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Meet My Whole New Flock!

juliashmulia

Jogging around the block
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Joined
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861
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Wisconsin
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Julia
As many of you know from my previous post, Silas passed back in December. The pain and loneliness of not having a bird was pretty awful, but I didn’t want to rush right into getting another.

However, four, yes *four* Senegals happened to practically fall into my lap in the last 2 weeks.

Shannon, the owner of Birds & Beaks Rescue out in Michigan is a Facebook friend of mine and while we were chatting, I found out she had three older male Senegals who were brothers and bonded to each other. She called them the “Three Wise Men”. They came from a hoarding situation and were in a cage with a 3 foot mountain of feces. They’re all in their early 30s and we think they may possibly be wild caught, but they definitely were not handled or socialized, and are completely wild and terrified of people (and when I say that I mean they freak out and start flailing when someone even gets near their cage). I knew that I would never have a bond with them like I did with Silas, but these three old brothers needed a good home and were pretty overwhelmed by the noise and bustle of the rescue.

So, I drove the 9 ours out to Battle Creek to get them, and instantly fell in love. As you can see they have a huge cage full of toys, and are so happy and content *as long* as they’re left alone to do their own thing. They have the cutest relationship with each other and they bathe together, preen each other, play, chew on their toys, hop and fly around, share food...I love watching them do their thing and they seem super happy here.

ECAA4425-6FB7-484C-A24C-4B9964427154.jpeg BC8D2B76-E9F9-4548-811D-95BCA0BC2566.jpeg


And now for the fourth...Eliot. His story is kind of long, so bear with me. I got all this information from Nick, the guy who rescued Eliot from his first home.

Eliot (previously José) was bought at a Petco store in Minnesota circa 1992, by a lady named Joan. So he is believed to be around 28 years old, although he seems younger to me (much younger than my other 3 old men). Joan also had an African Grey named Maxi, and a green cheek named Trixie, who were both also rescued by Nick. Nick said that what he gathered from Joan is that early in Eliot’s life, he was handled by Joan’s young son, who was possibly very rough with Eliot. We think this because he knows how to step up, but once he’s on your finger he freaks out, digs his claws in and starts screaming and flapping and ends up falling, and he seems to particularly distrust men. Nick said Joan also told him Eliot used to ride around on her dog, Beau’s, head. Eliot still says “c’mere Beau”.

So Eliot was kept in his cage for years without being handled, and Nick said when he got there the cage had at least a couple years’ worth of feces and filth in it. It also had a locked padlock on it because Eliot had figured out how to open the door, and Joan didn’t even know where the key was when Nick showed up. Good thing there was never a fire or other emergency...

Eliot and his flock were of course all fed cheap seed mix and had never been to a vet.

Eliot has a sort of deformed wing on one side, it almost looks like he was pinioned. When Nick asked about it, Joan initially said it happened years ago when Eliot fell. Nick found that hard to believe. Later when pressed, Joan all but admitted that Maxi and Eliot had fought. We suspect Maxi took off part of Eliot’s wing, and Eliot took one of Maxi’s toes (Maxi has an unexplained missing toe that Nick said hasn’t calloused over yet). Presumably neither bird was taken to the vet for their injuries, and Eliot’s wing never really healed properly. If he falls or flaps around too much, it opens back up and starts bleeding. Nick took him to two different avian vets while he had him, and they’d both said nothing could be done about it, but I plan to get a third opinion, because he drops like a rock and it scares me. Anyway to further prove our theory about the fight, Eliot and Maxi were reintroduced at Nick’s house, and they both immediately flipped out and started screaming and flailing, and had to be kept far away from each other in separate rooms.

So Nick rescued all 3 birds from Joan’s horribly neglectful situation, and he immediately fell in love with Eliot. But he said that it quickly became clear that Eliot much prefers women. It’s just Nick and his husband in his house, so he reluctantly rehomed Eliot to my friend Genevieve. Gen has followed my whole story with Silas from day one, and she’d had Eliot for just a few weeks when Silas passed. Gen has a huge flock of everything from finches to macaws, and she said she could tell that Eliot needed a lot of one on one attention and patience. When Silas passed she said she immediately thought of Eliot for me, and felt like we would be perfect together. She waited a couple weeks out of respect and by then I already had my three old men, but I had been looking to get a 4th single bird to bond with, since the brothers want nothing to do with people. So Gen and I connected and I drove down to Chicago the next day to get him. The moment she held his carrier up to my face, he came right to the front door and pinned his eyes and did happy beak like Silas used to, and I knew he was meant for me.

