I Love You Rio I Miss You So Much!

[kgilbert65]

I began this as a new post under welcome new members.

I have copied and pasted it here and added some new things.

Cant seem to edit but I guess roudy bush is not as good as I thought from a few posts on the welcome section.

My bird hated Harrisons

I am happy to have found your forum and I regret to say my joining follows a horrific and sad day this past Sunday April 13th, 2014. I purchased a baby grey from a repuatable breeder from Arizona back in June of 2006 when I lived in Phoenix. He was such a constant in my life and not a friend or family member could have a phone call with me without hearing Rio in the background and laughing at his antics and wit.

He was only 8 years old and was a dna tested male Congo African Grey named Rio.

He died suddenly this past Sunday at 12:57PM

He was fine one moment and then fell off his perch the next. I held him in my arms as he passed.

I held him and petted his head and told him I loved him and was so sorry this was happening to him. I am so blessed to have been home when the attack came and was with him when he passed.

My vet did a necropsy on him and found clean pink lungs, but an irritated pancreas and fluid around his little heart. I am having tissues for a histopathology series of tests sent to an Avian lab in Oregon to hopefully uncover more info. I am absolutely grief stricken.

He began talking at 6 months of age and was such an amazing creature, friend and companion.

The house is so quiet and I find myself getting ready to talk to him out of habit.

I am not ready to take on a new little friend as of right now but I feel getting another little friend is a must when I am ready.

I have read that greys, including the famous "Alex" are prone to heart disease no matter how balanced their diet is and this scares me as I never want to go through this again.

Rio was only 8 and should have outlived me as I am now 49.

I know I can never replace him but I also know I want a grey in my life and Rio would not want me to live without one simply because he was gone. I hope the tests can uncover something that I can use in the future to help avoid another heart issue with my next grey.

I realize nothing is guaranteed but 8 years old is so young in my opinion for a bird to die when he was well cared for and lived in a safe, non toxic environment. I have been through all the stages of grief since Sunday and today I can smile a little when I see pics and videos of him. I know time will make things easier and seeing his cage in the garage is heart wrenching. His little body is wrapped up and in my garage freezer awaiting cremation next week. Has anyone experienced this or have any thoughts on greys passing suddenly when there are no signs up until then?

He is the only parrot I have ever owned and the only bird in the house.

I fed him Roudy Bush Pellets as a staple plus a daily variance of fruits and veggies and very little seed.

The Vet said he was a little underweight when she examined his body, however she did not weigh him.

His beak was fine as were his feathers. He never exhibited any type of narotic behavior either.

I gave him broccoli, apples, bell peppers, grapes, strawberries, leafy green lettuces, baby carrots,...people food such as

salmon, chicken, cooked pasta.

Never gave him anything listed as a no no for birds. Fresh filtered clean water daily.

His cage was against a half wall in the main living room far from drafts and windows.

The vet said his crop and gizzard were fine. Nothing unusual in his digestive track.

When I picked him up he was so listless and he sort of moved his head and tried to open his wings but could barely do so.

I held him in a towel upright and stroked his head and talked to him.

I have one regret...it has been 7 years since his last vet checkup and blood draw. He was on a routine

grooming schedule and his groomer always said he looked great and was at perfect weight. I failed to take

him in for regular checkups not because of money but because I believed he was young and healthy and never

ever showed any signs of anything unusual or I would have in a second. I regret not taking him each year because

perhaps they would have uncovered high cholesterol or something that could have been treated?

I know Alex the parrot was in tip top health and still died of something heart related just as sudden as Rio.

My next baby will go every 6 months to see the vet.

I will never forgive myself for not taking him as I do my dogs.

I tried Harrisons and he didnt talk to me for a week lol so I stuck with Roudy Bush as I had heard it was better than ZooPreem

and considered one of the top pelleted foods

I feed my dogs natural balance salmon and potato so I know the importance of good pet food.

I havent been able to walk near the produce section at the grocery store since he passed on Sunday as that was my first stop each time to pick things out for him

What do you recommend? I didnt think I would be wanting a new baby so soon but the void and the silence (although I know a baby needs time to talk etc.)

is heart wrenching. I know I can never have my Rio back but I can teach a new parrot many of the same things in the same tone so to help me remember my fallen friend

and teach the new bird new and unique things as well. I hope the test results uncover what caused his heart attack, stroke or sudden death.

I have recently paid a butt load on car repairs so I will have to wait a week or two to pay the 175.00 needed up front for the histo test.

The vet says I have plenty of time as the tissues are safe in formulin or something that preserves them etc.

