Rescue Visit

[faislaq]

It feels like the progress takes forever while it's happening, but then you look back and can't believe it's only been (however long) . I've been kissing this beak and those cheeks everyday for a few years now.


Now I'm off to repost these in my other thread before I get flogged for not updating it.

 

[Elysian]

Aww.. @finchly ..your two Pionus..

I still think they are the most beautiful birds I've ever seen.. all the subspecies.
I AM going to be sad giving up on ever having one of those beauties to gaze at.

But I've been thinking alot about how chances are IF I ever find one it will probably be a breeder baby.. a couple of thousand dollars.. and I may have the money but how many toys treats and enrichment would that $$ buy for a lost baby like Opie..

 

[zoo mom]

My best advice. Follow your heart. If your heart says Opie then he is the one.

 

[finchly]

Aww.. @finchly ..your two Pionus..

I still think they are the most beautiful birds I've ever seen.. all the subspecies.
I AM going to be sad giving up on ever having one of those beauties to gaze at.

But I've been thinking alot about how chances are IF I ever find one it will probably be a breeder baby.. a couple of thousand dollars.. and I may have the money but how many toys treats and enrichment would that $$ buy for a lost baby like Opie..

They're up to $4500 locally for a baby blue head.

 

[SumitaSinh]

You will find as you fall in love with him it doesn’t matter if he lets you touch him. I have some that don’t want touched but we find other ways to interact.
Then there’s my Ernie... cage bound supposedly 17 years... wasn’t the bird I went to the rescue for... small and plain looking. Somehow he got my attention, and I’ve had him almost 7 years now.

He bit me a LOT, is a grumpy old man. Wouldn’t come out of that cage , wouldn’t eat anything healthy.

Now he’s my shoulder buddy. He advises while I paint, goes to the art center with me, hasn’t bitten in years, and scrambles to his outer perch when he sees me coming. He eats everything- as long as I hold it up for a taste test first.

He’s still a grumpy old man though. View attachment 384444

Am curious, how does he advice you? I just love his grumpy look.

 

[Elysian]

Well I don't know if the community will think this was a bad move, but they are both at my house now.

They wheeled Oggie in first and he was his Oggie self. Then they wheeled Opie in and he immediately came down off the back corner of his cage and walked over closer to me and Oggie.
He was still CLEARLY scared, and they did not "talk" to each other, but it was a noticeable difference. He was not frigid and frozen.

Both of them took a sunflower seed from my fingers, but neither of them ate - they kept dropping them.
I dropped a peanut in Opie's bowl and he came over to check it out, then took another from my fingers.
He also dropped that in how bowl and did not eat it, but being willing to take it was more than I expected.

Then I let my finger get too close. I know this is my fault.. I touched his toe just a little and he gently moved it away, but I did not move my hand away from the cage immediately like I should have. He lashed out through the bar and bit me.

It hurt, it bled, but it was brief, and did FAR less damage than the goffins I was bit by before who tried to latch on and crush.
Basically like a bad paper cut.
I had to get the vets attention to apologize for dropping blood on their floor, and they were startled that I got bit like that without any noise or drama.

I took a bandaid and told them I'd take both birds today.

 

[Pepebirdie]

Omg! So excited for you. Plz post pics. I need to see them lol. Sounds like it may take a while to get close to Opie... but keep us posted!

 

[Dartman]

You'll do more bleeding as you get the ground rules worked out between all of you but it will be worth it in the end when you see a couple of birds with happy eyes running around and hanging out with you without thinking you need a correction, good job and I hope you all have a happy life together I doubt it will take 5 years but take the long term approach and learn to read them just like they are learning you.

 

[Elysian]

Omg! So excited for you. Plz post pics. I need to see them lol. Sounds like it may take a while to get close to Opie... but keep us posted!

Just got them both out of their carriers, into the quarantine room, and letting them rest for awhile. Then I will go take a bunch of pics!!

Opie made the first sound I ever heard from him when we got here and got out of the car. A few soft beepy squeaks.
Oggie is already whistling at me and I think he is saying words, but its quiet. I turned on a radio and he immediately started dancing.
He also started calling out when I left their room.

