Hello, I'm new here but I'm eager to learn!

So, My mum has a friend who has a Congo African Grey Parrot called Tico.  Tico is her husbands bird until he passes. Once her husband passes she will need my help with getting Tico out of his cage and into his travel carrier and take him home with me as my bird. Tico would be my first bird and I want to do the right thing for Tico. She originally asked for my help to bring Tico to the bird rescue I volunteer at sometimes but even though I've never had a bird I feel taking him to the bird rescue wouldn't be in Tico's best interest since most of the exotics  (especially the Macaws, Cockatoos and Amazons and other large birds) get bounced from home then back to the rescue then to home then back to the rescue and so on.

I am currently 21, live with my mum and fiance and I don't go to school but do plan to do school online but I have plenty of time and patience for working with Tico to give him the attention and care he needs.

I am much more comfortable with and do best with larger birds and I have some experience with handling Macaws, Cockatoos and Amazons. 

Ones that have temperament problems and that has a tendency to bite and do things their not supposed to do. 

I've been Biten, I've been lunged at,  I've been grabbed by beaks and nails and more. But after having patience  and time working with each bird that has done that to me has an Amazing reward, having a newly affectionate gentle bird was so worth it.

With what I understand with Tico, he does have a problem with biting and doesn't get out of his cage much because of that and needs more socializing with being touched and brought out and a few other thing.

From with what I said, does it seem as though Tico would have a better life with me?  Somebody who has the time and patience to work with him and care for him and give him the attention he needs? VS having to spend most of his life in a cage in a loud room with a lot of other birds with temperament and behavioral problems?

I kind of know the answer but I REALLY want to make sure it's the best thing for Tico.  I'm trying to think about his well being and quality of life above what I want.

I just want what's best for Tico.

Please welcome Katana600, and Congratulations Dee! I know you will be awesome!! :cool:

i have cats, dogs and well you know...Nilah...Talon and Rikki.  We all know our place in the flock.  I do work a lot of hours, some days my birds are in their cages 11 hours..but they get out of their cage time always when I get home until bed, and Sunday is theirs day to have all day out.  I’ve aleays felt 3 are enough....but my heart breaks..and I’m torn what to do.  He is a  male, I have 3 females....I don’t want to disrupt the flock and household...do I just ignore the phone call?  I’ve done that once before, but it was just a woman who was looking for a home, not the elderly parents and bird sitting there all day....just looking for feedback from my family here.

i tend to make a quick decision based on my heartfelt sympathy for all animals...want to rescue them all...thus my 3 dogs, 2 cats and 3 birds  🙄

Thanks in advance!

I know every parrot is different so I will tell you a bit about Bailey; he is 11 years old and spent his whole life with an elderly couple before my dad bought him from a pet shop 3 years ago.  He is okay with strangers but will back away if they get too near, when up 8 family members have visited he has been fine and even tries to get in on the chatter.  He flew onto my nephews shoulder for a minute or 2 the first time they'd met.  It did take him 6 months for him to step up but he would normally accept treats.

He is going to Lincolnshire Wildlife park on Thursday.  Do you guys have any advice for transporting him etc?  

I've posted some photos and videos of him.  One is of Lincolnshire wildlife park just over a month ago.
 

And for the record, before I begin, I HATE photobucket.

Baby girl is home!!! (Did I mention I hate photobucket???)

The home visit went very well, as you can see. It was a beautiful day and the amazing ladies of Exotic Avian Sanctuary of Tennessee loaded up Ms. Gracie and her cage and drove up.

She is absolutely adorable and precious, and I know she is going to fit in just fine here. She seems to be settling in really well. She is 19 years old, and was surrendered several weeks ago by a man who no longer wanted her. He had her for 4 years, we don't know anything about her history before that. When the rescue got her, she was terrified of everything - toys, humans, etc. They have worked with her and she's made a little progress. She is now playing with some toys, but anything new has to be added very slowly. She was fully feathered when they got her, I think the stress of the sudden rehoming into the sanctuary with so many other birds / so many changes initiated the plucking, as the former owner told the rescue that she had plucked when he first got her. I have seen pics (I have pics - did I mention I hate photobucket?) of when she first arrived at the rescue, so I know what is possible with this little lady. Regardless, it doesn't matter. She really hasn't plucked anywhere near as bad as they had prepared me for, and I know we can make her feel secure again and get her back to a good place mentally. Physically, she's in great condition. (Kya plucked his chest completely bare, and had started working on his skin, so this looks good to me.) I have not noticed her plucking once since she has been here, and take that as a good sign.

