I apologise in advance for the long post.
A relative bought a pair of cockatiels in March of this year. Two weeks after, one of them had a seizure and sadly passed away with no one ever finding out what had happened to it. The other one seemed to thrive from this day forward, and all was okay for a while. After some time, it came to my attention that the conditions he was living in were unsuitable (small cage, unhealthy diet, appeared to be stressed from too many people and dogs nearby, cleaning/other harmful products being used nearby etc.)
I was the only one who spent time with the poor thing when I visited and tried to help as best I could. My relative fed, watered and ensured his cage was clean but no one else bothered with him apart from this really. He exhibited signs of stress (screeching and making other noises) which everyone else refused to acknowledge, he was having bouts of diarrhoea that often smelled awful. Everyone insisted he was fine, even made half-jokes about how annoying he was and they wished he would shut up and they couldn’t spend money on taking him to the vets. All of this just made me even more stressed. I spoke with my partner often about how upset the situation made me and begged him to see if we could have him instead. (We lost our rented house recently and so are staying with my partners family until we can find somewhere new). My partner managed to convince his mother to let us have the bird here. We were so excited and hopeful for him to have a better life. He has currently been with us for two weeks and has been to the vets twice, also. We haven’t slept or been able to think straight the entire time, I suffer with an anxiety and depressive disorder. We have done nothing but worry about every single symptom the cockatiel exhibits. Every time we move past one hurdle, something else happens and it’s driving us insane. On the day we bought him home, we took him to the vets for a general check and to see what was going on regarding his diarrhoea. The vet prescribed an antibiotic to be mixed with water and given for 10 days. 9 out of those 10 days his droppings actually appeared to be normal for the first time in ages, we were so relieved. However, on his last day of the course, it started all over again. On Sunday, he accidentally got out of his cage while I was changing the paper. He panicked and flew around the room, finally he settled on our bed. He ate some millet and calmed down while I sang and spoke softly to him although he was still alert. Eventually, he stepped up onto my finger and allowed me to return him to his cage. For the last 2.5 days he’s had very watery and smelly droppings again.
Could the stress of getting out have affected his digestion again somehow?
Yesterday he ate and drank a couple of times but he was so sleepy all day. We were at a loss and instantly in another panick. The avian vets we knew were reputable were fully booked for the next 7 days. We did luckily manage to find an avian vet after some more research though who were able to see us today. She made us feel much better after we spoke with her, said the bird was in good physical shape just a little underweight (possibly resulting from the diarrhoea and antibiotics). She answered all our questions, and we have to collect fecal samples over the next 5 days to do lab tests on. On the way home we both smiled because we finally felt relief again. We get home from the vets and as we are walking towards the house we notice the smell of paint fumes. My partner’s stepdad was painting one of the vehicles. Our bedroom (where the bird is housed) is directly above where he’s been working and the windows had been slightly open the whole time. We didn’t even know he was going to be using spray paint. The smell of the paint fumes were quite strong outside. The bird had already been without food and water for a couple hours due to the vet appointment being delayed. I draped my jacket over his carrier and rushed him into the house to get him back to his cage. I smelled the paint as I walked towards the front door so I have no doubt the bird did too. I feel absolutely awful if this was the wrong thing to do. I keep getting mad at myself and saying I should’ve stayed away until the fumes were gone. I was so worried that he’d been in his travel carrier for so long I wasn’t thinking straight. I shut the bedroom windows straight away. I didn’t notice any fumes or smell in the room.
Any feeling of relief I once had has been shattered. I can’t stop thinking how nothing we do will ever be good enough. My partner and I have been in tears. His family will absolutely not listen to us if we ask them to stop using these products and other dangerous aerosols. Our savings have been depleted over the last two weeks trying to give the bird a safe and happy home and yet so many things beyond our control or knowledge keep slapping us whenever we make any sort of progress. I feel horrible that we may not be able to afford yet another visit to the vet. I’m so exhausted and stressed out thinking that I’m going to wake up to find him at the bottom of the cage. My partner and I are trying our best for him but no one else will listen to us about the birds needs.
I am at my wits end, I feel defeated and I have no idea what else to do. We can’t enjoy any good moments with the bird because we are so worried about what is going to go wrong next. All we wanted to do was give this poor bird a better chance and a happier life.
Was he exposed to the paint fumes outside for long enough to be in serious danger?
When would symptoms normally appear if so?
As of right now, he’s sleeping on one of his favourite perches and seems to be ok.
I have no idea what to do nor what to expect. I really would appreciate some support, advice or kind words, I really don’t want or not need to be made to feel worse than I already do.
Also, if it’s useful at all, the cockatiel is about 6 months old. Has recently had his first moult. I realise the bird has undergone a lot of stress over the last few weeks (moving house, new cage, vet visit, medication, moult etc.), all of which could have contributed to his digestive issues. I just can’t help but be so worried. I just want to help the little guy, I adore him so much and he means so much to me.
