I quit breeding for many reasons, but one of the main reasons was that the "failures" were so hard. Some of the babies ended up at less-than-desirable homes and met with preventable deaths. One of the final straws was the death of a little grey named Anakin. I'm a
Star Wars fan and named a clutch of greys after Jacen, Jaina and Anakin in the extended universe.
A lot of young greys have a reddish tinge to their body feathers. Usually, these feathers turn a "normal" color after the first moult. Anakin's body feathers weren't reddish; they were purplish! He was beautiful and had a silly, playful attitude until nearly the moment he died.
The first vet diagnosed him, incorrectly, with aspiration pneumonia. The second vet diagnosed a heart defect. I knew Anakin was probably doomed, but I thought if I could get him past the weaning stage, he might have at least some good time. The problem is his body was rapidly outgrowing the capacity of his damaged heart. He had congestive heart failure. I kept taking him to the vet to drain excess fluid from around his lungs. In the meantime, I kept him in an incubator so his body wouldn't have to work at staying warm.
I arrived home after an errand with my nephew and the little grey stomped at us making "panting" sounds. If any of you have raised African greys, you know what I'm talking about. :) It's a happy, "let's play" sound of very young greys. Anakin was glad to see us. Just a half hour later he died in the vet's office, waiting for the fluid to be drained from his lungs.
When did this become a catharsis thread?
Sorry...this totally blind-sided me. I don't have TV, so I ran across this by chance...didn't know until just awhile ago.
I'll read the eulogy thread. Happy memories of Alex...and I have my Gabby right here, bless his heart.