Frito Wants a Corn Chip

Frito is a wonderful, funny and verbal African Grey in our rescue. One of Frito's favorite sayings is, "Frito wants a corn chip." His former owners apparently knew of this addiction to corn chips, hence his name Frito (I'm assuming here but it does make sense). He loves his toys and really enjoys throwing whiffle balls around his cage and trying to chase them. You might wonder why such a wonderful Grey is still in the rescue and not adopted. The answer is simple. Frito is terribly disabled. He was born with Hypocalcaemia due to his egg laying mother not receiving the proper calcium supplements while laying eggs. I won't bore you with the medical explanation to all of this but simply tell you the outcome for Frito. The bones in his legs were so soft that they bent under his own weight at he grew. Multiple fractures occurred in his hip and legs. I cannot imagine the level of pain that he endured in the first few months of life. As his diet provided more calcium, his bones slowly hardened and set. The result is that Frito's left hip sticks out from his body at a 45 degree angle and then bends back forward with his leg turning inward in a horizontal line. His right leg is also skewed and his feet don't fully grip. In short, he doesn't "look" right. 

When Frito came to us, we had a quality of life consultation with two avian vets. We were concerned that he was in constant pain. After Xrays and careful manipulation of both legs and hips, it was determined that he was not in active or constant pain. He was put on a medication that would help with the early onset arthritis he had developed. The problem with Frito and everyday life was two fold. What kind of cage could we put him in. He couldn't really walk. He kind of trundled or rocked on his legs like a weeble and when he is tired he simply grabs the grate in the cage bottom and pulls himself along by his beak. We solved this by adapting a large high quality guinea pig cage on wheels. it gave him a long area to roam in horizontally and was was not too tall so that if he pulled himself up the sides by his beak and luck, he wouldn't have far to fall. We hung toys from the sides so that he could reach them and play. The second problem wasn't as easy. Due to the pain of bones breaking in his early life, he was terrified of hands and being handled. Hands equaled pain and he wanted nothing to do with it. Frito would see hands coming toward him and start screaming and thrashing so hard that he would fall over and not be able to get up. This made changing his cage hard and traumatic. For months, I would end up crying when his cage had to be cleaned. 

I wanted to be able to comfort him and hold him but I had accepted that that time would probably never  come. I spent countless hours on the floor by his cage gently playing a game of touching through the bars and talking quietly and calmly. Some days he bit me, others he would finally put his head down for me to give a two second scratch. Fast forward eight months. One day, I had the side door opened on the cage and he was learning out toward me ---- and he fell into my hands! I was shocked and so was he. I slowly lifted him to my shoulder and loved on him for all I was worth. He let me for 20 wonderful minutes, making little beeping sounds and rubbing his head on my shoulder. I finally shifted to see how to put him back and he panicked, thrashed and screamed. I quickly and gently placed him back in and got a quick fear bite from him. I closed the door and spoke quietly and he stopped screaming. He waddled to the door and pushed his beak through and beeped at me. I wiped the blood off my finger while crying, not from the bite but because after all those months, I had hope.

Hope and a twenty minute cuddle - that is why I do this! Frito will probably always be with me because  I have seen how people react to his deformities. It makes some people uncomfortable. I don't mind because I am madly in love with him, but they sure don't know the courage, humor and love they are missing out on from this little guy.

Here is one view of Frito's left leg.

The End of the Beginning

Wow, so long since my last blog post. I had such high hopes,  for me and the blog. Actually, I had superwoman syndrome. What was I thinking? I had joined a rescue, taken on more responsibility, had parents with serious health issues that required travel to Tampa for almost a year, a traveling husband and tutoring commitments. Hmmmm, why don't I try to start a blog that I contribute to as often as possible. Ouch! Not a fun way to learn that you aren't "all that"! I really did think that I could do it all.

Now that I have very publicly demonstrated that I can't do it all, I am going to try and start blogging

again. The only difference being that I am going to have more realistic expectations of myself this time around. There is a phase in the life of parrot ownership that we call the honeymoon phase. This phrase is usually reserved for re-homed birds because it refers to the tendency of birds (or anyone for that matter) to behave more appropriately in the beginning of a new relationship. I think that I have been suffering from honeymoon syndrome in the rescue arena. I assumed that everyone was into rescue for the "right" reasons, that all birds could be rehabilitated, that every story had a happy ending and the sun pretty much was going to shine all the time. HUGE ASSUMPTIONS! I was wrong. I was so very wrong.

