Calcium - Its important.

[EdiferiousRex]

Hey guys,

Today at 12:58pm Darwin was eating his lunch of peas, mmm...He got very stiff, and fell over. No body control. He went into seizures all the way to the vet clinic, halfway there he had another huge seizure and stopped breathing. I turned on my flashers, and gunned it, (I only live 3 freeway exits away), while breathing for him. Rushed him to the surgery table in back and went to turn off my car while they intubated him. His heart rate was good, but going fast. He came back for a bit with some injections from the crash kit, but in the end he ended up going to birdy heaven 20 minutes after being revived, and while still on Oxygen.

 

Darwin probably had a few things wrong with him, but this is typical of a bird who is being malnourished, seizures, comas..They need calcium to prevent these episodes.

I just hope everyone is caring for their birds in the best possible way, and we'll be looking for another grey to welcome into our home, its very bothersome to me that Darwin was discovered too late to be saved...But its comforting to know he had the best 4 days or so of his life while he was here.

[Dave007]

<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/02/08 21:22

[Luvparrots]

Edi, I am so very, very sorry about Darwin. And yes you know in your heart that you made him happy those last days, the very best part of his life was when it counted the most. Bless your heart and you will find another grey to give a loving life. Please stick around while you are looking for your grey as this is a place for grey lovers and you are now family.

[Talon]

OMG! How awful! You are right, diet is so important to them. I always wonder if they get enough calcium, there really is no way to know without testing.

[EdiferiousRex]

There is a syrup, for pediatrics, called Calcium Glubionate. You can give it to birds at a dose of 1mg/Kg, just incase anyone has this problem, we have birds in the exam room bounce back from comas with this treatment. It was too late for Darwin though. There was probably much more wrong with him as well my dr. said.

[judygram]

Edi I am so sorry to hear of Darwin's passing and there must have been a lot more wrong with him than what you knew about but he is flying free over the Rainbow Bridge now.

 

I know his last days were happy for him and he basked in your love and there is another grey out there for you for you have much love to give.

[EdiferiousRex]

Thanks Judy. I'm not sure how to go about finding another grey though. Craigslist is, eugh...Kajiji is expensive...Yeah...Any clues?

[judygram]

Edi I see you are from Washington state, why don't you pm Janet, aka luvparrots and see where she got her grey is one idea. Another is to do a search thru www.avianbiotech.com and see what breeders are available in your state, check to see if there are any rescue organizations in your area that may have a grey available. Greys are out there, you just have to find them.

[casper]

Edi, I am so sorry to hear this news, you did all you could for Darwin, he will be in my thoughts, this is terrible.

 

I hope you do find another grey to love, I wish you lots of luck in your search for a new companion.

 

Caroline.

[Char]

Edi, the breeder I am getting my bird from this spring will have greys also. Not sure if they ship. I am going with them because their birds are vet checked, tested and immunized my the most respected avian vet in the state. Do a google search for Dr. Sam Vaughn.

 

Also the price would surely be less in this area (Kentucky) than in Washington State.

 

Of course you may wish to visit your bird or pick it up yourself so prefer to go local. I could check out the greys for you when I go to pick out my amazon.

 

It is Hilltop Aviary in Harrodsburg KY.

http://www.hilltopaviary.com/index.html

 

I just called them to ask if their Yellow Napes are getting amorous yet (they are) and turns out he has a little female Congo that was on deposit but never picked up. He also told me that every bird he has is vet checked by Dr. Vaughn every year. This is the exception in this area of the country.

 

I am in nearby town so I would help you in any way I could.

 

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/02/05 15:35

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/02/05 16:19<br><br>Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/02/05 17:15

[danmcq]

I am so sorry to hear of the loss of Darwin. What a terrible experience for anyone to go through.

 

You have my condolences.

[matt314159]

So very sorry to hear about the loss of your baby, that is so incredibly sad, and thanks for posting the message, it is indeed very important.

 

I had my education on hypocalcemia when I was reading up about my TAG's seizures (only last a few minutes)...the blood-tests ruled out hypocalcemia, and the vet thinks it's idiopathic epilepsy.

 

One thing I got from all the sources though is they need more than just calcium in their diet. In order to metabolize the calcium right, they need Vitamin D3 which they can usually only get if they're a) on a pelleted diet, or b) exposed to the rays of the sun for a couple hours a day. Even if they're in a sunny area by a window, the windows are treated and filter the light-rays they need. In that case you'd have to give them exposure to full-spectrum lighting.

 

I say all this because I think it's important to understand it needs to be more than just calcium in their diet, but several factors all working together to give them maximum health.

[matt314159]

oh and somebody mentioned craigslist...I understand the concerns about it, but at the same time, you could be saving a bird from a horrible life with an owner who doesn't want it (and probably doesn't know how to take care of it properly)....so if you're in the right situation, it could be a way to "rescue" a bird, if you will. So many people get a bird like this because they think it's cool and then don't take care of it, neglect it, get angry when it screams, etcetera.

 

I got maggie (the Epilleptic TAG mentioned above) on there...when I got to their house, she was in a cage smaller than her current travel cage, outside on a patio/carport, it was 90 degrees out, her cage had a pile of poop a couple inches high underneath where she sat, it was sad to see her like that.

 

If I could do it over again, I would in a heartbeat....though the best thing to do would have been to have bloodwork done to rule out disease...instead i just kept her quarantined at my grandparents house for a few months until i was reasonably sure she was fine....) We only started noticing the seizures about a month ago, and other than those, she is in fine health, and sweet as can be. I paid $350 to get her out of there, but price wasn't really my concern.

[LisaM]

Edi - I'm so sorry to hear this news. I know you had high hopes and more resources at your disposal than most of us when it comes to nursing a Grey in poor health back. You did everything you could and yes, you definitely provided him the best 4 days of his life. I'm sure he felt the love you had for him.

 

Re: craigslist...I got all three of my parrots through craigslist/local paper classifieds. They are wonderful parrots that just needed a new home. Some people have good reasons for finding a new home and not all of them were abused or neglected. You will often find that they weren't on the best diet ever though. That was the case with me but other than that mine have been fantastic additions to our family.

 

Good luck to you and please stay with us while you search!

 

Lisa