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Devoicing?

jdeviese

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So, I've had Maria, my rescued YNA for just over a week now, and I've seen some good improvements with her. She's getting used to seeing my hands (though just on the outside of her cage), she will occasionally take treats directly from me, and she's finally eating a healthy pellet diet. There has been one strange behavior that I've been unable to figure out, though, and most of my web-searching has come up empty until this morning, when I came across THIS article. It seemed to describe Maria's behavior very well.

Basically, what I thought was her panting or gasping for air has finally registered that she's trying to scream/squawk/yell (whatever you want to call it). In all my research I kept reading about how loud parrots were, about all the screaming and squawking, and Maria is quiet as a mouse! Initially I thought I was lucky to have a quiet bird, but I now believe that I am the owner of an unfortunate bird who may have been DEVOICED! I feel terrible for Maria--if, in fact, that's what happened to her. Her previous owner, my cousin, was rather eccentric, and I could see him doing that on a whim at some point. He seemed to love her, but at the same time treated her very much as an accessory...her cage is obscenely small for her by any standards (my school's cockatiel has a cage 4 times the size of Maria's!) He got her when she was 2 (she's now 41!), so perhaps it's even possible that the procedure was done to her before he bought her. In any event, my cousin is now deceased, so I can't ask him.

Obviously the devoicing procedure is terrible, and I would certainly consider it to be unethical under all but the most extreme of circumstances--though what those might be, I don't know!

Anyway, I'm curious as to whether anyone else has encounterd birds who have been devoiced, or who have had the procedure done on their birds. Not asking to start a fight or cause a commotion...I'm just very concerned about Maria and if this is another hurdle that she and I are going to have to overcome in her rehabilitation, I want to make sure I'm prepared, because I know almost nothing about her, except for her age, when she was bought by my cousin, and the conditions she's lived in since he became seriously ill 4 months ago.

Thanks for any info, and for all the encouragement AA has given me so far on this adventure.
 

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jh81

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I gave your post a love, because obviously i am glad she ended up with you!
I have not read the article, for obvious reasons :( but could you, maybe gently explain what devoicing is?

Whatever happens, it seems her life took a turn for the better. I am sure she will be much hapier in your care then she ever was. Not trying to be mean to your family, or speak ill of the dead. But sometimes people do not know what it means to have a parrot. Heck, even i made misstakes when i was still ignorant.
 

Sarahmoluccan

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I've only personally known of case of bird being devoiced, and I never did get to meet the bird. Last I heard he was doing well. Ironically he found a good home with a hard of hearing owner.

It does sound like your Maria has been devoiced :( I wonder if a vet could tell you. I always encourage new bird owners to take their bird for a wellness exam by an avian vet. If you haven't done so already it would be a good place to start. Do know the diet she was on before you? Its great you got her on healthy pellets :) But if the diet was really bad before you it could potentially some serious medical consequences. Which be another good reason to go a vet.

I'm sincerely grateful she a soft place to land with you :heart: :hug8:
 

Shezbug

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@Lincee devoicing is removing the birds ability to make noise by medically damaging/disabling parts of their muscles that they use to make noises. There is probably a better way to explain it but that’s the best I can do after reading the article.
 

Shezbug

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That sounds terrible! Is it still allowed? Here in NL this would be constituted as animal abuse. Which thankfully is punishable by jail or a fine
I don’t actually know anything about it other than what I’ve read here just now and the article seems to have been written in the 90”s so I’m not sure if it’s still allowed. I sure hope not.
I’m just glad the OP”s bird is now where it is.
 

Hankmacaw

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I knew one bird that had been devoiced. A Blue and Gold macaw that had been taken in by the sanctuary where I volunteered. She was a miserable gal and acted out a lot. She had been devoiced - surgically - because the fiance of the woman who had owned her threatened to leave her if the bird didn't shut up. She had been devoiced in the 90s.

Very sad and very cruel. Tiki could have come to the sanctuary with her voice in tact, but that wasn't to be.
 

jh81

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But, this does not perse mean the bird has to be depressed and sad right?
I mean, with the right care, its basicly the same as a bird who can’t fly i assume, and they could still be happy birds yes?
 

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@Lincee After watching and being associated with Tiki, I doubt that a bird could ever be totally happy. Their voice is an integral part of a bird.
 