First, I had to learn that everyone defines "right" reasons differently. Sometimes those definitions are a world apart. This is an observation I make not to mean that I have figured out what those "right" reasons are but that I had no idea how very differently rescuers could view the reasons for being involved in Parrot Rescue. I offended people and had no idea I had done so!! I broke unspoken rules by accepting money and cages from a small breeder. In my mind, I thought there was no wrong way to accept money for the birds under my care. I had huge vet bills (still do, lol) and was making sure that all fosters had food and toys  - how could that be bad? Trust me, there are individuals who not only think it's bad, they will stop talking to you. I was shocked at the absolute venom and aggression shown on different Facebook pages between rescue groups and parrot owners. Yikes! I thought high school was tough for gossip and character assassination. There are Queen bees and Wannabes that have nothing compared with what goes on in the protected shell of Facebook anonymity and trolling.  My personal faith leads me to believe that no change can be lasting without those in agreement (at the most broad level) committing to change and refusing to be drawn into skirmishes that weaken the team's overall ability to stay in the war.  Change for the plight of unwanted, abandoned, or, through no fault of their own, homeless birds. That is my mantra. I can't fix the entire dysfunctional system of over breeding, lack of education, lack of responsible adults and greedy people. I can't change moral compasses (nor would I want to tell others how they should feel). I can take the birds that come to me through chance and referral and do the very best I can for them to be healthy and whole. I can publicize their stories and find them homes that I hope will last for a very long time. I can coordinate and work with other rescues when I can't provide what a bird needs. I can put the word out and educate the public to the best of my ability about what parrot ownership really looks like. I can never, ever give up. That is what I can do and what I plan to do.

Okay, I have now broken the unspoken rules of blogging because this post is too long, has some personal and negative observations and I didn't mention one of the birds in the rescues personal story. I promise to better next time but I thought it was important to tell you why I had been absent and what I have been learning. Oh, and the title of this post isn't an admission of failure - it is a declaration of my intention to be in this for the long haul. Past the honeymoon and the 7 year itch, I plan to continue to walk my path. One step at a time, working for the greater good of the feathered creatures that I love.

P.S. Kovak says, "hi!". Yes, he wasn't supposed to live and here he is over a year later eating banana with me while I type.

He is even moving his head all over the place.

Madison's Blog Update

I (Carole) have been under the weather for more than two months so Madison the Macaw is going to guest blog for me! This is her first blog post since she came to live with us.  So here it goes:

Hello, I'm Madison and I live in Florida. I love it at my home. I have several humans who make sure that I have everything I need. My mom hasn't been well, so I've been playing in her room a lot! I play on my stand for awhile, then I get bored. I mean you can only play with four or five toys for so long and then you need to get down and go climb up on the bed to see what is going on over there! Kovak, the whiny African Gray who stares at me like I'm crazy never climbs down. Mommy says he is a good bird. I am having these little hormonal moments that make me want to go under mom's bed but she always gets me out! It is so nice and dark under there! I like to drag socks with me but mom is totally lame and says, "no".  That word annoys me but I love to say it. I say it over and over and over. Yesterday I said it for ten minutes in lots of different voices. Mommy laughed for a long time! I guess this blogging them is okay but it makes my claws tickle and I really want to eat all the black letters....oops, d bb ieopb,zalro Mom is after me! Have to go now! dkeppgkaknvlkb,ilk

The Story of Kovak (or how I lived through it all)!

Kovak so sick he couldn't stand.

One of the injury areas.

If you read this blog, you have probably seen a photo of Kovak or read brief descriptions of him. Kovak is an amazing African Grey. He came to the attention of one of our board members through a series of circumstances. Kovak was very ill when Casey met him. He couldn't perch and could only lift his head.  He had self mutilated (cause still not completely clear) to the point that he had open wounds on his left leg that involved tendon and muscle. These areas had become infected and had permanent damage to certain areas of the leg. The owner agreed to let Casey try and help him. At the point, Kovak was launched on an odyssey of surgeries, recovery and months of wearing the dreaded cone.  The Exotic Bird Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida took on his care and slowly brought him back from the brink. This photo isn't completely clear but here is one of the primary injury areas. The vet worked hard to restore some use and mobility to the area. Kovak took many medicines and had multiple followups. His vet bill is enough to scare a person, LOL. At one point, Casey and I sat in the vet's office and asked some hard questions about Kovak's future and what his quality of life would be. We were very concerned that Kovak be able to recover enough to live as a "bird". We chose to let Kovak fight and so he did! Kovak slowly improved over a period of six months and began to emerge from his fog of illness. His personality began to appear and little quirks of his sense of humor. What a joy it was to see him get strong enough to protest having to wear the cone of shame!!! Soon he was interacting with other birds in the house. Awesome!!! I knew that he still was experiencing pain and stiffness and had trouble with range of motion in his injured leg, but he was ALIVE and starting to live again.  He continued to have monthly vet appointments and was getting well enough to gripe about his multiple medications. Every grumpy little moment was like a victory! Now Kovak has periods of time where he is cone less!!!! I supervise him very closely during these times but he has actually been able to take a nap with his head tucked into his back (his preferred sleeping position). I am so happy for him. He is now doing his exercises everyday to strengthen his legs and his gait. I don't think he will every climb but, who knows? At one point we weren't even sure he was going to live.  He may surprise me yet. Kovak will be a permanent member of our rescue because of his special needs and ongoing vet care. You will hear about him on a regular basis and I hope you come to love him as we have. If you are able to, you can make a donation to contribute to his vet bill. There is a link on our website. www.parrotsaspetsrescue.com

