Rescue Visit

[Elysian]

Time to leave my sad/vent thread behind.
I'm back from my first visit. You guys were right, an hour is NOT enough. I had no idea what to expect really. I hope they let me come back and do it right.

I did not bring home a bird.
Though it seemed like they were willing to let me walk out with one right then if I wanted to? I was surprised by that.

The three birds I was most drawn to were not listed on the website, so I have no idea what issues/preferences might be at play. I need to go back when there is more time for someone to get their charts out.

1. There was a male Eclectus that had *just* been dumped there today. Not available because they have to do his blood work, etc. No idea of age or why he was dumped. He seemed very sweet but could have been shell shocked.
I know Eclectus can be tricky to care for, but he was soo sweet-voiced and adorable!


2. A male Amazon called Opie. The person I talked to didn't have any detail on him at all.. he didn't talk or even make any noises when I was there. When I talked to him his eyes were pinning and his tail was flared, probably not happy? But he kept climbing closer to wherever I stood.
His eyes looked like flames. I loved them.
I did briefly touch his foot and he didn't seem to want to bite me?



3. This little senegal named Oggie. I don't want a bird this small! I want the size of a grey, medium amazon, or pionus..
But... he kept looking at me, and bobbing his head. Even my boyfriend kept circling back to look at him. He is 27 years old. He apparently was surrendered without consent by a woman's spouse, but then she never came back to claim him.

I spent way too much time looking into his eyes

There were also 4-5 talkative Quakers, a beautiful dove, two mustache parakeets, one cockatiel that also kept coming up me, and plenty more amazons.. particularly a female blue front that supposedly talks but looked sad and wouldn't face me, and a double yellow headed male that talked and laughed but had already been adopted and returned once and no one could tell me specifically why. If I end up bringing home a difficult male amazon it'd be the one with eyes like fire.

 

[finchly]

It’s a good start. Hopefully you made a list of what you want in a bird... now spend time with the ones that fit and let one pick you.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

They all look very sweet, but that Oggie, what a cutie! I can see why you kept turning back to him. I bet he is a big bird in a smaller body. I wouldn’t limit yourself to just big birds.

 

[Elysian]

They all look very sweet, but that Oggie, what a cutie! I can see why you kept turning back to him. I bet he is a big bird in a smaller body. I wouldn’t limit yourself to just big birds.

Yes Oggie was driving me crazy!
I know if I "settle" for a smaller bird I'll still want a bigger one though.
In an ideal world I'd snatch him up AND keep looking for one more.. a flock of 4 isn't too many right?!
Slippery slope though..

 

[finchly]

Yes Oggie was driving me crazy!
I know if I "settle" for a smaller bird I'll still want a bigger one though.
In an ideal world I'd snatch him up AND keep looking for one more.. a flock of 4 isn't too many right?!
Slippery slope though..

So what’s wrong with small

 

[MR. Mango]

I have to admit I’m on team eclectus or the Amazon. . . So who will you choose, the dashing and cute eclectus or the shadowy dangerous flame, opie? Or if you take my personal suggestion BOTH!

 

[Greylady1966]

All three are beautiful, big or little let them pick you.

 

[Elysian]

So what’s wrong with small

Nothing wrong with it. I love so many of the smaller species.. blue crown conures, quakers, cockatiels, ringnecks, senegal.. I wish I could have them all.

I just really like the bigger guys too. If I get another small bird I'm going to keep saying "i can find room for one more" until I have 40

 

[MR. Mango]

What birds do u currently have and pics please!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Senegal may be smaller in size than birds you are considering but they generally have BIG personalities.
Good luck choosing.

 

[flyzipper]

As someone with a small, medium and large bird, I'd say they're more alike than different. What are you hoping to get from a medium or large bird that doesn't also come along in a small package?

If you're mixing, be aware of the additional attention/danger/management/stress that comes with different sized beaks.

 

[Elysian]

I just have my two budgies in a huge cage. I adore watching them play around the house - they are my babies, but they love each other most and could care less if I'm around as long as I fill the dishes when I'm supposed to.

But even though they don't really care that much about me, I never want them to be set aside. To make sure that they get all the love and attention and spoiling they can for the rest of their lives, I made myself a rule that I would only get ONE other bird.
One special forever bird that I can spend the majority of the rest of my life talking to (even if they don't talk back), laughing at, spoiling, teaching, bonding with.

