death of my blue and gold macaw

[linda]

i have a question. i usually am on the dog part of this forum but tonite i lost my blue and gold macaw unexpectedly and was wondering if anyone went thru the same or something similiar. my husband was getting out of the bathroom and when he opend the door he heard gertie (gertrude) scream an unbelievable loud scream and then he heard a thump. when he turned the corner into the lving room to see what happend she was at the bottem of the cage with her wings slightly moving. he ran and got me and i picked her up and she was gone. i did see blood and noticed she bit her tongue very bad. she was normal today. had sweet potatoe at about 3pm or so. does anyone have any clue what this could have been. she was 21 when i got her, i had her about 9 yrs or so. so i approx her to be 30. can she have had a heart attack. she was not friendly at all. on her own terms she was. so sad and sick to my stomach and trying to figure this out. the house is soo quiet. i always yelled at her to stop screaming now i wish i would hear it. thanks linda

[critters]

I'm sorry for your loss, but I don't know anything about macaws. I expect somebody will, though, so stick around...

[Shaz]

Hi Linda

I am sorry I have just got notification of your message.

Firstly, my sympathy to you and your husband on the loss of Gertie Yes, they do drive us crazy with their screaming but it's a sadder world without it.

I would say, a heart attack is the most likely cause of her Passing. Domestic Birds don't get enough exercise and she might have had a poor diet before you got her and it accumulates to a younger death than in the Wild.

My Avian Vet here used to work in Aruba and one of his jobs was to look after Macaws in the Hotels there. 3 x 6 year olds died suddenly, Autopsies showed that there Arteries were clogged. He decided to do some Detective work and observed the Cage was situated just outside the Restaurant and the Diners were feeding the Birds when they left...and yes, all the wrong things. Cage was moved and all is well.

Big hugs!
Sharon x