Several weeks ago, 2 of our free-rangers disappeared. Two others showed up the next morning in bad shape, eyes closed, barely able to move. No sign of injuries, not even missing feathers, or parasites. At first we suspected a predator -- our neighbor has a vicious chicken-killing dog & an occasional mongoose gets into the neighborhood -- but the lack of any physical evidence suggested poisoning.
We've never before had a case of birds being poisoned, and the only reason we entertained that possibility is because a neighbor is remodeling his house and is leaving construction materials laying around. The sick birds had large white globs in their stools, not like anything we'd seen before, so maybe they ate caulking or drywall or -- who knows? But I realize that this was a SWAG.
Through 24Hr care, we saved one bird, who now seems fully recovered & happy. The other one, a very sweet hen, sadly succumbed. She never opened her eyes again.
About a week after that, I came down with a mysterious illness. Weak, dizzy, headachy, brain fog, the whole 9 yards. It's now been debilitating for over a week. I sometimes lose my balance just walking across a room. After failing to come up with a diagnosis with my regular caregiver, I spent most of yesterday in the ER when she suggested that I might be having a stroke. But an MRI, CAT scan, COVID & flu tests, chest X-rays, tons of bloodwork & urinanalysis, and a lot more -- all came up negative. Even my white blood-cell count, which would indicate an active bacterial infection if high, was low. Final diagnosis was "an unknown viral infection. Give it time and maybe it'll resolve itself." Arg.
I've found conflicting information about the chicken diseases that can be transmitted to humans, and I know I'm raising this question only because of the coincidental timing. But has anyone ever personally confirmed that they've gotten sick due to contact with a sick bird?
My state is one of the few with no reported cases of avian / bird flu, and we don't have ticks. Nonetheless, I've started avoiding the birds, on the slight chance that I have something that could infect them.
At this point, I'm getting desperate. This illness has put a complete halt to my life and there's no end in sight. So maybe I'm grasping at straws -- or not thinking clearly b/c of this darned brain fog! -- but can anyone who has had extensive experience raising birds shed any light on the topic?
Thank you for any help.
C
We've never before had a case of birds being poisoned, and the only reason we entertained that possibility is because a neighbor is remodeling his house and is leaving construction materials laying around. The sick birds had large white globs in their stools, not like anything we'd seen before, so maybe they ate caulking or drywall or -- who knows? But I realize that this was a SWAG.
Through 24Hr care, we saved one bird, who now seems fully recovered & happy. The other one, a very sweet hen, sadly succumbed. She never opened her eyes again.
About a week after that, I came down with a mysterious illness. Weak, dizzy, headachy, brain fog, the whole 9 yards. It's now been debilitating for over a week. I sometimes lose my balance just walking across a room. After failing to come up with a diagnosis with my regular caregiver, I spent most of yesterday in the ER when she suggested that I might be having a stroke. But an MRI, CAT scan, COVID & flu tests, chest X-rays, tons of bloodwork & urinanalysis, and a lot more -- all came up negative. Even my white blood-cell count, which would indicate an active bacterial infection if high, was low. Final diagnosis was "an unknown viral infection. Give it time and maybe it'll resolve itself." Arg.
I've found conflicting information about the chicken diseases that can be transmitted to humans, and I know I'm raising this question only because of the coincidental timing. But has anyone ever personally confirmed that they've gotten sick due to contact with a sick bird?
My state is one of the few with no reported cases of avian / bird flu, and we don't have ticks. Nonetheless, I've started avoiding the birds, on the slight chance that I have something that could infect them.
At this point, I'm getting desperate. This illness has put a complete halt to my life and there's no end in sight. So maybe I'm grasping at straws -- or not thinking clearly b/c of this darned brain fog! -- but can anyone who has had extensive experience raising birds shed any light on the topic?
Thank you for any help.
C
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Oh, and covid is on the move again, but I'm thinking they would have tested for that first.
