The parakeet: a sensitive soul

My mother passed away in February and I took responsibility for her parakeet Sky. It is a charming little bird, very noisy and fighter, it is not tamed by hand and does not like to be touched. Heaven help you if you try! He is about 5 years old, more or less.

Mom used to take Sky with her when she visited, so she knew how to take care of him, but other than that, she really had no idea about budgets. I remember one we had as a family pet when I was a teenager and that was it.

Sky and I got into a routine for the first 5 months: he would open his cage door every morning, but he never left it. He was happy to flap his wings inside his cage, which is large enough to do so with room to spare.

Then the day came about a month ago when he ventured out and the trouble began. In the few times it did start flying, it flew against the walls and took a nasty fall when it miscalculated a shelf; This had never happened to him before and he went into shock.

This noisy and feisty little bird fell silent, he couldn’t hold himself properly on his perch and ended up walking in the bottom of his cage, it was really heartbreaking to see him. He would jump at the slightest movement or unexpected sound and fly in a panic. I knew something was seriously wrong when he allowed me to hold him in my hand 3 different times when I had to rescue him so he wouldn’t fall off his perch.

I am fortunate to be friends with some healers and animal communicators and one of them instructed me on how to give Rescue Remedy and that helped. She did not see a serious illness with him, only a little sore from his collisions, and she healed him from a distance and he perked up a bit, but he was still far from returning to his normal state. However, he was much calmer and didn’t panic, so I decided to have the vet check him too.

Sky was not at all happy to be caught and put in a nice tissue box and taken to the vet, a very nice man who specializes in small animals. He examined it and found it to be underweight, but with no external damage, good eyesight, and no problems with its claws. However, he suspected he might have liver and / or kidney problems and told me that budgets often only lived 5-7 years and that 15 years (which is what he had read) was the exception rather than the rule. He gave me medicine and made an appointment for the following week, but I could tell from his behavior that he didn’t expect Sky to survive.

I was absolutely heartbroken, this little bird had gotten into my heart and it was also a connection to mom and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing it so soon.

Synchronicity is a big part of my life and I was given more information that would be helpful and one more piece in the puzzle. Once again I was told that there was nothing physically wrong with him, but that he was grieving, deeply depressed, and did not see the point in living. It was suggested that I put a picture of my mom in his cage with him and add some curcumin to his food / drink to help him get stronger.

I immediately printed a photo of mom and put it in her cage and couldn’t believe the change in it; If someone had told me, I would have had a hard time believing it. He immediately started eating and drinking as if making up for lost time. His food was close to Mom’s picture and he stayed close to her while she ate. One night I looked at him and he was fast asleep next to her. He also found the strength to return to his position and began to move around his cage, it was truly miraculous. I also put a piece of rose quartz in his cage and he spent quite a bit of time around that too.

However, he was obviously still stressed, so I canceled a new visit to the vet and decided to let nature take its course. With the help of my friends I had done everything I could and now it was up to Sky to decide if he wanted to stay or not.

It has been an emotional month watching this little bird go through his trauma, and it has been an ongoing healing. Last week he literally spent 3 days sitting on his perch practically motionless, eating a little every now and then, but showing no interest in anything. I felt helpless and wondered if I longed for company, even though I had always been a lonely bird.

However, just 3 days ago he started to make some noise and showed some interest in his surroundings. The next day he played again and was climbing everywhere and today he has not stopped chatting. It does my heart good to hear it.

Once I got out of my emotional state, it occurred to me that the reason he was flying towards the walls might be because I don’t have images on those particular walls, so he can’t judge where they are; I’ll rectify it before I do. ready to venture out of the safety and security of his cage. Fingers crossed !!

Conclution

This whole situation confirmed for me the need for a holistic approach to healing. There were several people involved in Sky’s healing and they were all necessary parts.

The animal healers / communicators helped me help him with his concussion and allowed me to feel confident taking him to the vet without causing him any additional stress. They also prompted me to deal with her grief at losing my mom and provide the necessary care in that direction.

The vet reassured me as to his physical condition and that he had not been injured while flying.

I really don’t think Sky would be alive today if I hadn’t put my mom’s picture in his cage with him. It may sound crazy, but you could believe me if you had seen the almost instantaneous change in him.

It has made me wonder how many animals have died or been euthanized due to emotional and mental problems, rather than physical ones. This is something I didn’t even consider five weeks ago. I think most of us are aware that dogs and larger animals suffer, but how many of us, myself included, would have considered that a little bird like a parakeet would go through a similar process?

I still spray him with Rescue Remedy and give him a drink, adding curcumin to his grated carrot. I will continue with that for a while longer, until I feel that it is no longer necessary.

I had a ‘thrown to the bottom’ education last month, one that I will never forget and I hope my story resonates with some of you who read it.

In the meantime, I am very happy that my loud and energetic little friend is still around and I sincerely hope that he will be around for many years to come.

Do you have a story about a pet that relates to my experience?