CarolC Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Here’s my story. I live in one of those states suddenly ravaged by Hurricane Irene then one-week later tropical storm Lee without electric for 4 days. I am now suddenly an unexpected owner of a beautify African Grey, who somehow got lost from her owner and weathered hurricane force winds outside, for who knows how long. This beautiful bird literally walked into my life, somehow knowing I am an animal lover. We sincerely have tried to find the lost owner through local police and veterinarian hospitals, but no one has claimed her. (Though I would not turn her over to just anyone as she is banded, anyone trying to claim her would have to prove ownership by telling me what the band said). However, no one ever called. After spending one week in a tiny canary cage in hopes to reunite bird and owner, I realized I would probably never find the owner. Thus, I now went on a quest for a large parrot cage. Again, it was destiny that my husband suggested Craig’s list, as we did not have the means to spend several hundred dollars on a cage. We found and purchased a very lovely parrot cage that stands well over five feet tall; the owner of the cage housed two cockatiels in it. I found instructions on safely sanitizing it and did so. I then placed the two cages together until “Tweedy” with the help of a trail of peanuts walked into her new cage. I only know what I have read over the past week and find that owning “Tweedy” will be a learning opportunity for both of us. Tweedy is comfortable eating from my hand. She steps up on my finger, and has voluntarily walked up my arm! I know she wants her head scratched as she bends her head down sideways, but does not allow me to do so. However, when I have an unshelled peanut she allows me to rub the back of her neck with it. I guess it will be a slower process than I realized. Tweedy is very boisterous in song, whistling and cherdling. She mimics the beep of the microwave, and stove timer. She started meowing yesterday to our surprise! (we do not own a cat) She even laughs. Though she has not spoken a word that was not why we decided to give her a home and family. I image she is grieving the loss of her prior home and those who loved her. I hope we can fill that void. Even though I refer to her as Tweedy, I am hesitant in giving her a name, I hope and pray each and every day she tells me her name someday. I ask her continuously what her name is. Tweedy now joins Toby our Blk Lab, Rascal and Girlie Girlie our two ferrets and of course the gold fish in my water garden. I look forward to learning as much as I can about her, and look to all of you at this forum for your expertise and guidance. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 She sounds wonderful. I'm glad she found you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Welcome CarolC. Have you tried to see if "Tweedy" is microchipped? I have my greys microchipped and registered. If they are lost all anyone has to do is go to a veterinarian and ask to have them read for a microchip, it is free, and the vet will be glad to do so. The vet can easily and immediately know if the grey is microchipped and contact the right place to find out the owner and last known address. We are here to help if we can, any questions, just ask. Welcome to the Grey family! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolC Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 When we contacted the local vet, they told us to come in just for that reason that many pet owners now have a chip “installed”? in their pet(s). The vet was very nice, but found no chip. She gave us some birdie pellets, and wished us the best luck. I can only imagine just how far 70 to 80 mile an hour winds could have swept this precious birdie. We live in a very very rural area, so maybe after a pounding of wicked winds for 12 hours birdie found refuge in the woods to endure 15 inches of rain and the worst flooding our area has ever had in recorded weather history. I do check our local paper for any missing birdie ads, but nothing yet. To tell you the truth though I know in my heart there must be a very sad family somewhere, I cannot imagine not having her here now. She has suddenly become the center of attention in our family. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I agree Carol, greys are very addictive. I have microchipped my babies because I want to do everything I can to see that they can be returned to me if they decide to take a little venture outdoors. Regardless of whether or not Tweedy's parronts are found, she is in good hands. Kudos to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Tweedy is very lucky to have found you in that storm and also to find a person that will try to find her family that she must love. If that can`t be done to keep her and give her a chance for a loveing home with you. I know if you find her family she will be hard to give back but I bet they miss her much. If you can`t find her family she sounds like she will be easy to keep. Good luck and welcome to the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Poor thing, she must have been so scared out there in the storm. I'm so glad she approached the right person for help. She has good instincts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaldi0143 Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Aw. I can relate to your story, CarolC. When we had those tornadoes back in April (in Alabama), I took in a little beagle that had lost his home from Phil Campbell (one of the hardest hit towns). We looked for his owners for about 2 months, but no one has ever called or emailed or anything. We still have him, named him after the town he was found in. I posted him up on Facebook... There were a lot of "Lost pets from the tornadoes" pages of people looking for their pets. We had adds in newspapers of several towns and contacted vets and humane society and the animal shelters. Parrot