Amazingly, she has a decent diet, and is very receptive to fresh foods and grains. Her pellet choice isn't my favorite, (Zupreem fruit blend) but we'll work with it! She is a bottomless pit, and will eat anything I offer her. I am hoping Kya will learn a thing or two from her diet wise. I could use some cooperation from that boy.

It is going to take a lot of time and patience to bring her around. She loves to come out of her cage and play on the top of it, and will allow head scritches, but so far, she lets you know really quickly that she's not interested in that "step up" game. We're just taking it slow and letting her do her thing. The first night we had her cage on the opposite side of the room from Kya. They kept doing the grey call (Woooooo) back and forth so the second day we moved them side by side. Kya immediately turned his back on her for the whole day, just wouldn't even look at her. At feeding time, their bowls were face to face, and hunger won out so they sat eating together, and then started interacting with each other through the cages. They seem to be very receptive of each other, and chatter back and forth. I have not allowed them out of the cages together, but if things keep going in the direction they are going, we will try that this weekend.

She's very vocal, and it's funny how her voice sounds so different from Kya. I can tell exactly who it is from the other room. No one knows if she talks, at the rescue there were so many birds that they said they would have never noticed unless she said something directly in their face. I have heard her mumbling something this morning, but can't make it out. Besides, it's hard for any of us to get a word in with Kya's constant narrative. She knows her name well, so that must have been something that has stuck with her throughout her life. I won't change it, even though we have massive confusion with a Chihuahua who is also named Gracie.

She loves to be misted! I was beginning to think that greys preferred to be dirty, but this baby twirls on her perch like a ballerina with her wings up so you can get every spot. I'm glad, because I think that will help with feather regrowth, not to mention the dust of 2 greys!!!

Gracie does seem to be more tolerant of my husband's attention at this time - larger parrots really have a thing for him, and she was a man's bird. The rescue also said she was partial to a male volunteer that helped out. But, we are not pushing her at all, and I am sure the dynamics will change as she makes herself at home and starts to have out of cage time with another grey. I can give her scritches, occasionally she will try to nip, but if I calmly put my finger on her beak and make eye contact and say "no bite" she will drop her head in invitation to see if I will do it again. And, of course, I do. My husband can give her scritches all day with no beak at all, but she still won't step up for either of us. We are able to put our arms inside the cage and she does not seem to feel threatened or lash out. All in all, (and yes, I know it's a honeymoon period) her fears are not as evident as I thought they would be, and that is promising!

Thanks to all for the support through this, and again, I apologize for not updating quickly. I may be a nurse but I'm a terrible sick person / patient, and I have pretty much been in a fetal position all week long. I will try to keep this thread going with our progress, and pics if I can make friends with photobucket - it really didn't used to be that big of a pain, did it???

Alex is 18 years old African Grey. Based on his last owner, he had 2 previous owner but last owner was not sure. His last owner thought Alex is 9-10 years old and she told me that Alex is semi-tame. He has this problem that he chew his tale completely. But knowing all these things, I knew I want to help Alex. I drove around 4h to another state picked him up and brought him home. He had few days of honeymoon and after that he showed how stressed he is.

He is living with me for almost 6 weeks and he improved so much. He is still scared and I can see that when I get close to him, he starts shacking but when I offer him grapes he gets it and eat it with joy. Although he is scared, he is trying to build relationship and talk and even gives kisses to me, but he is scared of hand so much.

I am planing to post his videos time to time and hear advise from you guys. Please feel free to give me any feedback or advise. All I want is to provide best home and life style for Alex. I know it takes time and happily I am patient enough to wait even if it takes years.

So here are some of his videos and I will keep posting about him.

Thanks in advance for your wonderful advice and encouragement. You guys are really the best help.

9th days of being with me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oOXKnzC1pk

First time he stepped out of his cage:

He started giving kisses in his cage:

First time trying to teach him to step up and I failed lol:

Alex giving kissed out of his cage for the first time:

The guy is not a "bird person" as he says and is at work all day. Buddy is in his cage all the time. Buddy seems to prefer women and I am afraid by the way this guy is sounding (desperate) that he is not going to screen potential new homes properly. He said "the bird needs to go".