I’m his 4th and final home, and it’s going to take time for him to open up and trust me. He’s very engaging inside his cage and loves attention, and when someone new comes over he immediately starts flirting with them (catcalling, “hey baby”, etc.). I can tell he really wants companionship, but I’m taking things slow. I know it will be worth the wait. He is like crazy smart though and talks constantly in context. When the brothers get loud or rowdy, he tells them “hey, stop it!”. I opened the fridge the other day he said “what’s cookin’?” When I show him something new he says “what’s that?”. If I’m sitting next to him and we’re having our bonding time and I start looking at my phone, he says “hey!” to get my attention, or “what are you doing?”. When I cover everyone for night night he says “go goodnight”. When I grab my purse and put my coat on, he says “goodbye!”. He also says full complete sentences sometimes, but he speaks too fast and I’m never near him to understand what he’s saying. Oh, and one of the things he says over and over is what sounds like “neener neener”. I asked Nick about it and he said Joan named him José, and would call him “beaner beaner”, which apparently is a horrible racial slur for Mexicans I’m going to try to get him to say “beeper beeper” instead, since I used to call Si my little beeper. ❤

ED07C2F8-1914-4C34-A573-2414D714C945.jpeg
16827E30-AC37-4B59-B20C-9076896633FE.jpeg

The boys’ setup in my living room with full spectrum lighting, air purifier, and padded cage bottoms since they all tend to fall at times:

243AA0A5-4006-4658-A800-27AE622FDD0C.jpeg
 

MommyBird

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I want to say I loved reading all that, but I can't really as all 4 had such a rough life before. But it is so nice to hear how much they are loved now and how you are able to love them for who they are.
It sounds like Eliot is going to be especially full of surprises and wonder for you. What a talker too!
I hope you will let us know how you all are doing in the future! Please!
:heart::heart::heart::heart:
 

Dona

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What a beautiful story! Your hands off trio will be a hoot to watch and we can't waIt to hear how charming Eliot does in your care!
Congrats all around!
 
Last edited:

greys4u

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Thank you so much for taking these guys, sounds like the 3 brothers should have a nickname, the Marx Brothers. :pinklol:
 

tka

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Thank you for taking these guys in! I'm so glad that the three brothers can live out their lives together - they remind me of a group of old brothers playing backgammon outside a cafe. Eliot sounds like a sweetheart and I'm sure he'll flourish with your care!
 

Begone

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I was crying reading their history, and I was crying of joy reading that they finally found a great forever home.
Thank you for taking them all. ♥♥♥
I know it sounds cheesy and little silly, but I feel like Silas had a hand in bringing us together
Not silly, I feel the same about Eliy. It was Eloy that bring us together, and it happens that she do things and sounds like him, and that is spooky and I can not explain it.
I knew that I would never have a bond with them
Don't be so sure of that.
You have one of their flock mate and he is tame. He will later tell them that you can be trusted.
They will also see you handled Eliot and one thing they do trust is birds.
And you are the one giving them food too.
Don't be surprised if they one day landing on you begging for some attention.
To give Eliot some treats so they see it will also help. :)
 

cassiesdad

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I know it sounds cheesy and little silly, but I feel like Silas had a hand in bringing us together
...he did.


I know Cassie had a hand in Milton coming here...we were going to adopt a G2 from a rescue after she passed, but by the time we were vetted, the bird got a new home...Cass was watching all of this...and helped us hook up with Milton...:heart:
 

Zara

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After reading your story of all these birds and then seeing the last picture, I am smiling with tears in my eyes. I´m so happy you found them and have given them a loving clean, stress free, safe home. I look forward to future updates :)

Welcome to the Avenue Eliot and the Three Wise Men! :starshower1:
 

Hawk12237

Biking along the boulevard
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As many of you know from my previous post, Silas passed back in December. The pain and loneliness of not having a bird was pretty awful, but I didn’t want to rush right into getting another.

However, four, yes *four* Senegals happened to practically fall into my lap in the last 2 weeks.

Shannon, the owner of Birds & Beaks Rescue out in Michigan is a Facebook friend of mine and while we were chatting, I found out she had three older male Senegals who were brothers and bonded to each other. She called them the “Three Wise Men”. They came from a hoarding situation and were in a cage with a 3 foot mountain of feces. They’re all in their early 30s and we think they may possibly be wild caught, but they definitely were not handled or socialized, and are completely wild and terrified of people (and when I say that I mean they freak out and start flailing when someone even gets near their cage). I knew that I would never have a bond with them like I did with Silas, but these three old brothers needed a good home and were pretty overwhelmed by the noise and bustle of the rescue.

