Post by Nani on Jun 22, 2012 0:27:09 GMT
Hi all,
I'm starting to feel quite overwhelmed and like a bad bird mom.
We built an aviary last summer and it only needed a few more things put in place. (Decorate with toys, finish off the roost section and a bit more final touches on the floor-I keep adding newer things) Anyways we washed the galvanized wire with vinegar and water solution and then rinsed it off.
The birds never really enjoyed it anyway because the weather just got bad and I decided to keep them inside the house and convert an extra room into a bird room. So the outside aviary 'weathered.'
I've kept them there (inside the house) during the winter months and they've been happy.
Now we are mid-June and the weather is a bit more stable so I decided to take them back outside so they can enjoy the outside weather fully. (During the Spring, I took them outside for a few hours in large enough cages so they coould catch some sun and breathe fresh air and bathe in their water bowls.)(The sun only appeared for a few hours and was -in my opinion- too cold for them to stay outside overnight)
So on Monday, we rewashed the galvanized wire with vinegar and water solution. I read online it was 1 part vinegar to 5 parts water. Then we rinsed it out again and on Tuesday, it was a beautiful sunny hot day so I took them out into the aviary. I spent most of the day with them inside-paranoid? probably.
Then back inside they went for the night. Wednesday around noon I took them out again and kept popping inside every 1.5 hours. Then at 7, I decided to put them in again and let them free in the bird room for the next few hours until bed time.
As soon as I walked in, I knew something was wrong.
Pitufo (Smurf in English) was off. He is an excellent flyer and loves flying in circles above my head just because he can and when I went to put everyone away, he didn't even fly away. Something he never does.
I picked him up and he was closing his eyes-like he was in a trance or sleepy, slow reaction time.
He is tame, but if he got a chance to fly then zooooom. He's gone.
I have separated him from the rest.
Wednesday evening/night, he didn't poop for a few hours! Around 11pm he pooped and it was water with a small speck of white. He kept pooping like this even though he was eating.
He was so quiet,something he never is. Fastforward to today, and his poops vary from large water marks with green coil stools to pure black shiny watery stools to dark reddish brown stains with minimal white.
I suspect zinc poisoning and I am just devastated.
Paquita left us just 2 weeks ago and I am still grieving her and we didn't even get a chance to save money for the vet this paycheck, we took Hunter our dog to the vet for an abnormal growth.
Anyway I've called the pet stores, bird stores and nobody even knows what gaurdian angel is, or any other supplement/medication that I have heard about so much. They have Harrisons and some other 'generic brands' and I don't know anything about Harrisons or the other brands.
I feel so sad and really just confused. I take care of all the budgies so much. I feed them veggies, pellets, seeds, fruits, clean water is changed every few hours. I clean their cages, I rotate them in the cages so they don't get too possessive of it. I make sure no drafts come in, I sing to the radio with them, I talk to them. I spend countless hours just watching them fly and play in the bird room or the few times in the aviary. I am at a loss as to what to do. What am I doing wrong? Why am I hit with these situations especially when I am in a financial bind? It took us forever to save up and then we had to use it for emergency family situation, and then Paquita fell ill. Now it's only been 2 weeks and because I haven't found work yet, and only my husband is working we struggle and we currently live paycheck to paycheck. We struggle but we live with our pets happily.
I guess I just feel upset and I worry that this pattern will continue. What if it happens again? It breaks my heart to see them sick.
Is it unfair to keep them if I currently cannot spend large amounts of money on vet bills? I thought about giving/selling them to someone who is able to fully care for them. It is really expensive here. I care, I just cannot spend over $300 every time one of them gets sick right now. $300 is about the minimum for an avian vet visit-usually not including medication. And it seems it occurs every few months. Where I live, an avian vet is like gold. No one takes payment installments, and though I save some money, it seems that another situation arises first. If circumstances were different, I wouldn't think twice.
I understand some might say, you shouldn't keep an animal if you can't care for it. I just let my emotions get the best of me when I saw them in their small cages and less than ideal homes.
I just wanted to provide them love and care.
(Sigh) I just need to see a light out of this tunnel. I ranted and rambled.....sorry.