I will pay and have her send the tissues in 2 weeks on May 2nd. From there it takes 7-10 days for my vet to get the results.

has anyone heard of such a young bird dying from heart failure? The day he passed it was a cozy snowy day and he was just relaxing on his sleep perch.

I didnt see him fall but he could only have been in that state (stuck between perch and cage bars - his sleep perch was up in the left corner) for 5 min max.

I am so thankful I was holding him when he passed. he was very listless but I hope he was aware enough to know I was holding him and loving him and crying for him.

They are so smart as you know that I can;t imagine he wasnt listening and knowing I was there with him?

I have cried like a baby and have frequently gone out to the garage to see his cage and toys. His little body is wrapped up and in a box in my garage freezer awaiting the time I take him for cremation. I have taken his bundled body out as well as the box a few times and held it sobbing like a baby. I am a 49 year old guy. I cant believe my little buddy is gone. I have his leg tag and will have my jewler sodder it together for a necklace. I hear his voice in most of my videos of my show pug pup as he was always taking part in my videos even if they were not about him, although there are plenty of those. Today is the first day since the day he passed (4-13-14) that I havent cried. I encourage anyone who has not taken their bird for a complete checkup with bloodwork etc. to do so. I will never forgive myself if the histo results show something that may have been treatable such as high cholesterol etc.

Edited April 18, 2014 by kgilbert65

[JeffNOK]

Rio was a very handsome bird. I am glad you were there to comfort and love on when he passed. I am so sad for you, and can't imagine your grief. You are in my prayers. Your experience and warning to others may encourage some owners to get their birds checked out, and lives may be saved. My CAG is not yet three, but she hasn't had full blood work--just general health checks. Maybe it's time for us to make an appointment. Thank you for your post, and I hope to see more of you here under happier circumstances.

Edited April 19, 2014 by JeffNOK

[kgilbert65]

Thanks JeffNOK. Yes please do get a full workup done. Perhaps if my boy had high cholesterol he could have taken a statin drug like we humans do?

I will talk to my vet about this more when I meet with her to go over the histo results in a couple weeks.

I hope he knew I was holding him and heard me talking to him. He was so listless but he was alive so I would like to think he knew and heard me.

That's a large source of comfort in that he did not die alone in his cage. I was home and sitting 4 feet away when he fell and I didnt even hear him fall.

He just slipped off and was caught by the small space between the sleeping perch and the cage bars so he was just sort of hanging there.

[Timbersmom]

How tragically awful for you. My heart goes out to you. I hope you are able to find answers and that you will share them when you do. Don't torment yourself with coulda, woulda shoulda's though. Like Jeff, I'm thinking of having full bloodwork done as a result of your post. I think all of us ask ourselves if we are doing enough with the diet, the vet, etc. etc. In the long run, I think the forum members do the very best they can. As several of our members can tell you, it isn't always enough. God bless!

[kgilbert65]

Thanks so much. A friend has offered me a 5 year old male that likes him but hates his wife. They offered him to me as a companion for Rio back in Jan but I declined. I didnt want to upset my boy.

Plus one was plenty and I didnt want to risk upsetting him or changing our relationship.

The offer still stands but as nice of an offer that it is, a free grey, I want a baby of my own to raise up and bond with and as I like to call it, program for my life. Plus if it is not absolutely nessesary, why pull a grey out of their home as it may really become depressed etc. I believe Rio and I had such a great relationship because I raised him and he has only had me since he left his breeders.

I was able to come see him twice a week and the breeder taught me how to properly hand feed him when I would come to visit him.

Friends say take the free bird but after raising one and losing one, I just dont feel right about a rehomed grey. Especially if he is not in danger of going to a bad home or his owners need to rehome etc. Back in Jan they knew he would have a great home as they know how I was with Rio and perhaps his wife was the one behind the suggestion.

Edited April 18, 2014 by kgilbert65

[SRSeedBurners]

Don't discount a re-homed. In my experience they usually turn out to be the best birds. I love my Grey that I got as a baby but the conure and the especially the Jardines were special birds. The Jardines touched me like no other bird has simply because she came from such a bad situation and really blossomed in our home.

 

Your friends Grey sounds almost like the perfect situation: take the Grey in your home and if he doesn't hit it off with you maybe he can go back? 5 years old is still young. No way I'd pass that up.