Thankfully I was able to get both of them into the cages without towels, just held the carriers up to the open doors and they climbed in.
I have all the old toys they were surrendered with and put those up instead of anything new for now. I made sure they can see each other.

Oggie needs a cage, he is in my 30x20 flight cage right now and I know that's far too small, but he can at least get settled.

 

[flyzipper]

Congratulations! From the sounds of it, taking both was the right call if you were going to take either.

He lashed out through the bar and bit me... I took a bandaid and told them I'd take both birds today.

This reminds me of the horse my parents bought for me when I was 10 (when we went to see her, and I went for a ride, she took off at a gallop and I ended up flying between her ears when she came to an abrupt halt. We brought her home, and I loved her more than anything).

 

[Dartman]

Pippen lived in the Shower cage we were given for Dobby when Momazon gave him with all of his goodies. I gave a neighbor the old cage Nerd used to live in for a injured pigeon he rescued and he moved away without returning it, plus her family may have turned up right away. She's in a BIG flight cage now I found on Nextdoor.com for what ended up being 30 bucks from 50. She heard what I needed it for so dropped the price to help me with Pippen.

 

[zoo mom]

Wonderful news. The 2 birdies will be happy in no time. (A few months or years).



Auto fill made years tears. I almost left it because that might be appropriate too.

 

[Elysian]

Congratulations! From the sounds of it, taking both was the right call if you were going to take either

Definitely part of why I did it. Who else is going to take both an amazon and a senegal at once?
I only found out they even knew each other by chance - the rescue wasnt advertising it.
I don't know if anyone else would have realized Opie needed Oggie.

And Oggie is 27.. he might not have all that much time left. He shouldn't lose his original mom, his home, and then his friend too.
Looks like Opie is around 16. He'll mourn Oggie either way but at least he has more time with him now.

 

[Clueless]

Way to go!

 

[tka]

Good work on giving both of them a home.

It sounds like Opie will give warnings and expect you to pay attention the first time. You're going to become really good at learning his signals really fast They may be quite subtle - just leaning away or slicked back feathers - but you can work with that. It sounds like that bite didn't come out of nowhere which is what would worry me - if a bird's warnings aren't listened to, they won't bother giving them. It's your role to let both birds know that you'll pay attention to what they're trying to tell you.

 

[faislaq]

I'm at work & have no time to read just yet but I'm SUPER excited for you, Opie & Oggie!

Gotta go, break's over.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

How awesome you brought both home! I hope everything goes well!

 

[Birdie Mama]

You just made my day!!
So happy to hear they are both together and in their new home!!
thank you, I’m sure you won’t regret it!

 

[Elysian]

Ok, here they are!

Oggie (We're arguing whether it is Aug-ie, O-gie, or even Oo-gie?) talks. It definitely sounds like "come here" in the video, in person it sounded a bit more like "over here" or "oh dear".
Either way - he is a trickster. Don't trust the Senegal!!

http://imgur.com/KdIEh9m

He did this multiple times, saying "come here" and coming over to the front of the cage and being sweet. I told myself repeatedly not to risk/push it.. but.. after like the 5th visit to the room with him behaving this way, I cracked open the cage door and held my hand away where he could step to it if he decided to come out.
He stepped out the door, reached out and moved both feet onto my finger, then promptly took a chunk out of it. Now I have two Band-Aids and know what page we are all on for sure

He also nicely took a peanut from me though

http://imgur.com/gEqxAYE

Opie is just heart-breaking. He is terrified and mostly doesn't move from this spot. His paperwork says that he had stopped playing with any toys even before he was surrendered - I can only imagine he is extremely depressed about his former mom getting sick and leaving him in his cage for so long.

http://imgur.com/1cVa47z

He did come down once but that was moments before Oggie bit me, at which point he immediately decided he did not want to hang with us after all and went back up.
Actually, now that I say that... did Oggie bite me because Opie came close? Definitely going to be a long time before I put my hands on the cages either way.


Budgies and dog for good measure

http://imgur.com/5izV4aA

 

[Kassiani]

It's tough, isn't it? The first time you visit a rescue like that. It was so overwhelming for me during my first visit. I took notes! Lol!

It took me several weeks to narrow down to one bird. You'll keep ruminating about it, and then you will decide. Taking your time is OK!