I have had a pair of Yellow Nape Amazons for almost 8.5 years now (Kim R, Its kinda ironic you mentioned the yellow napes in my thread about my beloved Rasta.). They were both given to me by owners that couldnt care for them any longer. Both pretty sweet birds. Well, two Saturdays ago, my female had laid her very first egg. I had seperated her from her mate 3 weeks prior because he was being too much of a brat to her (I guess I know why now). Well, the folowing Tuesday she was bright and cheery, as always. Wednesday she didnt look quite right so I took her to the vet.
The vet told me that she did have another egg in there, but she thought Huey could pass it, and gave her a calcium and an oxytocin shot, as well as taking blood to be sent in just to be safe. 4 hours later, Huey still did not look well (worse, if anything) and so I took her back. She ended up having surgery at 10:00 Wed night. Thursday afternoon she had a second surgery to remove the eggshell as she still had not been able to pass it. I went to visit Huey again yesterday, and boy did she look bad Today is basically her last hope day. The vet does not want to give up on her, she didnt feel yesterday that she was ready to put her down. I am happy for that as I REALLY dont want to do that. But she did say if Huey was still looking like that today, she was going to do exploratory surgery to see if she could "clean up" anything in there that could be causing the problems. She also said that she wouldnt do this unless it was Huey's last hope, as she may not make it through surgery. I am just DYING inside. I cant believe I may be losing another bird so soon. I just dont know how I am going to deal with this if Huey does die.

I am so sorry you are faced with yet another animal crisis when you haven't even had time to cope with the loss of your Rasta. Keep in mind, though, that you are doing everything you possibly can for Huey and the rest is up to God. This is nothing that you could have prevented. Birds become eggbound, it happens, and sometimes it can even happen if they aren't in with a mate, so you can't blame yourself at all. It is obvious that you go to great lengths for your animals, and I truly hope that your Huey can overcome this. I also hope that her mate is doing okay in her abscence...I know it can be stressful for him, too. Please keep us updated on Huey and how she progresses...I am praying for her..and you.
Kim

Well, I did end up going back again today. I brought Huey home, unfortunately she did not make it. I was about 2 exits away from the vet when I got the call that she crashed and they tried to revive her and couldnt. I told them I would be there in just a few minutes, so we could talk about everything then. I am SO glad I went to visit yesterday, I know I would really be kicking myself now if I hadn't.
Yesterday she looked so bad, I just knew then I wouldnt see her alive again. When she saw me, her eyes opened up, I know she knew I was there but she didnt respond like she would have if she was feeling good. They had some veggies in for her, and I handed her a pea. She took it and tried to eat it, but was just so weak she could barely finish it. I knew that wasnt a good sign, but I was just so hoping she could pull out of it. The vet didnt want to give up on her, so I told her - do what you think needs to be done. I told her that from day 1. My main concern is to get back a live healthy bird at the end, do what you need to. Many xrays, barium xrays, bloodwork and surgery, medicating, gavage feeding, etc etc, and she still just couldnt hang on. I just cant believe it happened. She didnt even look bad Wed when I first took her in. I feel just awful that she had to go through all that. Everyone there was sad about it. She was such a sweet bird and so full of love. I will miss her greatly, for sure.
So the vet did a necropsy, and I waited so I could take her back home. She said that some yolk contents had leaked into her abdomen, so that is what ultimately caused her death. It just feels so awful. I wonder if Huey was doomed from the beginning, or if it was just bad luck or what. I know that the vet did everything she could. My friend (who is a board cert avian vet) talked with me on Friday (he is 7 hours away) and said he would have done exactly the same thing. So I guess I'll just have to try and take comfort in that. Doesnt make it any easier, but at least I know that everyone tried.
Today when we got back, I saved a few feathers from my girl, took her to the aviary and let her mate know she was gone. I dont know if they understand that or not, but I felt I had to try somehow to let him know I didnt just take her away. She is buried now with my other lost feathered ones.
Thank you all for your support, prayers and all the kind words, for Huey and for Rasta. It really does mean a lot to me that you could extend your kindness to someone you dont know.

