My bird died. How to find the cause & keep my other bird healthy?

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear you've lost two parakeets recently! There are many possible causes of sudden death, but if you've had this happen twice in a row, some sort of toxic exposure would be my biggest concern. Something infectious would be another possibility. If your parakeets have access to flying around your house, then there would be many possibilities - but if they stayed in their cages, I would be looking for a toxic exposure they could come in direct contact with. Newspaper lining the cage (the ink can be harmful if the birds chew on it), moldy food, unclean water, etc. I recommend carefully cleaning everything you can, replacing anything that can't be well cleaned, making sure you're using safe substances in the cage, and when in doubt, you could consult with either the pet store (about your habitat) or your vet. Hopefully you don't experience the loss of another bird - but if it were to happen again, I recommend promptly bringing the bird in to a veterinarian for a necropsy (the animal version of autopsy). By doing a visual exam, and potentially getting tissue samples of different organs for analysis, your vet may be able to determine the cause of death, which will hopefully help prevent any further issues! Again - I'm sorry you're dealing with this,and I hope this helps!

You should definitely keep a close eye on the other one as it could be from an infectious disease, if you see any abnormal sign such as puffed feathers, tail bobbing, reduced appetite, abnormal droppings- take him to an avian vet right away to get checked and have a fecal test done.

So sorry to hear this! I suspect that the bird has suffered from a nasty haemorrhagic infection or possibly traumatic injury. Either of these could have occured to the respiratory tract, leading to coughing up blood, or the gastrointestinal system, leading to passing blood. It is impossible to know exactly what caused this without having the bird postmortemed. However, in terms of your other bird, I would thoroughly clean and disinfect the cage in case there are any traces of infection. Hopefully it was a one off incident and the other will be fine. If you do notice illness contact a vet immediately. They have a duty of care to all animals so will help you. I think the regurgitated seeds were likely just brought up due to death as opposed to an illness.

Sorry for your loss. Taking the deceased bird back to the veterinarian to perform a necropsy with the goal to determine a cause. Somethings are contagious to other birds, including bacterial and viral problems. Birds will often pick on the sick/injured to get them to leave the flock, for protection. Monitor the health of others. Also, providing antibiotics through the water gives you no control over quantity ingested. A specific oral dose is best. Good luck with the other birds.

I'm sorry for your loss. It's impossible to know what she dies from based on these symptoms, the only way to know the cause of death is to send her body to the lab for histopathology analysis (through your vet), they will usually be able to tell you what the cause of death was.

My condolences on the loss of your bird. If you have concerns regarding Psittacosis, you can submit the body for PCR testing. Your other bird can be tested if necessary. An exam with your veterinarian or an experienced avian veterinarian would be recommended anyway since birds are quite adept at concealing illness or injury until they are in serious condition.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss! It is very normal for birds to mourn the loss of their friend, just as people do, so spending a little extra time together or offering up a favorite treat may help. Birds are extremely good at hiding illness, and if you suspect your other bird was ill at all, thoroughly cleaning the cage/shared dishes/etc can help prevent the spread of illness. Signs of illness to watch out for include listless behavior, sleeping all the time, fluffed feathers, difficulty breathing, changes in weight, appetite changes, drinking changes, feather loss, etc. If you do see these signs, or suspect Cameron may have caught something from your other bird, seeking out an exam in person is always best. If you're having trouble coping with the loss of Barney, I highly recommend checking out some resources such as The Rainbow Bridge where you can talk to other owners and even make a virtual pet memorial.