Anyone in Arizona?

[ParrotsForLife]

I meant dont say your not a good owner.You are a good owner and gave her a great life.

[Wolf]

You are not the first to make this type of mistake and I doubt that you will be the last. It is easy to not hold a bird tightly enough to prevent it from escaping if it just tries to a little bit. You don't want to hold it tight enough to restrict it breathing and if it is relaxed at the start it really only takes a good shrug of its shoulders and its wings are free and then a push with its legs and it is free to fly. I will not fault you as I did worse than that when Kookooloo flew away. You know what happened and you know how to prevent it from ever happening again. I just hope that you can get her back safely.

[ParrotsForLife]

And if you get her back you will have two cockatiels post pics of your new baby

[JessiMuse]

Dang Brandon, you just can't wait, can you? Lol
Yes, my mom ended up getting me another one. I really don't feel ready for it, but I guess this is her way of helping me. In a way, it's an early Christmas present too. She got me an unweaned baby, that's actually really close to weaning. My mom and I have handfeeding experience though, so we'll be able to wean it. I think I'll post pictures sometime later. I know for sure, that I'm not gonna make that mistake again. No going outside with a bird, unless if they have a harness, and I tie the leash around my wrist or something.

I haven't taken down all the ads online. I'm hoping that somehow against all odds, she found a way to get some shelter, or someone actually took her in.

[Wolf]

I know that some may not agree with this but that is life, but I do think that I would begin harness training as soon as your new bird is relaxed enough. Starting with just putting the harness where it can start getting accustomed to it and gradually working up to placing it across it body and to actually being able to start putting it on the bird by the time it is fully weaned. Although there are many areas of training that I would hold off on until a later period in the birds life, such as trick training, I think that harness training is probably best started as soon as possible and less likely to scare them as much if done slowly. Just my thought.

[ParrotsForLife]

I agree Wolf we did that with Tiko and obviously I was young at the time and my mam didn't work with her everyday with the harness but did have her out once but now she is mainly afraid of everything and sometimes its only certain people she lets touch her like she steps up for my mam but does not let her touch her but my Aunts husband can touch her without getting bitten.

[JessiMuse]

To be honest Wolf, I don't agree with it either. I felt a little insulted that my mother so ready to replace her. Lucy is far from replaceable to me, and I may as well never be ready to accept that I may never see her again. But I will at least care for the baby as I did for Lucy. Like Lucy, this bird is a unique little being. I will treat him as such.

I do plan on harness training this bird as soon as I get a harness. There's a store that sells them here actually, and they're the aviator harnesses. Last time I checked, there was a sale, and they only had large, and extra large for sizes. They could not be selling them anymore. If that's the case, then I will get one online (or ask for it for Christmas).
He's actually adjusted quite well already. The only problems we've run into is feeding him with the syringe, but he accepts scritches and tries to climb out the cage whenever I open the door. He wasn't taught to step up, but he does it almost as if it's natural to him (better than the weaned tiels that the owner was selling).

This bird truly is lucky to be alive though. The parents experienced some "off-season horomones", and laid eggs. When they hatched, the parents abandoned him and his siblings, and he was the last alive, as well as plucked bare of his feathers. Most of them have grown back save for some bald spots. I've yet to think of a name. I'm not even sure of his gender (previous owner thinks male, but it really is hard to tell right now). I may have to choose one of those gender-nuetral names, and go with it. Either that, get a DNA test done.

[Wolf]

My comment on the harness training was based on things that I learned from talking to people who spend a great deal of time harness flying their birds outside. The ones that would love to free fly but don't because they will not chance losing their birds. And the reason that I thought it might be helpful is that it appears that the longer people wait the harder it is to teach them to wear the harness without stressing them.
I understand how you feel about Lucy and even with the poor weather she may still have survived and I know that I would not be ready to give up on her yet. Sometimes they are both smarter and stronger than we realise. You sound like you are at the difficult point where you have mostly given up hope of recovery, but are not really ready to accept that either. I don't know whether to continue to encourage you to keep looking, which is what I would do, or not. that point is perhaps worse than the feeling when you helplessly watch your bird fly off.
I would not look at accepting this new bird as replacing Lucy ( nothing can do that) or as a consolation gift. As much as you are hurting and grieving try not to let it unduly affect the possible relationship that you could have with this new bird, regardless of why it was given, it has done no wrong and is very much as deserving of the same amount of love as you have given to Lucy. It is an innocent in all that has occurred. There truly is room in your heart to love this new one just as much without detracting from the love that you have for Lucy and under different circumstances you would know and feel this. It is these terrible circumstances that are causing you to feel like pushing this one aside, not your ability to love it, that is what is telling you to take care of it even now when it is feeling so wrong to you.
Try not to be insulted with your mom as even if she does not understand she is really trying to help you as best as she knows how. Her intentions are good. Although I don't know what to say to help you at this time, I will continue to hold the hope that you can fid Lucy and recover her safely.
Wishing only the best for you.

[JessiMuse]

Of course, I do plan on loving this baby all the same. He is endearing in his own ways, and really hard not to love. HOWEVER...



He surely can't replace her NOW, because guess what...

Someone called, and said they found her! Of course, it was vague, so that could mean anything, but... It's so hard to be skeptical about this right now!

Since they called at 3 am, they left a message. We tried calling them back, but to no avail. I'm hoping that she's alive and well right now, and that we can pick her up. I'm so excited!

[Pajarita]

She could very well still be alive because they come from a region that goes through a rainy season so they have been equipped by nature to survive strong rains - so keep on trying to locate her and extend your search (you are putting up posters everywhere, right?) to a more wider area because birds have been found miles from their home.

The 'holding on to their toes' is a very common mistake and the people that post in birdsites saying it works for them don't help the problem, either. Nobody can hold on to their toes all the time. It's as simple as that. I've had birds for a very long time and Isis still got out so don't think you are the only one that made a stupid mistake because you are not. In my case, I had not realized she had flown into the canary room and, when I opened the door to the backyard to put out the garbage, she flew out! Now, I make sure I don't open any door to the outside when she is free because she loves flying through a door as soon as you open it -she does this when I go the bathroom, the dressing room, and even into the bedroom -which my husband hates because he likes to sleep late and, as she loves him, she flies right to his shoulder or his head while he is still sleeping and I can't get her out as she refuses to come to me if he is around so he has to get up to get her out of the bedroom.

Your mother was, obviously, trying to make you feel better and that's why she got you the baby. Her intentions were good.