Should I take Buddy or not? I have my reservations. Buddy does not have a band and I have no way of verifying his age or where he came from. He said a woman from Oregon also emailed and is interested in him. I'm assuming if she is willing to drive several hours to the Seattle area, she is serious.

You will have to work for it and some times very hard before you can enjoy it.

You must take care of their needs first before you work on their problems. Observe their likes and dislikes in the things that you do when you are around them, as this may be the key to building your relationship so you can make good things happen.

It may take a number of trials and errors before you come up with the answers you need, but don`t give up.

The parrot you are looking for is in that rehome, Take the time to look that parrot and you will experience the joy of a rehome, I know I did.

Cricket was a rehome and she gave me that joy and if you don`t believe me when it comes to that joy just read my all time favorite thread (Gilbert is home) from start to finish as I have and you will see joy.

Sometimes it seems like the baggage is too great to have a meaningful relationship with "a parrot with issues". Sometimes our new baby becomes a "terrible teen tyrant" and we are looking for elusive answers to "what happened". Sometimes we wonder if we are the right home or if we let our hearts get ahead of our coping skills. Then I read a post about Bongo flying to Lisa. We follow Muse and Peck and the whole flock. We cheer Isaac and Stephen for reaching insight. We may get a defining moment or we may clean poop off the stairs and get a surly response to our overtures. Over the course of time we watch Dorian go from being quiet on his boing to flipping the tea mug off the desk. Every story matters. Every quiet day you live with your flock "normally", you have a voice that reaches out to somebody else out there and touches the life of another parrot looking for their forever home.

We may lose a loved one after spending hours of heart time and the loss is so devastating it makes us want to build a wall and stay inside to avoid that pain. But every word we share gives someone else the opportunity to know what it takes to live with a parrot. Thank you to every contributing member of our forum and to the family we created here to share our experience. Thank you to every reader, every lurker who is just beginning to wonder if they can find the right match for their home or have come in with an "oh dang, what have I gotten myself into?" There are as many unique match ups as there are parrots and humans. Everything worth having is worth the effort to understand just a little more today than we did yesterday. Life is good.

I am attaching their pictures. These pictures are of their current "home" - the conditions they've lived in for possibly decades (I only know the details of the Greys - they were there for 25 years).

I am desperately trying to figure out some way to save them. They are to be euthanized if the owner cannot place them.

I have thought about carving out a TEMPORARY space in the garage but am worried about the weather. We still could potentially have some colder weather. If anyone has converted this type of space to usable parrot housing, I would appreciate ANY tips or suggestions on how they did it.

Anyone else here have tips on squeezing extra area out of existing space? We are going to try to set up a fundraiser of some type to help with this rescue but for right now I am only counting on what we have available from our own resources. I'd like to find a way to squeeze them in here, even just for a couple of months, while we work on acceptable housing for them. I don't think they'd fit in my guest bathroom but that may be where we have to go. Or possibly the master bath as well. It just breaks my heart to think they may die because no one will take them. We originally said we couldn't but now to find out they will die for lack of a rescue, I am rethinking that decision. Maybe it's not meant to happen. Maybe my heart is just too tender and too big. But I am praying that somehow a solution will be found.

The donated aviary is coming (in pieces) Monday and Tuesday but there is much work (and expense) needed before it goes "live" so that is not an option at this time.

The Amazon - he was reportedly a "honeymoon present" until he got to be about five years old and the hormones kicked in, and has been relegated to this cage as "crazy mean and wild" every since.

One of the cockatoos.

This cockatoo has plucking issues and doesn't look healthy. Not sure what the 'bump' is around the vent area.

Another of the cockatoos.

This picture is not of the birds that still need rescued, but this was the previous home of the African Greys that have already been rescued. They spent 25 years of their lives in these cages. I don't see a single toy. They will be taken good care of at Project Perry.

I didn’t ask to be your pet,

You said you wanted me.

I was taken away from the world I knew,

Though not unwillingly.

I’d learned to trust the human hand,

With its soft and gentle touch,

So patiently I waited for

The caress I loved so much.

I meant no harm that day I screeched,

I just wanted you to see

That someone lived behind those bars,

I thought you had forgotten me.

Then the human hand I loved so much

Came through my tiny door;

But it offered me no gentleness

As it knocked me to the floor.