So, I drove the 9 ours out to Battle Creek to get them, and instantly fell in love. As you can see they have a huge cage full of toys, and are so happy and content *as long* as they’re left alone to do their own thing. They have the cutest relationship with each other and they bathe together, preen each other, play, chew on their toys, hop and fly around, share food...I love watching them do their thing and they seem super happy here.

View attachment 326129 View attachment 326126


And now for the fourth...Eliot. His story is kind of long, so bear with me. I got all this information from Nick, the guy who rescued Eliot from his first home.

Eliot (previously José) was bought at a Petco store in Minnesota circa 1992, by a lady named Joan. So he is believed to be around 28 years old, although he seems younger to me (much younger than my other 3 old men). Joan also had an African Grey named Maxi, and a green cheek named Trixie, who were both also rescued by Nick. Nick said that what he gathered from Joan is that early in Eliot’s life, he was handled by Joan’s young son, who was possibly very rough with Eliot. We think this because he knows how to step up, but once he’s on your finger he freaks out, digs his claws in and starts screaming and flapping and ends up falling, and he seems to particularly distrust men. Nick said Joan also told him Eliot used to ride around on her dog, Beau’s, head. Eliot still says “c’mere Beau”.

So Eliot was kept in his cage for years without being handled, and Nick said when he got there the cage had at least a couple years’ worth of feces and filth in it. It also had a locked padlock on it because Eliot had figured out how to open the door, and Joan didn’t even know where the key was when Nick showed up. Good thing there was never a fire or other emergency...

Eliot and his flock were of course all fed cheap seed mix and had never been to a vet.

Eliot has a sort of deformed wing on one side, it almost looks like he was pinioned. When Nick asked about it, Joan initially said it happened years ago when Eliot fell. Nick found that hard to believe. Later when pressed, Joan all but admitted that Maxi and Eliot had fought. We suspect Maxi took off part of Eliot’s wing, and Eliot took one of Maxi’s toes (Maxi has an unexplained missing toe that Nick said hasn’t calloused over yet). Presumably neither bird was taken to the vet for their injuries, and Eliot’s wing never really healed properly. If he falls or flaps around too much, it opens back up and starts bleeding. Nick took him to two different avian vets while he had him, and they’d both said nothing could be done about it, but I plan to get a third opinion, because he drops like a rock and it scares me. Anyway to further prove our theory about the fight, Eliot and Maxi were reintroduced at Nick’s house, and they both immediately flipped out and started screaming and flailing, and had to be kept far away from each other in separate rooms.

So Nick rescued all 3 birds from Joan’s horribly neglectful situation, and he immediately fell in love with Eliot. But he said that it quickly became clear that Eliot much prefers women. It’s just Nick and his husband in his house, so he reluctantly rehomed Eliot to my friend Genevieve. Gen has followed my whole story with Silas from day one, and she’d had Eliot for just a few weeks when Silas passed. Gen has a huge flock of everything from finches to macaws, and she said she could tell that Eliot needed a lot of one on one attention and patience. When Silas passed she said she immediately thought of Eliot for me, and felt like we would be perfect together. She waited a couple weeks out of respect and by then I already had my three old men, but I had been looking to get a 4th single bird to bond with, since the brothers want nothing to do with people. So Gen and I connected and I drove down to Chicago the next day to get him. The moment she held his carrier up to my face, he came right to the front door and pinned his eyes and did happy beak like Silas used to, and I knew he was meant for me.

I’m his 4th and final home, and it’s going to take time for him to open up and trust me. He’s very engaging inside his cage and loves attention, and when someone new comes over he immediately starts flirting with them (catcalling, “hey baby”, etc.). I can tell he really wants companionship, but I’m taking things slow. I know it will be worth the wait. He is like crazy smart though and talks constantly in context. When the brothers get loud or rowdy, he tells them “hey, stop it!”. I opened the fridge the other day he said “what’s cookin’?” When I show him something new he says “what’s that?”. If I’m sitting next to him and we’re having our bonding time and I start looking at my phone, he says “hey!” to get my attention, or “what are you doing?”. When I cover everyone for night night he says “go goodnight”. When I grab my purse and put my coat on, he says “goodbye!”. He also says full complete sentences sometimes, but he speaks too fast and I’m never near him to understand what he’s saying. Oh, and one of the things he says over and over is what sounds like “neener neener”. I asked Nick about it and he said Joan named him José, and would call him “beaner beaner”, which apparently is a horrible racial slur for Mexicans I’m going to try to get him to say “beeper beeper” instead, since I used to call Si my little beeper. ❤

View attachment 326127
View attachment 326128

The boys’ setup in my living room with full spectrum lighting, air purifier, and padded cage bottoms since they all tend to fall at times:

View attachment 326131
I just love sennies!! There's just something about them,
Big bird attitude in a small body!
 

