The other day in my area I noticed a sick Sulphur Crested Cockatoo in a gum tree above me. I had never seen a wild bird with Psittacine before, only pet birds. My own Corella (Max) suffered from this disease, eventually losing all his feathers apart from the feathers on his head, unable to eat properly, I had to spoon feed him and he eventually became neurotic. He would throw himself constantly against his cage which lead him to cutting himself. Sadly in the end, I had to have my beloved Max put to sleep. He was only three years old.
As for this poor Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, I don't know how he's able to feed himself because all of his tail feathers and some of his flight feathers are missing, so I doubt very much he can fly. I was a bit concerned because his crop doesn't seem to have a lot in it but where he was sitting was too high for me to reach and help him and even then there wouldn't be much I could do for him other than feed him or have him put down.
Sadly, I doubt very much this poor bird will survive when winter arrives.
Life can be so cruel sometimes.
It's a horrible virus that psittacine circovirus and that is the biggest reason I tend to advise people not to feed birds as different flocks can gather at one feeding place and pass the virus onto each other. I used to see one at the water tower in Mt Riverview a couple of years back and had I have gotten the chance to catch it the bird would have been gently put to sleep by my vet. :(
Hi, just want to add, how nasty this is. The infection is passed from parents, or members of the flock, to the nestlings. Although the adult birds who had contact with the virus, develop resistance, they will still spead the virus in their feces, feathers and skin particles. ( One way birds acquire the virus, is at feeding stations, where large numbers come into contact!)
M-L
HI Kimbolina, it is a terrible thing to see isn't it? When I first got involved on this forum I found a lorikeet that I mistook for a young bird and it had fallen down into a drain , I took it home and rang the wildlife carers who asked me to take it to their house. I was so helping I could help it and rushed it round to the home of a girl who worked at Australia Zoo and she took it into the hospital there. Unfortunately it had this insidious disease and they very kindly rang me the next day to tell me that they had had to put it to sleep. That is when I decided never to feed birds (even though I had never fed this one and I doubt he had been fed) as I read up on it and learned that it can spread as Windhover says quickly through a group that way. :'(
Sunshine Coast Queensland
It is heart breaking to see such a beautiful bird having to suffer like this. I know there isn't anything I can do to help him, but I still feel a little guilty just leaving him there.
As it turns out, the house that has the tree in their yard, apparently a young guy lives there and he does feed the rainbow lorikeets and cockatoos. I'm guessing he probably has no idea how this could affect the other birds that come down to feed with this cockatoo.
You know what Kimbolina?? If you want to help then you owe it to those other birds to educate him ....feel up to the challenge??? LOL
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I wish I could but I don't know him from a bar of soap. I've never even seen him. It's only his neighbour I sort of know. If I see the bird again next week, then I might go knock on the guys door. Thanks. :)
Good luck, Kimbolina. I'm sure he would be eager to help the birds out too. That photograph alone shows how devastating the impact is. I'm sorry for your Max...
The only thing that needs to be spreading is awareness.
Taz
Tazrandus........what a wise head on young shoulders! Having said that, we are not the ones to knock on the neighbours door. I was lucky, because I was always brave enough to stand up for any cause I beleived in. Hope you,Kimbolina can do the same. But if you can't, please don't feel bad about it! Good luck, Kimbolina!
M-L