Bird-O-Rama

Last night our lovebird, Ricky, was behaving strangely.  He appeared to fall off his perch, and then sat silently in a corner at the bottom of his cage for almost 30 minutes.  He usually is up at the top talking and flirting with himself in his mirror.  While he was down there I noticed that he was having some breathing issues.  

Ricky in front of his mirror.

He loves his mirror but doesn't mind taking a break for the camera!

90 minutes and 27 miles later after wrong turns and construction detours, we finally made it to the vet.  The vet said that it would be smart to keep him there so they could monitor him overnight.  Luckily I said okay since early this morning he went into respiratory distress and had to be on oxygen.

They took chest X-rays to see what may have caused his episode.  On a normal X-ray, Ricky's air sacks should have been visible.  The vet said she couldn't see his which means there is probably something in his abdomen pressing into it preventing it from opening and closing.  What does this mean?  Well, unlike mammals, birds do not have a diaphragm.  Instead, air is moved in and out of the lungs through pressure changes in the air sacs, but if the sacks don't fill with air, the pressure doesn't change, and thus the bird can't breathe.  This happens to be very common in older lovebirds, and it is usually caused by an inflamed liver.  This is what happened to his mate, Lucy, and inevitably was the cause of her passing. 

Since he is so small and can't breathe on his own, a liver biopsy would certainly kill him.  They are giving him anti-inflammatories and an antibiotic incase he has an infection and to decrease the inflammation of whatever is obstructing his airflow.  If/when he comes home he will be on mandatory "cage rest".  He will not be able to climb, swing, or perch since they use too much energy and will risk elevating his breathing.  He will be in a terrarium, not a cage, to make sure his feet stay on the ground.  We will put his mirror in with him, and we will put his ball in there too so he won't be bored.

Hopefully we caught this early enough so that he will be able to come home.

Now, in other, happier bird news....

Everyday I have been checking on the nest to see if eggs had been laid.  I was getting worried that mom and dad had abandoned their nest since I hadn't seen then flying in or out since Wednesday.  This morning I took a peek, and there was one egg!!  

I am concerned because I haven't seen anyone come or go to and from the nest.  After an hour or two outside, I thought maybe my presence was keeping them away, even though they were there before the egg was in the nest.  I have been looking through the kitchen window to see if anyone has come back to the nest and haven't seen anything.  Fingers are crossed for all birds.