Do my birds face death?

[ParrotLover2001]

I'm afraid to post this, but I've got no choice!
I really hope no one give negative feedback on this. I need help.

It's past 8:00 pm here, and I've just got back upstairs (in my room) after about 5 hours of babysitting. And I was shocked and scared at what I saw in and on both cages. Miracle gro liquid feed. I got it for my indoor plants, and now the bottle is not only empty but all over the cages! It's in the food and water. I took all dishes out and took the birds out. I can't find anything online about it being poisonous to birds, but I'm afraid to find out. I have an idea who might have done this to them, but I can't just go around accusing people until I find out who it really was.

Please don't hate! This is not my fault!

I'm moving into the basement soon, then my birds will be safe from my siblings, and fur balls.

Please I need help. Until I get help for this, my birds will be sleeping in cardboard boxes for the night (like Chrissy did). It is way too late to thoroughly clean the cages, it will take hours to get all the miracle gro off the cages.

Now, I've got to go clean out the water and food dishes so they won't stave or get dehydrated.

Please no hate, I can't take much more of that.


I'm Probably the least favorite person on this forum.



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[SailBoat]

I'm afraid to post this, but I've got no choice!
I really hope no one give negative feedback on this. I need help.

It's past 8:00 pm here, and I've just got back upstairs (in my room) after about 5 hours of babysitting. And I was shocked and scared at what I saw in and on both cages. Miracle gro liquid feed. I got it for my indoor plants, and now the bottle is not only empty but all over the cages! It's in the food and water. I took all dishes out and took the birds out. I can't find anything online about it being poisonous to birds, but I'm afraid to find out. I have an idea who might have done this to them, but I can't just go around accusing people until I find out who it really was.

Please don't hate! This is not my fault!

I'm moving into the basement soon, then my birds will be safe from my siblings, and fur balls.

Please I need help. Until I get help for this, my birds will be sleeping in cardboard boxes for the night (like Chrissy did). It is way too late to thoroughly clean the cages, it will take hours to get all the miracle gro off the cages.

Now, I've got to go clean out the water and food dishes so they won't stave or get dehydrated.

Please no hate, I can't take much more of that.

I'm Probably the least favorite person on this forum.

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Understand, that I'm only addressing this because of my concern for the Parrots. Miracle gro liquid feed for plants is not the best thing that could be dumped on Birds. Neither is it the worst!

Sorry, but it is called and all nighter! I have done it with children and I have done it with and for every one of our Amazons! Get-up and get busy clearing everything! Hot Water and Dawn or like dish soap everything. Then Hot Water Rise three times! Clean Towel dry!

But it all back together and provide lots of fresh water and new food!!!

 

[EllenD]

Is it on your birds themselves? If so then that is priority number one, you need to immediately bathe all of them and get it all out of their feathers. Once that's done you need to do exactly as Sailboat has told already told you, you need to be a responsible bird owner and pull an all nighter scrubbing every inch of their cages out, their dishes, toys, everything that has the Miracle Gro on it. The worst thing for a bunch of already stressed birds who are both covered in Miracle Gro and have probably ingested some of it is to be put onto freaking cardboard boxes to sleep instead of their cages. It's go time. It doesn't matter who did this, it's your responsibility to get it cleaned up. Putting your birds in cardboard boxes is not starting off well, that I can tell you.

And your birds need to drink as much water as they can in case they did ingest it, which I'm sure they did, and eating is good too. THEY AREN'T GOING TO WANT TO DRINK OR EAT IF THEY ARE OUT OF THEIR CAGES AND IN CARDBOARD BOXES! So you have no choice...

Get them all bathed thoroughly, get all of their cages, dishes, toys, everything scrubbed out with dishwashing liquid, and get them back inside their homes with plenty of fresh, clean water and food. Keep them warmer tonight than usual as well.

And if you can't safely keep them and leave the house without fear of something like this happening then you've got to find other arrangements.

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[ParrotLover2001]

I've got the cages out in garage, ready for cleaning. But I can't quite reach the sink, moms car is in the way.
Unfortunately I'm not sure if it's on my birds. I will bathe them anyway!
And the cardboard box thing wouldn't be problem anyway, turns out they destroyed every box I had.