[katana600]

My heart is with you during your time of profound loss. I do believe Rio knew you gently lifted him from where he fell in his cage and I believe he knew and was comforted by your presence. You may or may not get the answers you seek from the tissue samples. In this hard time of loss, remember all the love and happy times even when they feel painful at first. You had so much joy with Rio that holding tight to all the happiness does help as you come to terms with the void in your life. It would be a hard choice regarding the grey offered by your friend. If the wife is rejected he may be one step away from living in the back room. Only you can answer the question of what is best for you and when. We lost two young greys and it was breathtakingly raw grief that is still tender five years later. We did rehome a little Timneh in great need and I like your screenname because she is a Gilbert too. Give yourself time to adjust to your loss. Your heart will tell you when the time is right. It is a tough call to decide whether to rehome or bring home a baby. When I lost Juno, I thought if I brought home a baby it would be easier for me. I brought home his clutchmate and it didn't help. He was my first African Grey love and there is no other in my lifetime that could come close to being a "replacement". Miss Gilbert's needs are different and she fills a different part of my heart. Thank you for joining us, I am so sorry for your loss being the catalyst to bring you to our lives, but very glad to meet you and share the love you feel for Rio.

[kgilbert65]

Thanks for your input regarding my friends bird SterlingSL. I guess I feel that the 5 year old male has a dialect based on his experiences with my friend and his wife that will remain and make him feel like theirs.

he is definately happy where he is as my buddy plays with him and the wife just doesnt handle him. He has a great home and will be safe and happy in the livingroom where their other bird, a blue and gold mccaw lives too.

In time maybe I will change my mind. I need to just be without for awhile.

[kgilbert65]

Katana600 thank you for your gentle and kind words about my Rio. My buddys bird is not in a bad situation. he is well cared for and will not be rehomed unless they were to find someone like me that they felt comfortable with.

This was my first bird, my first African Grey and I guess I will wait for a prompt on what is the right thing to do and the right time to do it. I will ask Rio for a sign when the time is right.

[katana600]

You know, that is a good point I may not have considered. Miss Gilbert came in with her own life experiences from four or more previous homes. In three years she has slowly changed to the rhythm of our home. But, what might be difficult in rehoming from a friend is the visits back and forth that would be confusing to the parrot and the emotional toll it would bring to your friendship. The important thing right now is for you to sort through your own feelings in your own time, in your own way.

[kgilbert65]

I have a question that i actually forgot to ask my vet. When they did the necropsy did they collect blood samples from the heart or other sources to be tested during the upcoming histopathology tests?

The vet tech had told me there was no blood to draw because he was kept cold in the fridge overnight before I brought him in but not frozen. I would imagine the tissue and other samples the vet collected during the necropsy included some blood to be tested for say cholesterol etc or other issues that could have effected him. Am I correct? I know from watching Dexter that blood is very vital and just being dead 24 hrs or less and kept in the fridge shouldnt have removed traces of his blood. I can ask the vet Monday.

[katana600]

The only thing I have to go on is what our vet told us when our boy Juno passed away. They said I needed to get the necropsy within twenty four hours because any longer and there is enough degradation to render the tests inconclusive. It is possible your vet could have gotten a sample but knew it was long enough not to get useful information. It took us about six weeks to get information and my mind was inconsolable, I was so afraid they were going to come back and prove something I did or didn't do was the cause of losing such a beautiful, loved little soul. It turned out not to be anything that could be diagnosed, nor prevented, and certainly never accepted and understood. The bottom line is that nothing changed our loss no matter how much information and explanation was analyzed. The heart can not be consoled with reason and logic and proof. I am so sorry you are going through this grief. One of our members, Muse recently lost her beloved Marden. She posted a graphic that explains how she feels, it is a heart with a parrot shaped hole. Honor the void left by Rio's passing. As time passes and you find ways of remembering his happy contribution to your life, this grief will fade some and you will find coping in your own way as a special tribute to the love you will always have for Rio.

[Inara]

What a heart wrenching situation that has brought you here. There are just never any words that can truly help ease the pain and feelings of loss. We can all offer, though, our heartfelt empathy and sympathy as well as a place for you to pour your heart out to others who truly understand.

 

Now is certainly not the time for you to make any decisions with regard to another bird. It is simply time for you to allow your grief to flow, and your heart to begin its journey toward eventual acceptance that your beloved companion is truly gone. It is natural that you are searching your memories, routines, etc. for any clue that Rio's death was somehow preventable. It's apparent that you gave Rio an abundance of love and excellent care and are a very conscientious steward of your beautiful companion; try to focus on that. Rio was very blessed to have had you.

 

My heart breaks for you.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Inara

[kgilbert65]

Thanks everyone. Your words have helped very much.

I took him to a pet cremetory today and will get a special little urn for him.

He passed at 12:57pm and was at the vets at 9 an the next day so i hope there was a window for some sort of blood to be collected. I will ask the vet on monday.

They said he was a little underweight and i never even noticed.

i am not sure how quick a parrot can lose weight especially if he was battling heart disease.

