It's been 3.5 years now that we have been housing a kakariki who landed in our garden on a winter day. Clearly escaped somewhere and despite posting the information out there, nobody ever came calling for him. Never thought we would have a bird but we soon adapted and having gotten a small cage for him after his immediate arrival, we soon started leaving him to explore his surroundings and eventually also got him a bigger cage catering for all his needs. Since then we have not looked back and thoroughly enjoyed Ody's company. He's not hand-reared but became very close to us coming to sit on our head or shoulders and so often on top of the desktop screen while working at home. A true acrobat as well they way he would fly around in the house (the living room has a very high ceiling so he got lucky there) from one floor to the other.
Then in March this year he suddenly showed a different behaviour. He suddenly wouldn't come much out of his cage anymore and would sit a lot inside not looking comfortable with his feathers all puffed. He also was clearly having balancing problems. He would often come on the table and run around or eat from our plates but now he would simply fall or trip over. Thought it would pass but eventually we took him to the VET. Blood tests showed a bacterial infection and 10 days of antibiotics helped him through it. After awhile he unfortunately seem to relapse and again I took him to the VET (university bird clinic) where again they took blood tests but they VET didn't look too sure, was kind of negative about his outlook and we ended up giving antibiotics now extending the period up to over 2 weeks.
He then was really fine for couple of months until again he changed a lot, now also falling through flying midair. He now spends most of his time in his cage as he is barely able to fly. We help him as much as we can but he does not resemble the bird he used to be in any way.
What really stands out is to problems he is having with his legs as he has lost all form of balance. He is able to walk but often falls over. His flying ability had stayed intact however, until recently. I also started thinking whether climbing around in their cages is not affecting the feet of bird too often. He always seemed to enjoy exploring and going around in his cage but maybe that has taken its toll as in nature they wouldn't put that much pressure on their feet and toes?
We have tried another period of antibiotics but it did not seem to bring about any change. We do no longer want to stress him with a VET visit nor make him undergo any more intrusive examinations (the blood sample taking is already quite painful!). We do not know how old he is but always assumed rather young. We're now thinking that maybe he is older than we thought and he has entered old age.
Still very much wondering about what could have caused the rapid decline however and what might be the explanations or underlying causes. If anybody thinks he or she has a clue, thanks for sharing.
Then in March this year he suddenly showed a different behaviour. He suddenly wouldn't come much out of his cage anymore and would sit a lot inside not looking comfortable with his feathers all puffed. He also was clearly having balancing problems. He would often come on the table and run around or eat from our plates but now he would simply fall or trip over. Thought it would pass but eventually we took him to the VET. Blood tests showed a bacterial infection and 10 days of antibiotics helped him through it. After awhile he unfortunately seem to relapse and again I took him to the VET (university bird clinic) where again they took blood tests but they VET didn't look too sure, was kind of negative about his outlook and we ended up giving antibiotics now extending the period up to over 2 weeks.
He then was really fine for couple of months until again he changed a lot, now also falling through flying midair. He now spends most of his time in his cage as he is barely able to fly. We help him as much as we can but he does not resemble the bird he used to be in any way.
What really stands out is to problems he is having with his legs as he has lost all form of balance. He is able to walk but often falls over. His flying ability had stayed intact however, until recently. I also started thinking whether climbing around in their cages is not affecting the feet of bird too often. He always seemed to enjoy exploring and going around in his cage but maybe that has taken its toll as in nature they wouldn't put that much pressure on their feet and toes?
We have tried another period of antibiotics but it did not seem to bring about any change. We do no longer want to stress him with a VET visit nor make him undergo any more intrusive examinations (the blood sample taking is already quite painful!). We do not know how old he is but always assumed rather young. We're now thinking that maybe he is older than we thought and he has entered old age.
Still very much wondering about what could have caused the rapid decline however and what might be the explanations or underlying causes. If anybody thinks he or she has a clue, thanks for sharing.
