Happy Endings

So often I hear people say that they do not feel they have enough experience to adopt a parrot. This, to me, is one of the saddest myths perpetuated. Perhaps because of the term "rescue", perhaps because of poor taming, training and home transition advice, perhaps simply because baby parrots are so cute, but for whatever the reason, rehomed parrots are seen as being far more time consuming than getting a baby parrot.

When considering buying a baby parrot, it is important to remember many things. One, baby parrots are almost always going to "choose" everyone that picks them up. They are cute, adorable, and fluffy little guys that can gain control of your very senses with just one soulful gaze. However, even with the very best care taken to raise them as well socialized, "perfect" parrots, you will hit problems. If you are prepared for these problems, and are committed to continually changing and adapting to keep potential problems at bay, aware that hormones will come and that your relationship will not stay the same forever, you may not really notice any major issues. Unfortunately, you also have to deal with your parrot's adult temperament; the sweetest babies can grow up to be extremely difficult adults, regardless of all the perfect care they have received.

When rehoming a parrot, it is important to recognize how much you feel you can reasonably handle. Most parrots needing a home are not rescues, but simply rehomes- parrots that can no longer stay in their current home for whatever reason. Most are very happy, friendly, well socialized and well adjusted companions. Given some time to re-adjust to their new home, they will show themselves to be wonderful parrots, beyond the hormonal teenage stage and well settled into their adult temperament.

Rescues, as the term implies, are a different story from rehomes. There are varying degrees of rescues. Some come from poor conditions, but were never very abused, perhaps neglected, and quickly adjust to their new home if their new family takes care to allow them to adjust and works to gain their trust at the parrot's pace. I believe this is the majority of rescues, and though you do have to be prepared to go slower than you would with a well adjusted rehome or baby parrot, they are still not too hard for anyone with patience, time, and understanding. The most difficult category of rescues are true rescues, those not only from poor conditions, but also sorely abused. These parrots should only be taken on by those either with experience dealing with such parrots, or by those with lots and lots of patience, time, understanding of the parrot and of how to tame them, as well as a positive outlook and the ability to keep all stress from entering their relationship with the parrot.

While it is very important never to embark on a mission to help a parrot if you are not fully prepared for anything they throw at you, I believe this applies just as much, if not more so, to baby parrots, perhaps simply because they seem so innocent. As long as you are careful to truthfully reason how much patience, time, and ability you have, and find a rehome that fits with this, it is one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling undertakings. If you are unsure of how to find this perfect parrot, or even of how much you can handle, I always recommend going through a reputable rescue.

To show that you do not have to be an internationally accredited bird whisperer to help a parrot needing a home, I am starting a compilation of "Happy Endings", stories of parrots, from rehomes to tragic rescues and everything in between, that transitioned happily into their new homes. If you have a story you would like to share, please feel free to email it to me!

Tito, Vosmaeri Eclectus, adopted by Maria

Paco, Solomon Island Eclectus, adopted by Jude

Tilly, Peach-Faced Lovebird

Kito, Congo African Grey, adopted by Dawn

Kiwi, Eclectus, fostered by Dawn

Tito's Story

~This story was written by Maria from The Eclectus Connection~

Tito, a Vosmaeri Eclectus, came to us when he was 6. His daddy, a very busy and successful executive, used to work long hours and Tito was alone at home for 12-14 hours/day. Despite this, I know he was happy, well loved and well cared for. I first met Tito at the office, I was new there; his daddy and I used to work for the same company and he would bring Tito to the office prior to leaving on a business trip to Europe. Tito was then taken to a boarding place for a week or more.

It was love at first sight for me, I’d never seen an Eclectus parrot before…I kept watching this beautiful parrot walking through the office, searching for his dad, couldn’t believe my eyes how quiet and good he was. He angrily refused the treats his dad gave him (to make up a bit for his upcoming absence). I went to him and offered my arm without knowing that it could have been dangerous; Tito just stepped on, taken by surprise!

In the meantime, Tito’s dad had gotten married and his wife was expecting the first baby. One day I heard Tito’s father asking everyone in the office whether they would like to take Tito. He and his wife felt they couldn’t take good care of Tito and the baby at the same time. Tito’s mother was not a parrot lover.

I was shocked and saddened!

When his dad asked me about Tito, I promised to discuss this with my husband; we had long discussions, neither of us was really convinced that we needed a pet at that time. I was extremely depressed after major tragedies in my life (my parents’ death, my beloved dog’s death) and couldn’t even think of another pet. I used to have parakeets years ago and for some reason imagined that it wouldn't be that difficult to take care of Tito. We started reading books about Eclectus parrots and searching the Internet; the more we read, the less ready and more concerned we felt. Such a responsibility!!!