You are so right that its natural to want to take the blame and have the proof its something we did.

I have kept thinking maybe I got too complacent cuz he has been so healthy and the notion that CAGs live so long theres a sense of he is gonna out live me.

All my vet said was he was a little underweight not alot and he was not malnourished by any means and his pancreas was a little inflamed but it could have been post mordem

and his lungs were clear and pink and his heart had some fluid around it.

I am hoping the histo sheds some light on something genetic or something recent

I still cant grasp how such a young bird could just go so suddenly

He was active and talking sat then sun a bit quiet in the am and then BAM

I know it wont bring him back but knowing details surrounding a heart attack or stroke will help me to move forward.

Im stunned how many reports ive found and read on the internet from people whose birds have died the same way and young ones like Rio as well.

I am big on feeding quality pet food and my 3 dogs get blue buffalo grain free salmon

and Im horrified to read that roudy bush is mostly corn.

Outside of Harrisons there doesnt seem to be any other quality pellets.

Hearing he was a bit underweight plus roudy bush makes me feel like i didnt give him the nutrition he needed even though he ate fruits nuts veggies and safe people food as well.

[kgilbert65]

Forgot to add ive read the label of roudy bush just shocked to hear its not the best food

i couldnt tell you what harrisons is made of either.

Rio hated it and i bought into roudy bush being one of the next best pelleted foods.

[judygram]

I am so sorry for your loss of Rio and in time it will ease but just focus on the memories of happier times you two had together, one day you will bring another one into your life to love, not to replace Rio but because you have much love to give.

[kgilbert65]

Thanks again to all for such a warm welcome to your forum and such kind and loving words of support.

I had my little buddy cremated yesterday and will be picking up his asjes tomorrow. I will be searching for just the right urn to honor him.

I know it is just his body, the vehicle that housed his spirit while here on earth, a spirit that is now free to fly and play with other birds and animals and watch over me.

What do all of you feed you CAG's as far as pellets go?

As mentioned I was feeding Rio roudy bush at the appropriate size for a CAG. I also gave him a host of safe people foods and veggies and fruits and very little seed.

I wish I had stuck with the Harrisons but he refused to eat it and even stopped talking or whistling for 2 weeks after I tried to force him to eat them.

I have looked at the ingredients of Roudy Bush and Zupreem and they are corn based as the firsts set of ingrediants.

I guess when the time comes that I do get a new freshly weaned baby I can start him on Harrisions in the first place. My dogs all eat a mix of Natural Balance salmon and Blue Buffalo Salmon so

I am all about the best holistic non grain foods for my dogs and always thought the roudy bush was almost an equivelant type of bird food, just under the quality of harrisons.

 

I gave Rio apples, baby carrots, red and green leafy romaine lettuce, strawberries, mangos, green, yellow and red bell peppers, red and green grapes, cooked pieces of salmon and chicken (maybe once a month) plus some of my cooked pasta. I pretty much gave him everything other than avacados, onions, chocolate or of course any type of alcohol. I ran out of pellets during the final 4 to 5 days of his life so I was giving him a host of other items as the store in my area was out of the small and medium sized roudy bush pellets.

[katana600]

Our vets and breeders recommend Roudybush as well as Harrison's. We just happened to have a parrot who liked the Harrison's better. As with you, the pellets are a small percentage of the daily diet with fresh veggies, grains and small amounts of fruit. I am not a professional, but would think an underlying illness was more likely to have caused Rio to be slightly underweight rather than his diet. When ours were sick, yes they did lose a large percentage of body weight in a very short time. I believe it was the words of Maya Angelou that gave me a measure of comfort when I was trying to make sense of what I must have done wrong to lose my beloved Juno. "We did what we knew. When we knew better, we did better." That may not be exactly her quote, it is what makes sense to me. Your pain is from a genuine love and caring for a dependent you thought would outlive you. You were obviously involved, caring and a good steward of the gift of nature in your life.

[kgilbert65]

Thanks Katana600 and I am sorry for your loss of Juno. I am doing much better the past 2 days with my grief. I am sad but the grief is lifting and I am focusing more on the good times with him. I am so glad I joined your forum and am sorry I wasnt a member during Rio's 8 years on earth. The people who have reached out to me such as yourself and several others have made a world of difference in my going through the process.

I trust all of your words and know I did nothing to cause his death. I came on here to pour my heart out to fellow CAG keepers and did not hold anything back, for better or for worse about my feeding and care of Rio.

