How do you know when the end is near?

[jenny999]

My bf has a 20 year old dusky. He's had her since she was a baby, and she has always been a healthy, loud, and crazy bird. She recently got her beak trimmed (about 2 weeks ago) and they trimmed a little too much off the bottom for some reason. Since then, she hasn't been able to open seeds or eat anything crunchy. She has been very quiet since then as well, and even vomited a few times (not the way she does as if she were feeding young, the undigested seeds actually came up and out). The guy at Parrot of the World (Marc Marone) said she was looking very old, and that she'll seem fine one day then on the bottom of her cage the next. Other than the few symptoms mentioned above, she doesn't seem thin or sickly.

Is there a way to tell if the end is near? If so we'd like to prepare (mentally). We know it will be likely in the next 5 years or so. Her recent uncharacteristic behavior is getting my bf very worried and stressed out.

[pchela]

These birds can possibly live 35+ years so I don't know that I'd trust the guy who told you she was looking old. What is she being offered to eat other than seeds and stuff she has to crack open? I hope she isn't starving because of the beak damage. There is really never any reason to have beaks trimmed unless they have some kind of condition such as scissor beak. Anyway, the sitting on the bottom of the cage and the change in behavior are not good signs and I would suggest a trip to the vet for some blood work. My suspicion is that she isn't eating properly or getting enough to eat because of the beak issue but I'm no expert, this is just a guess.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I had the same thoughts as pchela. FWIW.

[jenny999]

My bf told me she is now (within the last few days) able to open seeds, and she seems to be eating fine but not as much. Attached is a picture of her today, she has been super quiet, and she is squinting her eyes a lot and fluffing her feathers. BF said he doesn't weigh her regularly so he doesn't know if she's lost weight. He's taking her to the vet tomorrow.

[pchela]

Duskys are such sweet birds. I will hope for the best for her.

[jenny999]

For the last week, she suffered with a lame leg, no vocalizations, sleeping all the time, liquid droppings, fluffed feathers, vomiting, and even going to the bottom of her cage. She had an xray, blood test, and stool sample taken at the vet, now she's on 3 medicines. Apparently she has a kidney infection. They thought it was a tumor but it didn't show up on the xray. She's actually on the mend today. She's flying more, starting to vocalize again and she's keeping her eyes open. So we think she'll recover because it was caught in time.

[Kim S]

Thats good news. And another example for all of us; if theres something you dont trust: go to the vet!

I'll keep you and your dusky in my thoughts. I hope she recovers soon.

[GooseBlossom]

Excellent news! I hope that the meds will be effective and the recovery for the baby soon.

[kellybird]

that is great new Jenny, I could tell from the picture he didn't look that good but that might have been a bad pic. I am so glad he is doing better already. If you don't mind me asking I have never HAD to take my birds to the vet before and I was just wondering what kinds of costs were involved with your bird. I would like myself to be prepared for that when the time comes. What to the test and meds run?? Thanks and you can email me privately if you don't feel comfortable saying on here.

[jenny999]

It's my bf's bird so he's paying for it and I'm not sure of the costs. I'll ask him and email you. The vet is on the island in Nassau Co. (we're in Queens).

Unfortunately, though, she started vomiting again more than ever, and couldn't even hold down water. She's back at the vet now, they have her in an incubator and giving her injected meds. She's been there 24 hours with no improvement. Apparently, the first dose of injected meds perked her up so we thought she was getting better, but the kidney infection hasn't healed. It's very very sad to see an animal suffer.