My parakeet died unexpectedly. Should I worry about my other bird?

I'm very sorry to hear that! The best way to find out what your bird died from is to submit its body for an autopsy (called a necropsy in animals.) If you call your veterinarian and ask, they should be able to help you figure out where to have this done in your area. As for your remaining bird, if you're concerned, I would recommend taking it in for a vet visit to make sure it seems 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!

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.

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.

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.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could have been due to something infectious for example which could have been passed to your other bird. I recommend that you have Georges evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. This could be an infection affecting the respiratory system for example. They would be able to check what seems likely so that it can be treated accordingly. Best of luck!

Hello, I am very sorry to hear about Kiwi. Situations like this can be so challenging and hard to experience. When birds are not feeling well they often spend the majority of time at the bottom of their cage. It is very hard to know what happened without having evaluated Kiwi, however upper respiratory infections secondary to bacteria are not uncommon in parakeets, many of these are contagious among birds. Other systemic infections due to bacteria are also seen in Parakeets. I hope this helps. Losing multiple pets in such a short period of time is incredibly saddening, I am very sorry for your loss.