newbie from michigan

[Basket Case]

Hello! We have two budgies that are around 9 years old. Two rescue tiels that we have had 5 years and our newest family member is a 2/3 year old umbrella cockatoo.

My son (17 yrs old) bought her from a family that kept her in the basement. She was fed french fries, chicken nuggets and bird seed ment for bird feeders outside. She was in a very large cage but with one small perch and a swing, no toys. As you can guess she is not in the best of shape. She had plucked out most all her feathers, along with many broken ones. I tired putting in some perches for her but she is terrified of them. She doesn't even scream at them, just hides in the bottom corner of her cage. Here's her picture of what she looked like when she came to us last week:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...S4010074-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...S4010073-1.jpg

Looking forward to meeting you all

[Kevin]

Welcome to the board ! Glad to see you made it on...

[Kiwi1224]

Welcome...with love, good nutrition and lots of patience, I'm certain we'll see a whole new bird. So glad you have added her to your flock!

[svolk]

Aww, that poor baby. I hope she absolutely flourishes in your care.

Nice to meet another Michigander here

[birdlady49]

Welcome from Colorado! Thank you so much for adopting this wonderful bird. It'll be an uphill battle but it'll be worth it for all of you. Please keep us posted with photos on a regular basis.

[sadiemom]

Welcome to the world of feather-picking Umbrellas and Moluccans. Every one of my U2 and M2 rescues have been feather pickers. They are very intelligent birds and need much mental stimulation to avoid this, along with excellent nutrition and many chewable wooden block toys.

Give you bird time and don't push her. It can take many weeks or even months for an abused Too to come around. If you are near an avian vet I suggest you take her in for blood tests to make sure that the junk food diet has not damaged her liver or kidneys. Needless to say she needs high quality nutrition.

I kept my original U2, Tia. To this day she picks but I don't care because she is otherwise a funny and loving creature. Her favorite treat is an almond, which is a very good nut to offer because it is lower in fat.

Good luck with your rescue and give you son a pat on the back for saving her life.

[Basket Case]

Thank you for the welcome. I'm sure I will have lots of questions.

My son has named her Hatchet. She came with a name but didn't she wouldn't respond to it at all. I am suprised at how well she is adjusting to us. From the day she came here she loves to be held and play. She has been singing and dancing, she just loves music. She says hello when she wants cuddles or someone to talk to her. We had to empty out the M & M's jar we had on the table as she went crazy when she seen it flipping off the top and screaming when we wouldn't give her one (gave her a bit of bananna instead). She just loves her new pellets to eat. I left a bit of her old food in with her and she wouldn't even go back to it the 2nd day we had her.

I have done a lot of searching for a good vet to have her checked at. I finaly found one and will be taking her as soon as I can get an apointment.