Button's dilemma

Button is my first lutino cockatiel. She was hatched on May 16 2002. She will be 13 years old. This is not especially old for a cockatiel. I've read they can live to 25 to even 30 years of age. Fancy variety breeds such as lutinos do not live as long.
Through the years Button has had a bunch of different health issues. I do think it is because she is a lutino (albino). She's a feather picker and tends to get yeast infections. The latest health problem is I noticed she wasn't able to fly. I thought perhaps she banged into something and injured her wings. I took her to the vet, she had x-rays and a dose of metacam (pain reliever) But the problem still existed. Then, I noticed a nod on her head like a wart. I took her back to vet and the vet found that in addition, that  her uropygial gland was huge and missing it's wick feather (This is the preening gland which is important to keep the feathers oiled and cleaned)
As instructed, I gave her antibiotics fora possible  infection, put warm compresses on her head to hopefully open up the little cyst on her head but for some reason the hot water from the cloth caused the skin to pull apart and she would bleed. I can not figure out why this would happen-no scrubbing or anything else would make this happen. Just the light pressure caused the area to bleed and pull apart. The same thing happened with the preening gland. I would gently press it as instructed because it might have been clogged with wax but instead it would bleed and the feather base would bleed too. The gland got bigger instead of smaller.
This was most distressing. And alarming.
I read in my bird vet books that it is not uncommon for 'older birds of especially of the variety strain" of cockatiels to develop cancer.-especially on the uropygial gland.This makes me nervous.
If it is just a major "clog" in the duct she will need an operation -which is very risky for birds.
Either way I am worried.
She has been quiet and sleeping alot.
Tomorrow she has a vet appointment. One can only hope...

home improvement avalanche part 2

I'm just about finished with what I planned to do for indoor home improvements for right now. I am just waiting on a pair of roman curtain blinds I ordered through JCPenny for the bedroom in which I will install.
The kitchen needs a major over hall but funds are limited right now. Even if I "Mac and Myer" it and do 99% of the work myself it will still be costly so I will wait on that for now.And, with every project you think you are only going to spend X amount of money and it ALWAYS turns out to be XXX amount of money. Always.
In the meantime, I decided that the front of the house outside needed some cleaning up. Most of the landscape stones have disappeared and the bushes looked like Phyllis Diller's hair (see above)
 The rose "bushes" were dried up sticks. Weeds over took the walk way. All of this is low cost fix-ups. It's mostly manual labor.
I bought eighteen 50 pound bags of stones. I had to make two trips to Home depot because of the weight of the stones in my car. That's a lot of stone you would think but it just about covered the walk way. It took me two days to trim those "Phyllis" bushes. My forearms were killing me. I feel like Popeye! Not to mention dragging those bags of stones. Ugh.. I'm still hurting.
Instead of spraying the weeds with store bought weed killer-which I was opposed to doing because of the birds and critters that visit my yard I used a home-made concoction. My mother used to use mixes like this.
1 gallon of vinegar, 16oz of epson salt and 1/4 cup of (blue) dawn in a spray bottle
I sprayed the weeds twice and it works! All of the weeds kicked the bucket. My mother used to spray her veggies in her garden with just soapy water to keep the aphids away.
It doesn't look like "home beautiful" but at least it looks cleaner. Sadly most of my border bushes died because of the harsh winter.
I have my little garden plot all churned up and cleaned up patiently waiting for the warm weather to plant my herb garden.
I am so glad it is finally MAY!

home improvement avalanche

  It was a brutal winter.
During this time being stuck in the house I decided to do some home improvement updates. As anyone knows when you start one minor project an avalanche of other things pop up that need fixing.
When the house was built the nitwits building the house bypassed laying down tile in front of the fireplace. I found tile in the basement that fit perfectly (already pre-cut) in front of the fireplace so after reading "how to" books and talking to the home depot tile guys I decided to tackle the project myself. I thought it would be easy but there is a lot involved in tiling.
After I surgically cut the crappy buckling rug in front of the fireplace I knew that I had to be committed to the project. Luckily, the plywood underneath was sound. I had to mix up and lay down thin set mortar, then lay ditrex fiber board over that, then another layer of mortar. I had to "butter board" the backs of tile with thin set laying it down carefully in a framer separated by spacers. Two days later, I had to apply the grout.
What friggin' mess.
Grout (and mortar) was everywhere.
 After carefully cleaning that up two days later I had to apply the tile sealer.
As you can see I got ambitious I did the mantle tiling as well. I had to use a different type of mortar with a polymer base for the wall.This was much more challenging because after making a first attempt using sea glass and tiles they  were sliding off the wall making a mess. I had to frantically remove them and wash them before the mortar set and try again. I then had to use a framer to hold the tiles up plus I ditched the sea glass idea and used simple cut tiles on a mesh that helped hold and line the little tiles up. I had bought a custom tile on zazzle.com of a pigeon along with colorful Mexican tiles. The arduous results came out satisfactory. Since I shitted up the carpet it was a good excuse to get new carpets.