We finally decided to bring Tito into our home…He came with his huge, expensive cage, favorite toys, and 6 years of a happy life with his special, intelligent dad. When I picked him up he was in a small carrier, scared and vulnerable, trying to get his dad’s attention. In the car, while I was holding the carrier, he was very agitated and desperately called his father’s name in a sweet voice. It was the first and the last time he called his dad… I felt so sorry for him, I was almost crying.

After we released him into his cage (it was already at home, with his toys and beautiful bowls), he felt better and tried to take a nap. At bed time we left him in the living room and went upstairs, though we worried about him. When I heard him moving through the cage, wing flapping (exercising before sleep) I was so worried, thinking he was sick. The next day we left him alone in his new home, as we had to work. He must have felt so lonely and lost. Tito was always very good, though, quiet and well mannered. We never heard him screaming. He would make sweet noises, sometimes asking “What” in French.

A week later, while Tito and I were alone at home, I heard someone talking in a very deep voice in the house…I was frozen, my heart almost stopped!!! When I was able to move, I started running through the house checking on every door, window and closet. All the horrible thrillers that I used to see when I was very young came to my mind…I was ready to call my husband or the police when I heard the voice again; I was terrified, and ran to see how Tito was. Tito had been taking a nap, but opened his eyes and watched me for a while. He was so calm that I decided I needed to calm down too. I suddenly had a feeling that Tito might have been the one talking, because he called his father in the car... but that deep voice?! I was so anxious to ask his daddy the next day that I wasn’t even able to concentrate on my work after my horrible sleepless night. He confirmed that Tito had such talking abilities! I wish he gave me more information on Tito before!

Tito was a “closet talker”, and he spoke French... but after 3 weeks he was calling my husband's name, hesitantly at first, then perfectly pronounced within several weeks.

Another surprise was to discover Tito on the top of his cage when we came back from work. We would usually leave the cage door closed during our absence. What had happened, had a stranger broke into our home and released Tito?! I found out later that it was piece of cake for Tito to open the door.

It's now been 7 years since that August day when Tito became a family member.

He's been through a lot since then (we have moved twice, and our new apartment building has undergone repair/demolition works for 4 years – extremely loud noises such as jack hammering, etc.). When I came home once I saw Tito desperately flying and crashing against walls/windows... I understood what he had been through during my absence! I had to take him to a boarding place (very nice, clean, professional people, but still a boarding place, noisy because of the numerous birds) where he spent many months, coming home only on week ends, going back on Mondays... Every separation was heartbreaking, we were already very attached to each other and our little boy couldn't understand why he didn't have a home any longer.

In 2006 I wasn't able to stand that situation (repair works going on forever, Tito deprived of a real home, me stressed on daily basis) and started looking for a new home for Tito.

I discovered Carolyn and asked for help. She was wonderful, gave me advices, supported me... I will never stop being grateful for her kindness and understanding.

Many people were interested in taking Tito; we even met with a few people from the TEC list. I probably exchanged hundreds of emails at that time. Tito was watching me with a sad look, I was sure he understood what I was doing. All the people we have been in contact with were very nice, however I couldn't find that special home I was hoping for... The last tentative attempt to place him was when we took Tito to someone's house, they were extremely nice people, who liked him very much. We were determined to leave Tito with them. Tito, though, was terrified, stressed and started obsessively calling my husbands' name. It was too much for all of us, so we just took him home and he stayed with us.

For the next 2 years we've been “under siege” (I was working from home at that time, while my husband was sick): very loud repair works all day, every day even on week ends, moving Tito's cage all around the apartment, desperately trying to avoid those disturbing noises. On several occasions we rented a small room for myself and Tito in order to escape the nightmare. Not even once was Tito a bad, nervous boy! All the people who met him said how well behaved and mannered he was: always sweet, patient, dancing, enjoying our company, grateful for every moment we spent together. He is so sensitive, he knows when I am depressed or sad...

For the last 2 years we haven't heard him saying long sentences any longer, probably because of the stress he had in his life with us. I don't mind that he never calls my name and that he stops me when I raise my voice or he thinks I am not nice enough to my husband (he adores him from a distance).

He still doesn't like showers (he loves to take a bath in his bowls), he never lets me do his nails or hold him on my lap. Tito gave me kisses very shortly after he came to us; however he would rather talk to us from a distance, watch us, dance. But he has never failed showing us his love!!!