What if they ingested some? Will it harm them?
It will take about 3-4 hours to clean everything, (up till 12-1, oh god) meaning they won't eat or drink (except Elvis, he eats like a pig in and out of cage).

I'll update once I'm done cleaning and setting everything back up, if I don't pass out from exhaustion first.


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[SailBoat]

I've got the cages out in garage, ready for cleaning. But I can't quite reach the sink, moms car is in the way.
Unfortunately I'm not sure if it's on my birds. I will bathe them anyway!
And the cardboard box thing wouldn't be problem anyway, turns out they destroyed every box I had.

What if they ingested some? Will it harm them?
It will take about 3-4 hours to clean everything, (up till 12-1, oh god) meaning they won't eat or drink (except Elvis, he eats like a pig in and out of cage).

I'll update once I'm done cleaning and setting everything back up, if I don't pass out from exhaustion first.

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I am lost for words!!!

 

[Owlet]

I wish you luck

 

[texsize]

I know this is a horrible time you are going through.
I am praying for you and your birdy flock but I have to say this.

Anyone who would do this to other living things needs help. I mean professional help.

I know it does not help what has happened but someone who would do something like this, their behavior wont get better with age.

What if it had been bleach instead of Miracle grow?
Will the neighbor's cat or dog be next?

IS their some way you can put a lock on your door?
texsize

 

[Kentuckienne]

I don't get it with you. Why do you need to know who did something like this? Isn't it enough to tell your parents and let them figure out who did it, and help with the cleanup? In my home it would have been all hands on deck to save the birds, then worry about whose fault it was. This is not hating, this is just saying your posts sometimes contradict themselves, and don't make sense. Like, I don't believe the sink being blocked by your moms car is the only one in the house. And why do you have time to be online during an emergency? If you can't keep your birds safe in your house because of your siblings, you should find new homes for them immediately. The basement won't be any safer in the basement.

 

[texsize]

I don't get it with you. Why do you need to know who did something like this? Isn't it enough to tell your parents and let them figure out who did it, and help with the cleanup? In my home it would have been all hands on deck to save the birds, then worry about whose fault it was. This is not hating, this is just saying your posts sometimes contradict themselves, and don't make sense. Like, I don't believe the sink being blocked by your moms car is the only one in the house. And why do you have time to be online during an emergency? If you can't keep your birds safe in your house because of your siblings, you should find new homes for them immediately. The basement won't be any safer in the basement.

I can't speak for the OP, but I would like to answer some of your objections from my POV.

It's possible that a sink in the garage would be larger and able to handle cleanup of a cage and a sink in the kitchen might not be practical.
though I would hope the parents would be willing to move the car for such an emergency.

I know my wife takes a very dim view of me cleaning poop of the bird's perches in the kitchen sink.

I agree that the birds safety must come first. If someone in the household is doing this it must be stopped. I can think of lots of household products that would have had a much worse and much more quickly ending.

 

[Kentuckienne]

I don't get it with you. Why do you need to know who did something like this? Isn't it enough to tell your parents and let them figure out who did it, and help with the cleanup? In my home it would have been all hands on deck to save the birds, then worry about whose fault it was. This is not hating, this is just saying your posts sometimes contradict themselves, and don't make sense. Like, I don't believe the sink being blocked by your moms car is the only one in the house. And why do you have time to be online during an emergency? If you can't keep your birds safe in your house because of your siblings, you should find new homes for them immediately. The basement won't be any safer in the basement.

I can't speak for the OP, but I would like to answer some of your objections from my POV.

It's possible that a sink in the garage would be larger and able to handle cleanup of a cage and a sink in the kitchen might not be practical.
though I would hope the parents would be willing to move the car for such an emergency.

I know my wife takes a very dim view of me cleaning poop of the bird's perches in the kitchen sink.

I agree that the birds safety must come first. If someone in the household is doing this it must be stopped. I can think of lots of household products that would have had a much worse and much more quickly ending.

