Update on the 3 Lovebirds that were fighting

[lemonypickett]

Well, our predictions came true. The "odd man out" lovebird that is up at the preschool building now has a big, horrible bloody wing.

At the top of his right wing he has a big open wound, which yesterday afternoon was ozing blood and still actively bleeding after being a few days old.

They did seperate him, and I guess he went to the vet. They gave him 2 medications which they are already out of. I think it was Baytril and Metacam or something like that. One for infection and one for pain.

Yesterday it seemed the bird is starting to pick the wound. It had a few seed hulls stuck to the bloody part of the wing too. The girl taking care of him was going to wash the wound yesterday before I had to leave. I feel so bad for this bird. The girl caring for him brought him home last weekend, and her cats knocked the cage over. He is probably so stressed.

I don't want to sign on to problems, but I am really starting to feel like I need to take this guy home. I don't know if they will give him up though. Even though this bird is making their life so difficult, I don't know why they want to keep him.

Well, I will keep you posted, and I will take a picture of him this afternoon if he didn't go home with the girl for the weekend.

[linda040899]

Very, very, very rarely will 3 lovebirds (especially mature ones) get along in the same cage. "Odd man out" is the eventual scenario. This lovebird is lucky he escaped with just a wing injury. He/she could have lost his/her life. If the bleeding doesn't stop soon, he could still lose his life because of too much blood loss.

If you really want this particular lovebird, perhaps a monetary (reimbursement for the vet bill, if there is one, or cash) offer might make your request to have this bird a bit more enticing. You might try explaining that, due to the personalities of lovebirds, single ones don't fare well without companionship. The very worst thing that can happen is the answer will be no.

[lemonypickett]

Those are some good suggestions.

Would I be foolish to get another lovebird that is of an unknown sex? I was thinking it could be male, and maybe the other male fought with it over the only female.

I don't want any problems at home with my precious Eddie! What do you think?

[linda040899]

Bottom line here is that this lovebird needs a safe home. If you can't keep him should you get him, do you know of anyone who could provide a good home for him? I've done that before, just to get a bird out of an extremely bad situation. :)

As for gender, I would be leaning towards hen, as most males are not that aggressive (operative word being most). Now 2 hens and one male in a cage would most likely cause the dominant hen that paired up with the male to defend what she considers to be her territory (cage). All 3 could be hens and just 2 happen to get along very well.

Eddie may or may not be receptive to lovie companionship. If he's very bonded to you, it could take him a while to warm up to anything that wears feathers, even though that bird is the same species as he is. Eddie is absolutely adorable!!

[Pips mom]

Got to admit......Eddie sure is a precious little guy! He is so adorable and such a sweet little thing. You know you could always take in the poor bird and care for him until he is well and find him a good home if him and Eddie didn't hit it off OR if he turned out to be a she. I know it's a chance you take that you'll get attached and not want to give him up, but I've always felt if I were ever to take in a bird like that temorarily, that as long I know this up front from the beginning....that this bird is not mine, then I would probably do ok with it. In fact I may be doing this with a tiel who needs a good home. The owner is moving across the country to arizona and she hasn't found a good home for him........I thought I had found one, so she never really looked, and now that home isn't looking like it will work out, so if she doesn't find a home for him in time, I am going to take him and find him a good home for her.

[lemonypickett]

What kind of precausions should I take to protect Eddie from disease? What tests should I have done to her before bringing her home?

[Mummieeva]

I would do the same tests you probably got for Eddie. Maybe talk to the vet if they feel any additional ones should be done also. I will also say even if you have to get this bird and re-home it. That would be a much better option then it staying there. I hope the owners can see the wisdom in this.



Steph

[lemonypickett]

So, after the weekend with the girl with the cats, the poor little lovie is back. And he has an e-collar on to prevent him from picking the wound.

I spoke to the girl who had him over the weekend and she is going to ask the lady who is in charge of the pre-school program if they could give him to me. I took Linda's advice and offered to pay the vet bills.

So.... I will find out today around noontime if it is a go.

Any advice on what to do? My BF's house is a ranch, so keeping the 2 birds in seperate air space will be difficult. I am thinking put the hurt one into the bedroom and keep the door closed. Eddie stays in the livingroom. What about the vet? He saw a non-avian specialist 2 times last week, so should I take him to my vet right away, or let the poor thing calm down a few days?

I guess all the blood that was all over him was from a broken blood feather. They did not pull the feather, they said that was an old practice. They used the powder instead. The wound looks a bit better, but he can still pick at the top of the wound because I think the collar is a bit too big. They made it by hand.

Is it possible that he will become a chronic feather plucker now after this incident? Could this bad habit be passed onto Eddie?

Help please!

[Triock]

Lets hope they see sense and let the bird go to you, because they are really send out all the worng messages if they decide to keep him knowing that you cant keep 3 mature lovies in the same cage, and if I am not mistaken you said this is an education center, for pre-schoolers, so they are'nt really teaching the kids good animal husbandry either :(

[lemonypickett]

I agree. Right now they have the 2 birds that get along now living in a dark back room while the injured bird is in the room with (15) 2-3 year olds.

