Hi everyone, I haven't been on here for a really long time.

 

I'm very sad to say that about an hour ago, we came home to find Piccolo dead on the floor of his cage, with spots of blood all around the floor which seem to have come from his mouth. He had shown no signs of being sick prior to this and we were only out for about an hour, he was totally normal when we left and dead when we got back. Cosmo seems fine too.

 

Unfortunately we really can't afford to take Piccolo to the vet for an autopsy right now (does UQ do it for free?)

 

I haven't really had a good look at Piccolo yet but I suppose I will examine him for cuts or tumours etc.

 

 

What could have caused this? Is it likely to be something contagious - to other birds, or to humans? We have a 6 month old baby so that is my main concern about disease but of course we will do all we can to sterilise the cage and feeding dishes and everything so Cosmo is unlikely to catch it too.

 

I know you can't diagnose but any ideas at all will be a great help and starting point for me, thank you.

 

 

Really sorry about Piccolo, is Cosmo in same cage? If so and shows no sign of fighting etc Piccolo could have had some sort of seizure and died.

 

I had one fly into aviary from flight screeching and fell at my feet dead. I don't think you could have done anything to save him. I don't think it would be harmful, just clean up cage and keep an eye on Cosmo for any signs of ill health. If Piccolo had been ill you would have noticed this, seems more like a stroke/heart attack type thing.

Blood from the beak could be a sign of a number of diseases, the vast majority of which are not zoonotic (ie. they can't be passed on to humans). If he wasn't showing any signs of illness before this point it is likely that it was a seizure/stroke or is it possible he ingested something toxic? As Robyn said, keep an eye on Cosmo and I would be keeping him away from the baby, washing hands etc just in case (because you can never be too careful).

Sorry to hear about Piccolo and hope Cosmo is alright