A bathtub or shower would also be big enough, and more hygienic than the kitchen sink for sure.

Scotts (maker of Miracle Gro) paid an enormous fine some years back for treating birdseed with illegal pesticides known to be toxic to birds.

Pesticides in Bird Seed? Scotts Miracle-Gro Fined $12.5 Million | Audubon

Miracle Gro plant food contains 0.1-1.0% copper sulfate and the same amount zinc sulfate, and possibly other heavy metals depending on the current source for ingredients. Some of the ingredients are waste products of refinery processes. The birds should not injest the stuff, so if it's on their feathers they should be thoroughly washed. The OP's birds have had several close brushes with death recently, and that's the reason for my concern. They don't seem to be safe in their current situation, and the parents have not been reported as being helpful or supportive. If there is danger to the birds from inside the house, and the parents aren't dealing with the problem, it's a bad situation for all concerned - but the birds shouldn't have to pay with their lives.

 

[chris-md]

Kentuckienne I admit to sharing the same sentiment. I remember clearly this forum discouraging this OP from any birds. They did not listen, got birds, and our concerns are being born out in several close encounters in very short period of time. The safety of the birds is in question in their current situation.

I try not to judge here. We are allowed coincidences in this life. That these two emergencies are happening in short order could simply be pure coincidence. I'm guilty of accidentally letting Parker get ahold of Excedrin, fer crisakes! But with the OPs apparent handling of the situation with no sense of priority, I leave my post with Stevens post, no words.

 

[SilverSage]

Your birds are in danger of heavy metal poisoning. I have had this happen to my birds and I will give you the instructions that the vet gave me. My birds were on the brink of death when we started this treatment so please take these instructions seriously as none of them are harmful but ignoring them could be deadly.


First, HEAT. If your birds are not symptomatic, keep them as close to 85-90 degrees as possible. If they become symptomatic, bump that up to 95-100 degrees.

Second, WATER. Mix Metamucil powered, the TINIEST TINIEST PINCH into their water. This will help to bind any heavy metal particles and pull them out of the body.

CRANBERRY JUICE, unsweetened all natural of you can manage it. If you can get it into them any way possible including with a syringe (if you aren't confident that you can do this without hand feeding then don't do it), even wet their seed with it (keep it freshened! No spoiling!). This will help flush their kidneys.

These few things are VITALLY IMPORTANT!

Also I trust you already have an appointment with the nearest avian vet at the earliest possible moment? Take the label from the fertilizer with you to the appointment, and be prepared for a big bill.

Now for the future: how old is the suspected culprit? They either need a gentle but stern talking to that the seed they gave the birds was poison (if they are young enough to have been trying to help), or some major consequences.


I'm not sure what other near death experiences your birds have had lately but regardless you need to either find a way to keep them safe or find them new homes. Get a lock on your door. I've had people in my home endanger my birds when I was young. The fact of the mater is that you can't control others and if your family isn't safe to hand around birds, and you keep your birds anyway, YOU are responsible for their suffering. Please seriously ask yourself whose best interest you have in mind.




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[Anansi]

I am sorry that this has happened. It is unfortunate that someone in your household would do something like this. But the fact of the matter is, you bear some culpability, here.

http://www.parrotforums.com/budgies-parakeets/66647-so-emotional.html Chrissy is attacked by the family cat and nearly killed. You responded by keeping Chrissy in a box and gathering "final" photos of him while inquiring about where to get a replacement bird before 5:00. He recovered despite never being taken to a vet.

http://www.parrotforums.com/budgies-parakeets/66272-bird-i-really-never-knew.html Feather and Whistle die of a mysterious bleeding ailment within a week of one another. Neither had been taken to a vet.

http://www.parrotforums.com/bereavement/67536-left-too-soon-2-years-ago.html Cassie becomes ill and goes to the bottom of her cage to huddle in a corner. You respond by taking video of her suffering (which we removed from the thread.) She was never taken to a vet, and eventually died. Your layperson's diagnosis listed respiratory problems and liver disease as the causes of death. Her cage-mate died a year later.