 Here is the end result.
 (The photo makes the tiles look distorted but I assure you the tiles were spot on level! I had to use math to make it right!)
As I said, one project led to another and then another.
The old rugs upstairs were of poor quality and poorly installed. After a year of moving in the rugs were buckling so bad I was tripping on them. My mother urged me to do hardwood flooring but I am cold all the time and I like soft warm carpeting on my feet. Since I planned and ordered new plush carpeting I figured this was a good time to repaint ALL the rooms.
 In the process of painting (and yet this led into another project) I had to plaster and repair gouges and cracks on the walls and door jams. Wood putty and spackle became my friend. I had to move, organize, fix and clean up furniture to make way for the painting and carpeting.
 All this painting and carpeting forced me to clean my house thoroughly. A lot of spiders are now homeless.Let me tell you how much shit you can accumulate in a period of just ten years. I then, had to clean out the attic, basement and garage to make room to move most of the furniture and stuff in for the carpet guys to lay down the carpet.
During all of this the toilet needed repairing, which I fixed by changing the ballcock unit. This had been now the fifth toilet I repaired! We also had a broken pipe in the basement in which we tried to fix but ultimately had to call professional plumbers because it involved  cutting of pipes.

I told the carpet guys to carpet all the rooms upstairs with a bright blue carpet (For downstairs I went with a speckled grey carpet. It's "bird poop friendly color". I had initially picked a pretty lime green color but realistically decided that color would be wrecked in less than an hour))
All the rooms were to be carpeted except my shoe closet. I didn't want to empty the closet and the carpet already in there was OK.
The rooms were empty of stuff and furniture except for the bed, empty bureaus and empty book cases. When I came home to check on the progression of the carpet being laid down, the guys "confessed" to emptying my shoe closet. (!)
To my amazement I found all my shoes lined up and arranged in perfect coordination filling all four book cases. I think the guys were in total amazement with the amount and assortment of shoes. I think they  had to take a photo to show their wives/girlfriends of my collection. The head guy confessed he had "never seen so many shoes in his life".
It's a good thing I had packed up my troll collection.....

the wild pigeons of salisbury beach part 114

Here is Craow Dum.
 I hardly ever call her that.
I mostly call her "booger" or "Bust-a-move". These names mostly ascribe to her personality with affection.
She is doing wonderfully after over three and half years later since I found her half dead in a gutter.
She is the love of my life-boogers and all.
She still follows me around like a dog. As you can see she has claimed my slippers on top of the dryer.
After leaving that other poor pigeon that was so severely injured at the  vet's office I have been second guessing my decision.
Could I have done more?
The vet was pretty adamant that this poor bird would never recover and was suffering.
My husband on the other hand was not convinced, and was furious.
 Euthanasia was not an option, in his opinion.
 Let's just say we had a "marriage encounter" over the vet's decision.
I really felt shitty enough.
Really shitty .
I've never seen him so pissed.
Our birds could definitely feel the tension in the house.
When ever we spoke the birds squawked loudly and paced frantically.
"Eddie" (my fav cockatiel) kept flying to my shoulder and to my husband's shoulder making alarm sounds. The squawking was deafening.
Even Craow Dum was crying in the laundry room.
We finally sorted things out on what to do next time in regards to helping other injured pigeons in the future and peace was once again restored in our house-hold.
It has been a brutal winter for birds.
Jody had told me from her report from the Tufts wildlife clinic that in one day alone they brought in 75 owls that were injured or starved.
This is in one day.
 And these were the ones that were found and rescued.
Earlier in the season I found quite a few dead pigeons that were starved and frozen to death on the beach.
Craow Dum was lucky. She  has miraculously  survived and thrived. I guess my husband thought the same luck would befall upon that other poor frost-bitten pigeon with my "magic touch".
Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.

