Please pray for my canary; thank you, Sunny has passed <3

[MercyA]

I am so worried about her. A few days ago, we noticed she was going to sleep a little earlier at night, before we covered the cage. She is eating, but not as well as normal. She is much quieter. She doesn't "ask" to watch her bird videos. And now today I noticed she is keeping one eye closed quite a lot. 

I feel so badly because this past week when it was sunny, I put her cage in front of the window in my daughter's room so she could see out. I did it the next day, too, even though it was rainy, and one other day. Maybe it stressed her out or chilled her. 😞  (ETA: the window wasn't open and she does have a little heater in her cage that is on all the time and she can choose to sit next to it.)

Please pray she will be alright and the vet will know what is wrong and how to treat her. 

We're keeping her room warm and she is covered for the night. 

Edited April 22, 2022 by MercyA

[Shoeless]

Oh, sweet little birdie. I"m thinking of her. ❤️

[J-rap]

I’ll pray for her!

[Terabith]

Praying!  

[wintermom]

Ah, birds are so fragile. I hope she's ok. 

[Selkie]

Oh no! I know next to nothing about canaries, but could she be molting?

[katilac]

I hope she's just a bit under the weather!

How does she 'ask' to see her bird videos? 

[Catwoman]

I’m praying for her now and I’ll keep praying later tonight and tomorrow! 

Can you take her to the vet tomorrow?

[Catwoman]

Just adding— Please don’t feel guilty about anything you did! It doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong at all!

[Katy]

I’m praying 

[MercyA]

38 minutes ago, Selkie said:

Oh no! I know next to nothing about canaries, but could she be molting?

We wondered about that. Last year when she was molting she became silent and a bit depressed. I haven't seen many dropped feathers (just a few) but some of her wing feathers are definitely growing in. 

[MercyA]

35 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

I’m praying for her now and I’ll keep praying later tonight and tomorrow! 

Can you take her to the vet tomorrow?

I will call for an appt. first thing in the morning. They open at 8 AM. My vet thankfully has bird experience.

Thank you, thank you for your prayers.

[MercyA]

44 minutes ago, katilac said:

How does she 'ask' to see her bird videos? 

Two ways! She will either complain when they are not on (she will squawk, squawk, squawk in an irritated way until we say, "Sunny, do you want your birds?," at which she trills happily) or when we ask her (when she is not complaining), she will reply with trilling or a special happy chirp. 

She also squawks to complain during commercials and if she doesn't like the particular video chosen (she doesn't like crows or other big noisy birds).

Edited March 24, 2022 by MercyA

[*****]

She sounds like a sweetie, hoping things get better for her.🙏

[Shelydon]

Hoping your little birdie is ok.

[chocolate-chip chooky]

I have no experience with canaries, but quite a bit with chickens, so who knows if this will be helpful at all.

If a chicken is closing one or both eyes it often indicates an infection, possibly in a nearby sinus or in the upper respiratory tract.

Loss of interest in treat foods is a real giveaway too if they are feeling unwell.

Chickens will hunch, and lower their heads and fluff up their feathers as well, which all communicates that they are feeling miserable.

Our chickens respond quickly to antibiotic injections, so I really hope this is a quick and easy fix for your sweet canary.

Molting can certainly cause some behavioral changes, but it wouldn't explain the eye being closed.

Good luck, Mercy. I'm so glad your vet has some bird experience.

[Spryte]

What a sweetheart, she sounds like a sweetie!

Hoping for a good update in the morning.

[Melissa Louise]

Hope the vet can help x

[Kassia]

Poor little thing.  Hope she's okay.

[Innisfree]

Hoping she's better today, or the vet can help.

[happi duck]

(hugs)

[MEmama]

Hope your birdie feels better soon! 🐤

[mommyoffive]

Sending good thoughts to your sweet bird.

[Catwoman]

I hope she’s feeling better this morning! I’m still praying for her!

[Spryte]

Checking in!

[I talk to the trees]

Adding my voice to the others! How’s little Sunny doing today? 

[happi duck]

Thinking of you! 🌞

[Jenny in Florida]

Thinking of her and of you! Please keep us posted.

[ktgrok]

Praying for her to be well, and for peace for you. I know you love her, and heck, I think we all do a little bit! Hugs!

[stephanier.1765]

I'm here too hoping to see some news on your baby. I hope all is well!

[MercyA]

Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts! I appreciate them more than you know.

I have an appointment with an avian vet in about two hours. I will need to drive a little over an hour to get there. There are few avian vets nearby and none were available today. 

She seemed fairly cheerful when she woke up today. She was "silent chattering" at us (moving her beak when we talked to her, something she does at night or when she feels the need to be quiet). I heard her peep once or twice very quietly. I've seen her do her "I am pleased" head shake several times when she saw one of us. She has preened herself and has been eating seed and drinking water, although she hasn't touched her apple. She just ate some broccoli and is pecking in her foraging tray. She is eliminating normally. She is flying okay but seems a little less active than usual.

Her eye is still bothering her and she holds it shut much of the time. I thought *maybe* I heard a clicking noise when she was breathing today, but it's definitely not a constant thing. Haven't heard it again this afternoon.

Please pray the vet will see clearly what is wrong and be able to help, and that she will not be too stressed. She doesn't like being handled.