You've also posted about quite a few other dangers to your birds as well, including something about broken mirror shards that you actually went and caught on video before removing for the safety of your birds.

And now the possible poisoning of your birds as documented in this thread.

Please understand, I'm not composing this post out of rancor. There is no malice in my intent, and I don't seek to embarrass you. I just think you are young and not quite ready for the responsibility of birds. There have been too many deaths and close calls in too narrow a span of time to be discounted as anything other than negligence. I understand that some of the issues were the direct result of someone else's actions, but ultimately you bear responsibility for the welfare of your flock. That's what it means to be a parront. And part of that responsibility is being honest with yourself about your ability, or lack thereof, to keep your birds safe.

Sometimes the greatest act of love is in the act of letting your loved ones go. If you can't keep your birds safe in your own home, you should rehome them.

 

[SilverSage]

Wow, that is quite a disturbing and heartbreaking list; I had not been aware of all those things.

I've gone back now and read some of these older threads. I know you are going to be upset with me for saying this, but please rehome your birds.

You have become quite defensive In some older posts declaring that you are only 15 and have no control. To that I say two things;

1) if you can't manage enough control of the living situation to protect your pets, don't have pets. Keeping them in an unsafe environment is selfish and cruel.

2) age is no excuse. As an 11 year old I had to pay every single expense on my own. Food, cages, toys, pet sitting when we went on vacation, and yes vet care and if I needed it, I had to pay for transportation as well. My parents paid for nothing, helped with nothing, protected nothing. But I loved my birds and I did everything I could for them. I made and sold friendship bracelets, had lemonade stands, mowed lawns, walked dogs, babysat, and did my siblings' chores in exchange for money, and anything else I could think of at any given moment. I got extremely creative. When this was happening there were no vets within 6 hour drive who would even SEE birds. Even with that though, when I had a Parakeet dying in my hands, suffering because of a mistake I had made, I called the vet and begged and cried until he agreed to euthanize my bird to prevent prolonged suffering. And I paid for it with the money I had been carefully hoarding for months. Please do not disrespect other teenagers who really do love their animals. When I say love, I mean real love. Real love is caring more about someone else than about yourself. Keeping animals is a dangerous situation is the opposite of love. Love would place their need for safety above your desire for their companionship.

I'm usually the person trying to talk people OUT of rehoming their pets, but in this situation, with death after death and danger after danger, it's pretty clear that the only one benefitting is YOU. You enjoy them and place more value on that enjoyment than on their safety. Please find someone who has the resources and desire to care for these pets the way they deserve.


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[ParrotLover2001]

In knew it was bad idea to post this thread.

Anywho, birds were bathed, cages were cleaned, dishes and toys were cleaned.

The sink in the garage is the only sink big enough for these cages, and mom did move her car. The kitchen sink, I'll never clean the cages in the kitchen sink.
I can care for these birds, these 2 near death were just a coincidence, Ok?
Chrissy's thing, again? And I've just got over that!
There are no avian vets here! Trust me I've tried!
Please don't bring Feather and Whistle into this. That was back in 2012, and I agree that I didn't know better back then.
Cassie I can't really back that up. Clicky died from a broken neck, she died almost immediately and even if I tried she wouldn't have made it to a vet.

There were no broken mirror shards. Jordan just took the bottom piece off and everything fell to the bottom, beneath the grate. She couldn't reach it.

I have took Opal to a vet for her overgrown beak, but it was all but happy. Not only did he lie about being an avian vet, but I think he would have suffocated my bird the way he was holding her. He didn't know what a budgie was, and when I told him about her overgrown beak, he didn't even look at the beak.
I don't know what he was doing, but I'm never going back there.

And that was the only bet I could take my birds to, no one else will see birds. You don't know how hard that is, not having an avian certified vet nearby.

I love my birds, I really do. But not everyone is perfect, so not everyone does things the same way.

I do have a little more control then last near death. And because of that, my siblings are afraid to come into my room, when I'm in there.

