Jendy Conure Died Suddenly, WHY??

[ChickChick]

Hello everyone, My name is Jen and I'm BRAND NEW to this site. I guess I have come looking for answers


My husband and I came home from food shopping yesterday and one minute my Jenday Conure-Nico was alive, then the next minute dead. Face down going into his cage. This is my 3rd bird to die in the last year and I cant seem to keep it together anymore.

First, I had 6 birds up until Aug 2011, then Baby, my pied Cockatiel died suddenly and exactly the same way Nico died. Just face down on the play set. He was 15 yrs old.

Then Aug 2012 my recessive pied Parakeet died from a genetic disorder with tumors all over his body, he was 7.

And now Nico, he died yesterday for some unseen reason and he was 13. Why would he just die like that?? And I cant believe that my urn is half full this quickly!

I'm not concerned that he ingested something he shouldn't have, I know he didn't. I cant imagine its a contracted disease or illness, he hasn't been anywhere out of the house in years! And I haven't had contact with any other birds.


The one thing that stands out is that he wasn't right in the head. Yes, this bird was literally insane! I think he would have out-killed any serial killer by a long shot! He only loved me and viciously attacked everyone else even if I wasn't around. He couldn't be trusted with other birds either. He would lunge at them or their cages all poofed up, screaming bloody murder and the word "Come-ere"!! The screaming was almost non stop regardless of whether I was with him or not. This went on since he turned 1 yr old. Yes, I put up with insane chaotic behavior for 12 whole years!


So, unless this bird gave himself a brain aneurism, I have no idea why he died like this! And OF COURSE I live in NJ and we're bracing for this hurricane, so he's currently in a box in my fridge waiting till things pass to either take him to have a necropsy done or just cremated.

PLEASE give me some input whether this was possibly old age natrual cause, or should I have it looked into with the necropsy? I have 3 remaining birds, Tiki my Umbrella Cockatoo, shes 6 and two cockatiels, one is 16 and the other is around 10. Should I be concerned??

 

[Brodie]

I actually have no idea but I'm sure someone on here can give you a hand, but I do think you should have your other birds checked out, just in case. I would anyway!
Goodluck!

 

[Adinafloyd]

I am so sorry for your loss. I am praying for you. As you said you have lost alot in a short time, I would absolutely have a necropsy done, just in case it is something in your home or a contagious disease. It could be anything from contaminates, mold, illness, etc.... Please be safe for the hurricane. Hugs to you and yours

 

[Birdlover11]

I think the deaths might be connected in a way. I'm getting ready for the hurricane , they are saying its a monster, stay safe and so so sorry for your loss. Like Adina said, take your other birds for a check up just in case

 

[Riio]

First and foremost, I am so sorry for your loss. If it were me I think I would have a necropsy. Just because you have had two that died in the same unexpected way, and one with tumors. Maybe its just a horrible fluke, but personally I would want to know. There just may be something environmental that you are unaware of. I wish you the best. Please keep us updated. Also stay safe during the upcoming storm. Im sending good thoughts all the way from the west coast!!

 

[ChickChick]

My husband and I talked it over and it was an easy decision to make. We agree with all of you and we are having the necropsie done ASAP. I was seriously thinking about what it could have been that made both Nico and Baby drop like that, and I honestly cant put my finger on a thing!

When we moved into our new house 8 yrs ago, I gave the birds their own room. Since we dont have kids, these guys ARE my kids! They get spoiled like crazy! I bird proofed my room and trained them to stay on their playsets and not to stray. For little birds, they really are easy to train. But I never had a problem with them chewing on anything other than their things. No wires have ever been chewed, nothing ever! But here is a pic of my bird room (uncleaned at the moment)

So if it were some contaminet, I have no idea how that would have happened. Heres a picture of Nico I took only a month or two ago. As you can see, he looks great! This is how he looked yesterday morning. Oh, and the black cage was his cage.

 

[Pedro]

Hi Jen sorry to meet under these circumstances.
I think your cockatiel died of old age,
understand the death of your parakeet's death with a tumors. (Where they fat tumors??)
Now your Jenday has suddenly passed, I think from a heart attack.
If you can tell me what your birds diet is i maybe able to shed some more light on it.

 

[ChickChick]

Hi Pedro,
I do thank you and everyone for their condolences, it means a lot because I dont know many people who are "bird" people. Most dont understand that they love just like a dog or cat.
But anyway, Pedro, my birds diet is pretty healthy I must say. I feed them a blend of Zupreem pellets mixed with dried fruits and nuts as the base diet. He ate the same food my Cockatoo gets, then he ventured into the Cockatiels cage to eat some seeds from time to time. He usually just went for the sunflower seeds if there were any. I havent given any junk food in quite a while. The only thing NEW I gave him 2 days prior was some pretzel sticks and 1 cheeto because he was having a loud screaming day. I thought that maybe it would quiet him down and it did, he was happy with that. I occasionally gave him millet, but the tiels eat that as well, and their fine. Heres a pic of his bowl, I still havent touched anything in the cage, so this is what he was eating up until yesterday.
As for the parakeet, yes, I was told they were fatty tumors but they were considered common due to his variation. He had a small one on his chest, then one beginning to block his vent. I saw him becoming more weak and tired, so I knew the time was near. I was prepared for him. But I thought I would have AT LEAST another 10-15 yrs out of my Conure.

