Devastated My Cockatiel Died

[SRLDREAM]

Can someone please help me. I am so devastated. My precious cockatiel died on Monday and I am going out of my mind because I do not know what happened to him. At noon he was fine in his cage eating, talking acting normal. At 4 p.m. I found him in the bottom of his cage dead. He was laying on his stomach head facing forward wings spread. It appeared that there was a clear liquid mixed with blood that you could tell had run out of his mouth. His upper beak looked like it was stuck inside his lower beak. I loved that bird so much, I have not stopped crying. I did not think of a necropsy until after I had buried him and I do not want to dig him up. Can someone please tell me what could have possibly happened to him. He was only 3 years old. The only thing that had recently happened about 2 weeks ago was one day he seemed like he was choking on his food but he seemed to dislodge it and went completely back to normal the next day. Could he have gotten choked again? I cannot eat, I can't sleep I just look at his cage trying to figure out what might have happened. I just hate that my baby might have suffered so much. Please help.

[Marrie]

I am sorry for your loss. It is painful to lose a companion, especially in such a sudden and unexpected way.

Without a necropsy, it is impossible to tell. At this point it is impossible to do though, as to get a necropsy you need to preserve the body in a cold environment (below freezing, but chilly enough to preserve cells). It is possible he had a seizure, or there was something wrong with his crop, given you said he was choking on food before. Birds don't usually choke.

You loved him and did your best. Don't drive yourself crazy with "what ifs" - birds hide illnesses very well being a prey species, so it is very hard to tell when they are sick. I hope you find peace and can remember the good times with him.

[maxollie]

Sonya, My heart goes out to you!! I'm so very sorry you have lost your best friend and precious little tiel. Yes, it is a very heartbreaking experience for you to have to go through this loss. I completely agree with Marrie's comments. Tiels and other birds definitely hide their illnesses with great intelligence and natural instinct. Respiratory infections are very common in tiels and budgies, and I do have to wonder when you were speaking of him "choking" a few days or so ago, if that might have been an indication. Also, there are many household cleaners, candles, air freshners, and other "contaminants" that might be airborne that are deadly for tiels. Also, teflon pans that you might use on the stove emit fumes which are deadly to birds. Did you notice any change in his droppings in the last few days. Was he on a seed diet or pellet diet and/or a combination of both. Sometimes the seed we buy can either be outdated when we get it, or it can have seeds that were processed that might be moldy or of bad quality. I'm just throwing out a few things that come to mind for you to think about. Are there cigarette smokers in your home? Or have there been any unusual odors or smells that you have noticed outside of your home recently. Were there any toys or sharp objects in the cage that he played with that he could have choked on. There is a regular member of this forum who lost a precious little tiel last fall, because the tiel had somehow gotten ahold of a piece of metal such as a staple and ate it, and when that tiel fell ill, they rushed it to the Avian Vet, and the vet took an x-ray of its stomach and they saw the piece of metal. You didn't say whether your little tiel was caged all of the time or had out of the cage time. There are many "dangers" lurking in your home anytime a tiel is out of the cage. I know it will be difficult to even examine the toys in his cage right now. The main goal would be should you ever decide to get another one, the remarks I have made here will hopefully be of help with your next little guy.

I'm sending you a BIG HUG, because I can empathize with you completely. I lost my precious little budgie, Maxi, back in October. He was 5 years old and was a very healthy and happy budgie. His death also was very unexpected.

It will take awhile for you to grieve your loss. It is o.k. to cry, because like you I cried for several days when I lost my Maxi. Tiels just have a way of wrapping their little hearts right around our own "heart strings"! Please try hard to not blame yourself, and focus on all of the wonderful memories you have of your little tiel. One day you will meet him on the Rainbow Bridge. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers, Sonya.

[boomer girl]

I am sorry for your loss of your loved bird Sonya. No matter what happened to your very much loved bird it shouldn't make you go crazy because you cannot do anything anymore to make him better. Try not to dwell on the "what happened" and just mourn him because you loved him. Boomer would chock on his food because he had crop damage and ulcers in it that kept him from eating in his last days. I still remember the pain of losing him and know how much it hurt and because I know that raw lost feeling so well I cry whenever I read about another bird dying. To lose them breaks your heart and it will hurt for a long time but it does get better. We have a poem here in our Rainbow Bridge section that someone sent to me and it really did help me cope with my loss, http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/c...Lend-Me-a-Bird

Take care of yourself and we are here for you if you need to talk about it. Big hugs to you.

[Jaspa]

I'm really sorry to hear of your loss, especially when its unexpected. I've been there and it still feels raw and I miss my little one and think of him every day. Often when I write about him or talk of him I do smile and remember the good times I had with him so you will get there - it just takes time.

[SRLDREAM]

Thank you for your response. I did love my little Pretty Bird so much and I will never ever forget him and none could ever take his place. Thankfully we took many videos of him and once I am ready, will watch them often. Right now it is just too painful.

[SRLDREAM]

Thank you so much for your response. Unfortuneately, my bird was caged most of the time because I have dogs and I was too afraid one might have hurt him. Even though he was caged he got lots and lots of attention. He was kept in the busiest living area of the home so someone was always around him talking to and petting him. I also work from home on my second floor so during my lunch and every break I would go downstairs and talk to him and love on him. I think that is one of the things that is the hardest for me is that I was home upstairs working when he passed away and I can't get it out of my mind that he was thinking "where is my mommy" when he passed. I was aware that different types of fumes and cleaning products could kill a bird so we did not use them around him.
I have many videos of my precious Pretty Bird and I am so thankful for that although I know it will be so hard to watch them. I know that one day I will see him again on the Rainbow Bridge, I know he will be waiting for me. I told him after he passed to please wait for me that I would see him again. It is nice to be able to come here and share with others who know how special our feathered friends can be. Thank you for your prayers. Mine go out to you as well!

[Pipers Mom]

So sorry to hear about your sudden loss. My Woodstock passed away this past September and I had him at the vet a week before he died. I had a power failure late August which lasted for more than 30 hours and was acting very strange for a couple of days. I did take him to the vet a couple of days later and the vet gave him a clean bill of health. The exam included blood work and gram stains and everything came back normal. When I brought him home, he perked up and started getting back to himself again. When I found him on the bottom of the cage, like you it was unexpected and I was very devastated. As mentioned by another poster, cockatiels are very intelligent animals and they do hide their illness quite well. Many of us on this network completely understand the pain you are feeling along with the emotional attachment you had with Pretty Bird. I am sending you lots of hugs and prayers.