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Thread: Sudden Death of my Lovebird

 
  1. #1
    Junior Member
    FeBee's Avatar


    Parrots

    Lovebird

    Unhappy Sudden Death of my Lovebird

    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.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    PlaxMacaws's Avatar


    Parrots

    B&G (Jack) | MM (Maynard) - RIP | Hy (Zaf) - RIP | GW (Salsa) | NC (Bozley)
    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
    He wanted to live. He was my Heaven... He's gone!

  3. The following user likes this post:

    Dragonlady2 (09-11-2018)

  4. #3
    Senior Member
    Casper's 2nd best friend's Avatar


    Parrots

    Casper, a blue fronted Amazon. Loves banana. Hates plastic bags and red coats.
    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.
    "A busy beak is a happy beak" - David Strom

  5. The following user likes this post:

    Dragonlady2 (09-11-2018)

  6. #4
    Super Moderator
    Dragonlady2's Avatar


    Parrots

    Willy-Eclectus, Oliver-alexandrine, Mookie-Senegal, Bella- Australian King, Joey and Peewee- Barrabands, Peachiegirl-Peachfront conure, Pepper- crimson belly conure, Peanut-plum head, Babyblue-parrotlette, Harry and Louie-canaries.
    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.

  7. The following user likes this post:

    Casper's 2nd best friend (09-12-2018)

  8. #5
    Junior Member
    FeBee's Avatar


    Parrots

    Lovebird
    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.

  9. #6
    Super Moderator
    Dragonlady2's Avatar


    Parrots

    Willy-Eclectus, Oliver-alexandrine, Mookie-Senegal, Bella- Australian King, Joey and Peewee- Barrabands, Peachiegirl-Peachfront conure, Pepper- crimson belly conure, Peanut-plum head, Babyblue-parrotlette, Harry and Louie-canaries.
    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.

  10. The following user likes this post:

    Casper's 2nd best friend (09-12-2018)

  11. #7
    Junior Member
    FeBee's Avatar


    Parrots

    Lovebird
    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.

  12. #8
    Senior Member
    Casper's 2nd best friend's Avatar


    Parrots

    Casper, a blue fronted Amazon. Loves banana. Hates plastic bags and red coats.
    This was posted on "fromtheparrotsbeak blog:
    NEW HOME WANTED for female black headed caique (Massachusetts). The owner passed away. Email georgesommers@yahoo.com for details.
    "A busy beak is a happy beak" - David Strom

  13. #9
    Junior Member
    FeBee's Avatar


    Parrots

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

  14. #10
    Super Moderator
    Lady's Avatar


    Parrots

    Illiger Macaw (Primolius maracana)
    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?

  15. The following 2 users like this post:

    Casper's 2nd best friend (09-17-2018), Dragonlady2 (09-16-2018)

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