 

[MonicaMc]

I've heard of a few cockatiels living or having lived to 35 years... although 15 years is not bad.

Conures can live for 30+ years, and I've heard of a quaker that might have been around 50 years old when he died... so 20+ would have been better.


I'm so sorry to hear you've had such a rough year! I hope you are able to find out an answer, and if it's something in the environment, you can get rid of it quickly!

 

[ChickChick]

Thank you MonicaMc, this has been a terrible year! I bought an Urn which has 6 sides to it, and you can place a picture in each side. When Baby died, I figured to get that Urn because I had 6 birds, and everyone can go in that one.

I never expected it to be half full within 14 months!! This is crazy!! What Im thankful for is that all 3 had gone quick, no suffering. I would have HATED to put any of them to sleep! I think Im still in shock cause I havent fully broken down yet. Too busy prepping for this hurricane. I know it'll hit me later in the week

 

[Pedro]

Jen, please don't take offence of what i am about to say but Parrots need a balanced diet of fresh veg, fruit, raw nuts, sprouts in order to live a long life. I really don't feel the pellets & dried fruit where enough.

The fat tumors were a telltale sign. I very much doubt any disease was the cause.

That said we are what we eat & so it goes for parrots. The age of your parrots that passed is normal for parrots on a not so balanced diet. I am so sorry to bring this up but it really is so important to balance out the diet, offer a huge variety & i am sorry dried fruit isn't really a good option.

Enclosing a link on parrot diet.

Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - Feeding Our Birds - Part I Nutritional Needs

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Jen,
So sorry to hear about your losses. So very sad. Sending prayers to you, your husband and the rest of your flock.

I hope you'll stay in touch with us on this forum. It's a great place to share and learn.

 

[FineFeatheredFriend]

Wow you have had your birds for such long time and for them to past like that must be very difficult for you. I pray that the Creator makes this sad situation as easy as possible for you. Just yesturday I was thinking of my past birds and I started to get teary eyed. These little bundle of love are very endearing to us so losing them is very difficult. Does not seem like you were doing anything wrong so please do not put the blame on yourself. May Peace be to You.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

Jen, please don't take offence of what i am about to say but Parrots need a balanced diet of fresh veg, fruit, raw nuts, sprouts in order to live a long life. I really don't feel the pellets & dried fruit where enough.

The fat tumors were a telltale sign. I very much doubt any disease was the cause.

That said we are what we eat & so it goes for parrots. The age of your parrots that passed is normal for parrots on a not so balanced diet. I am so sorry to bring this up but it really is so important to balance out the diet, offer a huge variety & i am sorry dried fruit isn't really a good option.

Enclosing a link on parrot diet.

Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - Feeding Our Birds - Part I Nutritional Needs

Jen, I am sorry for your loss. I too agree with Pedro about maintaining a balanced diet for your birds. I highly recommend the necropsy be completed once your weather improves. I really want you to find out what the root cause could be so that you can avoid any future losses. Do you use any Teflon type pots or pans (items containing PTFE), any scented candles/plug-ins, any aerosol sprays? Good luck and be safe!

 

[kc_y0]

I am very sorry to hear of your losses. I hope you can find closure as to what happen, so it can be prevented in the future.

 

[aliray]

Pedro thank you for the link very interesting article

 

[ChickChick]

Pedro, I certainly didnt take any offense to your input, thats why Im here, to get the truth. So, since Im one of the lucky few who still have power, I took some time to read about what Im currently feeding my birds, pros and cons. So, I looked up ZuPreem Pellets, and what I came across was an article released on Oct 26th. READ THIS Premium Nutritional Products Announces Ongoing Voluntary Recall Of Select ZuPreem® Bird Foods - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.
SO....to sum it up, I OPENED MY FRIDGE AND SAW THIS BATCH SITTING NEXT TO MY DEAD BIRD! If anyone uses this brand, PLEASE check this code on the bag! I couldnt believe it! So in essence...Pedro, yes, the food killed my bird!
Coincidence??? Yea, I think not!! Recall issued the end of Sept, the recall hits the news stations on Oct 26th, Nico dead on the 27th, and he was eating this for about a 2 weeks or so, my husband would know the exact date. He loved his pellets, I guess he loved them to death!

 

[baron1282]

Wow, thanks for the information!!!! It sucks about your birds and I am sorry for your loss! I would call the company right away and see what they can do about the situation. If indeed this was the fault of the company, I would assume they would do everything they can to compensate you.

I know compensation does not bring back your pets, but it can help in the future for another pet you bring home.

 

[ChickChick]

I called the company this morning and they were very helpful. They emailed me a form to fillout to compensate for the vet and cremation bills at least. I'm unsure what they'll do for me because he died, but at least so far its something. I'm now waiting on the vet to reopen due to sandy

 

[baron1282]

Well, that seems somewhat fair. I am sorry for your loss. :-(