I brought my 40 year old jubilee macaw in for his annual well visit. While they were drawing blood, the second time- didn’t get enough the first time- he flopped over and died. They did cpr for 15 minutes. Nothing. Did they choke him by holding him incorrectly? Draw too much blood? He was perfectly healthy and had ” …a great heart…” according to the vet 5 min prior.
Hi,
I’m so sorry for your tragic loss. I doubt the Vet or techs did anything wrong. Sudden death can happen during an exam. Even with a necropsy, the cause or reason might not be found. At 40, your bird was a senior. While macaws can live much longer. There are so many factors including genetics and care. Your bird was not just a hybrid but a hybrid bred with pure species. The problem with hybrids is that while they can be beautiful, they can also have genetic issues. Each species of macaw has slightly different incubation periods, as well as size differences and most likely dietary differences. This may not mean anything, but the theory is that everything may not be just right as far as genetics and health, and even if nothing shows up, hybrids can have shorter life spans. As for having a good heart, everything can sound great, but you don’t always know what is going on internally without imaging and additional testing. And even then, an issue might not show up. I don’t know if the Vet offered a necropsy or if you allowed one, but that would have been the best course of action. Since you still have questions, I think you should discuss your concerns with the Vet. I can assure you that everyone involved feels terrible. As a Vet Tech myself, I lost two birds during restraint and I know I did nothing differently those times, and there were no warning signs that the birds were overly stressed or in crisis. In both cases, a cause was never determined. And this was over a 20+ year career. When restraining a bird, it is never routine, and the tech and Vet are always monitoring the bird as far as alertness, breathing and any signs of undue stress. Again, I am sorry this happened to your bird – I know it was a shocking loss for everyone involved.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
