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

MercyA

By MercyA,
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MercyA
MercyA

I was able to come home for about a half hour to say goodbye to her. My daughter watched over her and she passed late this afternoon. Once Sunny could no longer stay upright, we tried putting her

MercyA
MercyA

I gained a gram today! I flew up to my highest perch and then flew down again to see my dad. 🙂  I wasn't so sleepy today and sat up taller on my perches!  I gave happy head shakes sever

MercyA
MercyA

Today was a good day! Sunny is no longer falling over and is able to fly. She is eating and drinking. She exhibited a lot of pleased / interactive body language today (fluffs, head shakes, tail shakes

Shoeless

Shoeless

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1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

would seed without honey be something she'd eat? I don't know about birds, but I know in humans sugar is processed by the liver (similar to alcohol) so is hard on the liver. 

It's the fat in the seeds that is problematic. Birds on primarily seed diets develop fatty liver disease 😕

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ktgrok

ktgrok

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I read somewhere that sprouted seeds are lower fat, as some of the fat energy stored in the seed is used in the growing/sprouting process, and birds that refuse other "healthy" food may eat them. You'd need to research it, but maybe an idea?

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MercyA

MercyA

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9 hours ago, ktgrok said:

would seed without honey be something she'd eat? I don't know about birds, but I know in humans sugar is processed by the liver (similar to alcohol) so is hard on the liver. 

Seeds are her main food, supplemented with greens, fruits, egg food, cuttlebone, and treats.

The new thinking is that pelleted / extruded food (basically like dog food!) is better for birds, in part because of the fatty liver disease that can result from eating a bunch of seed. In the wild birds have a greater variety of food and the pelleted food attempts to be more nutritionally complete.

The trouble is that it can be hard to get birds to accept pelleted food, especially when they are used to seed. I tried it when we adopted Sunny, but she had been eating seed (AFAIK) for four years at that point and wasn't having it. Now of course I wish I had tried harder. 

She hasn't wanted to eat her regular seed lately, so I've been trying everything possible--the treat sticks, millet sprays, fresh produce several times a day. 

I'm hoping that she will eat the pelleted food I bought, but she hasn't yet. It's not too dissimilar from her egg food, which she loves (a mixture of grains and egg). It's made for finches, so the pellets are teeny-tiny, which I think she needs.

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MercyA

MercyA

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7 hours ago, itsheresomewhere said:

You probably already did this but did you mix - bit of the old food and new food together to get her a bit more used to it? 

I put the new food in her foraging tray, a place where she can find all kinds of treats at various times. I also put other foods she is used to in the tray, but didn't mix them. I guess I am worried right now about her refusing things she will usually eat if the new food is mixed in. 

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MercyA

MercyA

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So I was very, very worried about Sunny this AM. She was sitting on the bottom of her cage, very tired, not eating much at all. She is always worse after we take her out of her cage to medicate her. It's stressful for her, although much easier than it was at the beginning. I think she understands now that we are not going to harm her.

She improved a little in the afternoon. I got a little silent chatter, some happy head shakes, and a tongue waggle out of her, and DD said she was eating her seed again. She also had some millet, treat stick, spinach, and apple. But she is not eating enough. 

The vet had told me that I could discontinue the eye drops if her eye seemed clear. I decided tonight that I am going to go ahead and do that. She is receiving oral antibiotics anyway, and I don't think the added stress is worth the tiny bit of benefit she might receive from the eye drops. She was *much* less stressed when we just gave the oral meds and not the eye drops so I'm hopeful that will help with her stress level. 

Thank you so much for your continued thoughts and prayers. 💛

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MercyA

MercyA

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My sweet Sunny is growing weaker. She is spending more time on the bottom of her cage. She lost her balance a little again yesterday. She didn't quickly fly out of my hand when I put her back in the cage today. All of these things are discouraging.

In better news, she is still eating and drinking and eliminating. And she ate some of her new pellets today, and gave an approving, happy head shake or two! 

Please pray that she will hold on long enough for the milk thistle and/or antibiotics to decrease the size of her liver and then that she will gain strength again. 

