CocoaRocks

http://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/parrot_bids_for_freedom_but_survival_s_a_grey_area_1_3310110 Published on Thursday 21 April 2011 16:30 AN exotic visitor has been ruffling a few feathers in a South Tyneside street. Residents in Kingsway, Westoe, South Shields, spent yesterday trying to entice an African grey parrot down from the rooftops. One resident said at the time: “It’s been sitting on the roofs and chattering away all day. “It seems quite content, but it must belong to someone, and we don’t know how it will get by on its own. “We’re a bit worried about what will happen if the seagulls see it.” She added: “We’ve tried tempting it down with offers of food, but it’s just not having it.” The African Grey Parrot is a medium-sized parrot found in the primary and secondary rainforests of west and central Africa. It feeds primarily on palm nuts, seeds, fruits and leafy matter, but has also been seen eating snails. Experts say the bird on the loose in South Shields could survive in the wild if it found a food source and the weather stayed mild. The biggest danger to it would be getting mobbed by other birds, particularly seagulls. Parrot expert Paul Yeoman said: “It will not be easy to catch. “The best chance is for the owner to turn up and place its cage where it can see it, put some food out, and hope that the bird recognises it and flies down to it. “There have been instances of parrots living in the wild for months in this country, but they never make it through a winter.”

This is so sad, I'm so sorry you have had to experience this. I have no idea what in the world I would do without my Cocoa

Little Man has been reunited with his Parront - got this from the mailing list REUNITED! LOST: FL, St. Petersburg, B&G Macaw 'Little Man', Feb. 21. Posted by: "lorrettawikstrom" lorrettawikstrom@gmail.com lorrettawikstrom Fri Mar 25, 2011 7:10 am (PDT) Thank you! (Downtown St. Petersburg) Date: 2011-Mar-24, 2:41PM EDT Reply to: comm-ucw6c- Today is a great day for me and my baby Blue & Gold Macaw, "Little Man." The St. Petersburg Police Department found my Blue & Gold Macaw. He is where he is supposed to be now, back home! I want to thank everyone for your assistance during this very trying time. I had almost given up on ever seeing him again. I also want to thank Detective Deckert who did an amazing job in caring for and protecting the needs of Little Man from disingenuous individuals, trying to claim him as their own. He was extremely helpful to me and my macaw. Without his diligence, patient, and investigative skills my baby would not be back home. Thank you so much you guys at the Saint Petersburg Police Department. You guys are really saviors in making sure Little Man got home safe and sound. Again, thank you everyone for your assistance!!! PS. I am now off to the veterinarian to have Little Man's wings clipped and for him to be micro-chipped. I have so learned my lesson! Stop marking my post as inappropriate for removal. There is nothing wrong with my post or thanking people for their assistance! Location: Downtown St. Petersburg it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests PostingID: 2284103261 http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/pet/2284103261.html **xposted by Retta 911PA volunteer** ----------------------------------------------------------

Cocoa has been to the vet twice in the time we've been together and there has never been a problem putting her in the carrier - so I have my answer. Thank you

Thank you for all the responses. I was very concerned about Cocoa suffering a similar fate to Rorschach, so glad to hear you got him back. In our neighbourhood we have a 'settlement' of sorts very close by and when we still had the finch aviary, guys from the settlement would often come to our gate offering my husband wild caught birds and some I was sure were stolen. It drives me insane !!! And I just knew that I had no time to waste in getting the word out there quickly. Finding my Cocoa, that was meant to be, the lady who was smiling and laughing from her window told me after the time had I arrived there 20 minutes later the owners of the house would have left for work that Saturday morning and the fierce dog would have had access to the entire garden, what I didn't know at the time was the part of the garden Cocoa was in, the dog had no access to - crazy crazy crazy. She has been home now longer than she was gone and I still find myself looking at her with disbelief ' you are really home' Judy I hear what you're saying about her having a better chance when she is able to fly. I really do believe that it is for the best that I clip her wings, my husband, bless him but he is very absent minded and it was he who left the door open and his taking his rugsack off his back right by her that spooked her. It's happened before but fortunately the door was closed. And then I have two young boys who rage about the house. I want to move her cage too, so that it's further away from the door however I feel I can't do this just yet as I don't want to unsettle her too much since she has only just returned, I'm going to place a perch in the new area and in a few weeks when she is more settled I will introduce her to the new area. Talking about stress and unsettling her I'd like to take her to the avian vet this week, I'm just worried it may stress her too much after the ordeal she had out there - any advice on this one, should I rather wait a while

