Small Birds

[Muse]

We barely have our wings as a brand new rescue, aren't even 501©3 yet (application IS filed but not granted) and already we have taken in two this past week and now are possibly taking 20-30 budgies from an extreme neglect/hoarding case. I am working closely with a wonderful veterinarian who is going to assist with the vet checks as this case is very high risk. The budgies are reportedly flying loose in a 800 sq ft home with feces that is AN INCH THICK, throughout the house, living in holes carved in drywall, and nesting there. A call went out to rescues but none responded. It is amazing how huge a response for Macaws, Amazons, Cockatoos and Greys, but not one response for these poor little babies.

 

The vet is trying to raise funds to provide a huge cage where they can all be kept (walk-in style). We will probably be disassembling the bed in the guest room and putting it against the wall to accommodate until the three currently in quarantine are through and vetted and in the 'bird' room. Then the aviary would be moved here.

 

I just can't leave these birds in the situation they are in. Quarantine will be very strict with isolation protocols going in and out of the room, at least until we make sure they are disease free. Please pray for us. That is all I can do at this point.

[birdhouse]

Ya, unfortunately it's like trying to get a pigeon or seagull help at the wild sanctuaries. There's only so much to go around & they don't apparently "merit" the time & effort either.

 

Good luck w/your budgies! If it helps, you might rig up a diy enclosure or two w/pvc frames & wire mesh. Google for either bird or reptile enclosures. Here's one design serious design I found. http://www.starlingtalk.com/cages.htm

[Muse]

Thanks! We actually made our last outdoor aviary out of PVC, so this may very well be our solution! I like that design, but of course, for 20 or 30 birds, I will have to expand it. I will keep everyone posted!

[JeffNOK]

I will pray for you in this endeavor. Keep us posted!

[Muse]

UPDATE:

I got the call Friday. It seems a haz-mat team was dispatched and they spent FOUR DAYS catching the budgies. There were twenty-seven altogether, however three had to be euthanized. One was egg bound and two had "large abdominal tumors." The remaining twenty-four were taken to the Animal Welfare League in Alexandria, VA, (one of the NICEST shelters I have ever seen in my life). I got the call Friday morning and left the house at 11:30am, headed north. The traffic was horrible but I made it in time. The veterinarian who has been helping these birds since the beginning was already there. She was loading them up in cages, wrapping perches in vet wrap andsecuring doors with zip ties. We got stuck in traffic so I got off I-95 and called a friend who lives near there. He invited me over and begged me to stay rather than drive in the madness of Friday night traffic. He graciously hosted the budgies in his den and me in his guest room and I was able to get a good nights sleep and hit the road in the morning. It was a very long drive home but we arrived Saturday late afternoon.

 

All of the budgies appear to be doing well. One has a very deformed beak but is able to eat and drink just fine. I saw her tonight chasing the others out of the food bowl. That small beak doesn't mean she isn't fierce!

 

We have been trying to raise funds but it's slow going and hard to even get folks just to share the link on their pages, so tonight I set up the Cafe Press shop and I am going to start calling around trying to get items donated for a raffle. What I'd like to do is to get them a huge walk-in cage where I could let them all live together, as they did previously (minus the digging out holes in drywall to nest in and pooping all over the floor). First we have to get them vet checked. This vet is doing all the work for free (including driving down here from the DC area) but we do have to pay the lab fees for the infectious disease testing as well as for supplies. I have faith that this will happen.

 

Right now they are all in strict quarantine in the guest room. If you are on Facebook, you can see lots of pictures on our page. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mardens-Ark/1379909775617543 If you are not on FB let me know if you want to see pictures and I can either post them on our website or here.

 

I am amazed how much these tiny birds poop! WOW. But I don't regret taking them in for one second!