Help! My Parakeet suddenly died.

[Tasianicole]

I have had Nikko for almost 2 months, I was told he is about a year old. I purchased him from a locally owned pet shop. He was cage kept, fresh water and food daily. His diet consist of bird seed (Sunburst Gourmet blend) occasional Millet treat and seldom fresh fruit. I came home today and noticed him standing on the bottom of his cage, stiff with his feathers poofed up. His eyes were closed. He didn’t react when I approached his cage, which caught my attention. I opened his cage and he fell over, he was visibly very weak. I picked him up and he seemed paralyzed. He would open his eyes and shake his head briefly a couple times. At one point he stretched his head upwards. About 30 minutes later he passed. I am fairly new to this, Any advice or thoughts on what could have happened would be greatly appreciated!

 

[charmedbyekkie]

I'm so sorry to hear about your little one. Unfortunately, you will only know what happened via an autopsy.

It could be any variety of factors - diet, disease, infection, illness, accidental poisoning, etc.

Some basic household mistakes that cause birds' deaths would be:
- any scented products (air fresheners, candles, oils, etc)
- any PFOA/PTFE (hair dryers, non-stick pans, air fryers, irons, etc)
- any strong cleaning detergents/bleach/etc
- any aerosol sprays
- any smoking
- improper spacing of the cage bars
- exposure to ingestion of zinc, metal pieces, etc

If none of those, it could be he was ill from the start, whether from a disease he picked up somewhere (PBFD can be transmitted through silent carriers as well as just using the same space as the carrier, even without the carrier around), dietary problems affecting his health, or any such medical issue.

Birds do hide symptoms much more than mammals, which is why a lot of parrot owners get obsessed with their birds' poops (one of the first signs) and with overall behaviour (less active, more sleep, overpreening an area, etc).


If you do want to go for an autopsy, find an avian vet as soon as you can. You can keep his body in the fridge until then (ideally less than 3 days). Hopefully they can advise you.

Either decision you make, I hope you can find some sense of closure.

 

[Laurasea]

I'm sorry for your loss. That is so hard to come home to unexpectedly....what you described at the end is the death throes, throwing the head back happens with most creatures.
Birds hide being sick, many times the first time someone knows there bird is sick is when it passes ...
Charmedbyekkie covered it very well. Parakeets are often kept in large numbers together , they aren't tested for diseases, so your bird could already have been carrying a disease. Household toxins are a real concern and are often the cause of sudden death. Diet is important, leafy greens actually have more vitamins than fruit and the bird even budgies seem to crave them.
I don't know hi k you are likely to get answers from an autopsy on a budgie, unless you spent a lot of money sending out tissues for disease testing.. if it was me I just wouldn't. It can be a great tool in certain situations...
I'm really sorry for your loss.
If you decide to get another budgie in the future, I would suggest trying to find a breeder directly. I found a great breeder on Craigslist of English budgies, one day I really want one myself.
Make sure you clean the cage with dilute bleach, and throw out all wood or soft perches and toys, it's just not worth the risk of passing on a disease..

 

[Amsterdam]

sorry for your loss you seems to take good care of him

 

[GaleriaGila]

I'm so very sorry. Good for you for reaching out.

You may not be up for doing much reading right now, but if you are, here is a collection of stuff I often recommend to new folks.

Hang in there.



Here's some reading on bonding for you.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com/2012...n-parrots.html


Most of us swear by our avian vets in the event of health concerns.
Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.
International contacts, too.

What's the diet? That's critical for health. Too many are kept on seeds or other poor-nutrition things. They need veggies, legumes, grains... pellets are a good staple. Here's what I use.
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

Since you're new parront, I'll just drop a note about avoiding teflon pans, which are lethal to birds if even slightly overheated.

I'm glad you're here. Lots to learn and share and enjoy!

 

[Valyndris]

It's been mentioned above but when my mother had the pet store that specialized in birds she'd get calls for advice all the time, some about birds dying. The main cause was always either from air fresheners or Teflon pans, both are very lethal to birds. I'm sorry for your loss.