A feeling welled inside of me,

Like I had never known.

I felt frightened, hurt, confused and lost

Within the bars of my new home.

But patiently I waited

For that hand to treat me right,

But it rarely came to bring me food,

And there were no toys in sight.

In boredom and in loneliness,

In hunger and despair

I slowly ripped my feathers out,

But no-one helped, you didn’t care.

So I learned to hate the human hand

As it slammed down on my cage,

It held a brand new meaning now,

Fear, pain, and rage.

And then one day a stranger came,

And to my great surprise,

Gentle words came from her mouth,

And tears welled in her eyes.

But then the terror filled my heart,

For that human who had cried,

Opened up my tiny door,

And put those human hands inside.

I screamed in panic, fear and dread,

As I waited for the pain

That the human hand would give me

As it slammed me once again.

But gently I was lifted

From my prison, cold and bare;

But still I bit at those human hands

In my terror and despair.

The new prison I was taken to

Was somewhat different to my home.

Fresh food was all around me,

And toy friends to call my own.

And the human hands that touched me

Brought on me no more pain,

And slowly as the weeks went by,

My ravaged feathers grew again.

And as the weeks passed into months,

I began to understand,

That once again I could begin

To trust the human hand.

I’m old now, really very old;

But my memories are clear,

Of the gentle hand that soothed the pain

From the hand I’d learned to fear.

I’m tired now, really very tired,

Many years my life has spanned,

So I close my eyes for one last time,

Safe and warm in the human hand.

Anne.M.Kenyon

So after a very rewarding day at work (I work with adults with disabilities who have aggression problems hence my bravery to face an unhappy african grey) in which I had been working for months with a very aggressive, vision-impaired older individual, who finally held my hand and smiled without trying to attack me, I decided that I was going to push the envelope with my unhappy grey. I put my hand in her cage but did not go near her. She kept bowing her head but I wasn't going to fall for her ruse. So then she would inch towards me, close enough to brush up against my hand, and then she would bite like nobody's business. I didn't pull back, I stayed calm, I spoke our shared phrases, and I continued to let her get it out of her system without flinching....and she can really bite hard.

After about 15 minutes of this grey coming up to my hand, biting me (and holding on with those bites--not just strike & bites), letting go, backing off, to return again to bite me, she climbed down to the bottom of the cage. I decided to sit on the floor and put my hand on the floor of the cage. This time she came up to my hand and was gentle with me and even nuzzled her face against my hand. She then let me pet her. She was so happy and making happy grey noises. She even regurgitated twice, went up to her bowl to eat just so she could come back down and regurgitate more for me. She let me pet her and she was so sweet. At one point she hopped on my arm so I tried to move my arm out of the cage. She stayed with me until she was about to cross the threshold of the door and hopped off, so I realized that she wasn't ready for that yet. So I just sat on the floor and pet her at the bottom of her cage. She let me pet her for a little over an hour. I will admit that she did the mating dance for me so I don't know if spring hormones are kicking in and that's why she is acting like she adores me now. Any advice would be helpful on that because she has been a terror for the longest time.

Last night when I spent time with her, as soon as she saw me coming, she climbed to the bottom of her cage so I sat on the floor again. She let me pet her again and she made happy grey noises. This time when she climbed on my arm, I didn't move my arm. She climbed out of the cage on her own and even sat in my lap for awhile while I pet her. Then she perched on my shoulder and even gave me gentle bird kisses. We spent about an hour and a half together. Tonight was just like last night.

I did tease my husband that he must have switched her out with a friendly grey because of the personality change. Does anyone have any idea why after over a year of her biting me and not letting me touch her and then 15 minutes of me still and taking her bites, she became my best friend and only on the floor? I'm almost afraid that by posting this, I will jinx the situation. Is it just because it's coming into spring soon so she's just getting frisky? Do you think she actually has accepted me and trusts me now?

Any information or advice would be appreciated. I have other parrots so I'm not new to the parrot world but she is my first grey. I've just never had one be so aggressive for so long and then like a light switch, change into a sweet loving bird.

I really hope it's because she finally trusted me, and not just because she thinks it's mating season and I'm the best looking critter around for her. lol So do you think I have reason to celebrate that I won over the love of a re-homed older grey? The last 3 nights, she was cuddlier than the cuddliest of my birds. I'm so excited but I'm afraid that I'm going to wake up one day and she will hate me again. Hopefully I'll get encouragement here but please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks everyone!