Please pray that she stays comfortable and happy and feels loved and well regardless of the outcome. 

I am thinking about whether it would be wise or unwise to take her to the vet for another gavage feeding and more fluids. It really perked her up last time, but she was stronger then. 

Thanks so much.

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Catwoman

Catwoman

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I wish I knew what to advise you about the vet— maybe you could call them and ask their opinion. 

The only reason I would lean toward getting the treatment for her today is because the weekend is coming, and it might be hard to get the help Sunny needs over the weekend if your regular vet isn’t there.

I’ll keep praying for her. 

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MercyA

MercyA

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1 hour ago, Catwoman said:

I wish I knew what to advise you about the vet— maybe you could call them and ask their opinion. 

The only reason I would lean toward getting the treatment for her today is because the weekend is coming, and it might be hard to get the help Sunny needs over the weekend if your regular vet isn’t there.

I’ll keep praying for her. 

Thank you so much, Cat.

I was going to text them and ask what they thought, but Sunny has perked up considerably since this morning. She is perching and enjoying our visits. Honestly I think the handling for the meds in the morning and evening is what wears her out so much, so I'm reluctant to subject her to more.

I think what I'll do is weigh her tonight. If her weight is holding steady, I'll keep doing what we're doing. If it's dropped even more, then I'll text the vet. They are open Saturdays until 1 PM.

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chocolate-chip chooky

chocolate-chip chooky

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@MercyA

Thinking of you and Sunny, and wishing you all the best.

In my experience, while a bird is still independently eating, there's still hope.

I understand how exhausting this all is. One moment you're feeling like she's turned a corner, and then you notice a concerning behaviour. And then she's bounced back somewhat and you have hope again. 

All the best 🌼

 

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MercyA

MercyA

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Sunny has lost another gram and is down to 26 grams. She is not eating nearly as much as she should and DD said she lost her balance once.

She is a funny little thing. I always give her the antibiotics first and then the milk thistle. Tonight I accidentally reversed the order and she gave a happy, approving head shake. She must like the taste of milk thistle better. 🙂 

She still enjoys interacting with us. She was sitting by her duck toy tonight and I said, "Oh, do you like your ducky?" and she gave me a happy little tongue waggle. And when I praised her for making it all the way up to her sleeping branch for bed, she was very pleased with herself. 

I know she very well might be and likely is in her final decline. I just texted the vet for her advice about whether to keep her home and comfortable or make the two-hour round trip for another gavage feeding and fluids. I want to do whatever is best overall for her. 

Thank you all for understanding me. I had to switch off a sad love song today because it reminded me of my canary. 😞 I know you guys get it. 

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MercyA

MercyA

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Thank you, Catwoman. It means so much to have you and others checking in.

Sunny is in decline. 😞 She is not eating much at all--just a tiny bit. She did take a little refreshing bath today. It was a sunny day and it inspired her to take a little swim. 🙂 We also played her some bird song and all of us went to visit with her frequently. I am touched by how cheerfully she responds to our company even when she is not feeling well. She made it up to her bedtime branch tonight.

She is stumbling more and experiences little tremors / jerky movements sometimes. She looks very sleepy sometimes. She does not seem to be in pain or distress.

She is supposed to be done with her antibiotic on Monday. The small hope I have is that her appetite may increase again when she is finished with it. I would say that since she has continued to decline since taking the antibiotics, that she likely has either liver disease or a liver tumor.

I'm trying to continue to stay encouraging and cheerful for sweet Sunny, because she loves happy voices and, especially, praise for how pretty / sweet / smart / good she is. 🙂            

Please pray that God will keep her comfortable and free from distress or pain until the end and that when she does pass, that it will be peaceful.

Please also pray for DD, who is having a hard time with it. 

Thank you all.

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MercyA

MercyA

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Hive aunties, please pray for Sunny's peace and comfort.

She has almost stopped eating and drinking. We gave her a little water with a syringe today and she liked that, and liked receiving her milk thistle. She fell off her sleeping branch this morning. 😞

We're going to try to give her a happy day with sunshine and lots of praise and love. 

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