As mentioned many times I will always kick myself for not taking him for a yearly well bird exam and bloodwor like I do my 3 dogs. I will never know if something could have been detected and medication applied to remedy something like high cholesterol. I am in pretty good shape at 49 and have been taking a statin since 2000 which has controlled my high cholesterol. Animals in our care have no say over what we feed them and what sort of medical care they receive. It is our responsibility to feed them properly and provide medical care both preventive and reactive and if we cannot do that for them then we have no right to have them in our homes.

Rio's birthday is next month. It would have been his 8th. I wil post some pics of various times on his life including his just out of the egg days. He looked like a little dinosaur lol

I have a 14 month old pug puppy who I have been videoing since I brought him home in April of 2013 and every vudeo made inside has the Rio Peanut Gallery in the background or a cameo of Rio himself in it. I never knew how happy I would be to have that one day. He had at least a 100 word vocab plus dozens of sounds. As we all know greys will often blurt out a montage of sounds and words each morning to say hi to their flock however Rio would only use a few words in exact context while bever just blurting them out. I know for sure he knew their meaning.

Here are a few:

 

I was very sad when I lost my dad, lost a job and was very down a few days due to each event. Rio found the right moment as I was either walking by his cage or holding him to say...."It's Ok Buddy"

I believe he only said that a handful of times and each time ot was at the right and appropriate moment. He also used to say I love you at certain times and not just randomly. When I would leave the house I would say "Goodbye Be Good" and everytime he would see me getting ready to leave and head out the door he would say "Goodbye Be Good"

He called the dogs by name and would tell them to settle down or get in their crates without my needing too when they acted up.

CAG's are not just little tape recorders. They are intelligent creatures who can communicate with us and I only wish they had a way to tell us if they dont feel good and need medical attention.

[katana600]

Thanks for sticking with us and for passing along information that will enhance our appreciation of our own companions. Your raw grief is a testament to the energy and efforts you put into giving Rio a charmed life with you. Thank you for caring about Juno too. I visited him with his breeders until he could come home. He was in our home less than eight weeks and his eyes never had time to change color when he was stricken with PDD. We took in his brother Kopi and he succumbed from the same illness a few months later. In my adult life I could have counted on one hand the number of times I cried before those losses. It changed something deep in my soul to be close to the exquisite creature that is the African Grey. Once your heart has been touched, the world has more of everything good. Five years has not erased the gravity of our loss but it has allowed a greater gift of perspective and substance to everyday life. We would love to have you stay with us, share your celebration of Rio's life and come through your grieving to share our greys for a time as you heal.

[Greywings]

I may know what happened here as death is very sudden a normal appearing bird just falls dead off your arm, when posted the only visible clue is the fluid around the heart you mentioned. This affects mostly old world birds please don't blame the pellets even though I am not a pellet fan. There is no way you could have know there was anything wrong so don't blame your self either. It took years before science and observation including nocturnal cameras in aviaries that were loosing numbers of birds to this unknown disease was isolated. The only good news is it is not contagious from bird to bird only through the ingestion of an affected roach or foods/water it has contaminated. More people need to know about this one as I had no idea until my friends bird died so suddenly and she has a clean house. Tests are not always conclusive with this disease but the suddenness and the fluid are big clues, the bird that died showed only the little bit of fluid in the Myocardium no lung damage. Losing Rio so suddenly when everything seems well is bewildering but he was spared the suffering that goes with a lingering illness. My heart is sorrow filled for your loss.

www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/sarcocystosis.html‎

No, it causes deaths in a much more insidious fashion. ... The opossum consumes these birds as normal prey items. ... sheds the parasite in the feces, it may be mechanically transported by cockroaches or flies that have visited opossum droppings. If these ... Cockatoos, in particular, seem to enjoy catching and eating bugs. continued on the link

http://pethealing.org/Newsletter/wedbird3.htm

Edited April 21, 2014 by Greywings

[kgilbert65]

So you think something he ate was possibly contaminated by bugs prior to his ingesting it? On Friday and Saturday he ate veggies and fruits from the fridge that were washed.

I gave him apples, broccoli, red, yellow and green bell peppers as well as leafy red and green romaine lettuce. He also was chatting up a storm on Saturday, the day before he died.

If it was this horrible disease hopefully something will show in the lab tests. Thanks for your kind words Greywings.

Edited April 21, 2014 by kgilbert65

[kgilbert65]

Thanks Katana600

[Greywings]

I am fairly certain it takes more time than just a few days to build up the toxins to a fatal level, that is one of the reasons this disease is so hard to deal with. You just have no idea that there is anything wrong and I do believe they don't either, I wish you healing.

[kgilbert65]

Thanks Greywings...do you think the upcoming Histopathology tests would uncover such a disease if he had it?