@ judygram and GoDiego - I need to thank you both for making me aware of the possibility of Cocoa flying away because this led me to articles on what to do if this should happen which I shared with my sister as she has a Conure, this also immediately put an end to Cocoa's outdoor excursions. However when Cocoa spooked on Thursday and flew out the house, my sister was able to guide me through most of what we had read. I certainly wasn't in any condition to cope with her loss at the time

You can read our story http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/notes/cocoa-rocks/utter-exhilaration-and-relief-after-39-hours-of-hell/133545566718180

I'm going to be making some toys for Cocoa and would like some advice please The stores in South Africa have very limited items, 'toy kits' are unavailable, to import them would make the cost astronomical. What is available in our stores are mostly made of pine brandering, raw hide, sisal, not all that adventurous and mostly the same from store to store with not much variety, the northern suburbs have better however these are imported and cost an arm and a leg. Have searched the web and have been unable to find any online stores in South Africa which stock kits etc. Items available in order to make my own toys Coconut shells - coconuts from the local grocer Pine brandering - the wood is treated. Raw hide Sisal rope - also treated Jute - also treated Food colouring - what do I need to look for regards safety Fisher price baby toys - i will be looking for suitable items however are the materials they use safe Perspex - I have seen those cute foraging draws on the international sites. I'm going to attempt to make my own, what do I need to look out for regarding glue. What process can I use to make ALL the above items bird safe? Lego pieces - I have soaked these in a solution of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and rubbed them with a toothbrush - would this be sufficient. I have some dead willow branches, I will follow the process as outlined in another post to make these bird safe

Thank you to Dave & Judy for the replies. Cocoa's band is closed. Having had very little interaction with greys or birds prior to Cocoa I certainly didn't know as much of what I do now... mostly thanks to this forum and the links which have been provided to other information. Still doing lots of reading and making lots of notes. Cocoa has been so good to me and for me that I can't help but want to learn more and offer her the best I can.

Not for lack of trying and maybe I'm not using the correct terminology. I have written down the numbers and letters on Cocoa's ring which is on her left foot. Is there an international format for what it all means. Two numbers are stamped horizontally, two numbers then follow stamped vertically and much smaller followed by three letters. Would an identification ring help me to find out whether Cocoa was bred in captivity or whether she was captured in the wild? I'll tell you why I'm asking this ... my hubby and I are both into doing things in our home which our 'friends' consider weird. Anyway we had found this old rusted corrugated iron sheeting and flattened this with hammers to use in our son's room as a ceiling. When we brought the corrugated sheeting into the house and walked past Cocoa on her perch she squawked, screamed and shrilled, it was so primal I felt in my bones, even thinking about it makes the hair on my neck rise. On another occasion we had a ton of boys sleeping over and I walked past her with sponge mattresses and I got the same. She was really really not okay and on both occasions she wouldn't allow me near her so I just put on some Beethoven and spoke to her very gently until she calmed down. Why would these kind of things spook her so? I inherited Cocoa from my Daddy who in turn had got her from a family who migrated to New Zealand

Jayd. I too got the sense Cocoa understands and is more gentle with me because of the sle. Health & happiness Jonnette

Thanks for the tip. It is a tree outside in the backyard. Cocoa is clipped and doesn't fly very far, probably not even two feet but I will keep your advice in mind didn't think it that way and I'd hate anything bad to happen. Because of cats in the neighbourhood I never leave Cocoa unattended outside or near an open window. The clipping was done by the Avian Vet in our area, the first three wing feathers are left intact and the following four are clipped vertically, he only takes the feathers off and leaves the vein part behind, he told me the horizontal wing clipping method can cause complications. I'm not keen on clipping however the alternative isn't possible I have two young boys in the house who don't really think before they do anything, the other being we live in South Africa and the climate here is warm which which means that doors and windows are open almost all year round, also I believe in good old fashioned airing of my home. Maybe one day when my boys are grown up I'll be able to turn one of the bedrooms into a bird room, I'm amazed at the number of bird owners I've seen on the forum with bird rooms. I'm a tad green to say the least.

Would radishes be okay? They're grown in our garden with no pesticides used

i would like to know how much aloe juice would you use for a misting after a bath. How do you store the remaining aloe juice?

Cocoa allows me to kiss on the beak