A relative bought a pair of cockatiels in March of this year. Two weeks after, one of them had a seizure and sadly passed away with no one ever finding out what had happened to it. The other one seemed to thrive from this day forward, and all was okay for a while. After some time, it came to my attention that the conditions he was living in were unsuitable (small cage, unhealthy diet, appeared to be stressed from too many people and dogs nearby, cleaning/other harmful products being used nearby etc.)
I was the only one who spent time with the poor thing when I visited and tried to help as best I could. My relative fed, watered and ensured his cage was clean but no one else bothered with him apart from this really. He exhibited signs of stress (screeching and making other noises) which everyone else refused to acknowledge, he was having bouts of diarrhoea that often smelled awful. Everyone insisted he was fine, even made half-jokes about how annoying he was and they wished he would shut up and they couldn’t spend money on taking him to the vets. All of this just made me even more stressed. I spoke with my partner often about how upset the situation made me and begged him to see if we could have him instead. (We lost our rented house recently and so are staying with my partners family until we can find somewhere new). My partner managed to convince his mother to let us have the bird here. We were so excited and hopeful for him to have a better life. He has currently been with us for two weeks and has been to the vets twice, also. We haven’t slept or been able to think straight the entire time, I suffer with an anxiety and depressive disorder. We have done nothing but worry about every single symptom the cockatiel exhibits. Every time we move past one hurdle, something else happens and it’s driving us insane. On the day we bought him home, we took him to the vets for a general check and to see what was going on regarding his diarrhoea. The vet prescribed an antibiotic to be mixed with water and given for 10 days. 9 out of those 10 days his droppings actually appeared to be normal for the first time in ages, we were so relieved. However, on his last day of the course, it started all over again. On Sunday, he accidentally got out of his cage while I was changing the paper. He panicked and flew around the room, finally he settled on our bed. He ate some millet and calmed down while I sang and spoke softly to him although he was still alert. Eventually, he stepped up onto my finger and allowed me to return him to his cage. For the last 2.5 days he’s had very watery and smelly droppings again.
Could the stress of getting out have affected his digestion again somehow?
Yesterday he ate and drank a couple of times but he was so sleepy all day. We were at a loss and instantly in another panick. The avian vets we knew were reputable were fully booked for the next 7 days. We did luckily manage to find an avian vet after some more research though who were able to see us today. She made us feel much better after we spoke with her, said the bird was in good physical shape just a little underweight (possibly resulting from the diarrhoea and antibiotics). She answered all our questions, and we have to collect fecal samples over the next 5 days to do lab tests on. On the way home we both smiled because we finally felt relief again. We get home from the vets and as we are walking towards the house we notice the smell of paint fumes. My partner’s stepdad was painting one of the vehicles. Our bedroom (where the bird is housed) is directly above where he’s been working and the windows had been slightly open the whole time. We didn’t even know he was going to be using spray paint. The smell of the paint fumes were quite strong outside. The bird had already been without food and water for a couple hours due to the vet appointment being delayed. I draped my jacket over his carrier and rushed him into the house to get him back to his cage. I smelled the paint as I walked towards the front door so I have no doubt the bird did too. I feel absolutely awful if this was the wrong thing to do. I keep getting mad at myself and saying I should’ve stayed away until the fumes were gone. I was so worried that he’d been in his travel carrier for so long I wasn’t thinking straight. I shut the bedroom windows straight away. I didn’t notice any fumes or smell in the room.
Any feeling of relief I once had has been shattered. I can’t stop thinking how nothing we do will ever be good enough. My partner and I have been in tears. His family will absolutely not listen to us if we ask them to stop using these products and other dangerous aerosols. Our savings have been depleted over the last two weeks trying to give the bird a safe and happy home and yet so many things beyond our control or knowledge keep slapping us whenever we make any sort of progress. I feel horrible that we may not be able to afford yet another visit to the vet. I’m so exhausted and stressed out thinking that I’m going to wake up to find him at the bottom of the cage. My partner and I are trying our best for him but no one else will listen to us about the birds needs.
I am at my wits end, I feel defeated and I have no idea what else to do. We can’t enjoy any good moments with the bird because we are so worried about what is going to go wrong next. All we wanted to do was give this poor bird a better chance and a happier life.
Was he exposed to the paint fumes outside for long enough to be in serious danger?
When would symptoms normally appear if so?
As of right now, he’s sleeping on one of his favourite perches and seems to be ok.
I have no idea what to do nor what to expect. I really would appreciate some support, advice or kind words, I really don’t want or not need to be made to feel worse than I already do.
Also, if it’s useful at all, the cockatiel is about 6 months old. Has recently had his first moult. I realise the bird has undergone a lot of stress over the last few weeks (moving house, new cage, vet visit, medication, moult etc.), all of which could have contributed to his digestive issues. I just can’t help but be so worried. I just want to help the little guy, I adore him so much and he means so much to me.
