The Burd Report

Mr. Snagglebeak was looking particularly poorly yesterday afternoon, so I decided he ought to see the vet right away. Jolly good thing, too--turns out he had a terrible mite infestation going on. I had thought him parasite-free, seeing as nothing was actively crawling on him, but it turns out they were under his skin. (Ugh--imagine how that must feel!)

At any rate, the vet said the infestation looks a lot more alarming than it is. She's going to hang onto Mr. Snagglebeak for a few days, and send him back a whole new bird. He'll get antibiotics, anti-mite treatments, and bandages to keep him from picking his feet open. Oh, and his snagglebeak will be trimmed into shape. I'm supposed to keep checking the other birds for signs of mite infestation, just to be safe. Apparently, mites aren't terribly contagious, but symptoms can take ages to show up. I won't know if they're all mite-free for several months. If any of them are infected, they'll need to come in for treatment as well--there aren't any home remedies that work reliably.

The vet was gracious enough to give me a discount, seeing as I wasn't the one who'd let Mr. Snagglebeak get into such a state. Quite a relief, that. This season is horrible on the pocketbook, even without complications. An enormous vet's bill is the last thing I need! It looks like I'm getting my money's worth, anyway: this morning, on the phone, I got an encouraging report. Mr. S is eating well, and already seems to be making progress. In spite of his mites and his feet, he's active and bright. He'll always have a spot of trouble getting about, owing to the extensive damage to his toes, but he'll certainly survive. For a moment there, I'd thought he was done for.

Pictures of Mr. Snagglebeak will be forthcoming, as soon as he comes home from the vet's. In the meantime, allow me to present the other three menaces burds:

...I think that white one is giving me the eye.

Mr. Yellow braves the splatter zone. That's some brass balls on that one!

"These girls are picking on me!"
Miss Blue has got an evil glint in her eye. Mr. Yellow is apprehensive. With Mr. Snagglebeak gone, he feels somewhat outnumbered.

Miss White is not really twice the size of her friends. She's just gone all puffy, right there.

(I'm not going to keep referring to them by colour, I swear. Proper names are in the works.)