You're right, age isn't an excuse. I don't pay for my birds things though, my parents do. Food, cages, toys. (I do pay for the toys occasionally but not all the time)

I do love my birds, I really truly love my birds. I spoil them with lots of treats and toys. I give them long out of cage times every day. I give them love and affection. They give love and affection back. They sing to me, play with me, they even try to preen me, I show I love them, they show it back. Elvis has even chosen me as his mate.

Trust me, I'm doing everything I possibly can. Everything that I am capable of doing.





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[Scott]

This is the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDA) prepared by Scott's for this product. (according to OP description)
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/msds/LIQUID_MIRACLE_PRO.pdf

Worth a read, particularly notes 3, 4, 6, and 11. Despite the claims of low toxicity, we all know birds are extraordinarily sensitive.

 

[EllenD]

As you have asked us to "please don't be negative" I have to ask you, how in the world are we not supposed to be concerned for your birds? You take concern as us being negative, and that's just a display of immaturity, which I guess makes sense because you are still an immature teenager. That being said, you have multiple birds that you seem to be solely responsible for, even though your parents pay for everything. So it's time to grow up and stop taking our very much warranted concern for simple negativity for the sake of being negative.

I remember being so angry and quite frankly very disturbed with the last event where you posted that your budgie was dying, yet instead of taking her to the avian vet you asked for help gathering photos of her to post on here as a memorial. Before she had died. And then in one of the most upsetting posts I have ever seen on any forum in my life, you posted asking for help finding a pet store that was open until at least 5:00 because you needed to go buy a new budgie. Before your currently sick bird had died, but after you had made and posted a memorial photo montage of your soon to be dead bird. That wasn't dead yet. And when I asked you to clarify what you were doing, you just nonchalantly said "yeah, my bird is going to die so I went and bought another bird to replace her and had to do it before the pet shop closed". And your apparently dying budgie was still alive, but according to your diagnosis still dying, and was put in a cardboard box to pass away. But she didn't die, miraculously she lived, you got another bird in the process, and while you cried that you "had no money to take her to the vet so I know she is going to die; she has no chance for survival" I clearly remember you saying. But your parents who pay for everything took you to buy a new budgie and paid $20-$30 at least for the new bird, but would not use that money to take the bird you already owned to the vet? No, she was at home dying inside a cardboard box. And then you were upset because we were all horrified and really confused by that situation, and apparently you haven't learned anything from that event or matured at all, because you just responded with "you're bringing the Chrissy thing up again? I just got over that." I'm glad you got over it, because honestly I'm still disturbed by it.

I agree with SilverSage at this point, please rehome all of your birds. You are not nearly mature enough to properly take care of them, and they are very obviously not safe in that environment you are living in. That's been proven many times. And I'm not saying you don't care for the bird's, I believe that you do. But that is not nearly enough to be a responsible pet owner. You have had more birds die or nearly die or be seriously sick or injured in the past year than I have in 31 years, including 20 years of breeding and hand-raising babies.

It's just too much.

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[SailBoat]

Note to Super Mods!

Please consider closing this Thread, it has clearly run its course and has done more than upset some wonderful, caring members of the Forum.

SailBoat

 

[EllenD]

And by the way, you say that you "are the most hated person on this forum". No, no one hates you at all. That once again is your immaturity, you just can't understand that these constant disasters with your birds, and even more so your lack of responsibility to take care of these disasters, is what we are upset about. It's not hatred or even dislike for you.

If you had once been responsible during one of these events and taken care of your birds instead of posting photo montages and buying replacement birds, maybe you'd be considered a responsible pet owner. It's not all your fault, you are only 15, you have no money, and you're not yet mature enough to properly handle these situations. That's understandable. What isn't understandable is why your parents still allow you to have these birds.

And now I'll be in trouble for being harsh. But I don't care in this situation, enough is enough. It's not fair to the poor birds in your care. They can't advocate for themselves, so someone has to advocate for them. I hope you can somehow understand that.

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[EllenD]

I agree with Sailboat, close this thread. It's not worth it, and I don't like who I become when trying to help this member. It's very upsetting and I become immature myself.

"Dance like nobody's watching..."