Utter neglection

[Meow]

Today has been literally the most horrible day I've ever had in terms of bird raising.
After I took some meds and cleaned the mess up, I've remembered reading this topic earlier, and thought that since people with similar experience do exist, someone from the forum could be able to pass on advice.

This morning I've returned from a week-long vacation only to find that of 32 of my birds only 14 remain alive... and solely because they have been feeding on the dead ones.
The house has not been empty, in fact, my grandma had guests over every single day. None of them saw it fit to fill the food or water dishes with the food that sits right next to the cages. In fact, some even called me to tell me that everything is fine.

The bf parrotfinch female, Cookie, that I've been nursing for 6 months and keeping separate from the male that kept attacking her was paired up with him because "she looked lonely" (rather than hungry). She was barely alive when I got in and her hard-grown feathers were not only plucked but her skin is completely torn off by the male attempting to breed with her.

While I've brought most of the survivors up to a chirping state through these past hours, she and a very old zebra male are not recovering.

If anyone has any suggestions, please, please share and as soon as you can!
The vet is not an option as the only one near me that takes birds had already proven himself completely incapable of treating birds.

What I've done so far:

- Cleaned Cookie's injuries with water and iodine (the same I used for bruises as a child) and put a tiny bit of antibiotic cream mixed with almond cream for Sun exposure, over her ripped skin.
- Tried to see what exactly is wrong with the old male zebra, and it seems to be a broken wing. I have no idea how to deal with that, but he's been laying in the food dish and eating since i've refilled it.
- Given fresh grass, wall barley, clover and clover flowers to all of the birds
- Mixed up a solution of water, baking soda, sugar and salt for dehydration. This has affected the birds magically, but the two that are a problem won't even come near the stuff.
- Given everyone a bowl of fresh water for bathing... although most just drank from it.
- Refilled the eggfood bowls because I figured it'll give extra energy.

I'm currently cooking up some rice pudding for them.

Also, I've had enough luck that my budgie stayed over at a friend's place because we're pretty sure his budgie laid my budgie's eggs, so they needed to parent together. And before you ask why I didn't invite that friend to care for the birds while I'm away, get this - my grandma is afraid of him.
So there you go. Enough reason to get a job and afford a place of my own.

[delray]

Wow! meow I am so sorry! That is crazy. I feel so bad for you. I am on a week long vacation right now but Ginene watching them, and I know they are in good hands. I hope you can bring all the remaining birds to a good state. It looks like you are doing a lot to help them. GOOD LUCK!

[afinch]

I'm sorry is all I can say. Don't know why it's easier for people to neglect birds than other pets - angers me. Focus on the survivors and keeping them alive and best of luck to you. Don't know if there's much you can do for stressed finches other than feed them well, keep them warm, and nurse their wounds. Dunno if attempting to handle the old zebra to bandage his wing is going to do more good than bad at this point.

[Meow]

delray and afinch thank you so much for the replies. To be honest, it DOES seem a lot like sabotage, especially considering my history with grandma, but what's done is done.

Update:
- I've cleaned each bird separately now, to get rid of the blood and check for any injuries, but from what I see, the only thing they lack are feathers and nutrition.
- The very old male that I assume has a broken wing also has a closed eye. He was kind enough to stand on my finger while I checked the eye, but it seems healthy under the eyelid. I don't know why he keeps it closed. I am pretty certain he will not make it through the night, but at least he had six years of good life and ten children behind him.
- Cookie climbed a perch! She can stand! Sadly, I've had to force water into her beak but then she started drinking on her own and in a matter of minutes she stopped laying on the cage floor!

What I'm very lucky for as well is that the bird I was most concerned for, a mildly degenerate fledgeling that I wrote about before, was protected and even fed by it's older siblings. I've never read about that before but I've seen it with my own eyes today - black beaks feeding a black beak

I don't know if I should post photos. Sometimes it's bad luck.
But if anyone needs a photo for better assessment of the situation, I will provide.

Hope everyone and their birds are doing fine. It seems like a lovely day.

[delray]

meow I really hope it wasn't sabotage, that is just so mean! But on a happy note, I am really glad that they are all starting to recover! This is a learning experience, now you know who is never going to watch you birds again. ;) keep us updated

[afinch]

I saw a video recently of several babies all feeding their eldest sibling (all beaks still blackish). It's amazing.

[Ginene]

SOOO very sorry to hear about what has happened to your flock ...Prayers and hugs to you and your sweet babies.

[Madcat]

Aww heck to the No! I'm just angry and heartbroken. My stomach is turning. This is complete bull. Absolutely no regard for the time, care, and love that you give to your birds. Not to mention the expense. Nope too angry now. I gotta get off the forum for a second. I need a drink.

[Colt]

Sounds like you're doing everything correctly. The only thing I'll add is keep stress to a minimum and provide supplemental heat to the least active ones. This way they can conserve energy rather than expending it to stay warm.

