- Oct 25, 2011
- 114
- 3
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Just thought I would impart some advice following a very sad day, so that hopefully nobody has to go through the pain and loss of what i just went through. Avocado is toxic to Quails.
I had about 5 baby quails a couple of weeks apart that i was raising, about my tenth time rearing babies in my tiny apartment. I was feeding them all sorts of fruits and vegetables trying to spoil them and they were loving each new thing i put in there for them. Flicking it round the cage, running around excitedly with it hanging from their mouths, whenever i gave them something new and special. But the night before yesterday, i made the fatal mistake of introducing them to avocado. They loved it, never seen them gobble up anything so fast.
Got home yesterday from work at around 4pm to find one dead in the bottom of the cage. Baffled as to what could have happened, and a little upset, as he seemed to be the healthiest and strongest of the lot. No head contusions, no floppy neck to indicate breakage, nothing caught in the mouth... nothing out of the ordinary. My husband had been home that day and had checked on them no more than three hours beforehand and all seemed fine, just noticed they were not eating as vigorously as usual. Three hours later another grew lethargic and died within an hour, it's head flopping round on it's little limp body, (not gasping for air and no blockage could be heard in it's airways or anything. Just falling asleep and not eating) So with the others also growing lethargic and feeling weak by this point, with my largest baby falling over himself while trying to snuggle up around my neck. My husband put the symptoms into google, and up pops a big warning in capitol letters with DO NOT FEED AVOCADO right in the description of the second link.
I was a mess, tears streaming down my face and my breath all short and flustered, i called our local 24 hour vet to see if they could recommend anything to flush their system and help them survive through it, who then put me on hold. When they finally picked up they said they couldn't do anything for me but had the number of a vet that specialized in birds. So i thanked them, with a dying bird in my hands, quickly hung up and called the next vet, who told me that they had something that could flush their systems, asked me when they ate the avocado and gave me an address to bring them in, as i was writing down the address i remember telling them that i didn't think they would make it there, was there anything i could do to help... i think they told me that it was something they had specifically that i wouldn't be able to do... We rushed out the door, to drive to the vet, they didn't make it.. I remember we only had two alive by this point cradling them both in one hand under my jumper to keep the breeze off them as we got into the car, the little one died halfway to the vet there and my biggest died as we pulled up, his little sad eyes opening to look up at me one last time before falling asleep again. Not being sure they were actually dead i ran in anyway, stalled by the locked automatic doors and quickly handed my limp babies over the counter to the man on reception who hurriedly rushed them away.
But no win, I was called into a room about 20 minutes later and told they they had been dead on arrival. I broke down.. just fell to pieces right there in that little room with my babies on the table in front of me. They also told me i could keep the blanket they wrapped them in. Which i thought was nice of them... I took the bodies home with me. Put them in the freezer as i plan to drive out on the weekend to my mothers new property and plant them under my Morton bay fig bonsai to help it grow. I'm still grieving.
Please learn from my mistakes. Don't feed your quails avocado.
Banana, great! Avocado, really really bad!
And the other... try not to fall asleep while holding them, I crushed one that way once. If you must, punch a few holes in a takeaway food container and put them in that with a bit of seed. The bonding is worth it, but waking up to a squashed baby bird really isn't. No matter how careful and brilliant you think you are, accidents happen.
I had about 5 baby quails a couple of weeks apart that i was raising, about my tenth time rearing babies in my tiny apartment. I was feeding them all sorts of fruits and vegetables trying to spoil them and they were loving each new thing i put in there for them. Flicking it round the cage, running around excitedly with it hanging from their mouths, whenever i gave them something new and special. But the night before yesterday, i made the fatal mistake of introducing them to avocado. They loved it, never seen them gobble up anything so fast.
Got home yesterday from work at around 4pm to find one dead in the bottom of the cage. Baffled as to what could have happened, and a little upset, as he seemed to be the healthiest and strongest of the lot. No head contusions, no floppy neck to indicate breakage, nothing caught in the mouth... nothing out of the ordinary. My husband had been home that day and had checked on them no more than three hours beforehand and all seemed fine, just noticed they were not eating as vigorously as usual. Three hours later another grew lethargic and died within an hour, it's head flopping round on it's little limp body, (not gasping for air and no blockage could be heard in it's airways or anything. Just falling asleep and not eating) So with the others also growing lethargic and feeling weak by this point, with my largest baby falling over himself while trying to snuggle up around my neck. My husband put the symptoms into google, and up pops a big warning in capitol letters with DO NOT FEED AVOCADO right in the description of the second link.
I was a mess, tears streaming down my face and my breath all short and flustered, i called our local 24 hour vet to see if they could recommend anything to flush their system and help them survive through it, who then put me on hold. When they finally picked up they said they couldn't do anything for me but had the number of a vet that specialized in birds. So i thanked them, with a dying bird in my hands, quickly hung up and called the next vet, who told me that they had something that could flush their systems, asked me when they ate the avocado and gave me an address to bring them in, as i was writing down the address i remember telling them that i didn't think they would make it there, was there anything i could do to help... i think they told me that it was something they had specifically that i wouldn't be able to do... We rushed out the door, to drive to the vet, they didn't make it.. I remember we only had two alive by this point cradling them both in one hand under my jumper to keep the breeze off them as we got into the car, the little one died halfway to the vet there and my biggest died as we pulled up, his little sad eyes opening to look up at me one last time before falling asleep again. Not being sure they were actually dead i ran in anyway, stalled by the locked automatic doors and quickly handed my limp babies over the counter to the man on reception who hurriedly rushed them away.
But no win, I was called into a room about 20 minutes later and told they they had been dead on arrival. I broke down.. just fell to pieces right there in that little room with my babies on the table in front of me. They also told me i could keep the blanket they wrapped them in. Which i thought was nice of them... I took the bodies home with me. Put them in the freezer as i plan to drive out on the weekend to my mothers new property and plant them under my Morton bay fig bonsai to help it grow. I'm still grieving.
Please learn from my mistakes. Don't feed your quails avocado.
Banana, great! Avocado, really really bad!
And the other... try not to fall asleep while holding them, I crushed one that way once. If you must, punch a few holes in a takeaway food container and put them in that with a bit of seed. The bonding is worth it, but waking up to a squashed baby bird really isn't. No matter how careful and brilliant you think you are, accidents happen.
