Your thoughts of rehoming due to illness

[Vilas]

I can't believe my life has changed once again. I've been off work almost 2 months now due to MRSA infection in my leg (they won't let me come to work with that) and now I'm having severe back pain issues, which might require surgery. I need to rehome some of my fids. I'm talking six parakeets and two tiels. My grey will stay with me, as I really don't want him to have to be rehomed again and I do need my little buddy. Since I don't have a good, reliable source for someone to come and take care of them if I'm unable too, then this would be the best solution. I was just thinking the other day that I wanted to go through the process of adopting another grey, and now I had to back out.

I am hoping that you all can give me your thoughts on this matter. I've been down with the flu the last couple of days (to make matters worse). My sister said that she would post a flyer in her office. She's unable to help me with the birds, as she is having knee surgery next month. Otherwise she would as she has in the past.

[tabooh]

I think that it is responsible to re-home due to illness or financial reasons. I have witnessed on other bird sites members attacking other members for having to re-home for whatever their personal reasons were, but I believe that if you have to then do so but ensure that they will find a forever home to the best of your ability.

[Eliza]

I'm so sorry... That MRSA stuff is scary. I hope that you are well on your way to recovery and end up NOT needing back surgery.

If you absolutely cannot rely on someone to assist you with your pets (avian or otherwise), then it is likely in their best interest to rehome them. You might want to ask around (vet, pet shop, parrot club, rescue or shelter) to see if there is someone who would be willing to take your parrots in temporarily while you recover.

Best of luck to you... I know this isn't easy.

[jdlilfan]

Sorry to hear about the MRSA. My aunt had it recently. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your flock. I hope you find great homes for them and hope you get well soon!

[FoxersArtist]

I have no idea what kind of illness you have, though it sounds like a not much fun one. Is it an illness that could potentially get better in the future and you can likely go back to your life as it was or is this a progressive illness that will continue to be crippling? If the illness is not chronic, I would urge you to look for someone in your area who is willing to foster your birds for you until you are better. I had terrible pregnancies with both of my kids and almost died a few times. I was locked up in the hospital for months and rather than rehome my flock, I organized families to take each of them in until I had recovered. I begged my family to sneak in my precious blue and gold, Peggy Sue, and she was the only reason I made it through!

With two small kids, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by everything and am a bit hard on myself about the attention the birds get. Some days they do not get the kind of attention I wish I could give because i'm running around doing this that or the other thing - especially when we are coordinating getting new fosters which leaves me on the phone for hours at a time. What I have to keep in mind though is that life changes all the time. I may be SUPER busy for a short season, but then things will calm down again and my fids will take center stage because they are important to me. I have to remind myself of the bigger picture. If I rehome my guys because of a situation in my life right now, where will that leave them? Their lives will be altered forever and i will never have the chance to get them back. Will they be as loved and cared for long term with someone else? Is it realistic to assume that someone else will be able to provide them with the CONSTANT, uninterupted attention that we feel they should get? I think that to expect anyone to have such a docile life that nothing EVER distracts a person from their time with the birds is completely unrealistic. Neglect is the far end of that spectrum and obviously it is important for our birds to have their basic needs met daily, but to view ourselves as super human, especially when there are challenges in our lives is not what should be expected of us as parrot owners.

At the same time, I currently have quite a number of parrots that were given up with lots of thought and care behind the decision. One woman whose macaw we have is slowly dying with congestive heart failure. It could be days or years but when she became afraid of falling while holding one of her birds and injuring herself or her babies, she decided it was time to give them up. I feel this is totally reasonable and probably the most responsible thing that could have been done.

You know yourself and you know what you can handle. Is this just a season in your life or is it more? Is this new chapter going to alter the way your birds are cared for forever? If so, I would do the kindest thing possible and rehome them with a loving family who is able to provide for them. If this is just a season in your life that will pass, you may really regret giving up your babies at a later time when you feel better.

If you need help looking for someone to foster your animals until you are better, let me know, as I will do my best to help.
-Anna

[angelicarboreals]

Anna always gives great advice.

