The PDD Memorial Quilt

In loving memory of all victims of Proventicular Dilatation Disease.

In Loving Memory of Coco

Lost to (Presumptive) PDD in March 2004

Coco first came to my house just after Christmas 2002. She was a wonderful talkative African Grey. I did not keep her with the other birds because she seemed to be intimidated by the two loud amazons and the two cockatoos. That was probably a good thing for the other birds.

Coco was a very happy healthy bird until I noticed her appearing ill on 17 November 2003. The next morning she was worse, so I took her to Tulsa (a three hour drive) where she was diagnosed as being a likely victim of PDD. She was dreadfully ill then, and remained at the clinic for several days. When I brought her back home she was weak, but much better. Actually I kept her initially in my office instead of at home.

I gave her 3.5 mg celebrex daily from then on until she died. She gradually seemed to get worse over the next three weeks, I gavage fed her once or twice every day, and she ate some on her own. On 26 December she became violently ill and lost much more weight, down to 268 grams. I brought her home from the office and put her in the bathroom for better isolation from other birds, and because it is always very warm in my bathroom in winter time. I gavage fed her four times a day for three weeks with a mixture of honey, human baby rice cereal, hand feeding formula, celebrex, a vitamin mixture, youghourt, and lemon juice. She rapidly improved, and by about 5 January she was acting normally and slowly gaining weight, she gradually got back up to about 352 grams, near her normal weight.

On the evening of 28 March I took her out of her cage, as I always did, and handled her a long time, and she talked to me, and at one point flew across the room. She was the picture of health. The next morning she was dreadfully ill. I hoped that when I came home from the University that she would have been better. Instead she was near death. I examined her carefully, and she looked at me, barely able to move her head. I remembered that I had not closed the garage door, and when I came back she had expired in those few minutes.

I tried hard to save this sweet little creature. Something seems wrong when I start the microwave oven or make a phone call without her repeating the beeps these devices make!

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