My sister's budgie just died ? my fault

[Alma]

Hi everyone. My sister and I are new to owning budgies and her young budgie just died and I'm wondering if I may have contributed to it's death.

A couple of days back I noticed that the budgie was puffed up, had it's head tucked under it's wing and wanted to sleep. Apparently birds do sleep during the day but I had an unsettled feeling about it.

A day or two after it was a perfect, no wind, warm spring day and I suggested to my sister to put the bird out. She called up to say that the bird had died.

Also I'm wondering if it's okay to allow young children to handle budgies to get them to be comfortable with them or is this not suggested?

[ronsig]

Hi everyone. My sister and I are new to owning budgies and her young budgie just died and I'm wondering if I may have contributed to it's death.

A couple of days back I noticed that the budgie was puffed up, had it's head tucked under it's wing and wanted to sleep. Apparently birds do sleep during the day but I had an unsettled feeling about it.

A day or two after it was a perfect, no wind, warm spring day and I suggested to my sister to put the bird out. She called up to say that the bird had died.

Also I'm wondering if it's okay to allow young children to handle budgies to get them to be comfortable with them or is this not suggested?

Hi and welcome to the forum,

I am sorry that your sister's budgie died. I don't think you had anything to do with it. It probably was already sick when you noticed it was sleeping during the day.
Budgies can be outside and some sunshine is good for them..as long as they can get away from it. It was probably a sad coincidence.

I would not allow young children to handle budgies. Budgies are fragile, and young children can inadvertently do damage to their little bodies. Also, the birds can become traumatized and fearful.
Children can offer millet to the birds, and eventually the budgies will sit on their hands..alsways with supervision, of course.

Sigrid

[pal0m1n0]

If you already had an unsettled feeling, then it was most likely already sick. If the bird did not get overheated being outside and it had access to shade it should have been fine.

Very young children should only handle a bird under very strict supervision and even then, maybe not. It doesn't take a lot of pressure to seriously hurt a bird.

I am sorry it died. Where did you get it from?

[Alma]

Hi and thanks so much for your responses.

I got my bird from a neighbour who's bird had babies and I think my sister got her from her local pet store.

[Shy Bird]

welcome to the forum. oh i am so sorry.:(i agree that your budgie was already sick.

[aka.pody]

Hi Alma. I'm so sorry your sister's budgie died. The others gave you some really sound advice. Don't blame yourself. He might have already been sick. Who knows.
Will your sister be getting another in the future? If so, suggest that she come to Talk Budgies. I can't think of a better place to get help, suggestions, and advice.
I know because I got tons of it here.

[enicol6]

I too believe that the budgie was likely sick and dying. I just went to a pet store that had a new shipment of birds and they were all puffed up and sitting on the floor of the cage. Sometimes the stores and/or the breeders they receive them from do not offer the best care. Maybe your neighbor would have another baby for her? They are probably much healthier.

For future, note that budgies show as few signs of illness as they can to overt predators. If you get that feeling with your little feathered one, check for an avian vet around you.

I am sorry to your sister for her loss. Fly free little one :(

[Alma]

I passed on the message to my sister but she doesn't believe the bird was sick. She is saying that maybe the bird was too young to go outside. It had all it's feathers and flew when it was out of the cage. So could it have been too young?

[pal0m1n0]

If the bird was fully feathered and the outside temperature was not drastically different from the house temp, a short outside stay should not have caused a problem. As you say, if you were suspicious earlier something could have been off. A sick bird at an early stage will not always look continuously off. The only other thing is, could something outside have given it a real strong fright or hurt it in some way?

[Alma]

I don't think she could have gotten a fright in any way because they live in unit with a small backyard and no other pets. It was a mild spring day with not a breeze. The bird had never been outside before, that's the only thing that I can think of. I didn't realise they could be that delicate. I'm still convinced that the bird must have been ill beforehand because it wasn't a drastic change in temperature. I think I would understand if it was a freezing cold day or a scorcher - but it was a mild day.

Oh well, looks like my sister is going to stay convinced that the bird died because I said it should be okay to stay outside.

Thanks for all your help. I became so worried about the delicate nature of the birds that then I started looking at my own bird and started to think that maybe my bird is too thin - but my dad convinced me that it's ok.

[SusanBudgies]

I wouldn't really describe budgies as "delicate." They just have certain needs and sensitivities -- such as respiratory sensitivities -- that are different from common mammalian pets, like dogs and cats. So education is important to maintaining a healthy, happy budgie.

How long was the bird left outside? Did the bird have access to shade? How old was the bird? When your sister found the bird, did he have any signs of trauma, such as blood or feather loss?

If your sister would like a definitive answer for cause of death, she could take the bird to an avian vet for a necropsy. But she'd have to preserve the body (http://www.thebirdclinic.com/Necropsy.htm) and take it in soon.

I'm very sorry your sister lost her sweet birdy ... and then blamed you. :( Perhaps she's a bit immature.

[Alma]

Thanks Susan. I'm not too sure how long she left it outside. I think it was probably under the verandah in shade. She didn't say anything about any signs of trauma so I think it just died. Poor little thing. It was so cute and funny. I think my sister being upset made her strike out at me.

[ronsig]

Thanks Susan. I'm not too sure how long she left it outside. I think it was probably under the verandah in shade. She didn't say anything about any signs of trauma so I think it just died. Poor little thing. It was so cute and funny. I think my sister being upset made her strike out at me.

I am so sorry, but I still don't think it is your fault. I hope that with time your sister will realize that you are not to blame.

Sigrid

[enicol6]

Maybe your sister is just upset and is putting her feelings onto you. My birds young and old all loved being outside and had no issue. As stated a regular day with ability to shade is fine. The only other elements you have to concern yourself with are some spraying pesticides or using chemicals or barbeques. I was not there to see the bird but I will tell you that although birds do nap, they are lively, loud and not at all fluffed up. Sleepy and fluffed are not good signs.

[Vickie]

Birds don't die from being outside! :(
There had to have been some actual cause, such as air pollution or a drastic temperature change. If the bird was next to a barbecue, dryer vent, pesticide, smog, or some other pollutant, that may have been the culprit.

Was there any damage to the bird's neck? If it had never been outside before it could have panicked and hurt itself. Was anyone actually watching the bird when it happened? Because unless there was someone watching, no one can say for certain what did it.

I think it's horrible for your sister to blame you. Even if my bf did something that hurt or even killed my birds (so long as it was an accident), I know he would feel bad enough without me putting blame on him! Your relationship with your sister should be more meaningful than bickering over a dead pet. Whatever happened happened, but it is time to move on with your relationship. There's no sense holding grudges and you honestly didn't do anything wrong; being outside is beneficial to birds and you were only helping, whether that is actually what killed the bird or not! :(