the wild pigeons of salisbury beach part 113

I felt a little hopeful today even though the little pigeon's condition has not improved I still felt hopeful.
 I tried various things to make him comfortable and upright. I would spend the better part of the day fussing over him making sure he was clean, fed and upright.He would peck a little at the food right in front of him but I wasn't sure he was eating anything. He had the same issue with water so I would force his mouth open to hydrate him. I would also administer meds, peas and pellets. There was always problems .He would somehow manage to get out of the wrappings (or rather entangle himself) messing himself and flipping on his back.While I was talking on the phone he nearly strangled himself in the wrappings.
Jody-the wildlife rehabber-got in touch with her vet and finagled a vet appointment for me.
 I was delighted.
Even if the prognosis was that he would be disabled so long as he could eat he could stay with me as a pet. Prior to his appointment, after an hour  of coaxing and by holding him, I got him to drink water and eat on his own.
This was another small spark of hope.
Unfortunately my hope was short lived.
The vet examined him and concluded he had spinal damage with no real chance of recovery. In addition the pigeon's lower jaw was broken. Every time I tried to open the bird's mouth to feed and administer meds was causing it to fracture more. The bird was suffering and could possibly starve to death.
My husband had a hard time accepting this and continued to believe this was not the end.He was extremely upset and refused to believe there was no chance of recovery.
Yet the bottom line was that the poor little pigeon did not go home with us.
Was this the right decision?
I do not know.
 I really do not know.
 Jody met us at the vet office and we talked.
Even with the best efforts some animals don't make it.
I think about this situation and I get so furious with the @$$holes that drive so  fast at the beach area where the pigeons reside.This poor bird was hit by a car and was left stuck in a snow bank to die.
I tried saving him.
sigh...

the wild pigeons of salisbury beach part 112

  Well, I found him downstairs in his aquarium upside down.
 He was fighting, kicking and struggling. I cleaned him up, fed him, medicated him and moved him upstairs. I devised a "sling" of soft rubber mesh as Jody recommended to keep him upright and to position his legs. He was eating and seemed A-OK. This was a major undertaking to size it correctly so his fanny and his legs had a way out. I was pretty happy with this and went off to take my shower.
 I heard my husband squawking and the pigeon managed to get out of the sling and twist it all over him. So I made three or more attempts getting it snug and positioned right.Again he yanked his way out.
He is getting stronger and more rambunctious. The final time he got out and got poop all over the place.
 Oh great.

 So I tried something else wrapping him in a bandage to keep his wings from causing him to flip over (Only one wing works) but his feet kept pushing him against the glass. This worked for all of 2 minutes.

I tried again propping him up on the towels and keeping a soft box in front so he wouldn't bang his head plus positioning his legs to stand. So far, this is working.
He eats on his own but still refuses to drink (?!)so I have to use a syringe to get water in his stomach.
His condition is improving as far as being more feisty with more movement in his legs but he still pushes off tumbling to the side upside down and his right wing doesn't work.
 I hate to say it but it reminds me of my father. Both are testy and stubborn trying to get somewhere refusing to acknowledge that something is broken and isn't functioning while fighting you to the end. You try to help and it is a major struggle.
I figured I'd call Jody's vet (again) to see if he would at least take an x-ray to know what I am dealing with. I let the vet know I had no problem  paying for the treatment  and the pigeon would stay with me to convalesce.
Still no dice.
They said the bird would have to stay with them since I am not a license rehabber and the pigeon is considered "wildlife".
This would mean they would put the bird down.
Again I walk away with a heavy heart.
I'm not sure what to do except keep doing what I am doing.

the wild pigeons of salisbury beach part 111

Well I've had the "snow plant' pigeon under my care since thursday.
There has been some improvement.
I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
"Movement" gives me "hope", but that does not mean that in the end the poor thing will make it. I do not know if he will heal despite my best efforts but we shall see.There is now movement in his legs and if I put a small cup of seed right under his beak, hold him firmly and prop him up, he will eat. When I first picked him up on thursday, there was no movement at all, and he refused to eat.
I've given him a few doses of metacam which helps with the inflammation. With this all being said, he still refuses to drink water.  I've had to stick a syringe down his throat a few times a day to hydrate him.
He can not "sit' properly. He tumbles to his side and pushes off one foot franticly causing him to either lay on his side or tumble on his back. He'll poop and then roll in it getting it all over him. He is much more feistier than he was earlier.
I had contacted Jody from Cape Ann wildlife. She no longer runs the rescue but I thought I could seek some experienced advice. I brought him over to her home this morning for a 'look/ see".
She didn't feel any fractures but she did think he had some spinal damage. This may or may not heal. Some birds she had similar to this did heal over a long time and others, did not.
She suggested devising a "sling" in order to keep the bird in a normal position in order to eat and poop properly. The sling she talked about is made out of a spongy under-rug non-slip material. I ran up to walmart to get it to construct.
In the meantime, she gave me some prophylactic meds for parasites. Flagyl for canker :1/6th a pill once a day for 7-10 days.Vetafarm wormout: one pill each day for days then again in 10 days to make sure he doesn't have yucky worms.
Right now, he is in the basement in an aquarium with a heating pad. Once he is finished with his worm meds I'll bring him upstairs and set up the sling where it will be warmer.
Jody was cautiously optimist in his recovery and suggested I call her vet again to possibly get an x-ray.
I will keep you updated on his progress-good or bad.