owners seem to be a community of their own... Check all the parrot forums. The owners may be on one of them complaining about losing their bird. It's worth a try. Either way, best of luck to you and your new feathery friend. They are a hoot and very addictive. When it comes to getting her to engage with you, just give her time and work at her speed. She'll let you know what she wants and doesn't want. As far as talking, she'll probably start "saying" more as she gets more comfortable with you. Could be a new mimic, like the cat, or whistles or clicks or words. Don't be surprised to find yourself randomly clicking or whistling when you're home, whether you're in the room with her or not. Seems like I find myself doing that all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaldi0143 Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 ... And Zoom.... That is a HUGE cat! He/she is about as big as my Great Pyrenees! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 He WAS a huge cat. He's been shrinking for awhile now. He's lost about a third of his body weight since that picture was taken shortly after I adopted him 3.5 years ago. He's actually on appetite stimulants now because he has kidney disease and it has caused him to lose his appetite. I never thought I'd see the day when Duncan would need appetite stimulants! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmatrow Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 An amazing story Carol. Sounds like he found the right person. I do bet the ones that lost him miss him terribly though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshana Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Thank you for taking this Grey into your life! I do thin k a week is too short of a time to find the owner, although I think you guys are pretty set in keeping him now! Do you have pics of the cage? I have found that this forum has an amazing wealth of information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDS5607 Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 What an amazing story! Can't wait to hear more stories of your new life with Tweedy! I am so happy he found you to take care of him! Are you feeding him pellets or seeds? There is a TON of information on proper nutrition on here, if you're at all overwhelmed Make sure Tweedy has lots of toys & chewies to keep him occupied and his mind busy during this difficult few weeks or months. He is probably mourning the loss of his old family, and sometimes the stress will cause them to pluck or chew their feathers. The best way to avoid that is to keep him busy! :) Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolC Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 I do have pictures of her in her new (used) cage, I just cannot figure out how to post them here. I will continue to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolC Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 Ok, so I have been learning a wealth of information here from my newfound friends. Tweedy loves her seed, not too thrilled about the pellets, eats one or two to make me happy. I have been giving her fresh veggies since reading here that they need veggies. She loves fruit! but not bananas. She loves cashews from my husband, that's his signature snack with her. The one scary thing from reading the forum is that of bath time. I have no idea how I am going to do that. However, Tweedy came to my rescue. I caught her splashing around in her water dish today! So I found a heavy shallow dish and put about an inch of room temperature water in it, and she stepped right in and had a great time!!! She looked just like the wild birds in my backyard birdbath. I received my order of things today for her, a soft perch (that rope type), the scratchy type of perch for her nails, a mirror, a dragon wood perch, forage ball and this other thing that they are supposed to like to shred. Unfortunately, I fear I have overwhelmed her with way too much. She was making that snapping sound the I think means she is stressed. My husband took everything new out expect for the soft perch and said we should introduce one new item at a time. She is back to singing, but has still not gone near the perch. I hope that she climbs up on it later to go to sleep. Will keep you posted, as it is a new and exciting experience each day. Thank you for asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmatrow Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 (edited) I'm no expert but I believe what I understand is to try and introduce new toys a little at a time. I've read a lot of people hang one on the outside of the cage for a while first to let the bird get used to it before putting them in the cage. Maybe even trying to play with it yourself to try and spark an interest. Hope this helps. Edited September 23, 2011 by bmatrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hello Carol and welcome to our family, so glad you could give this grey a new home when the former owner couldn't be found. I think you are learning a lot from the members here and reading thru the posts and threads, we won't steer you wrong as many of us have been in need of help at one time or another and the members here have been forthcoming with all kinds of help and advice, you can't beat real life experience. Greys are very cautious creatures and do not take to change very easily, anything new has to be introduced very slowly or they will fear it will reach out and kill them so new toys have to be put where they can be seen but not close enough to cause fear then over time move it closer and closer until the bird no longer fears it. Greys are very observant, I have had my grey freak out over having nail polish on as I don't usually wear it so I no longer polish my nails. I would go easy on the fruit, they need veggies every day but fruit should only be fed a couple of times a week as it is mostly sugar and no wonder they love it so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Welcome to our Grey corner of the e-verse. Hope his people are ok they still may be cut off from power or in one of those flood isolated communities unable to access a computer to post a lost bird. You have given him/her a safe warm home and that is wonderful but do not use any of your non stick cook ware now you have a Grey in your home it can kill a parrot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Unrelated to the topic (sorry - hi Carol!), is there a registry for the bands? I assumed that there was but we all know about assumptions... I DO intend to implant an ID chip in Ellie as that will be required to take her with us to the Dominican Republic in the distant future when we move there for retirement... