06/07/2026
This has been a tough week at Fallen Sparrow. Two of our flock members who have been battling health challenges flew to the rainbow bridge. Hermann the budgie lost his upper beak early in the year. He had been managing well with that handicap having learned to eat softened pellets and other soft foods. Then about 10 days ago he developed a growth under an eye that doubled in size each day for almost a week. The vet explained a few possible causes, and the most likely was a response to the trauma he had already experienced in losing his beak. The doctor allowed me to hold Hermann while she treated him. I gave him a dose of a strong antibiotic and a dose of an anti-inflammatory. She then cauterized the growth to relieve the pressure and cleaned the wound to remove all the pus. It looked as though Hermann experienced a moment of relief, but the stress of the procedure proved too much and he died in my hands while the doctor worked on his eye. RIP sweet Hermann.
Then there’s Jade, the golden capped conure. In early May I posted a video of him eating his chop. He seemed to have a good appetite then, though when I go back and review that video now, I can tell he had probably already lost some weight at that time. In mid-May, it was obvious he was losing weight and had begun twitching…a behavior I had seen before in a sweet parrot that passed away a couple years ago to a bacterial infection. The vet drew some blood, did a f***l exam, and ruled out a few things. He got a good tube feeding with some vitamins and electrolytes, got put on an antibiotic for good measure, and we went home knowing he was going to have to have more blood drawn for a complete blood panel if the first blood test did not reveal a problem. It didn’t, so we went back to the doctor. The blood chemistry panel revealed extremely elevated uric acid. Since Jade did not seem to have joint pain like Debbie the kakariki who has articular gout, his gout was deemed visceral, affecting the internal organs. The prognosis was not good. I tried to modify his diet to bring down the uric acid, but his appetite diminished, though he had a smorgasbord of healthy foods provided daily. I started syringe feeding him a couple times a day to try to get him nourished and hydrated. He was eagerly accepting the syringe feeding like a baby bird, so I was hopeful we were going to make it through this. Earlier this evening I returned home from a wedding, did a walk through to check on everybody, and Jade seemed fine. About an hour or two later, I was heading to the kitchen to prepare him another syringe feeding before bedtime and found him sprawled out on the cage floor. He seemed to have been seizing. I took him into another room, lay down on the bed with him on my chest as I stroked his head and tried to comfort him. I prayed and asked the Lord to heal Jade, but if that was not His plan, to please let him pass quickly and mercifully. Jade seized again and then passed away in my hands within minutes. RIP my dear Jade.