We were dreaming about taking a companion girl for him, he's been too lonely. Unfortunately, not the best moment now... I feel I still have tons of things to do for Tito, but I am not able to achieve all of them: we don't really take him outside very often, he doesn't see many people. Tito doesn't have many toys...He has 2 trees and the living room as his own room. His diet is good, thanks to Carolyn and all the other members, who posted advices. Carolyn has been with me for all these years, she has helped us so much!

Thank you, Carolyn, for understanding my concerns, my fear and our stress!!

I learned so much through Tito, from Tito and for Tito!!! We love him deeply and I hope he knows that...

Thank you, Meg, for giving me the chance to write Tito's story!

Important for Parrots, People, and the World

I think everyone in America, and the world, should watch the following Now program:

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/543/index.html

After seeing that, how could anyone not see the importance of cutting emissions? This is a very important issue, and it affects every one of us. Why must we only see importance in damage done to Americans? Aren't we all humans, with the same feelings and pains? Doesn't every decent human being deserve the same respect, the same importance?

Please write your representatives in Congress to let them know you support strong climate action. America is a huge factor in global climate change, and though we are not the only one, we need to do our full part in reducing emissions. In order to prevent further climate change, every person in the world needs to have a maximum average yearly output of 2 tonnes by 2050. The average in growing nations, such as China, is around 6 now. Most European countries average around 10-12 tonnes per head, while the U.S. measures in at a whopping 24 tonnes per head! Global levels are soon to reach around 50 gigatonnes, which need to be cut to around 20 gigatonnes by 2050. Daunting figures, but certainly attainable. Or should I say, attainable if we take responsibility and act now?

Pellets and Vitamins

Although I have talked about this before, I think it is important to mention again, as it is a common misunderstanding. So often I see people feeding both pellets and vitamins to their birds, trying to make sure their birds get everything they need to remain healthy. While the concern is well founded, I think this cure can do more harm than good.

When it is said that malnutrition is still the most common cause of death for captive parrots, it is important to note many things. One, parrots do not always die strictly of malnutrition, but of complications from malnutrition; a weaker immune system causing them to be more susceptible to bacteria, perhaps. Another thing that I think can be more important to note is that malnutrition simply means bad nutrition, not not enough nutrition. So both lack of vitamins, and toxicity of too much of a vitamin, hypervitaminosis, or a mix of the two, is one of the leading cause of death for captive parrots. It may seem odd to be talking about the dangers of too many vitamins; after all, we are always being lectured on how hard it is to get our parrots what they need, can we really give them too much? The answer, though a bit complicated, is yes.

If you are feeding only fresh foods, you have no danger of hypervitaminosis. This is because fresh foods, real veggies, fruits, and grains, etc, often contain precursors to the actual nutrient, so the body simply assimilates from the food what it needs, and leaves the rest. Vitamin A, for instance, is not a natural food of parrots, rather, they consume beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, from their food.

The problem arises when we start feeding synthetic vitamins. Synthetic vitamins are already in their final form, and so instead of the body being able to take what it needs and leave the rest, they have to use all that they are given. Vitamin A, using the same example, is one of the more common vitamin toxicities heard of; vitamin A is stored in the liver until it is needed, so too much of it can overpower the liver. Hypervitaminosis can show itself through all manner of symptoms including, but by no means limited to, plucking, poor feather growth/quality, excessive beak or nail growth, hyperactivity, aggression, listlissness, and an all manner of health issues including liver or kidney malfunction or failure, and unfortunately, death.

Now, however, things get more complicated. No one really knows for sure how much is the perfect amount of these synthetic vitamins for our parrots is correct. Each species has very different needs from all the others, and potentially different ways of precoessing the vitamins. Combine with this the fact that each individual parrot varies in how they handle synthetic vitamins and you have quite a puzzle! Going back to the vitamin A for another example, and in regards to parrots that are being fed an almost completely (80% pellets or more) diet, I have heard of an almost equal dying from lack of vitamin A as those dying from Vitamin A toxicity. This shows how very much individual parrots vary in their use of the vitamins, for some seem to be unable to process synthetic vitamins, and simply remove them from the body as effectively as they remove a toxin, while others become overwhelmed by storing all of the vitamins.

For these reasons, it is very often recommended now to feed a mostly fresh diet, with some pellets if you wish to include them or do not have enough time to make sure they are getting a fairly complete fresh diet, and time outside in the sunshine for vitamin D. Except for TOPs and FF, pellets are essentailly a filler, such as wheat, soy, or corn, with vitamins added. SO by including pellets, you are including daily vitamins. If you add more vitamins, you run the risk of hypervitaminosis.

Simply put, if you are feeding even a small amount of pellets, you should not add any vitamins unless a blood test shows your parrot is deficient, and then the vitamin should only be added for a certain time period until a re-check is completed, or as recommended by your avian veterinarian.