Sudden Death of my Lovebird

[FeBee]

My lovebird passed away suddenly a few days ago. He was 15 years, 3 months old. In recent months he was sleeping a lot and had a little trouble moving around. It looked like he had arthritis. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to see him pass away since he was older, but it happened so suddenly. He stepped out of his tent that he slept in onto the perch and fell to the floor of the cage. He was on his back and struggled to get right side up. I picked him up and put him back in the tent. He came back out on the perch, fell off again and landed on his back once more. Then he seemed to stretch out his legs and let out a squeal or scream (strange, because he wasn't very vocal) and then died. I couldn't believe what happened. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary before this and I am always checking on my birds when I am home. I had another lovebird in the past that squealed when he died. Does anyone know if this could have been a heart attack or does it signify something else? It is terrible to hear. It sounds like they are in extreme pain.
I always seem to blame myself too when my pet dies. I think there is something more I should have done or something I did that caused the death. That's just me. There was something that I was wondering if it could have contributed to his death. My other lovebird would tear up paper and put in the water dish. I would get it out as soon I saw it. Does anyone know if newspaper is toxic? I have read that it isn't, but it seems to me that it might be. Especially if laying in water. However, the other bird was doing that for a while and I did not see any issues. I miss my little guy so very much. I know he was old, but I still wasn't ready to let go. And like I said, hoping too that I didn't contribute to his death in any way.

[PlaxMacaws]

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's easy to see how much you miss your little guy. Our birds become part of us. It's thus horribly painful when we must lose them.

From your description it sounds as if your little lovebird may have experienced heart failure or a stroke. A necropsy would be the way to determine what actually happened. One of my macaws had a stroke in 2011. His screams were excruciating. He still lives with me and has developed a severe seizure disorder. He screams horribly at the onset of each seizure. All I can do is embrace him until his convulsions subside - to keep him from injuring himself. These things are so heart-wrenching :'(

Most information claims that newspaper (i.e., the standard black ink on newsprint) is not toxic. The black ink is purportedly made from safe plants. However, I am always suspicious of companies because they tend to be forever changing the materials/ingredients used to manufacture their products, usually to enhance profits. I suppose the only way to know for sure about your newspaper would be to have it lab tested for toxins.

Please hang in there. I hope you locate the new bird you're looking for :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

So sorry to hear of your loss, I hope you are giving your other lovebird a bit of extra attention as they must be feeling the loss as well.
Further to Tony's post, there has been a big change in recent years from solvent based inks and paints to water based mixes. The first evolution was not, in my experience, very successful but quality does seem to have improved. However I have not looked into what has been done or what chemicals are now added.
Black pigment in inks and paints has never been able to match the technical blackness of parrot feathers by the way.

[Dragonlady2]

So sorry for your loss. It always hurts to lose a family member/pet.
I don’t believe that newspaper would have been an issue in the death of your lovebird. I use newspaper everyday and have found it in my birds food and water.
Have you tried searching on line for lovebird breeders in your state? I will say that my parrotlet lost his mate and I struggled with the choice of getting another one or not. I decided not to because I felt that if my male parrotlet died, I would be looking for another mate for the female...and so on. As well, there was no guarantee that they would get along. My male parrotlet looked for his mate for a couple of weeks and seemed to settle, but I know the quality of his life was affected. I moved his cage close to my chair and he would sit on the perch nearest me. He has found an interest in one of my other birds and although they are not out of their cages together, the other bird will visit my parrotlet when he is out.
If you can’t find another lovebird, you might consider getting a different bird, keep it in a separate cage and maybe the sound and noise of another bird will provide comfort to your lovebird.

[FeBee]

Thank you so much for your replies. My feeling too was that his death may have been heart related and hoping it wasn't from something that could have been avoided. He was slowing down as time went on and sleeping more and more. The death just happened so suddenly though. I thought I would see more of a change in him before he passed. Although I never wanted to say goodbye. Tony - that must be so hard to see that happen to your macaw. Thank goodness you are there to comfort him. Helena - I feel better knowing that your birds put paper in the water too and nothing happened to them. I am not having much success in finding lovebirds or breeders in my area. It looks like I might have to travel to bring one home. If you have any suggestions on places/sites I can check I would greatly appreciate it. Do you know of any airlines that would let me bring a bird on board? I had a bird shipped to me once and I will never do that again. The little guy was traumatized. I will drive and pick him/her up if I need to.

[Dragonlady2]

If you type “parrot breeders Pennsylvania” in your browser, there are all kinds of breeders listed. I took a quick check on two of them and they had lovebirds.

