Intro

[tbitler]

Hi There,

My name is Traci. I am new to the group and joined specifically to inquire about help with our Yellow Cheek Amazon parrot - Redbird.

We have had "Red" since 1991. He was originally a stray bird flying around an apartment complex in NJ dive bombing residents as they entered and exited the building.

Being a stray we are unsure of Red's age, but the vet at the time thought him/her to be between 2-3. So he is at least 25-26 years old.

We have a menagerie of creatures, dogs, cats, and horses. I am married, for 24 years and have a daughter who is grown and married and have two granddaughters. We live on a hobby farm in rural Northwester Ohio.

I hope to learn what I can to help Red.

Thanks so very much!

Traci

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum! Although you can call them Yellow Cheeked, the name that most people would identify them with is actually Red Lored - I used to have one, she had to be put down due to bone cancer in both legs at 28 years of age. She was my first rescue and the one that started my involvement with parrots so she holds a very dear place in my heart and always will.

[tbitler]

Pajarita,

Thank you so much for the warm welcome. Right, the Red Lored Amazon. I am so sad to learn of bone cancer in your parrot, I can't even imagine how sad that must have been.

I am very hopeful that I will learn much from this forum, and maybe even contribute a little.

Thanks again!

Traci

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.
What I really like about being here is that the other members care about all the parrots in the forum. If you ask a question that they don't know the answer at least 2 members will research and get back to you. I am kind of house bound. This is the best neighborhood I have ever been in.

[Pajarita]

Thanks, Liz. We try our best to give the right information, be it based on science or personal experience.

And, yes, tbitler, it was real hard to put Pretty Bird down. She had come to me with a plucked chest, a screamer and a mean biter and had changed into a beautiful, well-mannered and very affectionate parrot. She had to have surgery in one leg because she had had both broken when she was a baby and one of them had not knitted back together and even though she was been handled so much -she had to have surgery to file off the scar tissue in both ends of the broken bone, a steel pin put into her leg holding the two ends together, an external fixator put in -a metal frame with pins going into her leg, weekly Xrays to see if the bone was knitting well, the fixator removed, a cast put on, the steel pin removed and the final cast... it took months and she never bit or complained, she was such a good little girl! And, then, four years later, she started losing weight, I take her to the vet and after tests, Xrays, MRIs and a biopsy, they tell me she has an aggressive type of cancer and that the only possible chance of survival (and it was iffy at best) was amputation of both her legs. She was in constant pain and I just couldn't put her through more so she could live without legs so I decided to euthanize her. I will always remember her and miss her...

[liz]

The story hurts me. I am sure you went through the pain and torture with her. That is so sad.

[liz]

The story hurts me. I am sure you went through the pain and torture with her. That is so sad.

[Pajarita]

I have put down a few birds but lots of dogs and cats because I did not only do mine but also most of the ones that needed it at the shelter (the other volunteers never wanted to do it) and I have suffered every single time... but it's worse with certain individuals and those stick in your mind longer. Pretty Bird was one of those.