Life will never be the same...

Will0W783 · 08-13-12, 09:33 AM

But hopefully in a good way! As a lot of you guys know, I'm a softie and I often get asked to take in exotic animals that friends or acquaintances can no longer care for. Usually this entails reptiles and/or amphibians, but Friday I got a very unusual and difficult request.

A girl, Lisa, that I know from the train rides home, and who works in the Women's studies at my school, asked me if I could take her African grey parrot. Apparently this bird was originally bought for her mom's second husband, but they tired of it and gave it to the grandmother, and now the bird was living with my friend and the grandma...Lisa estimated it's around 20-25 years old. Baby, the parrot, had not been handled in years, and Lisa knew he needed to go elsewhere. I am by no means a bird expert, but I have a working knowledge of them and generally have good luck with rescues. I told her that I needed as much information about Baby and his/her (gender unknown) history as possible, and would need to come meet the bird and see how it reacted to me and my fiance before I could give her an answer.

She sent me pictures of a healthy, but bored, grey parrot in what looked like a parakeet cage (2 feet tall, 1.5 wide, and 1 or so deep) with plain dowel perches and no toys at all. She said they didn't give him toys because he chewed them up.....that's what parrots do!
So yesterday I met Baby- the cage was even smaller than it looked in the pictures, and the door was way way too small for Baby to even fit through. Lisa said he'd been in that cage for a few years, and had had a smaller one before that...ugh. Regardless, he babbled at us and seemed quite curious. Lisa got a box and encouraged us to take him right away. Fortunately, I had found a good parrot cage on Craigslist, so I called the seller and asked if I could see the cage right away. We took Baby and grabbed the cage on the way home, along with a pit stop at Petsmart for heavy-duty parrot toys.

Baby is scheduled to see my exotics vet next Tuesday - it was the earliest available appointment. I want to get his nails and wings trimmed and possibly his beak will need filing...he had nothing to chew on except the walls and a black cuttlefish bone.....and I will probably need bloodwork done to make sure his liver and kidneys are working well and he isn't nutritionally deficient.

He's really curious and laid-back. He took treats of carrots, broccoli and banana from my hands, but freaks out if I try to touch him, so it will be a long road of patience and stamina to get him accustomed to touch and coming out of the cage. Right now he seems extremely confused with all the space he has and has been flapping his wings and climbing all over. I hope this works out well for both myself and Baby...he's incredibly beautiful and I've always wanted an African grey. I always said that if I ever got a parrot it would be a grey, but I never expected to be given one at this time in my life. I don't have the most time in the world, but it will definitely be more time and attention than he was getting. My goal is for Baby to be able to come out and sit on a play gym while I do office work or take a bath, and for him to accept handling so he can be carried from room to room.

So here are the pictures I was sent, so you can get an idea of what he'd been living like:

Will0W783 · 08-13-12, 09:34 AM

And here is his cage now:

Will0W783 · 08-13-12, 09:37 AM

Baby is a Timneh African grey, which are far less common in captivity than the Congo variety. Timnehs are slightly smaller (Baby is still quite large), and have a light horn-colored beak and a dark maroon tail. They are supposedly calmer and less prone to self-destructive behavior and more adaptable to strangers and new situations. I'm hoping that Baby comes along well.

However this turns out, my life will never be the same....Baby is at most middle-aged, which means he will be my companion for another 20-30 years, and he when/if he bonds with me he will want my constant attention. Right now, he needs a lot of patience, love and careful attention to get him to warm up to us and to learn that hands are perches and not food!

Any advice I can get from other parrot owners on here would be much appreciated! I am doing a LOT of reading and absorbing information.

Gungirl · 08-13-12, 09:43 AM

Congrats on a great rescue! I love Greys and hope to own one some time. You are on the right track with everything you have said however the one thing I will recommend is not trimming the beak ( as long as it can still eat fine leave it alone) . For a bird that is a VERY sensitive and can be traumatic. Seeing as this one is not use to being handled it could make it defensive for weeks after. If given proper chew toys and cement/sand perches it will wear it down nicely on its own.

Rogue628 · 08-13-12, 09:49 AM

Awww. He's pretty! I hope his check up comes back good and he'll soon learn to trust you.

Please keep us updated on his progress. I'd love to see how well he does with a different owner and a better environment.

alessia55 · 08-13-12, 10:01 AM

Wow, congrats! You definitely have your hands full now. Good luck with Baby, she'll need lots of TLC. Poor thing, stuck in that small cage for so long. I hope she'll get lots of time now to explore the world around her. Please keep us posted as she progresses.

Nobodyspecial · 08-13-12, 10:08 AM

Congrats on the rescue Willow! Its sad to see how many people get these birds just for the novelty of just having a pet that can talk, and not realize how much attention and room they need its like having a 2 year old that never really grows up lol. Baby looks happier already.

exwizard · 08-13-12, 10:15 AM

Wow! This choked me up and made me a bit misty. I am not a bird person but I love it when things like this happen. Kim, you have my deepest respect because of what you do for these animals. Thank you.

Will0W783 · 08-13-12, 10:22 AM

Thank you guys. I'm giving Baby a mixture of the food he/she is used to, along with Dr. Harvey's Perfect Parrot food (an all-natural, human-grade mix of nuts, berries, dried fruits and veggies along with herbs). I am hoping that Baby is healthy....poop looks really watery and green. :-/

alessia55 · 08-13-12, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

Thank you guys. I'm giving Baby a mixture of the food he/she is used to, along with Dr. Harvey's Perfect Parrot food (an all-natural, human-grade mix of nuts, berries, dried fruits and veggies along with herbs). I am hoping that Baby is healthy....poop looks really watery and green. :-/

Watery and green is usually OK. Does it have little white parts to it? Droppings usually have feces, clear urine, and white urine (urates). There should be a part that is coiled and semi-solid (the poop part). Not just one big mush of liquid.

Will0W783 · 08-13-12, 10:42 AM

It looked like if you thawed out frozen spinach and just dumped it on a paper....75% watery green liquid, the rest green bits. It didn't look like Tweeter's poop at all but I don't know how stressed out Baby is.

Not the best picture, but I hope you can see it and get the idea:

buffcoat · 08-13-12, 10:51 AM

The most intelligent of birds. Be careful what you say around him/her. They retain and are able to construct full sentences. A guy I work with has one...when the phone rings the bird promptly tells you to "answer the phone @&%*#"! He will tell you when he's going to bed and things like that. They are the only bird I would own. I've been around several and they have all been amazing.

Congrats on the rescue. I know you will give him/her the best care!

alessia55 · 08-13-12, 11:00 AM

Yeah, that looks runny. It might just be stress though. This is gross, but I've done it several times for my birds: run your fingers through it. It should be smooth, without much texture. I'd watch him carefully and hopefully the vet will be able to help. Give him plenty of time to just relax and adjust. I wouldn't stress handling right now. Let him settle in and get used to the new people and animals he now lives with.

UwabamiReptiles · 08-13-12, 11:01 AM

When I worked at a pet shop when I was in high school. I would get in trouble because I would just play and talk with the african grey we had. Hands down the coolest birds out there. Congrats!

jarich · 08-13-12, 11:09 AM

Wow, thats an amazing rescue animal to get for free. They are really expensive. Congratulations!