Rescue parrot, unsure of species.. any support appreciated

[carysaurus]

Hello all,

I work for a conservation charity and the office is often getting welfare calls when people misunderstand what we do. However, a recent call I couldn't ignore. A lovely elder gent was being forced to give up his young parrot companion (they had a very sweet bond, but unfortunately the noise was causing complaints and he was under threat of losing his accommodation) and was desperately trying to find a good quick home.

I've kept lots of birds previously, inlcuding budgies cockatiels and lots of non-parrot species, but have always been keen for a parrot. However such a large decision, my boyfriend and I would rather take our time over assessing our lifestyle etc. His previous owner was very restless to give him up and we worried that the parrot would go to a rushed and unprepared home.. So what we agreed was we would take him in and care for him and spend some time to rehome him. (Unless of course we fall in love with him *already happened* and can't bear to part with him *likely to happen*)

So, getting onto my main query! We have now adopted Roger, a 1 year old parrot. BUT, we don't know what species he is! When originally speaking to the owner he said he was a 'South African species', I thought having seen him it would be easy to place him, but either he's an obscure species or hasn't got his adult plumage yet (I suspect). I now believe him to be a Conure and my suspicion is that he is a Nanday. Hi is a lovely green with little orange 'trousers', blue edging/tips to his primaries and a darker green forehead (almost grey-brown, but doesn't extend past his eyes). He has exposed white-blue skin around his eyes and a dark grey beak. His breast is fluffy grey and so I also wanted to check if this is young feathers.. or if it is a sign of stress and exposed downy feathers.

We only adopted him yesterday and I want to make sure I can take the best care of him to get him into top, happy condition and potentially find him a loving and permanent home. Has anyone had a young conure and know if I'm on the right track for placing his breed?

I've attached an image (hopefully)! Would love to hear other owners thoughts, suggestions and any health checks I should be doing with a new bird!

Carys

[Wolf]

Interesting coloration, I think it is a conure but I don't know the species. It looks like it could be a hybrid.

[Pajarita]

No, not a hybrid, that's a Patagonian conure. I can't tell from the pix if it's just a Patagonian or a Greater Patagonian because the only difference is size. Beautiful birds! They look drab at first sight but, in reality, they have a wide range of colors all mixed in and one fading into another in a very subtle way that is also quite beautiful. I know them well because they would, sometimes, cross over to my country from Argentina where they are called 'Loro Barranquero" (cliff dwelling parrot) because they make holes on the sides of cliffs for their nests - they are also called Burrowing parrots in English precisely because of this behavior.

The poor thing is plucking, my dear, not molting, and his plumage doesn't look as healthy as it should so I don't think he is that young or that he has had very good care (diet, schedules, light, etc)

[carysaurus]

Wow you are so right, you completely nailed him. Definitely a Patagonia! So relieved to know. He's so beautiful, his olive green colour is so deep and his lovely orange trousers and the blues on his wings are gorgeous. Thank you.

Sad to hear that it is indeed stress signs. And I think you're right about poor diet, he's being very picky with his food and only really picking out the sunflower seed, an occasional corn. So far objects to any fruit or veg I've given him (he actually backs away from it). I've tried broccoli, carrot, parsnip, apple, grapes, bananas. Any suggestions? Previous owner said he was 1 year old, so I was hoping it was young feathers. I'm also at a loss on how to start training him as he currently doesn't seem to like any treats. It is still early days, but I would love to get him healthy and happy before rehoming him.

[Wolf]

Well that means that you are in for a long interesting journey to get him to eat a healthy diet as they won't touch things that they don't recognize as food, so you are going to have to teach him that it is food and that it is good. You will have to offer the food in a variety of ways, both cooked and raw except for a few foods which must be cooked for them to be safe for them to eat such as beans and potatoes. The best way to do this is to share meal times with your bird since it is a social function for them and a bonding thing. You eat some of the foods that you want him to eat making a big fuss about how good it is until he gets very interested in it then you give him a very small piece to try. Also just because he does or doesn't like a certain food one way does not mean that you will have the same results when it is offered another way.

[Pajarita]

First of all, no dry corn at all and very, very, very little sunflower seeds. Get him a safflower-based cockatiel seed mix and, once he is used to eating it instead of his regular mix, put about 1/5 of a cup in his bowl for his dinner. The following morning, give him whole grains (wheat, hulled barley, kamut, quinoa, oat groats, black/red/wild/brown rice, etc) cooked al dente and mix just a sprinkle of the seeds in it (and, in the evening, give him his 1/5 cup of seeds, again). He will start by picking just the seeds but, eventually, he will start eating the grains (second or third day) and, when he does it three or four days in a row, start by adding sweet corn to the mix. Once he eats it (he will love it), add peas and carrots. Then chopped broccoli and so on and so forth until he is eating a mix of 50% grains and beans (you can add small white beans and lentils to the grains) and 50% veggies (mine get corn, peas, carrots, broccoli, blue kale, white hominy, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and, usually, artichoke hearts but it could also be Brussels sprouts, beets, yucca, palm hearts, etc). This dish is called gloop and it's a fabulous way of getting bird to eat a healthy diet. It should be served for breakfast and all day picking accompanied by a piece of fresh fruit (try apples, they all love them, but make them always organic as they have been consistently at the top of the dirtiest produce for years and years), a leafy green (it will take a loooooooong time before he eats it but try raw broccoli or bok choy, they love crunchy stems) and a fresh veggie (carrots and celery are a good bet for a first try).

[sherillynn]

He is quite handsome! Blessings to you for providing a home and conscientious care to him. I bet he will blossom with all the love.

[patti]

I just went through something similar with my new bird (jenday conure) who was not doing well when i first got her and i didn't know why. there were two things that worked better than anything else.

1. every necessity (food, sleep, etc)... every activity, actually, is a social activity

2. the bird is really the boss, for now, of everything even though you are still the parent. s/he will let you know when the stress is starting to break....

[Lizz]

Myrtle had been surviving on seed and water for her first year. I offered her a piece of Health Nut bread but she refused it until she watched Rambo go after it. She was a quick study. She watched him and ate everything he did. I was bad and gave them a French fry each. It had to be the first time she ever had one and she liked it. I heard Rambo complaining then saw her trying to take his French fry and he was in no mood to share.

After that she tried anything she saw someone else eat (including the dry dog food). She drank the cats milk then threw up on me. Now she has Rambo eating bananas which he had not done before her.

Take a bite in front of her before you give her something new.

[Pajarita]

I just went through something similar with my new bird (jenday conure) who was not doing well when i first got her and i didn't know why. there were two things that worked better than anything else.

1. every necessity (food, sleep, etc)... every activity, actually, is a social activity

2. the bird is really the boss, for now, of everything even though you are still the parent. s/he will let you know when the stress is starting to break....

Point 1 - YES!!!! You are absolutely correct, EVERYTHING in a parrot's life is a social activity - that's why it's so bad to leave them alone for hours and hours. It does something to their heads...

Point 2 - If you took out the 'for now', you would be 100% right because birds are always 'the boss'. But I don't agree that they let you know when they are stressed out... actually, by the time you see anything, the bird has been under stress for a long time.