself for any reason. Some of the reasonings you're mentioning here, like the mould in your house, or the mouse droppings, or plant toxicity, makes me think that these things should have showed up when they did the examining. What occurred to me when I was reading your story was that perhaps (since your bird was very young) your bird had a birth defect in the lungs – in fact I thought about this even before I got to the part when you said that they found a blood clot in the lung. A bird's flight has a lot to do with the strength And function of their lungs , of course this is an oversimplification, but there is a link here. So the fact that your bird couldn't fly to begin with or had trouble with flying, to me is an indication of the lung problem perhaps – but of course I'm just giving my own thoughts I am not an animal Dr. or an avian specialist.…
In any case, that was just my initial thought. In which case, that would mean that it would have nothing to do with anything you did or anything you didn't do. Sometimes we can drive ourselves crazy finding a "reason"...And in reality, the reason can be very complex that not even a doctor can figure it out sometimes (and that goes with humans as well)
Sending you healing thoughts and hope you can come to a place of acceptance with time.
Peace and blessings,
farnoosh

Thank you Farnoosh...

 

[AnnaP]

Thank you so much to everyone who commented about what happened to my little conure boy, I really appreciate this. And I think you make very valid points about the possible reasons for the sudden death.

I remember watching one video of a parrot enthusiast and she listed the most common and serious mistakes of parrot owners. And one of them was not making enough research. How true. Another thing that occurred to me now is that he eat some dark chocolate crumbs a couple of times. Before I read that any amount of chocolate can be fatal to parrots. He eat a couple of crumbs each time, those crumbs were each the size of a sunflower seed. Do you think this amount could have been enough to kill him, or make him lose consciousness?..

 

[Farnoosh]

Thank you so much to everyone who commented about what happened to my little conure boy, I really appreciate this. And I think you make very valid points about the possible reasons for the sudden death.

I remember watching one video of a parrot enthusiast and she listed the most common and serious mistakes of parrot owners. And one of them was not making enough research. How true. Another thing that occurred to me now is that he eat some dark chocolate crumbs a couple of times. Before I read that any amount of chocolate can be fatal to parrots. He eat a couple of crumbs each time, those crumbs were each the size of a sunflower seed. Do you think this amount could have been enough to kill him, or make him lose consciousness?..

Hi Anna,
I think if the reason of his death was due to something (the chocolate) he ingested, as a small bird, you would have noticed it about 15 minutes later (this is what a very good animal doctor told me). So if he ingested something that wasn't suitable to his body – and I think he would have to ingest a good amount of chocolate for his size, different amounts are different for each bird – but if he did ingest something bad, he would likely first throw up, or show some other signs… I don't know if a tiny amount like that would have been enough to kill him.
My thoughts are with you during this difficult time, I know what it's like and it is so heartbreaking.

 

[LoveMyFids]

Thank you for your analysis and thoughts. And I'm so sorry for your loss. This is awful and tragic and I agree, we never get over this, this is like the death of a child. Thank you for sharing. After 20 years, your pain is unimaginable...Sending you good thoughts too.

Thank you. Yes, it's been soul crushing for me. She had that cage cover for her whole life & never chewed it. I have no idea why she all the sudden chose to & the whole thing was completely unexpected. Perfect & playing the night before, I go to uncover her in the morning & she was having trouble breathing & there was food vomit all over the cage. It was horrific & I frantically took her as an emergency to an avian vet ASAP. I was actually lucky they agreed, as I wasn't a prior client & it was a Fri. I read your above revision about all the factors you mentioned (the plant, mice, etc.). I honestly think he had something physical going on-maybe genetic, or possibly ingested something toxic, but it would have had to be very toxic to effect that quickly & severely. Normally, there will be signs if the bird is sick like not wanting to eat, diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy,, fluffed up feathers, picking, weird behaviors. It almost sounds like your bird had a stroke or a seizure perhaps, which could have caused the fall. Seizures do happen in birds-it's not totally uncommon & if not caused by ingesting something toxic, I believe it can be genetic & is often a mystery for vets. Also any fall can really harm a bird & cause broken bones or head trauma, because they are quite fragile. All it takes is to fall in the wrong position. The amount of blood you mentioned sound excessive though. That is a large bleed out, which would have to come from a severe head trauma. Eating chocolate can cause seizures in birds & death even in small amounts. Usually an hour or two after it is eaten. It causes the heart rate to increase & also dilates the blood vessels, so that would cause much more bleeding if injury occurs. If you know that the bird ate chocolate that day-or the day before, it could definitely have caused a seizure or heart attack & the fall happened because of that. If so, this is obviously totally an accident & you didn't know about chocolate being toxic. Onions are the same way for most animals & for birds avocado is also toxic, & some fruit seeds too, amongst some other foods, incense, smoke, scented candles, heated oil infusers, cooking oil burning, teflon non-stick pans, oven cleaner. Most things that cause fumes in the air can kill a bird. Anyone who has a bird needs to give up candles & air fresheners in their home for sure & all non-stick cooking & baking pans. There is definitely a LOT to learn about bird safety & foods, so it's always important to research. Accidents happen though. All we can do is learn & be more careful. Just the fact that you took the time to share your story & concerns on here means you CARE. I'm so sorry for your loss. I know how heartbreaking it is.

