Welcoming the newest member of the flock

[hrafn]

This is Rafiki.

At only twelve years old she's lived behind bars eating sunflower seeds in a Home Hardware warehouse, in a travel cage on a farm eating potato chips, and in a house where she was first allowed to openly interact with dogs and cats, and was then relegated back to a cage for four years when a vet tech daughter (wisely) insisted they be kept apart.

And now (with good luck and an iron will) she's found her forever home with me.

My heart's so full it could burst.

 

[sunnysmom]

She's beautiful. Congrats. I know she will have a wonderful life with you.

 

[ode.to.parrots]

Thank you for rescuing this beautiful being.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Thank you for taking in this unfortunate girl. She looks pretty darned good for her background.

We save them one at a time.

 

[cosmolove]

Why hello Beautiful!

 

[DQTimnehs]

Congrats and thank you for taking her in!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Congrats and thanks for taking her into your home.

 

[expressmailtome]

Congratulations!

 

[Tyrion]

Congrats she is Beautiful

 

[cassiesdad]

Congrats!

Welcome to the Avenue, Rafiki!

 

[Aubrey]

She's gorgeous!

 

[hrafn]

She's such an absolute sweetheart. By what I was told about her, I was a little worried that she'd be biting the holy hell out of me and throwing tantrums until she grew to trust me, but when I set her travel cage down by her full-size cage for her to move over into it, she instead decided to climb out over the top, crawl onto my lap and start preening. And when I had to ask her to step up for bedtime (which I was told would definitely be met with a bite), she stepped up for me flawlessly and only seemed a little sad to be back in her cage.

I'm not sure if she's just shy and her attitude will come out when she settles in, or if she was just grateful to be allowed out to explore for the first time in four years, but the level of faith she showed to happily preen on a stranger's knee was incredible. She clambered all over me and wasn't remotely afraid, quietly repeating "hello" and getting all excited when I responded.

Unfortunately, being so close to her made me more aware of the state of her feathers, which was monumentally depressing. I knew that she has a history of plucking, and that she once ripped out all the feathers in her chest, but her poor, ragged primaries and the bare patch on her wing made me so angry. She's been forced to endure such a miserable, terrible life. I can only hope it gets better with time and care.

Thank you all so much! I'll do everything in my power to make sure Rafi's new life with me is the happiest she could ever have.

 

[Lady Jane]

Welcome sweetie bird. With the love, good food and enrichment your life as a bird will be forever better. There are a few supplements for feather health. One I used is Featheriffic sold on Amazon.

 

[cassiesdad]

I always amazed at a bird's ability to trust people even after horrendous treatment by them. Your Rafiki is just another beautiful example of this.

Her past is just that...the past. Now, onward and upward...

 

[Aubrey]

Wow! That's wonderful! She was probably craving some stimulation and contraction with another being

I bet some baths will help her too

 

[hrafn]

I'm so, so in love with her!

I was a little worried how she'd take to a produce diet, as she almost exclusively ate Harrison's high potency at her last home, but boy oh boy does she love her fruits and veggies! Especially strawberries; every time she came across a strawberry in her dish this morning she'd gently squish it with her toes, and eat it as slowly as possible with much lip-smacking and "mmm"s. I even put some of her old pellets in with her chop to entice her, and she just picked the pellets out, threw them on the floor, and went back to digging for broccoli and carrots. She's such a good girl.

 

[Lady Jane]

How we all love good stories like yours. Not all turn out that way.

 

[BirdGuy21]

Congrats on your new addition to your flock!

 

[CeciliaZ]

Congrats! Thank you for giving her a home.

 

[hrafn]

Over the past week Rafi's personality has been coming out more and more with every day, and she's such a little peach.

Like every grey I've ever met, she's a meddlesome little toddler who loves to get into absolutely everything, and if I pay too much attention to anything that isn't her, she'll either grab it and throw it on the floor, or start chewing it up. She knows exactly what 'no' means, but just like any little kid, she doesn't especially care, and she'll happily do things she knows are naughty while cheerfully chanting 'no, no, no'.

We've also discovered that she loves riding around on my shoulder, and when she gets sleepy she'll cuddle up into my neck and ask for scritches -- the only bird I've ever had do so, as Kraz is mostly hands-off and Aurélie's catlike definition of quality time is hanging out in the same room.

I've fallen fully and completely head-over-heels for this little pest, and I'm so, so overwhelmingly happy that the world was generous enough to bring us together.