So long to overcome!

[hopehaswings]

I was just watching my macaw and thinking about how long we have had him, and his recent behavioral changes. And WOW, you know it can really take a long time for a parrot to overcome rehoming! he lives on a playstand, we have never caged him, as someone is always home, we have had him well over 2 years and all this time, he has never come down off his playstand... He JUST NOW has decided to venture down! I cant believe it took him all that time to finally feel comfortable enough in our home to go any further then the top level of his stand. We are now considering getting him a cage because he is all oer the place and he chases me and also goes after the dog(DOSNT like me or the dog, LOL), but we will never keep any parrot locked up for an extended amount of time. You know when you rehome a bird or you adopt a second hand bird, it is going to take time for them to adjust to a new home, but do you REALLy realize how tramatic it is, to suddenly without warning be ripped away from the only place and people you know, driven or flown a long way, and then suddenly day after day in a new place with new faces and wondering surley, will I ever see my family again? So YES it can take YEARS to recover! Sad but something we all need to stop and think about. I am glad the red lored I am getting in a couple of weeks is a handfed baby. I also enjoy the comany of my rescue blue front and enjoy working with him, but I also now know that because he has been rehomed many times, as well as neglected, it may be a LONG time coming before he trusts me. Aslo something to keep in mind for people considering second hand birds, even when the bird is said to be friendly, social, handlable with its currant family, it may be a long long time before your family can have that same sort of relationship. I imagine there are even some parrots that never recover.

[PyscoFalcon]

So glad he's started to come out of his shell. It's taken Merlin 6 years and I still can't touch her yet ;)

[Adinah]

That must be a great feeling.
Falcon, you have a lot of patience :) I'm sure yours will come around :)

[Dana64]

I completely understand!

[mundyzoo]

I always worry what animals are thinking and feeling when they are taken away from their homes and families, makes me so sad!

[hollyhawkz]

Definitely cage time before the dog has to defend himself... or your living room will become a mess because your not allowed to clean it... LOL

I look at Pepper every day and wonder how he must feel. He was 7 years with his Mommy and then wham, the long car ride like you said. The cage he had was passable for a smaller conure, so we got him a new bigger play top cage, and he loves it. He climbs around like a little monkey now. We have his old cage in my bedroom for times I just want to lay around and watch TV in bed.

When we first were blessed with him, the vet was concerned about three things, his foot grip was poor, he was on the thin side, and Vitamin A deficiency. We have been working on all three, with various perch sizes and types (rope, manzanilla etc..) He used to just stand around, now he climbs and hangs like a conure. We have introduced many new fresh foods into his diet. Every day, he eats sweet potato, yam, broccoli and soaked seeds, along with bell peppers, pears, apples, banana, kiwi etc... I don't know how much weight he has come up but unless it is my imagination his feather colour has changed. He has an avian light on him now as well. I swear he looks darker in color and more vibrant. Is that possible in only four months?

The major changes, he is not exposed to cigarette and pot smoke, he is not allowed to drink coffee, and he is not covered and put to bed a 6:30. He promptly tells us between 9:20 and 10:00 Night Night! Heck he doesn't even eat his last meal until 8:30 ish.

Every week seems to get better, in other words we get bit less, and a little less hard. I hope he comes to love us as much as we have come to love him.

I just want to cry thinking about his broken little heart. (Eyes welling up now)

I ask him if every day if he is happy, tell him we love him, and that he is a good bird.

He has learned two new phrases... "good boy" and "give me a kiss".

[mundyzoo]

Do you have a pic of him?

[Dana64]

Originally Posted by mundyzoo

I always worry what animals are thinking and feeling when they are taken away from their homes and families, makes me so sad!

I can only speak for myself here... I imagine Mackie was doing a happy dance when he left his previous owners... yes he was more than likely scared, worried he might be going somewhere WORSE, but once he discovered he was in a much better place... I can only hope he was dancing.

Yes, he has issues and I admit, much to my dismay, that he probably always will have issues... how can you UN-learn what has been learned?

He gets better a little bit everyday... and we love him to bits... but we aren't "there" yet, not by a long shot...

but still, he MUST be happier, right????

[mundyzoo]

I agree he must be happier just as my rescues are, I just always wonder what they think? Especially the ones that did not come from a bad home but just a home where they can not be cared for any longer.

[PyscoFalcon]

Three cheers for all of us who take in these birds and don't give up.
\o/
\o/
\o/

I sure bet Merlin thought oh crap there going to turn me into dinner when I first rescued her and had to bring her home on the bus. But I sure hope she soon realised she was in a better place. If I had left her she would of died like many of the others had (was that bad I almost vomited)

It really is heat breaking when you put them in a bigger cage with perches and toys. There like WTF are THOSE things! You try to explain there toys and even play with a few to show them but there still WTF are toys? Rips me up inside it does.

I'm sure they are glad we have them tho or they wouldnt start playing with the toys and following you around. I may not be able to touch Merlin yet but she still follows me into the kitchen and asks what I'm doing. (Of course I make sure she can't follow if I'm cooking but making a cuppa and doing washing, loading dishwasher is fine)

Right now she's playing with her giant chain thing saying stinker.

Hollyhawkz - it's amazing what a proper diet can do in such litle time. I'm sure yours will stop biting when he feels un threatened anymore and it sounds like he feels less threatened everyday :)