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolC Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 I'm no expert but I believe what I understand is to try and introduce new toys a little at a time. I've read a lot of people hang one on the outside of the cage for a while first to let the bird get used to it before putting them in the cage. Maybe even trying to play with it yourself to try and spark an interest. Hope this helps. Ok, so Tweedy calmed down from being overwhelmed from too many new things, guess I should have asked someone first. I am happy to report she did step onto her new soft perch and stayed for about 3 min, so I guess she is slowly acepting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolC Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hello Carol and welcome to our family, so glad you could give this grey a new home when the former owner couldn't be found. I think you are learning a lot from the members here and reading thru the posts and threads, we won't steer you wrong as many of us have been in need of help at one time or another and the members here have been forthcoming with all kinds of help and advice, you can't beat real life experience. Greys are very cautious creatures and do not take to change very easily, anything new has to be introduced very slowly or they will fear it will reach out and kill them so new toys have to be put where they can be seen but not close enough to cause fear then over time move it closer and closer until the bird no longer fears it. Greys are very observant, I have had my grey freak out over having nail polish on as I don't usually wear it so I no longer polish my nails. I would go easy on the fruit, they need veggies every day but fruit should only be fed a couple of times a week as it is mostly sugar and no wonder they love it so much. Funny you talk about you nail polish, I am blessed with very long Natural nails, Tweedy is always trying to clamp down on them when I have a white french manicure, she must think the white tips are sunflower seeds. We have however got her to understand "soft beak" "soft beak" and she lets go without hurting anyone. Ok so easy on the fruit, why did I not even think of that?? You are right about the sugar thing. I feel like a new Mommy all over again, eventhough it's been 18 years since my youngest was born. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolC Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 Unrelated to the topic (sorry - hi Carol!), is there a registry for the bands? I assumed that there was but we all know about assumptions... I DO intend to implant an ID chip in Ellie as that will be required to take her with us to the Dominican Republic in the distant future when we move there for retirement... Doug, I would have assumed there was somekind of registry for these exotic birds, but have found only a few local groups of folks who have created their own. Our state fish and game office requires an exotic pet permit at $20 a year but does not keep a data bank of band numbers. The closest thing is the micro chip ID program utilized by many dog and cat owners. The vet we took her too scanned her at no change to us only to tell us she does not have a chip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Unrelated to the topic (sorry - hi Carol!), is there a registry for the bands? I assumed that there was but we all know about assumptions... I DO intend to implant an ID chip in Ellie as that will be required to take her with us to the Dominican Republic in the distant future when we move there for retirement... No, there's no official registry for bands. Bands provide different types of information imprinted on bands. This place will tell you all about it. You would still have to follow all government regulations in order to take your bird to another country. That involes the country you're now in and the country you're going to whether the bird is banded or not. Basically, bands and chips are used for identification.. http://www.avianweb.com/legbands.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Funny you talk about you nail polish, I am blessed with very long Natural nails, Tweedy is always trying to clamp down on them when I have a white french manicure, she must think the white tips are sunflower seeds. We have however got her to understand "soft beak" "soft beak" and she lets go without hurting anyone. Hah! Elegua is fascinated with 13-year-old daughter's nails. Hopefully she (Ellie) will be learning the "no bite" command... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 No, there's no official registry for bands. Bands provide different types of information imprinted on bands. This place will tell you all about it. You would still have to follow all government regulations in order to take your bird to another country. That involes the country you're now in and the country you're going to whether the bird is banded or not. Basically, bands and chips are used for identification.. http://www.avianweb.com/legbands.htm FYI, your link is missing a letter: http://www.avianweb.com/legbands.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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