Kianna's Story....

[wildirish]

is a simple case of someone who just didn't care.

When she was just a few months old her left leg was broken between the "knee" and "ankle" the short straight part of her leg. I, nor the people who brought her to me ever knew what happened to her. What we do know is that the original owners never took her to the vet to have it set.

Her previous owners bought her when she was just over a year old and already learning to get around with her bad foot and leg. She has a very bad limp and cannot use her toes on that leg to grip much of anything.

When she was brought to us, she was about 6 and seemed a very spunky B&G. They warned me that she needed a flat top cage, padded shelves instead of perches and blankets on the floor as she fell quite often and broke bood feathers, to the point of them almost loosing her ue to not being able to stop the blood one time.

For the first few months here I did everything they had told me to do with and she did fall and hit some feathers, but we always managed to stop the bleeding. I also started watching how she moved around and climbed things.
She used her beak in ways I had not seen our other macaws do. She also had very strong muscles in her face, that you could see. She had this thing I call "llok ma no hands" where she hangs from the top edge of the cage door and lets her legs stick out and flip her tail and waits for you to come running so she won't fall. I learned very quickly that she knew this game and she was in no way going to fall. It was her ploy to get you to come to her.

After about a year I switched her into a "normal" cage with perches, as I had started to realize that she was having a harder time in her own cage with the shelves etc than she did when got onto someone elses cage. I had a feeling that most of her problem was that her other home had been to worried aobut her falling to let her learn to move about and build up wing, and other muscles in order to have the strength so she wouldn't keep falling.

I think my biggest fear had been her hurting her keel bone, because she is a large macaw, almost 1200g and she hit the floor with a resounding thud, that echoed through the house.

So far in the last 2 years she has only fallen 2 times and only caused a dot or two of blood. She has also learned to flap her wings and glide a little bit. She still cannot hang on enough to exercise her wings like the rest do, but she is learning.

Her disability isn't like some of the other stories here, but I have seen way to many birds with similar things that have happened to them. It is such a shame that this was one problem that could have been prevented with a simple trip to the vet.

Kianna is a wonderful bird and very affectionate, she loves to go on outings, but it gets hard for me carrying her, as she slides on me since she can't grip tight enough, I end up with a back ache afterwards, but she has a ball.

[Darlie]

Oh to think someone did not take that baby to the vet is beyond anything I can say! What terrific parents you guys are and thank heaven she's with you now!!

[Lisa B]

It is truly amazing how someone could not care...she seems like a sweet girl
Thank you for sharing her story....

[oregonparrotlover]

Another amazing story of a special bird living a quality life!! Thanks for sharing!

[Lori]

God bless you...thank you for taking care of her and showing her so much love..

[mizbirdy]

Kianna seems like a wonderful bird!! You are truly a great person for taking her in & showing her that people do care

[Imagemneye]

Kianna is SO lucky to have found Her way into Your Home and Heart!

[Ringneckmom]

It is really a shame that people did not even care enough to see about getting her leg fixed. Such a shame.