I just wanted to say how sorry I am. When I read your original posts about Rasta I couldn't begin to imagine what that must have been like-- I was horrified enough just reading the account. I'm so sorry you lost another. I hope you can continue to remember that you did everything you did out of love for Huey-- if you'd known that all of the effort that went into saving her wouldn't work, then I'm sure you wouldn't have put her through it; but there was no way at all to know that. Instead you did everything you could to give her a chance, and there are a lot of people out there who wouldn't have bothered (for whatever reason). I'm at a loss as to what else to say given everything you've been through lately.

Megan

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I lost a feathered one last month and know how hard it is. Some people don't understnad that you can get attached to a bird. have 12 and find that some are more affectionate than my dog. I have a Cherry head conure who is like my mate and he treats me as I am his. My dog was a hard loss 3 weeks ago. I am not looking forward to TJ's passing, hopefully it will wait many years.

Please take care and take some comfort in the fact that Huey is now flying free waiting for you on th other side. But if your like me, landing on your shoulder would be the only comfort right now.

PAtti

Thanks Megan and Patti. It has been tough, for sure! With Huey, I think it has been somewhat easier to deal with because I knew from the start that it was a possibility. Rasta was just such a shock, and so absolutely horrific to go through. I dont know if I will ever be able to get past that. I sure didnt think Huey would die when I took her in that first day, but I knew the chance was there. I just *knew* on Monday when I saw her that was it. Im glad I saw her, I just hope she knows that we were trying to save her. Its just SO quiet in the aviary without her. She was such a talented talker. Her voice will surely be missed.
Patti, Im sorry to hear about your losses too It sure never gets easier, that much is for sure. I think about the critters I have, and at times like this I dont know how I will cope. 19 more heartaches? But of course, I cant pass them onto anyone else! Hopefully this will be it for a long while. I just worry because so many of my guys are the same age.

Birdlover, I'm so sorry! It is so hard to lose a parrot! My Dusky Conure drowned last June at age 16. It's been the most emotionally difficult thing I've ever had to deal with.

My thoughts are with you.

I never owned a bird but they seem like such great pets. Your birdies sound like they were gentle souls.

Bird Girl, Im so sorry to hear about your Dusky Conure They are such cute birds! I lost a ##atiel that way when I was younger. She was a baby from a pair my sister and I shared. We had them on a playstand, and my sister had left the toilet seat up... and we were away when she flew over there and fell in. I was so shocked and heartbroken over that. I was in highschool at the time and my friends laughed about it.
Tootsie, it is just amazing the relationship you can have with birds. They are just so special (so are all other critters too, no doubt). My birds are gentle souls, for sure. Well, maybe not all of them, I have a few that are pretty firey

Today I was walking downtown and saw a man with a big birdie just perched on his shoulder right in the middle of downtown people traffic! I'm not an expert on birds at all so please forgive me, but his bird seemed like a large parot of some type. It was so cute and funny. It just hung out on his owner's shoulder without a care in the world, it looked like such a nice little bird. I overhead the man say that his bird was 18 years old.

It made me think of you guys.

Aww Tootsie, thanks for thinking of us when you saw that birdie I used to do that with my boy Rasta. Oh he was just the BEST. I wouldnt take my birds out in public now though, it can be really dangerous. Even if their wings are clipped, they can still fly sometimes if the breeze is right. I had a friend that almost lost his Macaw that way. Fortunately I was able to catch him! Its amazing how loyal birds can be (different than a dog, but still loyal). My Rasta used to follow me around my parents' house. He'd fly downstaris when I went down and watch whatever I was doing. When I'd go back up, he'd hop up the steps. That was SO funny! I dont know why he didnt just fly back up. I stopped taking him outside once I decided not to clip his wings. I just couldnt do it to him - he was so much happier that way and I couldnt help but do whatever he wanted. I really miss that little guy. I know I'll never have another as special as him