I am not sure I can articulate why I want a bigger one exactly. Multiple reasons I guess?
The budgies are so tiny, I worry about their fragile little bodies all the time. All birds are delicate but I can't help feeling like a bird with a bigger body is somewhat safer in general. They aren't going to slip and fall behind a bookcase because I forgot to stuff a pool noodle into the 1 inch gap.
If they tolerate it, I'd love to be able to take my special bird out of the house sometimes.. to visit my mom or something.. I wouldn't like to risk taking a small bird anywhere.
I want to let the bird climb/fly/walk around my house. They would be supervised, but I'd be more paranoid about a small bird somehow getting stepped on or something. Thankfully the budgies don't really get curious enough to fly anywhere except their playstands.

Generally just want to be able to physically interact with them with a bit less anxiety.

There is also a dog in the house - NEVER interacts with the birds - but just.. god forbid.. if somehow all the cages and all the household doors opened.. if something happened... I'd rather the bird be able to put up a fight/not get swallowed whole.

 

[Elysian]

By the way - can anyone tell from the photo what kind of Amazon Opie is?
I easily recognized the blue front, double yellow headed, and white front amazons.. but I wasn't quite sure about him and his tag didn't say.

.. Yeah.. I think I'm going to go back and try to spend time with both Opie and the Eclectus. Just see how things go.
I am very interested in the general personality of an Eclectus but don't know if he is even healthy, and he is liable to be snatched up by a good home no matter what.
Opie-Fire-Eyes might be less adoptable and therefore more in need of someone who likes a challenge.

... and I don't know, maybe we'll see if I end with a *third* cage just because Oggie is a cool looking dude and he's already 27, he shouldn't spend his retirement in jail.

 

[finchly]

until I have 40

What’s wrong with having 40?
*shrug*
I'm way past that

Actually I’m just harassing you. You want one to interact with. I get that. My biggest bird is a Pionus, lol but everything from cockatiel up is quite interactive.

 

[flyzipper]

There are no wrong answers to the question I posed; it was meant for you to be introspective about your own reasons. Think them through and see where they lead you.

That said, this is wrong...

There is also a dog in the house... I'd rather the bird be able to put up a fight/not get swallowed whole.

Any dog, if so inclined, can kill any pet bird, faster than we can intercede. Whether they're swallowed whole, or their neck is snapped, the end result is the same.

This is yet another instance where size does not matter.

 

[Elysian]

That's a very fair point with the dog. Even human babies aren't safe if something goes bad.

Picking birds is so hard! This is why my big cage is still empty after so long.

I want.. a bird that can chill in or on its cage near my desk while I work. Playing with toys, listening to me talk to it. Hopefully not screaming, but birds will be birds.
If it wants to sit on my shoulder while I work, it would be best if it was there to watch me or nap, not eat my headphones or try to scrabble all over my keyboard.

I'd like a bird that can be tamed enough to step up and get head scritches, and enjoys them.

Then after work I'd love a bird I can be silly, sing and dance with. I want to teach it tricks and watch it solve puzzles, watch it move around the house and explore things, watch it hold and eat new things.

When everyone is home I'd really get a kick out of a bird talking to the dog, verbally playing with him the way some do (from the safety of its cage and under supervision only).

It'd be cool to have a bird that our friends or their kids might possibly be able to pet. I'd prefer a bird that won't be too likely to get territorial and attack my boyfriend.

That being said I have options for dealing with the less than ideal issues, because birds.
I work from home but don't take a ton of meeting/calls, so I can move away from a screaming bird when needed.. go to another level of the house, behind closed doors, outside.
I can put the cage in the 'play room', a more secluded room where it can be out but won't regularly see a person or thing it wants to attack.
I can use a perch to work around a bird that doesn't want to step up or be touched.

It would definitely suck if the bird hated me and preferred someone else, but my dog completely ditched me for my boyfriend when we met and it is what it is. I still took the best care of him.

I'd like to find a bird with more of the positives than negatives, but I'll uphold my commitment either way.

What kind of bird is that, though?

 

[zoo mom]

I don't know but Opie and Oggie's names sound like they should be together in the same house .

I would guess Opie is an orange wing Amazon?

 

[saroj12]

a red bellied parrot!

 

[Birdbabe]

Small,,,,Big,, whatever, let the bird pick you! But do think about the dog situation.. think long and hard. Just being real here..

 

[redindiaink]

By the way - can anyone tell from the photo what kind of Amazon Opie is?

Blue Fronted Amazon.

And the tail flair and eye pinning is a way to express excitement.

Senegals have huge personalities and ours is a riot, but he also has an aggressive/possessive streak. When they bite they are tenacious, they dig in and won't let go. Hoping a bird (any bird) can stand up to a dog is a really bad bad idea.