[FeBee]

Thank you so much!!! I have been searching for hours after work every night with no success. I'm going to try that right now. :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

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[FeBee]

Thank you Jean-Pierre. I really appreciate the information!

[Lady]

Hi FeBee,
I am also sorry for your loss. I don't think anyone who loves someone can ever be ready for them to part be it human or animal. He/she surely lived a long happy life with you and your other lovebird. BTW what is the name of your lovebird?

[FeBee]

Thank you. Yes, I miss him so much. He was a sweetheart, very timid. He was so beautiful too. He was a brilliant yellow with a blue tail and orange on his face and head. I used to greet him when I came home from work with " Hey gorgeous boy". I love him so much. I've had many other losses before him and it still hurts the same. It's been a difficult year too. My boyfriend and his sister both passed away in the last couple months. I just hope there is no more loss. This year has been unbearable. My lovebird's name was the same as my online name, Fe. Or Fe Bee as I used to call him. Sky is my remaining lovebird. Still searching for a companion for him. Not having much luck.

[FeBee]

I may have found a companion for my lovebird. It may be a female. I was wondering that if they would have babies if the babies could live in the same cage as the parents. Or could there be an issue with the male bird and the young chicks?

[Dragonlady2]

That’s a very good question. Can I ask why you would want them to have babies? I am not a breeder so I have little information regarding this. Do you know how to handfeed if the babies needed to be taken from the parents?
I personally don’t think you should have more than 1 pair to a cage. Lots to think about.

[FeBee]

I don't want them to have babies, but it may happen and I am wondering if they could all live together in the same cage. I've seen pictures of many lovebirds living in the same cage together so it looks like it is possible. I just wasn't sure about babies in with parents.

[FeBee]

I have handfed before, but really don't want to do that again. I wouldn't even be able to due to my work schedule.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I have no experience but perhaps if there is no nesting facility in the cage, just perches, then they will not have the right environment to consider raising a family?

[FeBee]

Yes, that's true. I'll try to keep anything that resembles a nest out of the cage. I can't remember if I ask this before. Are there any indications that a lovebird has died from old age? Thinking about my Fe tonight especially. It was two weeks ago tonight that I lost him. I noticed that he had been sleeping more and in the past months there were times when he wasn't looking good, but then perked back up. His appetite seemed good. He was even eating an hour or so before he passed away. He came out of the cage to eat at a dish I hang on the side of the cage near a perch. He just stepped out that night from his tent onto the perch and fell to the floor. When I put him back in this tent he came back out and fell to the floor again and screamed and died. He was 15 years, 3 months and 9 days old. I noticed when he died though that his breastbone felt sharp and that's a sign that he was underweight. He ate well though. I wish I could have some peace about this. I am still blaming myself for doing or not doing something that caused his death.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

It is a survival instinct for birds to not show any weakness, they will pretend they are fit and healthy for as long as they are able. Which is why you should get your bird to a vet as soon as you can if they are not 'normal'. Old age is difficult to tell if you have not known a bird long and can also be hard to recognise if you see the bird every day because the change is so gradual. Not seeing a bird for a few months is probably the only way to tell. Just like elderly humans birds will sit around more, fluff up to keep warm and have a kip in the afternoon. Their beaks get scruffier with age as well.
We have asked several experts how long we can expect Casper to live and have never had the same answer twice. We just love him and give him as much affection as we can every day knowing that some day we will miss him horribly but also worrying about what will happen if he outlives us :)

[FeBee]

Thank you. I guess I should have taken him to the vet.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Maybe not, it probably wouldn't have made any difference and may have caused him more stress. Have you made any progress finding a new companion?

[FeBee]

Yes, he was pretty fragile. I stressed him out just getting near him. I always needed to move slowly around him. I did actually find a companion for my little guy. A tame female about 3 years old. She's in Michigan and I will be traveling there this weekend to get her. :) I hope she's going to like her new home. I feel sad taking her away from what she has known, but she has to leave no matter what. Her owner has no choice, she is moving and can't take her along.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I hope the road trip goes well, Casper enjoys journeys in the car. Make sure the cage is strapped down so it can't move if you have to brake suddenly. We also tell Casper to "hold tight" every time we get to a junction. He seems to get the message. We put his cage on a small wooden pallet to raise it up so he can see out the windows.
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[FeBee]

That's cool! :) Looks like he's enjoying the ride. Years ago we used to take the lovebirds on vacations with us. It was a blast for them and us!