Thank you for your analysis and thoughts. And I'm so sorry for your loss. This is awful and tragic and I agree, we never get over this, this is like the death of a child. Thank you for sharing. After 20 years, your pain is unimaginable...Sending you good thoughts too.

 

[AnnaP]

Thank you. Yes, it's been soul crushing for me. She had that cage cover for her whole life & never chewed it. I have no idea why she all the sudden chose to & the whole thing was completely unexpected. Perfect & playing the night before, I go to uncover her in the morning & she was having trouble breathing & there was food vomit all over the cage. It was horrific & I frantically took her as an emergency to an avian vet ASAP. I was actually lucky they agreed, as I wasn't a prior client & it was a Fri. I read your above revision about all the factors you mentioned (the plant, mice, etc.). I honestly think he had something physical going on-maybe genetic, or possibly ingested something toxic, but it would have had to be very toxic to effect that quickly & severely. Normally, there will be signs if the bird is sick like not wanting to eat, diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy,, fluffed up feathers, picking, weird behaviors. It almost sounds like your bird had a stroke or a seizure perhaps, which could have caused the fall. Seizures do happen in birds-it's not totally uncommon & if not caused by ingesting something toxic, I believe it can be genetic & is often a mystery for vets. Also any fall can really harm a bird & cause broken bones or head trauma, because they are quite fragile. All it takes is to fall in the wrong position. The amount of blood you mentioned sound excessive though. That is a large bleed out, which would have to come from a severe head trauma. Eating chocolate can cause seizures in birds & death even in small amounts. Usually an hour or two after it is eaten. It causes the heart rate to increase & also dilates the blood vessels, so that would cause much more bleeding if injury occurs. If you know that the bird ate chocolate that day-or the day before, it could definitely have caused a seizure or heart attack & the fall happened because of that. If so, this is obviously totally an accident & you didn't know about chocolate being toxic. Onions are the same way for most animals & for birds avocado is also toxic, & some fruit seeds too, amongst some other foods, incense, smoke, scented candles, heated oil infusers, cooking oil burning, teflon non-stick pans, oven cleaner. Most things that cause fumes in the air can kill a bird. Anyone who has a bird needs to give up candles & air fresheners in their home for sure & all non-stick cooking & baking pans. There is definitely a LOT to learn about bird safety & foods, so it's always important to research. Accidents happen though. All we can do is learn & be more careful. Just the fact that you took the time to share your story & concerns on here means you CARE. I'm so sorry for your loss. I know how heartbreaking it is.

Thank you so much for taking time to look in depth into the factors that I meantioned.... I knew about the fumes of any sort and was extremely careful. I knew about the non-stick cookware killing birds in minutes, and about avacado and onion, and eggplant. I just didn't know about the chocolate... There is all this wealth of information so readily available on Internet, and I managed to fail to learn it, I can't believe it. And who knows, maybe if I had managed to catch him in the fall, before he hit the hard floor, he could have recovered and been alive now... Who knows. This is just so awful.
And I'm so sorry about what happened to you beloved bird. So strange and unexpected, and all that happened so quickly!... You would think an urgent operation could have saved her but obviously it was too late. Such a tragedy. I'm so sorry...

 

[Farnoosh]

So sorry for your loss. Yes, unfortunately aspiration can happen with anything-water, food, a piece of a toy, a piece of fabric, etc. I think it happens more often in very young birds like yours with food though, especially soft foods like chop. Most likely the reason being that when they are young they are very enthusiastic about eating & this is something that mellows out as they get older. If they didn't find anything like aspergillosis or something ingested in the necropsy, most likely your vet was correct. However, there is always the chance that there was some genetic issue, like a genetic heart condition or something, which wouldn't be obvious on tests or necropsy necessarily. These situations are beyond our control, sadly. I just lost my soul bird of 22 yrs. to a freak accident/ingestion, which obstructed her stomach or colon. She was fine the night before & then the next morning gasping for air (she has chewed part of her cage cover) & I rushed her to an avian vet who couldn't save her. She passed in their care within a few hrs. because her system just completely crashed. It's been a month now & I'm absolutely devastated as she was like my feathered child (African Grey) whom was by my side for over 2 decades. I even used to take her to work w/me. I will never get over this loss, so I understand how you feel. It's horrible. Sending you good thoughts.