[MEmama]

Sending well wishes to your little one this afternoon! Hopefully theres an easy prognosis and recovery.

I must say I had no idea house birds had so much personality! 

[happi duck]

@MercyA If you have time and haven't already, you might consider taking video of her closing her eye etc.  Just in case she doesn't do it for the vet.

[Catwoman]

Praying that all goes well at the vet!!!

[Kassia]

Good luck later!  That's a lot physically and emotionally for your little bird!  ❤️

[Annie G]

Hope the vet can identify any issues quickly so she doesn’t have to be handled too much.  Hugs- I’m sure it’ll be a stressful trip for you, too. 

[MercyA]

I am here and their building is under construction so they won’t let me come in with her. 😭 They did take a very thorough history over the phone though and seemed very nice.

[MercyA]

1 hour ago, happi duck said:

@MercyA If you have time and haven't already, you might consider taking video of her closing her eye etc.  Just in case she doesn't do it for the vet.

Thank you happi duck! I thought about that but she is terrified of my camera. Doesn’t matter if I try to hide it, she always seems to know.

Edited March 24, 2022 by MercyA

[MercyA]

She did well on the trip and loudly grumped at me when I Uncovered her cage to check on her. I like to see some sass when animals are not feeling well.

[MercyA]

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

Sending well wishes to your little one this afternoon! Hopefully theres an easy prognosis and recovery.

I must say I had no idea house birds had so much personality! 

We were actually surprised as well by how much personality she has! She has very specific tastes in music and in TV. She hates angry or sad voices. If my daughter is sad, she will chirp softly to comfort her. She has scolded me before when I accidentally made the dog yelp while grooming the dog. She loves to be admired and will increase the vigor of whatever she is doing while she is being praised (flying, foraging, etc.) She tries to match the notes of both music and recorded birdsong  She knows the name of a couple items in her cage. She flies to her bedtime branch when we tell her it’s time for bed. She is a little treasure.

Edited March 24, 2022 by MercyA

[Catwoman]

I hope they come out with good news for you soon! I hate it that you couldn’t go in with her!

[MercyA]

OK! She has conjunctivitis in her right eye. They are guessing it is bacterial as that is fairly common in canaries. They have prescribed anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory eyedrops. Should be a challenge to give them twice a day. Please pray for me and for her that it is not too stressful. We can add oral antibiotics later if she does not respond or if it spreads to her respiratory system.

The vet did say that bacterial infections in canaries are often secondary to something else, whether it be old age or stress or some other physical condition. She said it’s possible putting her in front of the window stressed her out or it could be from something else. Please pray it clears up completely and she goes back to eating well soon.

Vet said she looks healthy otherwise except for being a little lightweight. Said she even sang for them, which surprised me! Waiting for them to bring her out.

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by MercyA

[stephanier.1765]

2 minutes ago, MercyA said:

OK! She has conjunctivitis in her right eye. They are guessing it is bacterial as that is fairly common in canaries. They have prescribed anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory eyedrops. Should be a challenge to give them twice a day. Please pray for me and for her that it is not too stressful. We can add oral antibiotics later if she does not respond or if it spreads to her respiratory system.

The vet did say that bacterial infections in canaries are often secondary to something else, whether it be old age or stress for some other physical condition. She said it’s possible putting her in front of the window stressed her out or it could be from some thing else. Please pray it clears up completely and she goes back to eating well soon.

Vet said she looks healthy otherwise except for being a little lightweight. Said she even sang for them, which surprised me! Waiting for them to bring her out.Said she even sang for them, which surprised me! Waiting for them to bring her out.

 

That is a lot of great news. Yay! It always worries me when they say something is secondary to something else but I'm going to hope it was just the stress of being moved. It's always so guilty feeling when something we did that we thought was going to be special for them turns out to have caused them harm, but there was no way you could have known so please don't let it eat you up.

[MercyA]

Y’all, I just heard her eating some seed and cleaning off her beak. Music to my ears. [ETA: she was in her covered cage, which is why I couldn't see her.]

Edited March 24, 2022 by MercyA

[Shoeless]

I bet she perks up quickly 🙂

[Catwoman]

Thanks for the update — I’ll pray that she makes a quick recovery and that she knows you’re helping her with the eye drops.

[chocolate-chip chooky]

Oh @MercyA this is sounding so hopeful!

Personally, I love it when a vet says 'bacterial' because it means it's treatable.

Wishing sweet Sunny a speedy recovery.

Good luck with the medicating! 

[MercyA]

Thanks all. Other than my parents, my DD and DH, and one friend, most people I know IRL would think I was crazy for worrying so much about a bird and even crazier for taking her to a vet. I appreciate the understanding and support I find here.

[Terabith]

2 minutes ago, MercyA said:

Thanks all. Other than my parents, my DD and DH, and one friend, most people I know IRL would think I was crazy for worrying so much about a bird and even crazier for taking her to a vet. I appreciate the understanding and support I find here.

She sounds incredibly sweet and loving and special!

[wintermom]

6 minutes ago, MercyA said:

Thanks all. Other than my parents, my DD and DH, and one friend, most people I know IRL would think I was crazy for worrying so much about a bird and even crazier for taking her to a vet. I appreciate the understanding and support I find here.

Pets are beloved no matter the fur, feathers, scales or otherwise. They bring so much joy to our lives. It's natural that we worry about their welfare.