Sugarbunnie Loft

Rough weekend here at Sugarbunnie. Vaccinated all the residents and babies on 2/27/10 against PMV/Salbac/E. coli which was great, but sadly received a reminder of why some people choose not to vaccinate. The life of a bird is a fragile thing, and even in the hands of the most experienced hobbyist something can go wrong. We lost our darling little Heppner Berliner, "Bernard", on Saturday morning. The poor little angel passed away a few minutes after he was vaccinated, while I held him gently and watched helplessly. It was heartbreaking, but there was nothing that could be done. It looked as though he bled under the skin where the injection site was, which likely means an artery was pricked by the needle - even though my friend who was vaccinating the birds has been doing it for decades, and I don't think there is a more experienced steady hand out there. We felt terrible, and Bernard's little Jacky hen, "Ava", is so miserable - waiting and waiting for Bernard to "come home". I loved Bernard so much, he loved this bell toy in the loft and my mornings have been filled with the sound of his ceremonious ringing for the last year, as he announced each new day. He was adorable. I know he had a wonderful life with us at Sugarbunnie, and he will be missed incredibly. I have two of his children in the nest right now, and Ava laid an egg last night which I will slip under another pair. I will definitely keep one of his children to continue the bloodline. It's possible Johnny Ajluni has Bernard's parents, we're going to look into it. But of course nothing can replace this sweet little guy.

I still wholeheartedly believe in vaccinating, but want to take the opportunity to remind everyone that it does pose a risk. If you have a bird as a house pet that will not come in contact with other pigeons ever, you may want to think carefully on whether or not to vaccinate. It is hard to lose a beloved pet - and the vaccines are most suitable for birds likely to be in close proximity or contact with other birds.