Today is the DAY!!!

[Picaroon]

Ooo.... Thanks for the heads-up Clueless! I'll be watching closely on April 1st to see what's on sale.

What does "MC" stand for? I know I've been told before, but I'm lost. I'd LOVE to get some flat pine perches. She does like to chew.

P.S. I'm thinking Parley, pronounced "par-lay" (it's actually the proper spelling) or, in full, Parley Jian.

The Jian bird is a mythological bird in the Chinese culture with, wait for it, one eye and one wing! They're typically a symbol of marriage since it's said the bird must have a mate in order to fly. I don't really like Jian (j-yen, one syllable) on it's own since it sounds a lot like Jen (her previous owner's name). I think I like the idea of tacking it on the end like a middle name though. Say it with me now... "Parley Jian" rolls off the tongue right?

 

[Clueless]

Don't know what MC stands for. Got the name with the bird! Perhaps it was "emcee" or Masterful Comic or Mr. Comedian or . . . . .

I bought pine perches from them before - and the one Secret had is now in MC's cage . . . they look like:

The basswood perches I bought were half-round ones from the Little Perch company (that is now closed). I Got A Woody has a "slice" of basswood but there's only one side with bark on it and I really think that's Secret's fave.

Two thoughts - 1) the foot strength will improve. Mine both only had dowel rods when I got them. I have a rope perch that I folded in a U shape and put on the upper part of both cages. Secret loves it - MC ignored it. It's all about the bird - their likes, their desires. I hung toys near the ends of the perches and MC slept beside of one of his toys for the longest time.

2nd) You might want to explore pistachio's. At the bird store that I frequent (okay, I'm like a "groupie" at Varietees) - they had a bin of pistachios. I was told by a man that was in the shop one day that it was "Amazon crack". I bought a few and I can tell you - if I put a handful of things into their food bowl - the pistachio is the first thing up. I was told to limit them (I think because of fat content?). They only get them like 5 days a week. I have SKINNY amazons!

 

[Picaroon]

I'll have to look into pistachios! She definitely LOVES almonds. I expect her to get a little more chubby while I bond (using almonds to reward step-ups etc...) and then I'll cut them back slowly. She does eat fruit/veggies and I bought a HUGE variety to see what she likes. Red bell peppers are a HUGE favorite. She's pushing around her zucchini, carrots, jalapeno and pears (although she'll occasionally take a bite of pear). She's also SUPER dirty. I can tell by looking at her and by...

....drum roll please...........

SCRITCHING HER HEAD!!!!!

Yes she offered her head to me for scritches on the FIRST NIGHT! I seriously had to hold back tears. Both owners 2 and 3 told me it took them over a month to give her scritches. Seriously, tears, choke 'em back. Such a big brave girl. She just needs someone who understands her. I gotcha baby, you're safe now.

 

[Clueless]

Kymi - all this is well and good but remember, you are on a HONEYMOON phase. Look it up. Real life comes later. I just regret that I didn't know such a thing existed and I could have tried to make better buddies during that time. Instead I just talked and coo'd and talked and coo'd and . . .

I can't remember if you had bird experience or not. With my amazons, I put them on a small PVC stand on the floor of the shower. I take a spray bottle that I bought at Wal-mart, hold it in front of the bird but spray it into the air ABOVE their head so it drifts down on them. Secret hated it for quite some time - MC thrives on a shower. Secret does occasionally try to crawl into her water bowl - and I've tried getting her to bathe in a big bowl in the shower - but Secret does what Secret wants (but my rules says she needs to be thoroughly wet at least once a week).

 

[Picaroon]

I know... but I'm still going to enjoy the honeymoon phase (while still setting boundaries and rules). Can ya blame me?
I'll probably do roughly the same except maybe on a small footstool with a PVC vet wrapped around the center of it. I bought TONS of vet wrap to use since it does seem to help her grip. I know to spray above but thank you for the reminder!

I'm hoping to give her a good soaking at LEAST 3 times a week. She looks like she's in the middle of a molt but I couldn't even start to preen her head it was so filthy. If she stresses too much about her bath then I'll take it easy. 3 times a week would be if she tolerates it. Right now I'm more concerned about getting that vet visit in on Thursday and building trust with her.

 

[Picaroon]

Here's a little snippet from her first day! Finally uploaded to youtube.

 

[cupoftea]

Ooo, congratulations!! How exciting!!

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

She's adorable. Thank goodness she's in good hands now. God bless you!

 

[DQTimnehs]

Congrats! What a sweetie!

Please don't name her Scurvy!

How about Peg as in Peg-leg, kind of Piratey.

Do you know what happened to her wing?

 

[Anne & Gang]

what a sweetheart..congratulations..I think she deserves a royal, elegant name..

 

[Birdiemarie]

Congratulations. I wish you well with her and hope she thrives with your TLC. She's so special.

 

[Clueless]

Oh my gosh, I had tears over the video. Thank you for loving her. I don't know how people could be so ignorant to do that to her.

 

[roxynoodle]

Congrats, she sounds wonderful! I have to admit, Scurvy threw me off as well.

