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Trixie
Jun 5, 2015 8:12:47 GMT -5
Post by siobhan on Jun 5, 2015 8:12:47 GMT -5
Trixie died overnight. Last night I cleaned her bottom again, which I had to do periodically since she couldn't preen and her feathers would get poopy. She wasn't acting any worse than usual at that point, but she has been sitting in her food dish and wobbly and fluffed up for some time now. I knew when I brought her home last winter that she probably wouldn't live long, but I wanted my little bald canary to be as happy and loved as possible for whatever time she had left instead of sitting on a tiny perch with no toys in a pet store. When I tucked Ringo in, Trixie was huddled in a corner of her cage instead of sleeping on her platform and I knew that was a bad sign. It looks as if she went peacefully, and I hope in her sleep. I showed Ringo her body so she would understand what had happened, because Ringo was (surprisingly) fond of her. Then I buried her in the back yard next to our basset, George, and Greta.
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Trixie
Jun 5, 2015 10:10:15 GMT -5
Post by aaron on Jun 5, 2015 10:10:15 GMT -5
Aww... RIP Trixie... I am very sorry to hear that she has passed... but very happy that she had such a loving home at the end of her life. You did a really great thing for this little girl!
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Trixie
Jun 5, 2015 11:21:28 GMT -5
Post by siobhan on Jun 5, 2015 11:21:28 GMT -5
I hope she was happy with us. And I hope Ringo doesn't miss her too badly. She spent a great deal of time sitting on Trixie's cage, keeping her company. Trixie wouldn't come out no matter how often I offered, so I finally stopped offering, especially when this wobbly thing started. I could tell she wouldn't be able to fly around in that condition. But Ringo spent hours every day sitting on top of her cage, just kind of watching over her. They say starlings are solitary and don't require company, and I like to think that Ringo might not require company, but wanted to offer it to Trixie.
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Trixie
Jun 5, 2015 12:17:49 GMT -5
Post by julianna on Jun 5, 2015 12:17:49 GMT -5
I am so very sorry for your loss. You did an excellent job with her but it was just her time. My sympathies for you and Ringo.
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Trixie
Jun 5, 2015 12:38:47 GMT -5
Post by easttex on Jun 5, 2015 12:38:47 GMT -5
I'm very sorry about Trixie, but what a different life you gave her for her last few months! I don't doubt that in her way she appreciated that. I also don't doubt that other creatures in need are already lining up to find their way to you.  |
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Trixie
Jun 5, 2015 13:15:00 GMT -5
Post by siobhan on Jun 5, 2015 13:15:00 GMT -5
Hubby asked me to promise I would not "replace" Trixie. He knows better; that you can't "replace" a bird, but I knew what he meant. And I did promise. Our hands are quite full enough. We have a spare cage for rescues and every summer we take in a few injured wild birds to give them time to get better or die in peace if that's what's in the cards, but those are temporary guests, not permanent members of the family. I know you're not supposed to take in wild birds, but when one is hurt, knowing that we have hawks in the neighborhood who already consider our bird feeder a drive-through, we take them in anyway. We have managed to nurse a couple of them back to health and release them, too.
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Trixie
Jun 5, 2015 13:36:24 GMT -5
Post by aaron on Jun 5, 2015 13:36:24 GMT -5
It's interesting that they say starlings are solitary, considering how huge their flocks can be... I hope Ringo isn't too sad.
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Post by siobhan on Jun 5, 2015 14:05:06 GMT -5
Starlings flock together for safety and of course pair off to mate, but if you watch them in a group, they don't preen one another, and they're usually arguing over whose turn it is at the bath and squabbling over food and not getting along very peacefully. That's what they mean by solitary. And also, if you have a kept starling, you don't need to worry much about him/her being lonely for other starlings. Not having to compete for food, bath and human attention (in the case of a kept bird) is an ideal situation for a kept starling. LOL Whoo-hoo! It's MINE. It's ALL MINE. That is the starling national anthem. Ringo likes having me in the room, but she doesn't interact much with me other than chattering and expecting me to listen and occasionally respond. She'll fly over and land on me and examine my clothes and rearrange my hair a bit, then off she goes again and I am most emphatically NOT allowed to touch Her Royal Personage in any way. And when I'm out of the room, I can hear her in there chattering and playing and zooming around just the same. Unlike certain parrots, she doesn't mind if I have a long workday and little time to spend with her, and doesn't punish me for neglecting her. If the food and bath are full, and I pop in even briefly for a visit, she's fine with that.
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Trixie
Jun 5, 2015 14:30:26 GMT -5
Post by easttex on Jun 5, 2015 14:30:26 GMT -5
I know you're not supposed to take in wild birds, but when one is hurt, knowing that we have hawks in the neighborhood who already consider our bird feeder a drive-through, we take them in anyway. We have managed to nurse a couple of them back to health and release them, too. I do the same thing. I've had a little training in wildlife rehab, and I suppose I could arrange to work under the license of a friend who is certified, but I'm outside the law on this, too. |
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Trixie
Jun 5, 2015 14:57:56 GMT -5
Post by siobhan on Jun 5, 2015 14:57:56 GMT -5
I have two friends who run a licensed rehab, and if we got one that I thought could be saved with expert care that we couldn't provide, I'd call them. Most of ours are either so far gone that we're just keeping them safe and warm while they finish dying, or they've just bonked their head on the window and need an hour or two to recover in safety. We had a little songbird last summer that flew into the window and knocked himself silly, and we put him in the hospital cage with water and food, in a sunny window with a breeze (it was a hot day) and waited about 45 minutes and when he told us it was time, we let him go and he was fine. There was a hawk hanging round that day, very close to the house, and we didn't see any reason to serve the hawk Songbird a la Carte. Work for your meals like the rest of us, bub.
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Trixie
Jun 5, 2015 20:03:47 GMT -5
Post by cnyguy on Jun 5, 2015 20:03:47 GMT -5
So sorry about Trixie's passing. She did have a good home with you, and was loved, and she had a good friend in Ringo too.
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Trixie
Jun 6, 2015 2:15:48 GMT -5
Post by Jan and Shah on Jun 6, 2015 2:15:48 GMT -5
I am so sorry to hear about Trixie - I was only thinking of her last night. Thank you so much for giving her such a wonderful home. I would hate to think of her dying at the pet shop. At least at the end of her life she was well looked after and protected by humans and Ringo. Hope Ringo doesn't fret too much.
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Trixie
Jun 6, 2015 11:03:09 GMT -5
Post by aaron on Jun 6, 2015 11:03:09 GMT -5
We raised a starling when I was young... only until he hit adulthood and then we let him go -- I don't really remember much (I was 8). He was a very sweet little guy, from what I recall. The starling psychology is pretty interesting... very different than a parrot.
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Trixie
Jun 7, 2015 3:27:13 GMT -5
Post by biteybird on Jun 7, 2015 3:27:13 GMT -5
Siobhan, I am very sorry to hear about Trixie, but also very glad that you gave her a loving home in her last months - certainly an improvement from what she had. One only had to read your posts about her behaviour to know that she was happy with you.
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