I'm starting to feel quite overwhelmed and like a bad bird mom.
We built an aviary last summer and it only needed a few more things put in place. (Decorate with toys, finish off the roost section and a bit more final touches on the floor-I keep adding newer things) Anyways we washed the galvanized wire with vinegar and water solution and then rinsed it off.
The birds never really enjoyed it anyway because the weather just got bad and I decided to keep them inside the house and convert an extra room into a bird room. So the outside aviary 'weathered.'
I've kept them there (inside the house) during the winter months and they've been happy.
Now we are mid-June and the weather is a bit more stable so I decided to take them back outside so they can enjoy the outside weather fully. (During the Spring, I took them outside for a few hours in large enough cages so they coould catch some sun and breathe fresh air and bathe in their water bowls.)(The sun only appeared for a few hours and was -in my opinion- too cold for them to stay outside overnight)
So on Monday, we rewashed the galvanized wire with vinegar and water solution. I read online it was 1 part vinegar to 5 parts water. Then we rinsed it out again and on Tuesday, it was a beautiful sunny hot day so I took them out into the aviary. I spent most of the day with them inside-paranoid? probably.
Then back inside they went for the night. Wednesday around noon I took them out again and kept popping inside every 1.5 hours. Then at 7, I decided to put them in again and let them free in the bird room for the next few hours until bed time.
As soon as I walked in, I knew something was wrong.
Pitufo (Smurf in English) was off. He is an excellent flyer and loves flying in circles above my head just because he can and when I went to put everyone away, he didn't even fly away. Something he never does.
I picked him up and he was closing his eyes-like he was in a trance or sleepy, slow reaction time.
He is tame, but if he got a chance to fly then zooooom. He's gone.
I have separated him from the rest.
Wednesday evening/night, he didn't poop for a few hours! Around 11pm he pooped and it was water with a small speck of white. He kept pooping like this even though he was eating.
He was so quiet,something he never is. Fastforward to today, and his poops vary from large water marks with green coil stools to pure black shiny watery stools to dark reddish brown stains with minimal white.
I suspect zinc poisoning and I am just devastated.
Paquita left us just 2 weeks ago and I am still grieving her and we didn't even get a chance to save money for the vet this paycheck, we took Hunter our dog to the vet for an abnormal growth.
Anyway I've called the pet stores, bird stores and nobody even knows what gaurdian angel is, or any other supplement/medication that I have heard about so much. They have Harrisons and some other 'generic brands' and I don't know anything about Harrisons or the other brands.
I feel so sad and really just confused. I take care of all the budgies so much. I feed them veggies, pellets, seeds, fruits, clean water is changed every few hours. I clean their cages, I rotate them in the cages so they don't get too possessive of it. I make sure no drafts come in, I sing to the radio with them, I talk to them. I spend countless hours just watching them fly and play in the bird room or the few times in the aviary. I am at a loss as to what to do. What am I doing wrong? Why am I hit with these situations especially when I am in a financial bind? It took us forever to save up and then we had to use it for emergency family situation, and then Paquita fell ill. Now it's only been 2 weeks and because I haven't found work yet, and only my husband is working we struggle and we currently live paycheck to paycheck. We struggle but we live with our pets happily.
I guess I just feel upset and I worry that this pattern will continue. What if it happens again? It breaks my heart to see them sick.
Is it unfair to keep them if I currently cannot spend large amounts of money on vet bills? I thought about giving/selling them to someone who is able to fully care for them. It is really expensive here. I care, I just cannot spend over $300 every time one of them gets sick right now. $300 is about the minimum for an avian vet visit-usually not including medication. And it seems it occurs every few months. Where I live, an avian vet is like gold. No one takes payment installments, and though I save some money, it seems that another situation arises first. If circumstances were different, I wouldn't think twice.
I understand some might say, you shouldn't keep an animal if you can't care for it. I just let my emotions get the best of me when I saw them in their small cages and less than ideal homes.
I just wanted to provide them love and care.
(Sigh) I just need to see a light out of this tunnel. I ranted and rambled.....sorry.
