Wasabi (Peas) died early this morning, a little puddle of feathers on the floor of the hospital cage. Because I was watching for the event, and had an appointment with the vet already set up, and was a little worried about those wheezing noises, I took him in for a necropsy (the term used for an autopsy on an animal). I followed the directions I found on the Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine: get the body as soon as possible after death, sprinkle with a little cold water, put it in a plastic bag, store it in the refrigerator and/or cooler (with ice) until you can get it to the lab or doctor's office. My vet confirmed this is a good way to keep the body preserved well for the procedure.

The vet did a gross necropsy, which does not include tissue biopsies and probably other things I don't know about. It also means she doesn't know exactly why Wasabi (Peas) died. But his lungs and air sack looked good, and she didn't see any sign of infection. That's good news. The wheezing I heard yesterday was a new symptom to me, and I was a little concerned he had something contagious. In fact, the vet thought what killed him may have been the old scourge of the Finsterium: liver problems.

Clearly, I need to do some research on liver problems in birds, because that one comes up all the time. Expect Peanut, apparently.

[In retrospect, a necropsy on Peanut would have been a good idea. At the time, I was incapable of thinking.]

I didn't think to ask for Wasabi (Peas)' body back until it was probably too late. That's okay. It's different, since I've always buried little dead birds. Or, you know, kept them in the freezer for awhile. But I'm not sure I'm prepared to have three birdsicles in the freezer right now.

Oh! And I don't think I ever mentioned: apparently I didn't bury Frank deeply enough, and the brick I put on top of the site didn't deter a wild animal from getting an exotic Frank Snack. Mmmmmmm, tasty! That was a little disconcerting when I discovered it the next day, but it wasn't too awful. After all, it's nice to have wild critters in my neighborhood. And they need snacks, too.

So anyway, maybe not getting Wasabi (Peas)' sliced up little body back is okay.

Wasabi (Peas) hid his illness pretty well. It wasn't until we caught him last night to put him in the hospital cage that we realized how badly he was feeling. Such a brave bird.

R.I.P. Wasabi (Peas), ? — January 26, 2007.