Skye is home!!

She had prepidil (prostaglandin) applied topically but hadn't pasted the egg when I came in to visit her. On my way home from the visit, I got a call saying she had passed the egg! She passed it as they were preparing to put her under anesthesia for ovocentesis. She didn't have to have it done and now my Skye bird is home where she belongs!

Skye is at Angell Memorial. She was admitted last night and is egg bound. She has an abnormally large egg in her. She's getting an additional calcium shot tonight, but if she hasn't passed the egg by morning our options are ovocentesis or prostaglandin. Both are risky. purpleglitter and I have decided on ovocentesis because we believe skye is more likely to be able to fight the risks associated with ovocentesis. We are also considering having her oviduct removed. The procedure is risky on a budgie, but so is her reoccurring problem with egg binding. Further, while introducing its own risks, having her oviduct removed would eliminate one of the key risks of ovocentesis: remaining bits of shell creating a future blockage.

Please keep Skye in your thoughts and prayers.

Prince Henry's test results came back yesterday, and he got a clean bill of health. He got to fly with everyone else for the first time. Sir Dubbins freaked out and had to go back to his cage, but the budgies didn't seem mind him much. None of the budgies approached him too closely, but it was evident Skye wanted to. We're not going to have Prince Henry and Sir Dubbins out at the same time until they get a little more used to the idea of each other.

I went to a equinox dinner yesterday at lady_babalon's and sophiaserpentia's. I must say that sophiaserpentia makes the most excellent apple crisps. I was happy to see that x_bluerose_x was there to. We sat around the table and discussed what we viewed as our "harvests" this year, however I'm more planning for the spring then harvesting now. Of course, there were other topics, but that was the planned topic. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had fun while I was there.

After leaving the equinox dinner, I went over to merryperseis's place, where I ate again. I knew that we would be having roasted cauliflower, so I intentionally ate sparingly at the early dinner. I brought her my serpent staff. I've known that my bird staff is what I'm meant to use at this point, and merryperseis told me she needed something that symbolized a serpent: so the transfer seemed right. I wanted to do it on the equinox for balance. There wasn't really any ceremony about the transfer, it was just done.

While I was sitting on a bench on the shore Spy Pond last week, I found myself looking down from above at Spy Pond and the autumnal trees of Elizabeth Island. Whether this was some sort of spontaneous out of body experience or a product of dissociation combined with vertigo and a high aptitude for spacial transitioning, I do not know.

Regardless of how I got there, it brought my thoughts to the budgies. The budgies get a lot of out-of-cage time. They fly around a lot in Lake's apartment. But it's not the same. The room has a ceiling and walls. The room has limits and I wish I could give them the sky. They are birds, that freedom is their hatchright. It seems unfair to keep them contained, but there is no realistic other option. To set them free in New England, especially on the dawn of winter, would be to give them death sentences.

We do our best to give them the closest to what they deserve as possible. We try to give them what we hope is a better life than they would have in the wild: providing a constant food supply, healthcare, and freedom from predators. It might not be enough, but it is all that we have to offer.

I was supposed to see dicotomygrrl tonight. Just before she was due to arrive, I received a panicked phonecall from purpleglitter. Dandelion's food was hurt and there was lots of blood. I ran over to purpleglitter's house with my shoes in my hand, not even taking time to put them on until we had already loaded Dandelion in the car and were heading off to Angell Memorial Hospital.

Prior to calling me, purpleglitter had put styptic powder on Dandelion, so the bleeding had stopped. He appeared to be doing well and half way there we questioned if he needed to go, but we decided it was best that he see a vet anyway just in case.

Even in the strange situation, rushed out in the night, Dandelion still did step ups for the attending vet. When the vet asked if he was flighted he took off from his finger as if to say "Of course I can fly".

He got right onto my finger and I scooped him up and handed him to the vet. He is a brave bird. The vet took him in back to the "exotics" ward. Dandelion was a bit shaken when he returned, but I gave him good scritches while the vet looked for Dandelion's records and he calmed down.

He apparently got his toenail caught in something and it broke off. It looks like he'll be alright.

I was quite productive yesterday, well more productive than average for me at least. In addition to my daily chores (animal care and cooking), I reglued the twine on my staff, I did a much needed load of laundry, and did an good hour of cleaning the downstairs of the house_of_clocks with recoiling.

Yeah, it's kind of pathetic what I consider a good and productive day. But, I want to surf this wave and see if it builds. After Skye's vet appointment at 3pm, I want to do some more cleaning at the house_of_clocks and do some crafting. Perhaps I'm on the verge of at least getting my surroundings and activities in order. I've been on this precipice for a long time, so I'm not going to get to carried away with optimism.

Skye is a joy to take to get her regular hormone shots. She is extremely excited to get into the travel cage. She loves seeing the outside and riding in the car. She loves to hear all the other birdies and sounds that are outside. After her visit this last weekend, I took her for a short walk through the trees on the shore of Spy Pond. She got to look out over the water through the leaves and bobbed her head as starlings flew by.

When Skye lived with her previous owners, she escaped for 3 days in the Maine winter. She survived, but what adventures she had I'll never know. I think the experience gave her a taste, maybe even a lust, for the outside. These trips light up her eyes, and I think they should be continued even if at some point she no longer needs her shots.

I just got a call from the wildlife rehabber that took the squirrel. He was doing very badly last week, and the vet she took the squirrel to didn't think he was going to make it. Apparently he had been hit by a car and probably bounced off the wheel well giving him a severe head injury.