Hopefully it won't just be a honeymoon phase. I've not really ever had that happen though I know it does. Maybe to some extent with Rowdy, but not really any of my others. I think it's great she's settling in so nicely! Pete was very upset and scared for 2 days. He hissed and growled at me and turned his back on me (but I'd see him peeking over his shoulder). Then at about the 48 hour mark he began initiating friendship, talking to me and singing. On day 4 he finally agreed to step up after 5 or 6 times of thinking about it and then changing his mind. Once he did though, he actually cuddled against me

 

[Picaroon]

I think I'm settled on Parley Jian (par-lay jyen). Sounds elegant and exotic when said together, or at least I think so. Also deciding against the

As far as her past goes, here's part of the email I received from home #2 after I managed to track him down and ask about "Meg".
"She was an abuse case that was confiscated by our local Animal Control here in the San Fernando Valley area. From what I was told, it was her owner's boyfriend who abused her. The final time was when he threw her cage against the wall and her wing happened to be caught outside of the cage bars and was fractured at the elbow. Unfortunately, she did not receive treatment at the shelter for a month while the case was pending. After that she was brought to our facility (we are a wildlife rehabilitation facility but occasionally help out the shelters). By this time the fracture was non-repairable with dead necrotic bone and tissue so I amputated it mid-humerus.

She also has a hypermature cataract in her right eye of unknown origin but likely due to trauma. She does occasionally seem to be bothered by it and she has diclofenac for it. I used to give it every 3 days when her eye seemed to bother her. I took her to an ophthalmologist to assess for a possible phacoemulsification but they were unsure whether her retina was functional so they recommended holding off unless that eye gave her problems.

She also has a beak luxation that you likely noticed and so it needs to be trimmed, especially that tag that grows off the left side of her mandible. I used to do it twice/year because she would get pretty stressed when done.

Also missing toes and her feet don't have very good strength. I think she had metabolic bone disease due to poor nutrition growing up. Make sure you have a thumb on top of her toes as she perches on your finger for support and be careful if you decide to let her sit on your shoulder. Also keep an eye on her if on a counter as she will walk off the edge on the side she can't see." poor baby having to go through all that.

She obviously has some poor hygiene too (super dirty feathers. It was like scritching a dog who han't had a bath in a year). Her feathers also look barbered, especially her tail feathers. I'm going to take a shower in a bit and let her wander the bathroom floor and leave the shower door a crack to see if she'll join me. If not, I'll be putting her on her t-stand or a short foot stool and giving her a good shower with the spray bottle after. I'll report back how it goes in a few hours.

 

[Clueless]

All I can say is that man is a slime ball that threw the cage.

Total slime.

Thankfully Parlay now has peace.

She doesn't have poor hygiene - she just needed someone to love her. During my bout with the knee injury - I couldn't get my zons to the shower (can't walk carrying an amazon on a perch AND using crutches). I finally managed last weekend by having husband push me in an office chair with rollers. MC really, really had sticky feathers on his head.

 

[Picaroon]

The picture I'm painting in my head of you being pushed in an office chair holding a perched amazon is hilarious.

Parley didn't like being in the bathroom with the shower on. I couldn't even get her to explore the floor. She stayed on her t-stand on the counter and protested while I showered. At least the steam is good for her. I decided to put her on the t-stand on my bedroom floor and use a mist bottle to bathe her (above the head of course. ). Now I have a wet zon and a wet carpet and a happy owner. I guess it all worked out, .

 

[Clueless]

Was the T stand near the bathroom mirror? If so - that may have been why she protested. I've been known to bathe my amazons on a tree stand in the kitchen floor (when they were stubborn and wouldn't step up). The floor in there is linoleum but man, what a soppy mess!

If you REALLY want hilarious - the first time down the hall was with MC who is a calm character. After that - I thought I'd put Secret in the kitchen sink rather than risk life and limb. No go. Secret did NOT like being down there - kept grabbing for the edge of the sink to try to pull herself up. I gave up - put her on the perch and asked hubby for a ride down the hallway (carpet down through there into the main bathroom and hard to push with one leg). Picture this - T perch extended in FRONT of the limpy gal - with a hissing amazon ready and willing to clamber down the length of the pole to get to limpy gal and then on to the hubby in back. Hubs dropped us off in the bathroom and until I called for a pickup. By then Secret was fully wet and ready and willing to take whatever ride possible to get back to civilization.

 

[Clueless]

So how did Parlay like the shower? Did she spread her wings at all? MC gets all theatrical and spreads and ducks head and bends over . . . .

Secret just endures most of the time.

 

[Picaroon]

I think it was more enduring it. No wing spreading which I pouted about and tried to coo and coax her into lifting just a little (must. get. feathers. clean. ). After a while I tried very gently spraying her body more directly and she seemed to actually enjoy that more.
DUH the kitchen! I should have saved the carpet and done it in there. She was infront of the mirror, maybe that was the issue in the bathroom.

Now we're on to breakfast. I made scrambled eggs with spinach and sliced some apples. She snubbed the eggs the first time and was thrilled with apples (we're sharing breakfast). When she finally tried the eggs she threw a huge screaming fit when she ran out! I left the room until she stopped and then came back in and waited for normal happy sounds to come back, then she got plenty of eggs. Happy happy girl now.

 

[melissasparrots]

Definitely get that vet check up done soon. Stinky poops are a bad sign. The only time mine have stinky poops is when a female is holding her droppings while sitting on eggs for a long time. Otherwise, there should not be a smell. She looks like a prime candidate for vitamin A deficiency and liver problems. I'd be loading her up on sweet potato and squash and limiting the high fat sunflower seeds. A really good sprouted seed mix with a decent amount of legumes and not so much high fat seeds plus pellets and the vitamin A rich foods would be my first choice of diet to get her straightened around for the short term. Then fine tune it for her specific needs after that once you have her deficiencies addressed. Assuming you can get her to eat it. Remember to weigh her every day right now since she has definite signs of being a sick bird. Don't force a diet change too much, but offer all the good for her stuff and after she settles in a little bit and with vet approval, try to get her eating a more balanced diet. I like the sprouts at Avian Naturals and All Bird Toys nutritious healthy organic naturalparrot food parrot supply treats gifts parts