[lovezebs]

So was Grandma suppose to care for your birds? Did I understand it right? Is she like senile or suffering from dementia or something like that? Why wouldn't she feed and water them, if she knew that's what she was there for?

I'm very sorry for your losses, and hope that the survivors make it.

[Meow]

lovezebs, grandma lives in the same house with the birds and cannot leave her room without seeing the cages. She is a hypochondriac but 100% healthy. She also had more than ten family visitors that all promised not only to feed the birds but to clean them and even asked for the instructions for serving mineral drops to the quarantine cage. They have sent me messages every second day about the flock being okay. That particular part left me without comment and apparently without family. I no longer trust any of them.
Thank you for the kind words.
@Colt I'm yet to find a proper lamp for the birds. At the moment, it's just a makeshift bulb taped to the wall. It's not too safe so I rarely use it. If there is a setup you can recommend or something particular I should buy, please tell me. I'm getting some money in the morning, so I'll be sure to get that first!
@Madcat I've maybe taken a bit too many stress relief pills today, but I still feel exactly like that... just very sleepy. There's absolutely nothing that can be done aside of learning a lesson from this horrible mistake. I've taken full responsibility for what happened and will never allow anything like it to happen again. Even if it means giving the birds to someone more reliable.
@Ginene thank you very much. At least they are showing major signs of improvement. I will keep the thread updated.
@afinch babies feeding babies is possibly the most amazing child phenomena I've seen so far. I am pretty sure I've read that pre-digesting food for feeding is a reflex that develops at an older age, so it's very surprising! It has done a lot of good for the young one (a full week younger than the rest of the clutch), especially because the parents decided to stop feeding them as most are already old enough to eat on their own (two photos linked below).


Update:

- After the cooked rice meal, Cookie started chirping and hopping around. Her wounds are itching and she's scratching, so I wiped off the antibiotic in case it might be harmful when ingested. In any case, it seemed to help a lot, as the skin is now pale pink rather than dark red! She's a real fighter and a true hero. Nothing is getting her down and I shall never give up on her.
She is keeping close to the zebra male that I've put in her cage, but he is not well at all. Refused to eat the rice completely. But he still stands on the perch so I guess that's good. I've posted a photo of them here.
For anyone interested, here's Cookie one day before my vacation

- The six birds that were in terrible shape are now in a... less terrible shape. I've put some coral grit in the rice pudding because it smells attractive and they ate it all up. However, they've stuffed themselves in a single nest, which is usually a sign of someone being unwell. I can't determine who exactly because they have packed in really tight.

- The bf parrotfinch male (the actual bird rapist) is the only one that's completely normal. Seems nothing got to him. He looks as beautiful as ever, as if the hunger and thirst aren't in his dictionary. After thinking a lot, I think I'll try to sell him because he's a really bad bird and I will not miss him. Plus he's really polished and large.

- The young birds are fine! After eating a full bowl of greens, they went back to their usual routine and are no longer puffed up!
Here's a before and after of the little blackcheek. I do believe it looks better now than when I left it!
I can't believe they've recovered so quickly! Youngsters, eh? I have high hopes for them!

________________

Another thing, unrelated to the birds, that might brighten the thread mood. The two of my cats have also been left without food and water, but they chewed through the food bag and drank water from taps and toilets. They have gained at least a solid 3kg. Oh, and they made a new litter box behind grandma's door. She senses it but doesn't know where it's coming from. I'll keep quiet for the moment.

[wildbird]

People who do this to animals should suffer the same fate in their life! She is lucky I'm not her grand-daughter. Maybe you should see about having her committed.

[lovezebs]

Meow
I got a chuckle from the cats using the spot behind evil grandma's door. Smart cats!

Glad to hear that most of your survivors are perking up. Poor old Zebra, I hope he pulls through.

[Sam007]

You can buy soma cheap lamps and 60 0r 100 watt bulb from walmart or buy heat lamp from petsmart/petco if you can afford. Move Cookie and the Zebra male in a small cage. Attach the lamp on the side of the cage to provide supplemental heat for them. May be your Zebra male does not like the cooked rice meal. Put some seed mix (which he used to eat) in a shallow dish and put your Zebra male on it.
Walmart lamps links,
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-MS3 ... p/35588471

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-MS3 ... p/35588443

[afinch]

Is that an open wound on the wing of the old zebra? He seems to be in very bad shape be prepared...

Don't say that you've failed them. We can only control so much and you're handling the situation well.

Also, I know it's hard, but don't turn on your family for this. I've found that many adults, for whatever reason, don't really care enough about birds or can't comprehend how delicate and precious little finches are. It's difficult to care about what you don't comprehend. You have every right to be angry, but family is family. Make them know how much they've hurt you and betrayed your trust, but in a way that will make them feel remorseful rather than put them on the defensive and make them even more dismissive of your pets. The best way to fight ignorance is with patience and education. If these people perceived those birds for the creatures with personalities that they are, it would've been much harder to treat them with such neglect.