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That sounds terrible! Is it still allowed? Here in NL this would be constituted as animal abuse. Which thankfully is punishable by jail or a fine
Sadly I think some things like devoicing aren't illegal, but would have serious consequences with a vet's standing with any exotic veterinary association. I remember watching an episode of Dr. K (she's an avian and exotic vet with her own tv show) and a primate owner asked about have their canine teeth removed. Dr. K flat out refused to do it and any vet with a good standing some of sort vet association would also refuse to do it too. I'd imagine things like devoicing and beak splitting would have the same kind of ramifications
 

Shezbug

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I can’t even imagine what it would be like for the birds this happened to.
Burt makes so many noises to express so many feelings and wants and to see him vocalise just to let off steam or for fun is such a big part of his communication and interactions to the outside world. I don’t want to think how he would mentally change if that was taken from him.
 

jdeviese

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I gave your post a love, because obviously i am glad she ended up with you!
I have not read the article, for obvious reasons :( but could you, maybe gently explain what devoicing is?
In a nutshell--and as best I've been able to tell from my limited research--devoicing is a surgical procedure whereby the vocal apparatus of a bird (it's also done in dogs) is intentionally damaged, resulting in scar tissue that prevents the animal from using its full vocal range. Maria can still speak a few phrases and "barks", but she is unable to scream/squawk at all.
 

jh81

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I coulnt imagine either, but i do believe that a handicapted parrot can still get to some level of hapyness. Maybe not in the same way as a “fully functional” parrot (pardon my wording) maybe i just have to believe this. Humanity’s cruelty is truely breathtakingly shocking :(
 

jdeviese

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I knew one bird that had been devoiced. A Blue and Gold macaw that had been taken in by the sanctuary where I volunteered. She was a miserable gal and acted out a lot. She had been devoiced - surgically - because the fiance of the woman who had owned her threatened to leave her if the bird didn't shut up. She had been devoiced in the 90s.

Very sad and very cruel. Tiki could have come to the sanctuary with her voice in tact, but that wasn't to be.
It just so happens that it was Tiki's story on The Oasis' blog that led me to believe the same thing had happened to Maria!
 

jdeviese

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I've only personally known of case of bird being devoiced, and I never did get to meet the bird. Last I heard he was doing well. Ironically he found a good home with a hard of hearing owner.

It does sound like your Maria has been devoiced :( I wonder if a vet could tell you. I always encourage new bird owners to take their bird for a wellness exam by an avian vet. If you haven't done so already it would be a good place to start. Do know the diet she was on before you? Its great you got her on healthy pellets :) But if the diet was really bad before you it could potentially some serious medical consequences. Which be another good reason to go a vet.

I'm sincerely grateful she a soft place to land with you :heart: :hug8:
First thing I did with Maria was take her to a vet for an exam and 24-hour observation...she got a clean bill of health (mercifully!), apart from her rather ragged plumage, that the doctor said was due to her poor diet (a grocery-store brand mix from which she only ever ate the sunflower seeds and peanuts).
 

jdeviese

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But, this does not perse mean the bird has to be depressed and sad right?
I mean, with the right care, its basicly the same as a bird who can’t fly i assume, and they could still be happy birds yes?
The prevailing opinion seems to be that vocalization is such a constitutive aspect of a bird's personality, that most tend to suffer some form of psychological trauma. Imagine if you woke up one morning and all of a sudden were unable to perform a function that is basic and intrinsic to your nature (walking, talking, hearing, etc.). Perhaps birds can overcome the trauma with time and attention, but I would speculate that the initial shock would be something that would stay with a bird for quite some time--even if only to a lesser degree. (Just my own thoughts...)
 

jdeviese

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I coulnt imagine either, but i do believe that a handicapted parrot can still get to some level of hapyness. Maybe not in the same way as a “fully functional” parrot (pardon my wording) maybe i just have to believe this. Humanity’s cruelty is truely breathtakingly shocking :(
I certainly agree that a bird is capable of achieving some level of happiness after being devoiced, the same as those (often in sanctuaries or rescues) with other disabilities or variances learn to become functional, happy birds. A devoiced parrot, I would think, would have an easier time of achieving normalcy than one with a more pronounced physical ailment (broken wing, missing food, broken beak, etc.)...but as we know from human beings who suffer from psychological distress, for an animal as intelligent as a parrot, I would guess they could easily carry on with a physical routine while still bearing the scars of a psychological trauma.
 
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