# Parakeet- sudden death



## Joe123 (Feb 24, 2008)

What would kill the little bird. 

We did have a pet parakeet but now it gone. Only thing we did different is put a small wash towel in cage for it to sleep on and gave it cockatiel food. Could one of them killed it. It was fine one day the next day dead. We had been giving it cockatiel food for aobt month was that bad for it? It always had lots of water in waterbowl always kept plenty of food so what could happen to this little bird? It didn't act sick a tall always chirping until one evening it was found dead on the floor. It was just like it just fell off it perch and died. We wasn't home when it died due to lots of sickness in family rite now. It was kept in our childs bed room. Our child never would get it out of cage due to it wanted to bite but our child would always give it needs.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Is the room close to the kitchen...cooking with teflon coated pans at high heat gives off a fume that can kill birds...I lost a cackatiel that way  so sorry for you loss


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## JasoninMN (Feb 24, 2006)

Sometimes these things just happen. I have had birds my whole life and one thing I have learned is they can hide illness really well. Its how wild birds survive, if they look ill or weak they will be targeted by predators. When a bird goes down they go down fast and by the time you notice somethings wrong its usually to late. Its unlikely the towel or the cockatiel food had any effect. I remember when I was in 1 st grade I had a pair of parakeets. My dad and I made a nest box and they made a nest and started laying eggs. We came home from a hockey game and "blueberry" the male was dead in the nest box. A couple hours earlier he was singing away, while "lemon-lime" was sitting on their eggs.


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## melina (May 10, 2002)

Any number of things could kill a parakeet. Teflon pans, scented candles, fumes from a gas heater, room too cold. They are very hardy in some ways, but also quite fragile.


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## zookeeper16 (May 10, 2002)

If you really, really want to find out, you could take it to an avian vet for an autopsy. Put the bird in a bag in the frig until you take it in. The cost is around $45.


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## Joe123 (Feb 24, 2008)

Minelson said:


> Is the room close to the kitchen...cooking with teflon coated pans at high heat gives off a fume that can kill birds...I lost a cackatiel that way  so sorry for you loss





melina said:


> Any number of things could kill a parakeet. Teflon pans, scented candles, fumes from a gas heater, room too cold. They are very hardy in some ways, but also quite fragile.




Minelson the room is close to the kitchen but I wouldn't think it is the things we cook because we have been cooking with the same pots ever since got the little bird. 

melina we never use any scented candles or anything of that source here. 


zookeeper16 We don't have no small bird vet around a tall we live in a small town lucky to have a vet to take care of cattle or cats. 

We are being to think it may have been the cloth in the cage due to it was ripped up pretty fire. It was very stringey in lots of ways. You all wouldn't think it be the cockatiel food would you? Trying to narrow it down so if get another one before xmas we know what might had happened to the other. The place is so lonely without our little bird fussing at us or chirping at times.


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## Elizabeth (Jun 4, 2002)

I don't know why the bird died, but, if you are planning to get another one and there is even the possibility that the cockatiel food had anything to do with it, why not just plan to feed the new bird parakeet food? And don't put cloths in the cage- that eliminates two possibilities. Chances are, if those were the only two things that changed, and you don't do them again, the new bird should do okay. I hope so, anyway.


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## lasergrl (Nov 24, 2007)

if the bird was close to 7 years old could have been cancer. Very common in that age group. Some just die, others stop eating, many present with lameness in one leg from pressure on a nerve due to abdominal tumor.


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## vquinn2 (Feb 2, 2008)

We had a parakeet in a cage by the window. We cleaned the windows with windex, te next morning the bird was dead. We assumed it was the windex??? Just a thought
Sorry about your loss. You don't realize how much a part of the family "music" they are until they're gone :


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## Rouen (Aug 19, 2004)

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/topten.html

as JasoninMN said, your bird was probly sick for a while, birds hide illness extremely well, up until about an hour or two before death and by then it's far too late. and some things, like bleach, can kill a bird in under an hour.


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## SageLady (Jun 10, 2008)

We lost two parakeets suddenly, but they were both pretty old. One died a couple months after the first one the female died. I believe the male then died of a broken heart.

Did you have one of those things in the cage that the parakeets rub their beaks on? I forget what they are called, but they keep the beak from overgrowing. When I was a child I had a parakeet and my parents didn't know that it needed one, the beak grew over the bird's mouth where he couldn't eat. The poor thing died from starvation. My parents didn't realize this until someone pointed it out to them. 

I think you should feed the next bird parakeet food and no cloth in the cage. It could of had a strong scent on it from your laundry soap. Make sure it has a beak scratcher thing, safe parakeet toys bought from the store, and paper on the bottom of the cage specifically made for birds to use. My parakeet loved having the little mirror in his cage with the bell. He loved to sing to himself in the mirror and shake the little bell. I bought all of his cage stuff at Walmart for cheap. He was such a joy to have in the house.


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## Joe123 (Feb 24, 2008)

SageLady said:


> We lost two parakeets suddenly, but they were both pretty old. One died a couple months after the first one the female died. I believe the male then died of a broken heart.
> 
> Did you have one of those things in the cage that the parakeets rub their beaks on? Yes we sure did. Isn't it called a cuddlebone?
> I think you should feed the next bird parakeet food and no cloth in the cage. I agree 100% dearly on that one. On the little parakeet we had it had some toys with mirrors on it which it enjoyed a lot.





lasergrl said:


> if the bird was close to 7 years old could have been cancer. Very common in that age group. Some just die, others stop eating, many present with lameness in one leg from pressure on a nerve due to abdominal tumor.


lasergrl the little parakeet we had I believe was like only 2 yrs old or maybe just a little younger it still a very young bird. That is why we are still in shock to have lost it at this age unless it had to do with the cloth in it's cage or food. 

Elizabeth When we get another new parakeet we will this time get 2 instead of one to keep it more company too. We will only for now on get parakeet food for it to eat and the cloths will stay away from the cages. 

Rouen I don't think the little parakeet was sick because it would eat like a little pig, never sit on the perch with it's eyes closed it was always moving around in the cage and would yell at us lots of times. THat is why we are still in shock of it dying.. but you did bring something up about bleach. I do recall us mopping all the floors in the house with bleach water but can't remember if it was the day before the little bird died. 

Let me ask you this. If we do mop our floors again with blench water should we do one room at time then move the little bird into another room while the floor is drying? 

Rouen
as JasoninMN said, your bird was probly sick for a while, birds hide illness extremely well, up until about an hour or two before death and by then it's far too late. and some things, like bleach, can kill a bird in under an hour.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for any or all help you all can give. We are trying to narrow everything down to make it more safer for the next time we get another bird. This place is just to lonely without a noise from a bird. A bird makes our home feel like being outdoors all the time.


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## silentcrow (Mar 15, 2005)

Joe123 said:


> Minelson the room is close to the kitchen but I wouldn't think it is the things we cook because we have been cooking with the same pots ever since got the little bird.
> 
> melina we never use any scented candles or anything of that source here.
> 
> ...


It very well could have been the cloth. If your bird ate the material, it could have caused an impaction in the crop or elsewhere. If it was impacted, no food would move through and those little birds can starve very fast...I think within 12 hours. My little guys are kept away from cloth (and paper) as much as possible. I do use "fleece" (that polyester stuff) to cover the cage, but they rarely try to chew it since they have toys and such to occupy them.


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