Hawk12237

Biking along the boulevard
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
3/5/19
Messages
5,106
Location
Frankenmuth, Michigan
Real Name
Michael
I was crying reading their history, and I was crying of joy reading that they finally found a great forever home.
Thank you for taking them all. ♥♥♥

Not silly, I feel the same about Eliy. It was Eloy that bring us together, and it happens that she do things and sounds like him, and that is spooky and I can not explain it.

Don't be so sure of that.
You have one of their flock mate and he is tame. He will later tell them that you can be trusted.
They will also see you handled Eliot and one thing they do trust is birds.
And you are the one giving them food too.
Don't be surprised if they one day landing on you begging for some attention.
To give Eliot some treats so they see it will also help. :)
Sennies do come around....I had one that had to be one of the most difficult parrots I had. He didn't like or trust any one! I'm time he came around, a rescue from a bad home
And bit alot!! Took a while for him...turn into a sweetie. And lives with my daughter now. Seen him yesterday , and stills sleeps on his back on top of cage!! Crazy little guy!
 

Hawk12237

Biking along the boulevard
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
3/5/19
Messages
5,106
Location
Frankenmuth, Michigan
Real Name
Michael
As many of you know from my previous post, Silas passed back in December. The pain and loneliness of not having a bird was pretty awful, but I didn’t want to rush right into getting another.

However, four, yes *four* Senegals happened to practically fall into my lap in the last 2 weeks.

Shannon, the owner of Birds & Beaks Rescue out in Michigan is a Facebook friend of mine and while we were chatting, I found out she had three older male Senegals who were brothers and bonded to each other. She called them the “Three Wise Men”. They came from a hoarding situation and were in a cage with a 3 foot mountain of feces. They’re all in their early 30s and we think they may possibly be wild caught, but they definitely were not handled or socialized, and are completely wild and terrified of people (and when I say that I mean they freak out and start flailing when someone even gets near their cage). I knew that I would never have a bond with them like I did with Silas, but these three old brothers needed a good home and were pretty overwhelmed by the noise and bustle of the rescue.

So, I drove the 9 ours out to Battle Creek to get them, and instantly fell in love. As you can see they have a huge cage full of toys, and are so happy and content *as long* as they’re left alone to do their own thing. They have the cutest relationship with each other and they bathe together, preen each other, play, chew on their toys, hop and fly around, share food...I love watching them do their thing and they seem super happy here.

View attachment 326129 View attachment 326126


And now for the fourth...Eliot. His story is kind of long, so bear with me. I got all this information from Nick, the guy who rescued Eliot from his first home.

Eliot (previously José) was bought at a Petco store in Minnesota circa 1992, by a lady named Joan. So he is believed to be around 28 years old, although he seems younger to me (much younger than my other 3 old men). Joan also had an African Grey named Maxi, and a green cheek named Trixie, who were both also rescued by Nick. Nick said that what he gathered from Joan is that early in Eliot’s life, he was handled by Joan’s young son, who was possibly very rough with Eliot. We think this because he knows how to step up, but once he’s on your finger he freaks out, digs his claws in and starts screaming and flapping and ends up falling, and he seems to particularly distrust men. Nick said Joan also told him Eliot used to ride around on her dog, Beau’s, head. Eliot still says “c’mere Beau”.

So Eliot was kept in his cage for years without being handled, and Nick said when he got there the cage had at least a couple years’ worth of feces and filth in it. It also had a locked padlock on it because Eliot had figured out how to open the door, and Joan didn’t even know where the key was when Nick showed up. Good thing there was never a fire or other emergency...

Eliot and his flock were of course all fed cheap seed mix and had never been to a vet.

