Nicholas

For several days now I've noticed that Nicholas' eyes are not quite as bright as usual. It's a subtle thing, so subtle I keep thinking I'm imagining it.

A few days ago he got himself between the couch and the wall and hurt his wing -- he cried for a minute and held out his left wing. Then was fine. Of course, I wasn't allowed to go near it, but he acted fine. Except every great once in awhile I'd see him flipping that wing once or twice.

His weight is normal, his behavior is normal, his interactions with Flash and with me are all normal, he's eating normal foods and treats and veggies, and his poops are normal.

I couldn't stand it any longer and took him in to Dr. Z this afternoon. She did a well-bird and drew blood. And did a gram stain. He has something with a long name on his left wing, a little bump, which she said was like an ingrown feather, and to just watch it to see if it gets larger. She didn't think that was why he was flipping that wing, but it's possible.

Dr. Z said that she saw what I saw in his eyes -- some of that brightness is gone. Of all my birds, Nicholas has always been the most "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed." Fearless and curious and nosey and has never met a stranger.

Dr. Z said she could give me some meds that are anti-inflammatory if I thought he might be in pain, but I can't tell -- you know how aggravating these parrots are about expressing their feelings. Then she said she'd rather wait till we see what the kidney values are like, which will be tomorrow.

$245.00. Nicholas can't die for a long time -- I haven't got my money's worth out of him yet.

Right now he's on his heated perch, preening, as pretty and normal as you please. He's quite aware that it's past his bedtime and that I'm not going to do a thing about it.

Little Nicholas is my miracle rescue bird. We don't know how old he is (between 16 and 23 years old) and his early history is unknown, but I'm certainly not ready for him to think about dying.