Space heater

[LovelySydney]

the nurse called me back, gave me the bird vets line and told me to call him (i think she sensed the urgency in my voice when i talked to her this morning) and he asked me to give him a background on Luka, what she ate, where her cage was, etc. I gave him my breeders background and she even called him herself to give her background as a breeder (which I think is awesome of her) and then we came across what might be the culprit of Lukas death.

I told my vet about the space heater I used near Lukas cage. He told me to inspect it and look for burns, melted spots, etc. I didn't see any on the heater itself - but then I looked at the shelf that lukas cage was on I saw burns and melted spots on the leg, nearly halfway up. I started crying and called the vet back. He told me that the heater probably melted the plastic and caused some very dangerous fumes for Luka to inhale. He said it probably took a few days but eventually killed her, considering birds are so sensitive to smells, etc.

My mourning has begun again. I can't believe I could've been so stupid as to not check that heater or what was surrounding it. My dr. said I could still do the necropsy but he's pretty positive it was the space heater.

Well at least I know it wasn't polyoma but it doesn't make it easier considering it was completely something I did. I am glad my breeder doesn't have to shut down her aviary either.

Lesson learned I guess, although thats a tough pill to swallow:(

[dieflying]

you poor thing. :( a very good lesson though, i'm going to get up and go recheck mine after i post this. i was pretty sure it was away from everything, but i guess you can't be too careful!

don't beat up on yourself too hard. i mean, luka was still really loved and you tried your hardest to give her a good life. she knew that. and now you can be sure that the next birdy will be even safer than before.

[bookworm0550]

i'm so sorry to hear about this. i know how much you loved her in such a short amount of time.

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

ahhhh.... it's hard, isn't it, to know that so much responsibility is on our shoulders? Please remember that although we have so much control, we can't possibly know everything & sometimes things do go wrong.

I lost my Maka to carelessness on my part. (Ceiling fan accident). It hurt then & it hurts even more now to think it was preventable. I am even more careful about Sunnybirds environment because of that tough lesson with Makalii.

You loved luka. Luka loved you. Remember the tough lessons & when you're done grieving, maybe another little fid will fly into your heart.