Need Help, Rescued Birds - Urgent

[RubyMuse]

The first bird pictured is: Blue front amazon (Amazona aestiva) - this bird is wild caught (note: the open band is a quarantine band which means he/she came in to the country legally before 1992), the bird appears to be in good feather, no mucuous at the nares, beak looks good.

The second bird pictured is: Blue crowned conure (Aratinga acuticaudata) - can not see the band in the picture, but looks good - eyes, nares, beak, feathers all good.

Here are some steps to take to keep quarantine: handle your birds first, their cage cleaning, food, and water - do the new birds' things next/last and do not go back to your birds' items again - even better: have two separate people do them. If you must do both, put a foot bath at your door with a small amount of water and preferrably some Chlorhexidine (available through vets) in the water - or bleach but watch your carpets or switch shoes. Keep hand sanitizer at the door.

While there is always a risk - the first bird would have gone through quarantine and disease testing upon entering the country. You can ask the gentlman who dropped them off if they ever lived with other birds and what species they were and what happened to them. The risk is relatively low because of their age and the fact that they lived with the same owner for twenty years (versus going from home to home exposed to all kinds of things). Still, I take all incoming birds to get a CBC/chem and at minimum a Chlamydia/Psittacosis test.

I would switch the diet right away. Go to a parrot seed mix/fresh food/veggies/sprouts right away - then try to switch to pellets as soon as you can with fresh food supplemented. Observe their droppings right before you switch to see what they look like, they will get runny when you change which is normal, but you will have a baseline.

PM me if you need more help. You did a great thing taking them in. There is a group at a VA hospital in LA that is a parrot rehab and veteran rehab center all in one. Keep that in mind, if you need help.

[Vilas]

I responded to that ad, as I'm in Orange County and really wanted to help these fids out. The person placing the ad said that someone was coming for them and if they didn't show up, they would contact me. I am glad that it was someone from here that could rescue them. I always worry about people rescuing birds that have no idea what going on with them. Both of them are beautiful! Good luck!

[Congobongo]

I adopted a Green Winged from Birdloversonly in Indiana (home of Snowball) and she came from a deplorable home with 2 other birds. They would cower in a corner of the cage and scream when a human came near. I worked with my Rosie and now she is a sweet happy gal! She will step up for me, gives me kisses and loves her toys. It took awhile but it happened.

Good luck!

[racheletc]

Thank you catschair who recommended a local bird sanctuary (Liliy Sanctuary in OC). They put me in touch with a groomer with 20 years of experience who was willing to groom them (Karen Allen). She came to our house yesterday and managed to fully groom both of them, so they are no longer so uncomfortable (or such a flight risk).

Per everyone's advice I have given them a better seed mixture and also am giving them small bowls of what our birds usually eat.

They are still on our patio and will be there for awhile yet, but look much improved since the weekend:)