Eliot has a sort of deformed wing on one side, it almost looks like he was pinioned. When Nick asked about it, Joan initially said it happened years ago when Eliot fell. Nick found that hard to believe. Later when pressed, Joan all but admitted that Maxi and Eliot had fought. We suspect Maxi took off part of Eliot’s wing, and Eliot took one of Maxi’s toes (Maxi has an unexplained missing toe that Nick said hasn’t calloused over yet). Presumably neither bird was taken to the vet for their injuries, and Eliot’s wing never really healed properly. If he falls or flaps around too much, it opens back up and starts bleeding. Nick took him to two different avian vets while he had him, and they’d both said nothing could be done about it, but I plan to get a third opinion, because he drops like a rock and it scares me. Anyway to further prove our theory about the fight, Eliot and Maxi were reintroduced at Nick’s house, and they both immediately flipped out and started screaming and flailing, and had to be kept far away from each other in separate rooms.

So Nick rescued all 3 birds from Joan’s horribly neglectful situation, and he immediately fell in love with Eliot. But he said that it quickly became clear that Eliot much prefers women. It’s just Nick and his husband in his house, so he reluctantly rehomed Eliot to my friend Genevieve. Gen has followed my whole story with Silas from day one, and she’d had Eliot for just a few weeks when Silas passed. Gen has a huge flock of everything from finches to macaws, and she said she could tell that Eliot needed a lot of one on one attention and patience. When Silas passed she said she immediately thought of Eliot for me, and felt like we would be perfect together. She waited a couple weeks out of respect and by then I already had my three old men, but I had been looking to get a 4th single bird to bond with, since the brothers want nothing to do with people. So Gen and I connected and I drove down to Chicago the next day to get him. The moment she held his carrier up to my face, he came right to the front door and pinned his eyes and did happy beak like Silas used to, and I knew he was meant for me.

I’m his 4th and final home, and it’s going to take time for him to open up and trust me. He’s very engaging inside his cage and loves attention, and when someone new comes over he immediately starts flirting with them (catcalling, “hey baby”, etc.). I can tell he really wants companionship, but I’m taking things slow. I know it will be worth the wait. He is like crazy smart though and talks constantly in context. When the brothers get loud or rowdy, he tells them “hey, stop it!”. I opened the fridge the other day he said “what’s cookin’?” When I show him something new he says “what’s that?”. If I’m sitting next to him and we’re having our bonding time and I start looking at my phone, he says “hey!” to get my attention, or “what are you doing?”. When I cover everyone for night night he says “go goodnight”. When I grab my purse and put my coat on, he says “goodbye!”. He also says full complete sentences sometimes, but he speaks too fast and I’m never near him to understand what he’s saying. Oh, and one of the things he says over and over is what sounds like “neener neener”. I asked Nick about it and he said Joan named him José, and would call him “beaner beaner”, which apparently is a horrible racial slur for Mexicans I’m going to try to get him to say “beeper beeper” instead, since I used to call Si my little beeper. ❤

View attachment 326127
View attachment 326128

The boys’ setup in my living room with full spectrum lighting, air purifier, and padded cage bottoms since they all tend to fall at times:

View attachment 326131
Ohhh my God!!!! I just realized I recognized these birds!!!
Oh my god!! I went to see them almost bought them!!
The three amigos!!! They had to be sold together, around 30 yrs old.
Oh my god!!! They are little sweeties! Yes you won't have a problem. They were originally used for breeding. They never got a lot of human attention. So work will need to be done! But they are not impossible.
You have to keep me updated on them....I'm so thrilled someone on AA took them in. I almost did.. But had my heart set on another bird.
 

juliashmulia

Jogging around the block
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Joined
1/28/13
Messages
861
Location
Wisconsin
Real Name
Julia
What a beautiful story! Your hands off trio will be a hoot to watch and we can't waIt to hear how charming Eliot does in your care!
Congrats all around!
Thank you so much! My trio definitely keeps me entertained with their antics. It’s especially fascinating for me as Sennies typically don’t get along with other birds, even of their own kind, so I haven’t really seen a flock of them interact like this before!
 

juliashmulia

Jogging around the block
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Joined
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Messages
861
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Wisconsin
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Julia
Thank you so much for taking these guys, sounds like the 3 brothers should have a nickname, the Marx Brothers. :pinklol:
Lol, well as it turns out I now think that one of them is a female! I can tell them apart now and am starting to get to know their individual personalities, so I’ve named them Mali (the female), Ghana (her mate), and Dakar (the poor third wheel).Mali is the most trusting by far and I think if I ever get to be hands on with them, she will be first!
 
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