GI Joe, Happy at Home!!

GI Joe and his new mom!!

Well, GI Joe doesn't have to worry about the "transition blues" anymore. While waiting for a foster home, one of my avian vet's techs fell in love with him! Well, fast forward a few weeks, paperwork and adoption fees and GI Joe is happily ensconced in his new home with his new family. Donna (shown here with GI Joe) took this awesome boy home and he is thriving!!! He is already adding to his vocabulary and is enjoying family time.

It is always so wonderful to get to these happy endings! Donna is ready and willing to give this amazing guy a life long commitment and he is in love! He turned out to be quite a flirt after settling in!

We will be posting updates from time to time to let you know how he is doing but I wanted to put a quick note up to let all of you know that he is with his new family and doing well.

Fly Away Home, Smokey (dealing with loss)

I have avoided writing this post because I have had trouble dealing with it. Smokey, AKA Wonderbudgie, AKA Budgie Butt, passed away during the night last week. This was very unexpected and I was devastated. After Smokey was surrendered to us, he went through two surgeries to repair damage from a dog attack and human negligence. He survived all of the above and was on many medicines. He had been off his meds for three weeks and been hopping all over his special needs cage and chirping with the other birds in the house. He was a survivor; then he was gone.

I have only lost one other bird, many years ago. Smokey was in my life for such a short time but he had a huge impact on me. What a fighter he was! I have tried to focus on the fact that he came to us for a reason. We were able to immediately stop his pain and get him medical attention. He got to eat millet and mash, greens, broccoli and other things that he had never had before. He sat in the sun and listened to the other birds and tried to imitate them. He was free to be a budgie. Now, he is truly free and no longer lame. His wings work perfectly and he is flying over the Rainbow Bridge.

A special thank you to those who donated to his two surgeries. The money was not wasted - it was a blessing to one of the cutest little budgies I have ever met. A special thank you to Disco the Parakeet because watching you amused Smokey greatly. Fly away home, Smokey. You were loved.

The Transition Blues or Why GI Joe isn't Thrilled with Life

GI Joe the Military Macaw

We have a new macaw in the rescue.  His name is GI Joe. He is a Military Macaw and was surrendered under emergency circumstances due to family illness. GI had lived with his previous owner for 11 years.  That is a long time.  He is going through a mourning process that I see in many surrendered birds. He is sad and confused. He isn't eating a whole lot and is choosing to hang out in the corner of his cage at the moment. Due to the rapid circumstances of his surrender and the lack of available foster homes, he is temporarily with my avian vet being boarded. The good news about this is that they have placed him near their lunch room so he gets a lot of friendly "hellos", treats and conversation. The bad news is that I wish he only had one transition to go through. His cage was unusable so we are in the process of procuring another one. Once I secure that, he will be coming to my house temporarily. I often wonder what goes through the mind of surrendered birds. I know that many come from homes where they were loved. I can't imagine what it would be like to one day wake up and the flock member I love is just gone. We can't communicate with these beautiful creatures effectively enough to explain human circumstance (or in some cases human selfishness). GI is trying very hard. He responds when I talk to him, he blushes fire engine red, and he chooses to move away rather than striking or becoming aggressive. I wish he could read my mind and know my intentions. Unfortunately, that just isn't how it works. I simply continue to speak calmly and smile and duck my head away from him when I have been staring too long. My heart is already his, he just doesn't know it yet.  Updates will be coming as he continues to move forward in this settling in phase. Today he actually stepped up without much trouble and played with a foot toy that I gave him. That is a victory for him! Yay for GI!