Sorry about your loss. I lost my soul bird too and no you never get over it. She was my little girl. It's been 2 years and I still cry about her

 

[Terry57]

Anna, I'm so very sorry for your terrible loss of your baby. With the speed with which it happened, I don't think that anything you could have done would have changed things, including being able to catch him when he fell. It's so hard to not have any answers, and sometimes there just aren't any.
What I do know is how much he was loved, that is obvious in everything you wrote. I also know that he knew it, too. He flew to you, wanting to be close to you at the end.

We can only do our best for our babies, and you did that. We also can only do what we know. We all make mistakes. I don't think that the small bits of chocolate or plants were responsible for this, it sounds like it could have been something genetic as LoveMyFids mentioned.

My heart hurts for you, and I hope that once the grief eases that you will be comforted by the wonderful memories you made with him. I'm so glad that you are here with us, most of us have lost a beloved bird and we understand.
Do you have a story about him that you feel up to sharing? Sometimes it helps me to share once I've lost one of my babies, even if it is shared through tears.
Sending many hugs to you and you'll be in my prayers.

 

[LoveMyFids]

Sorry about your loss. I lost my soul bird too and no you never get over it. She was my little girl. It's been 2 years and I still cry about her

Oh, I'm so sorry. It truly is heart crushing. She was my little girl too. Such a part of every day of my life for 22 yrs. I feel lost without her honestly & it's just so hard. I still can't believe she's not here. I cry every day. I think only parrot owners can really understand the bond, but we also have those cats & dogs that enter our lives who are just so special & different than others. Sometimes in your life there's that one that's different & a soul mate to you. When you lose them, nothing can fill that spot in your heart. I had a cat that way too who passed 7 yrs. ago, but I think of him & miss him every day still. Thank you for your kind words.

 

[AnnaP]

Sorry about your loss. I lost my soul bird too and no you never get over it. She was my little girl. It's been 2 years and I still cry about her

Oh, I'm so sorry. It truly is heart crushing. She was my little girl too. Such a part of every day of my life for 22 yrs. I feel lost without her honestly & it's just so hard. I still can't believe she's not here. I cry every day. I think only parrot owners can really understand the bond, but we also have those cats & dogs that enter our lives who are just so special & different than others. Sometimes in your life there's that one that's different & a soul mate to you. When you lose them, nothing can fill that spot in your heart. I had a cat that way too who passed 7 yrs. ago, but I think of him & miss him every day still. Thank you for your kind words.

I agree about parrot owners. I never realised how special parrots are before I had my little boy. They are much more like humans than dogs and cats. Dogs and cats can be soul mates too and it's devastating to lose them. With parrots it's different again. A parrot is really a small person - with a very strong character, intelligence, complex emotions, very human reactions, moods, affections. But they are so small and fragile. And so many things can go wrong, so quicky and irreversibly. Now I understand that it's so much harder to be a good human to a parrot, than to a dog or a cat. You need to know so much more, you need to be so much more careful, any little mistake can cost their life. And then you are left with this massive hole in your life and in your heart and nothing can fill it

 

[onamom]

I agree about parrot owners. I never realised how special parrots are before I had my little boy. They are much more like humans than dogs and cats. Dogs and cats can be soul mates too and it's devastating to lose them. With parrots it's different again. A parrot is really a small person - with a very strong character, intelligence, complex emotions, very human reactions, moods, affections. But they are so small and fragile. And so many things can go wrong, so quicky and irreversibly. Now I understand that it's so much harder to be a good human to a parrot, than to a dog or a cat. You need to know so much more, you need to be so much more careful, any little mistake can cost their life. And then you are left with this massive hole in your life and in your heart and nothing can fill it

I completely agree with your words here. Owning a parrot truly is such a unique experience and so different from other pets. My little girl feels more like a person to me too and I can only imagine what you are feeling right now I am so very sorry for your loss.

 

[LoveMyFids]

I completely agree with your words here. Owning a parrot truly is such a unique experience and so different from other pets. My little girl feels more like a person to me too and I can only imagine what you are feeling right now I am so very sorry for your loss.

Thank you. She was an African Grey, which due to her intelligence, was really like a little person/family member. It's absolutely devastating. There's no getting over it, only trying to adjust to her absence, which is really hard.