Is this beast a baby sparrow?? (Bob and Cede)

Bsal

RIP Bob

RosieJoe

Sorry to hear that!

Silverfish

Oh no, so sorry to hear that, poor Bob

fox_1973

Sorry to hear that, I've just spent an hour reading the whole thread, amazing stuff you both done for him

He had the best life

Lumi

Sad news

Mollywolly

Really sorry to hear about Bob. Your thread has been one of the best on Boards for the past three years and I've enjoyed hearing about your trials and tribulations so much. RIP Bob, you'll be missed

marlin vs

Poor Bob.RIP.

j@utis

iamfromcork wrote: »

Bob Died 30 minutes ago

He bled to death. I caught him to inspect his sore legs and maybe put some cream on them. He had some weird scales and scabs on his legs and while I was holding him, one of the legs got caught in the wing and one of the scabs was ripped off. He started bleeding heavily, I tried and tried to stop it but I couldn't... he died in my hands of blood loss...
Over last 4 months Bob and his two cage mates developed this very weird skin (or maybe internal) disease that nobody could identify or suggest how to threat it. It mostly affects their legs which become swollen, veiny and just sore looking in general. Birds struggle to walk, hop and even perch. Bob was hit the worst. Last month or so he would spent whole day sitting in the same place, only moving to get food and water. His life was miserable and he was a shadow of the bird he used to be. But I never gave up hope that he and other birds would get better one day. I've spent days researching the possible causes online, bought and tried many different treatments but nothing seemed to be helping. I guess he would have lived a little bit longer with this condition if not the accident last night... I had a sleepless night thinking about what and how it went wrong...
The other two birds aren't good either. They're not perching normally - they're kinda lying on their bellies on the perches, they're eating but they're skinny and not gaining weight. The canary has a scab on one leg that keeps bleeding every couple of days and never heals... Female goldfinch is also in rapid decline.

Thanks everyone for your good words.
I don't think we'll be getting any more birds soon after the last two are gone...

kylith

I'm so sorry to hear about Bob. I've always enjoyed seeing your updates about him and am very sad to hear of the illness that effected him and the other birds.

Take heart from the fact that were it not for you Bob would have had no life at all; dying alone in a field as a chick. At least because of you he had a chance to grow up, and passed away with people who loved him.

Judgement Day

According to the BTO http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob16530.htm the average lifespan for a Goldfinch is two years so Bob's number was up anyway. He had a second chance thanks to you.

Alun

Your story of how he passed away brought a little tear to my eye, so sad

I know you didn't want to take Bob to Bairbre O'Malley in Bray because it might stress him out too much, but maybe she could take a look at him and see if she has any idea what it may have been, that way you might stand a chance of saving the other two at least.

j@utis

that's in the wild JD. and maximum recorded is 8 years according to that website. I've heard stories about goldfinches living over 10 years in captivity. I was expecting at least another 3 out of him, and the other two birds.

and yes, that's very true: if I hadn't looked down for a moment while out jogging, bob would have had no chance at all. one in a million that chance was and it made him very special. there will never be another one like him. I'm absolutely devastated by this loss.

Alun: Bairbre saw him and the canary but she couldn't tell me more than my local vet (non avian) told me. There are 3 treatments for this kind of birds available and if those don't work - sorry, we cannot help. sit down, relax and watch them die. I've joined finch online forum and facebook group with members from all over the world and still nobody could recognize the symptoms.

recedite

j@utis wrote: »

It mostly affects their legs which become swollen, veiny and just sore looking in general. Birds struggle to walk, hop and even perch..

Don't know whether you've tried this, but dipping their legs into a beaker filled with cooking oil (with a few drops of tea tree oil added is even better) might help. I've cured hens with "scaly leg" disease doing this. Repeat every few days. I know it sounds like aromatherapy, but actually the oil suffocates mites which burrow under the birds scales. Your canaries may not have exactly the same mites, but you never know, it could be something closely related, and the treatment might work.

j@utis

I've read about oil treatments. Oil has to mineral origin though not organic. I used baby oil several times. Birds got several treatments with Ivermictin and then with Scatt (both for all kind of mites) but showed no improvement. And the vet said it wasn't mites issue...
I'm not looking for the cure anymore, it's too late now anyway... We're gonna get other two birds euthanized when they get really bad. all bird stuff perches, water bottles, feeders and food will either be dumped or fed to the wild birds (mostly seeds, have tons of different kinds of seeds, meds - give away those), cage will be disassembled and put away into the attic... until we forget all the bad things and decide to buy a lovely couple of young healthy happy birds...

recedite

OK, it looks like you have already pulled out all the stops to try and save them. You have my sympathies.

Kablamo!

I'm sad to hear this now. Hope the other two struggle through.

j@utis

recedite wrote: »

OK, it looks like you have already pulled out all the stops to try and save them. You have my sympathies.

I kept them going almost two months longer now than the vet predicted she saw them in the end of june and said that was it and offered a necropsy to determine the cause of death.
I've tried many things but nothing made a difference. I've simply ran out of options and reached the point where enough is enough. Losing Bob last night was that breaking point for me. Enough is enough.

tricky D

RIP Bob.

You should both be proud of all you did and thanks for the great story.

diomed

You gave him a good life. He was happy.

Kess73

Very sad news. Bob's story was one of the best things I have read online, and was just heartwarming.


But he had over three years of life in a safe enviroment where he never lacked for food and attention. He never had to try and escape a predator, he never had to survive the various changes in weather, and he certainly would not have had a chance of even living a day more had you not taken him in that day you found him on the ground.


Bob the goldfinch might be gone, but just look back through this thread and you will see that many people will not forget him, and his story put a smile on a lot of faces over the past few years. No doubt his story has amazed anyone that knows you in the real world as well. In many ways Bob, in his 3+ year life, helped bring more smiles to the world than many people do in a lifetime.


Rather than mourn his loss, celebrate his time with you, and cherish the fact that him coming into your world has now left you with many great memories along with photos and video footage to remind you of your little prince.

Sundew

I got news off poor bob's demise some time ago but had been unable to log in.
This was definitely one of the best threads on boards and a pretty great nature story too! Hope he is flying around in a better place

wexandproud

just came across this today. what a fantastic story, terrible ending though, brought back many happy memories of rearing canaries and goldfinches as a boy, and before you all start slating me it was way before it became illegal to keep finches

wholehearted congrats to you on a fantastic achievement and sorry about outcome

pharmaton

sorry to hear about Bob op, remember reading this thread when you found him first and didn't realise he had died so sad.
Came here as I got a rescue bird recently and it brought to mind how you cared for Bob, his story is still inspiring still three years later.

Noopti

Only found this thread yesterday and read the whole thing. You should be really really proud of what you did, when most people wouldn't have done the same. Bob was an awesome little bird and had an excellent life....all down to you.