This morning while I was up there one of the healthy birds got out and I heard screams from the other room. One of the birds had slid the cage door open and escaped. The bird while I was trying to catch it landed on a toddler who proceeded to flip out. He ran across the room trying to flick the bird off him. Then he cried after. I scooped the bird from the floor and it did not bite me, so that is a good sign. Hopefully it's injured sibling if it comes to live with me will not be aggressive either.

We'll see.... keep your fingers and wings crossed for us ;)

[LauraO]

I am happy to hear you have asked about bringing the little birdy home. It's obvious NONE of these birds should be where they are, but hopefully you can save at least one.

If you do get the bird, keeping it in another room with the door closed should be fine. I would call the vet to see what tests they ran and what they found. If they didn't do a gram stain or any blood work or testing of any kind you may want to take him/her to your vet. However, if they did some tests you can see what they found. Either way, you can have the vet send the bird's files to your vet to have them looked over.

Good Luck to you and that poor little lovebirdy

[michael]

I would have to agree neither of these three lovebirds belong in the present environment their now in. Realistically, NONE DO!... It is difficult enough for a single parent with one toddler to maintain a reasonably safe atmosphere around birds let alone several toddlers placed with three birds who's current living arrangement is proven unstable. To me, this is an education in cruelty which not only teaches children the fear of animals but also that pets are expendable whether their removed via accident or not.

I do wish you all the luck in your request for taking on the care of the "odd lovie out" as I believe this bird will ultimately die if left the current setting. This, as could easily be predicted, will likely be the result of some sort of "accident".

As to whether there's a risk Eddie may be influenced into plucking himself?....I think given the circumstances there's little risk. I say this mainly because birds will often pick at their wounds as a result of irritation caused by the healing process. Once the healing is complete the hope is that their behavior will then follow other alternatives besides tending their wounds. A 30-40 day quarantine should provide the necessary time in determining whether its safe both healthwise and behaviorally in trying out for an introduction.

Prayers for all three of these precious birds.

[lemonypickett]

****** UPDATE 6 WEEKS LATER, after rescuing this bird. I named him Marley **********

Went up to the preschool last night and it looks like the other bird (the eyering species) that had been paired up with the other bird that looked like Marley may have died.

There is only one last bird in the cage now. I feel bad for him, he looks lonely. I was wondering if they might let me take him too. I should get my head examined for even thinking that.

Linda,

Last time you were thinking that it might have been 2 females fighting for the one male. Now that we now Marley who got beat up badly was male, does that help figure out what sex the others might be? I know this is a shot in the dark, but ... any insight?

IF they wanted to find him a new home, and he was a male might he integrate with the boys ok? If a female, what trouble could that bring on?

My brain says : "say no, stay away!" but my heart was breaking looking at his sad little face.

[lemonypickett]

I just got off the phone with the girl who runs the Pre-school and she said, yes the other bird died.

It escaped from its cage over the weekend and was found dead behind a piece of furniture.

Very sad. :(

Good news for me is that they sound like they think the other bird is happy, so I do not think they will rehome him. Although that may not be the best for the bird, it sure makes my life easier. (selfish I know)

I will continue to keep an eye on him up there.

[dieflying]

this is a horrible story, and i'm really glad you could get one of them out of there. such a sad tale. i only hope the third one is taken care of now.

[Bubblelady]

Two is company, three's a crowd :) Two girl friends and I were looking for an apartment (about a hundred years ago) and found one we really liked. The landlady was firm: two girls or four girls. She absolutely refused to rent to three girls! Besides, you owe it to Marley to let him settle in before you shake things up again. And what's to guarentee that it wasn't the remaining bird who beat up on Marley in the first place? A sad but true fact of life: you can't save 'em all. :( Applies to kids, friends, relatives, birds........

[lemonypickett]

Very true.

I have an aunt who lives in New York whom just told me she has only a month remaining for living expenses. I was feeling bad for her and my mom told me: "You can not ruin your life to help her. You can not allow her to live with you and benefit from years of you working so hard. She has had every opportunity to get a job and do something to help herself. It should not now be your problem."

I guess I agree, but I still feel bad.

So.... they want to keep the last remaining bird, guess this is a non-issue (luckily).

[LoveBug12]

That's horrible! =[

[dieflying]

lemony - you sound like the most warm hearted person i've ever met (even though I haven't)! :) I really am glad that you took in that bird. it's too bad about the third, but like bubblelady said, you can't save them all, unfortunately.

on an unrelated note to that - there's a momma cat that has kittens under the home next to ours. this last summer we felt bad for them and caught a few to try to rehome - turned out we couldn't and we couldn't keep them inside with our cats, so we had to put them back outside, and two of them ended up dead on our porch. there's a new litter out there again, and as hard as it is to stay away for me, it's hard to think they may very well die soon here, it is November.

anyway, that was kind of an aside, but i'm sure a bleeding-heart for animals myself!