But, he's recovered surprisingly well. A couple days ago he started eating on his own, and now he's grooming himself again. He still walks towards one direction and is disorientated, but if he continues to recover at this rate he should be releasable back into the wild in a couple weeks. With head injuries it's still not possible to say for sure that he's going to be okay, but things are looking much better than they did when we found him last week.

A couple hours ago, purpleglitter noticed a squirrel outside her apartment that while alive was not moving. She called my attention to it, and we decided to try and help it. I attempted to see if it could move, and was able to stroke its back with a piece of cardboard without it running. I used a piece of folded cardboard to try to pick it up. It ran a couple feet then collapsed again. I did end up successfully picking it up and placing it in a box. I called Angell Memorial to see if they could help, but they said they would most likely just euthanize it if we brought it in. So, purpleglitter and I put the squirrel on her back porch along with some water and food and wrapped the squirrel in a silk skirt for warmth. I think it is safer in the box than laying on the ground outside the house. Something would surely have come along in short order to harm it. I have the box set up so that it will be easy for the squirrel to get out, but hard for anyone else to see the squirrel is in there. I hope it is okay, and I will check on it in the morning. An empty box is what I hope to find.

Sky passed her egg!! The vet says that while having 5 male budgies around stimulates her egg production, being part of a flock is also very good for her in other ways, and that she should remain part of the flock. She wants to put Skye on hormone treatments, which means a trip to the vet every three weeks. Skye isn't going to like that, but it's for the good of her health.

Dilly will be very excited to see Skye's return later today. He's been flock calling her ever since she left. It will be so lovely when they are reunited.

With treatment, the egg has hardened. It only appeared deformed on the x-ray because of it's soft shell and it's position, it is actually a normal egg. The egg has started moving and they expect the egg to be passed later today or overnight, and she can come home tomorrow. I can't wait to have Skye back. Yay for Skye!

Skye is egg bound with a soft shell egg. It is pressing against her nerve, which is causing her limp leg. They are going to try some treatments on her overnight to try to get her to pass the egg on her own. If she doesn't she will have to undergo surgery. I hope she can pass it on her own, as surgery is very tramatic for small birds. Poor Skye. I love her.

Skye's lead test came back normal, meaning lead exposure is not the cause of her foot paralysis. It seems the two most likely causes now are a tumor or damage done due to possible egg binding. Either way, we'll likely find out tomorrow after her x-rays are done. She'll have to be knocked out for the x-rays, but she should be fine with that as the vet said other than her foot she is in excellent health.

I'm very worried about poor Skye. I don't think anything bad should happen to budgies ever.

Dilly is helping take care of Skye. He is such a good budgie and loves her so. I'm very impressed with him. We all love Skye. Skye is a pretty budgie bird.

Just got back from the vet. Skye has been having trouble using her left foot for the last week or so. The vet said that the foot is not in pain and is not injured. The problem, she said, is nuerological. The two likely causes are a kidney tumor pressing on the nerve or lead exposure. She took a blood test to for lead and the results will be back tomorrow. That seems the most likely cause at this point, and it is also the most treatable. Skye did very good at the vet and remained calm the whole time. I'm very impressed with her.

I guess the stress was too much for Isobel. The daily putting of the medicine on her. she was showing signs of stress, but she kept eating. That's what the vet said to watch, to make sure she kept eating. She was looking a little ragged as the medicine had gotten on her flight feathers and made it a bit harder to fly, but she seemed to be getting better. I thought she was getting better. But now she's dead. Maybe I didn't take good enough care of her. I didn't always do the medicine the right way. I tried. I grew so attached to helping her heal. I thought I was doing good, but maybe my daily handling lead to the stress that caused her to die. Sometimes I'd forget to do the medicine and she'd covered up for the night and I'd have to take her out of the covers and put the medicine on her then. That would stress her out extramuch. I know that this is meant to be, that everything that happens is for a reason, and all that spiritual Universe stuff, but I still feel I failed her. I failed her like I failed madeleinecat.

I took Isobel to the vet. She's having problems closing her beak and has sores around her mouth and while they look like injuries, I was also worried it might be trichomoniasis. iamacliche was kind enough to get up significantly earlier than he is used to in order to provide me with a ride. I was very happy with the gentle manner in which the vet handled Isobel. It turns out that her beak is having problems closing because of the scabbing around her mouth from an apparent attack by Squeaky, and there is no sign of a parasitic infection like trichomoniasis. She gave me some ointment that is more appropriate to the location of the injuries than the neosporin we had been using. She is also only to have moist food and millet for the next two weeks. She will probably never be kept in the same cage as Squeaky again, which is sad, because they had been so in love.

We went over to Angell Memorial to say goodbye to madeleinecat. She was panting heavily in the oxygen kennel and hissing at the staff. She calmed down when purpleglitter and I started petting her. We talked to her and pet her for a while, the vet administered a sedative. After that she needed to be moved to a private room with oxygen so that she could be euthanize. I chose to carry her there myself, because she was extremely terrified of the place and the people there. I gently wrapped her in a towel and began what was a very very long walk. I talked calmly to her the whole time, but was unable to hold back my tears. Walking to the room I knew she would die in with her in my arms trusting me was incredibly hard. I didn't want to do it, but I knew it was the right thing for her. I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. They let purpleglitter and me stay with her in the private room for a few minutes before they came back in. We held her and told her we loved her as they stuck the needle in her leg. It was so quick. She was panting and alive and then she just stopped moving. Still a soft, beautiful cat. Just dead. I'm glad it was painless and she went with us around her. I miss her. I don't know if I was the best thing for her in life. I tried. She was a good cat.

madeleinecat's heart is enlarged, irregularly shaped, and having trouble functioning. She is in severe respertory distress. There appears to be a large clot. There is nothing they can do. They are going to have to put her to sleep.