Our Two New Arrivals

[Muse]

Please help Marden's Ark welcome Rasa, the double-yellow-headed Amazon, and Captain Jack, also known as Jack (or Blindy), a mitred conure.

 

Jack, being very shy

 

Rasa, letting me know he'd love to bite me if he could

 

Their stories:

 

Jack was originally rescued from "a bad situation" by a friend of the woman who brought him here. The friend was living in an apartment at the time and the neighbors were not amused by Jack's loudness so the woman who brought him in took him from her friend to keep the peace. He is blind in one eye. You can see that the eye is smaller and does not look normal. I am unclear as to whether this was from birth, but he does not seem to let the blind eye deter him. He perches well, climbs well, and bites well. (So far they have been 'attempted' bites.) I believe she said Jack was around ten years old.

 

Rasa is around twenty five years old, and was dumped on this same woman by a breeder. The breeder asked if she'd take Rasa for "a week or so" and then made herself very scarce. The breeder evidently did not treat him well, and he was confined to living in a typical breeder cage. He killed one mate and seriously wounded another before the breeder decided to dump him. He's been with the woman who brought him here for eight years now. She worked very hard to try to give him a good life, but after about six months he became extremely aggressive, attacking her face at every opportunity. She even went so far as to hire an animal communicator to try to figure out what he was being so aggressive. The communicator asked only his age and name, but was not told he was a wild caught bird (although from his age it might be easy to guess that and be correct). She said that he told her that his family (which she explained probably meant his flock) were all captured and many of them died as a result. He said he is very angry with humans because of this -humans in general - but he did say he absolutely hated the breeder. (Can't say I blame him.)

 

The woman who brought them here is someone I buy eggs from for our flock. When she found we were starting a rescue, she asked if I could take in some of her birds. She is now moving and needs to downsize to just her own personal birds as a matter of having less space. She's taken very good care of all of them and they all look super healthy and have good sized cages and lots of toys. Rasa is in a large macaw cage.

 

She stated that for the first six months, he was okay but then became violent. We will have to wait and see how he progresses here. He is probably not a candidate for rehoming as a pet bird. I'd really like to see this bird in an aviary setting because I think that is what he needs and deserves. I want to see those wings catching air. I doubt he's flown hardly at all since he was captured. He's not clipped but does not come out of his cage. That will soon change. I am sure of it.

 

He had a shower tonight and went crazy for it, hanging nearly upside down, spreading and fanning those beautiful wings and tail and making the sweetest little noise. His colors are magnificent and he LOVES a good shower! He's the second shower bird here (Alex the sun conure also loves showers) and it makes me happy to no end to find another bird who enjoys the shower instead of flying away from me over it.

Edited July 13, 2014 by Muse

[Luvparrots]

Very nice post about these two rescues' lives. Thank you for taking them in and giving them a safe place.