February 04, 2015

Marden’s Ark Announces Donation of Aviary from Project Perry

Aviary to be dismantled and moved from VA to NC.

Youngsville, NC— February 04, 2015 — Today, Marden’s Ark is excited to announce that Project Perry is donating one of their aviaries to Marden’s Ark following their plans to upgrade the existing aviary to a newer, larger aviary at their Louisa, VA sanctuary.

“We are just so thankful for this amazing gift,” said Dee Hicks, President of Marden’s Ark. “This is really giving a jump start to our plans here. Matt, at Project Perry, has been a great inspiration and has given us invaluable advice that has guided us in starting Marden’s Ark. We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Matt and Kirah. We are just overwhelmed by this donation.”

Project Perry is a well-established sanctuary for parrots in central Virginia. They recently began a fund-raiser to upgrade their existing small bird aviary. The new aviary at Project Perry will be much larger and better able to accommodate their growing population.

The existing small bird aviary is an 8 year old structure that is being replaced and will be dismantled at Project Perry on February 16 and 17, then transported to Youngsville NC where preparations will be made to erect the structure at Marden’s Ark. This will be the first year-round outdoor structure for housing birds at Marden’s Ark. Their current population of 56 birds is currently being housed in typical cages in indoor living areas.

(Photo Courtesy of Project Perry - http://http://www.projectperry.com/'>http://http://www.projectperry.com/) This is a shot of the aviary as it now stands on location at Project Perry. This was the original structure that started it all for Matt and his wonderful sanctuary. Through his generosity, it will live on at Marden's Ark, providing a safe place to land - hopefully for many years to come.

(Photo Courtesy of Project Perry - http://http://www.projectperry.com/) This is a view of the inside of the aviary as it now stands on location at Project Perry.

This is a photo-edited composite showing the planned location where the structure will hopefully be erected at Marden's Ark. (Pending "Call Before You Dig" Survey, etc.)

We have to lay down some kind of substrate on the floor as there is carpet (yuck!) in that room right now. Once that is done, we can put the cages together (hopefully in a day) and the little birds will be FLYING! Yay! Hubby is counting on his bonus this year to pay for screening in the porch for outdoor flights. Progress!

One of the budgies that were rescued locally, little Snowflake, died on Monday, Dec 1 after being ill for the past couple of months. We had a necropsy done and I got the results this week. The findings, while officially "inconclusive" went on to mention crop lesions that were "consistent with PDD" (Proventricular Dilatation Disease, aka Macaw Wasting Disease). Unfortunately, PDD and macrohabdus basically cause the same symptoms - the bird will eat normally but fail to thrive, losing weight and basically wasting away (hence the name). Snowflake was being treated but not responding appropriately to treatment and she exhibited these symptoms, so this makes it possible that she did have PDD (caused by avian bornavirus). So this week, we took the remaining seven from that cage in to be tested. At the doctor's suggestion, we aggregated blood from all birds into one sample, and they also submitted choanal and cloacal swabs of each of the seven. The vet was extremely kind in how they billed this and the whole thing INCLUDING seven FULL (very thorough!) VET EXAMS only came to $300! I love our vets!

The sad part of this is that these birds will now never seen the aviary we've worked so hard to provide nor the enclosed porch outdoor flight. The vet feels they should not be mixed with other birds. The disease is devastating, and the risk too great. And testing is not 100% reliable for this disease so they could test negative and still be carriers of the virus.

We have decided to try to find permanent fosters for these birds -including all the birds in that quarantine which means also two cockatiels and two parrotlets. They came from unsanitary conditions so the vet advised that potentially all could have been exposed, as the virus is likely transmitted in droppings and there were a LOT of accumulated droppings. Any fosters will have to be birdless and remain birdless. I am not sure how easy that will be to find. By doing fostering instead of adoption, we could still cover vet care and it would be at our discounted rate. I want to see to it that these birds are taken care of.

Sometimes I wish I'd just hit the lottery so we could just build them their own room and aviary. I just don't want to see them spend the rest of their lives in tiny cages. I will figure something out, no matter what happens. Please pray for us.

An African Grey Parrot was found in Baldwin Park, CA

http://www.911parrotalert.com/found/shelter-found-ca-baldwin-congo-african-grey-21sep14/

6269623577