I have to agree with other posters that it is a personal matter, and only you know what would be best for your guys. I also have a rather large flock and there are days that I beat myself up inside because the birds did not get as much attention from me as I would like to give them. There have been times that I have been hospitalized and on bed rest due to exhaustion, and I have thought that maybe life would be easier if I had a much smaller flock. However, I know that even though my guys may go a day or two here and there with minimal time with me, at least I know for the most part they are getting what they need- good food, large cages, plenty of toys, clean water, and proper socialization. I cannot guarantee that if I was to rehome them.

As Anna said, if you will get better, maybe you can keep your guys and just let someone else take care of them while you recover. However, if you decide that you must rehome your fids, make that decision based on how you feel in your heart and not what someone else thinks about you or tells you to do. Only you know what you can and cannot handle anymore.

[usamma]

MRSA is nothing to joke about! I'm sorry you have it. I knew a lady who struggled for months with it, had home nurses to give her IV antibiotics daily, needed surgery, but finally recovered after some months. She's thankfully fine today.

I think rehoming due to medical reasons is a very big thing to do. You need to focus on getting better from such a serious infection. I hope you are able to find loving homes for them.

[Vilas]

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and support. I was able to rehome the fids today, as I remembered that I had a source that would rehome them for me. All the fids were very good in the car together, chirping lightly and bickering a little. I even found a straw wrapper that they could all play with on the ride. When I got to my destination, I came around to the passenger side to get them out. I got real close to their little carrier and spoke to each one of them. The tiels seemed to understand what I was saying to them, as each one of them cocked their little heads side to side. I told them that they would be okay and that I loved them. I was sorry that they had to leave me, especially since they had been with me for awhile. With Max, I told him I was going to miss his "little guy talk" of all the words he learned from the grey. Pumpkin, my little princess...I had her since she was a baby. I spoiled her so much and she knew she was loved. As for the keets, I mentioned each one of their names and told them that I was sorry to let them go to someone else's home, but they are loved and someone else will love them (I hope) as much as I do. I told them all to be good and have a good life, that God will look out for them and I was always think of them.

I'm sitting here in tears just writing this to you all. All of my birds, even my grey, have been rehomed birds from people who no longer wanted them, love them, or have them be part of their lives. I think I follow in my Mom's footsteps, where she too would bring home (if she could) every little dog to her home. Somehow a lot of strays did find her home for a free piece of bologna over the years. There must have been a pack meeting in the mountains! And that is kind of what I was doing.. looking on Craigslist and Petfinder for birds that needed someone to take care of them, love them and give them a real home. I didn't care how messy they were and I didn't care if my neighbors/friends saw bird seed on the floor. They were happy birds, singing and chirping.

Thankfully I still have my grey, Hiccup. He is a sweetheart and keeps me going. He will be here as long as possible. I don't know what is going on with my health. I have MRSA, which is a staph infection which is extremely resistant to antibiotics and known to be deadly and it's in my left leg. My previous doctor didn't treat me for it and he has been reported (long story) for not doing anything, even though it was very obvious. I had complications last fall, with a blood clot in the same leg.
There are continuous complications with this and now I have back issues, to the point of not being able to walk at all at times. I am currently on Vicodin 750mg every four hours just so I can function and not have severe pain. Amazing to me, that I can and have no ill effects. I've been off work for two months now, and I really want to go back to work in my police dispatching position. But I have to wait and get the ok...waiting. I'm going to have to retrain myself all over again...

So there I am. I thank you for helping my birds out and listening to me.
God bless.

Sandra

[usamma]

Sending big hugs your way! What a difficult thing to do!

I hope the MRSA goes away completely soon. What antibiotics are they giving you?

Do you think they could set you up with a computer and headset so you can do your work at home? Or get you a phone line?

Please keep us updated, okay?

[Vilas]

The last batch of antibiotics was Bactrim. I'm off them now and they are horse pill size! They were running the meds back to back, and thankfully I like yougurt (to ward off any other cooties).
My dispatching job is in South Central Los Angeles, CA (in the hood) and part of my job is to monitor about 100 cameras for the area. I would rather be at work, cuz I miss my Sarge and my guys alot. We are one big family and even though the job is serious, we can be silly like school girls. I'm the only gal on my shift and I work 12 hour days. I have an hour commute, but the bennies are good. I don't know if it's the meds or what I might be eating, but I need to lose weight to get back into my uniform and dust off my shoes. I really love my job. Every day is different, every call is different. You never know what is going to happen... it can be soooooo quiet and then in a split second, we are running red lights and sirens. I love helping people.