New here from Northern New Jersey

[Maryellen]

hi everyone

i have just been approved to adopt a 23 year old blind (calcium deposits in eyes) red Belli Poi from a local rescue in Blairstown NJ. today was my second meeting with Pumpkin, i meet with him two more times to make sure its a match then he comes home with me:) i can feed him treats so far, and he is starting to interact with me as well.. the rescue said no one wants to take the time to work with him due to his disability . they were happy that he wasnt really scared of me and was willing to take treats from me, and he wanted me to scratch his head by putting his head down but then lifted it up quickly so i couldnt touch him.. a trust issue which is understandable..

i chose him because of his disability, he showed interest in me last week when i met him, and i have a dog with noise sensitivity issues and the rescue said he would be a good choice as he is quiet and not as loud as the other parrots.

his previous owners didnt feed him properly hence the calcium buildups in his eyes.. he can see a little, and startles very easily.

i know he will take alot of time to build up trust, which i am fine with...

i am owned by a female almost year old pearl cockatiel, 3 dogs, 2 goldfish, and 12 chickens ...

[Wolf]

Good for you, this is a wonderful thing you are doing for him and I thank you for this act of kindness. Welcome to the forum, please let us know if we can help.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum and bless you for choosing him. You will find that we on the forum usually take in the ones who need us most. You did. Kudos.

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for taking this poor bird! Triple kudos to you!!!

You must be adopting from A Helping Wing, ran by the Gilligans, a wonderful couple and true bird lovers! But I am afraid that they must have been misinformed (they would never lie to you, I know that for a fact!) because what birds get are not calcium but cholesterol deposits (these are the ones that come from a bad diet, calcium deposits come from ). For one thing, calcium deposits (whether floaters or asteroides hyalosis) don't seem to happen in birds (they are not even mentioned in avian medicine books as they seem to happen only to mammals) and, for another, these don't impair vision to the point of blindness (people say they appear to the eye as little shining stars -they are teeny tiny and there are always lots of them- and they move around while the cholesterol deposits are single creamy white spots that don't move and usually smack in the middle of the eye where the pupil is, often large enough to cover it -thus the blindness). I had an old parrot that had them (also bad diet) and I learned a bit about them.

Now, if the bird has cholesterol deposits, you need to have a bile acids test done on him asap because, most likely, there is already liver damage. I know that Jeanne takes all her birds to a vet (they are good and responsible rescuers) so ask her if one was already done when he came in but, if it wasn't, you need it because, if there is liver malfunction, you will need to put him on a special diet (no pellets!) and supplement liver tonics and cleansers for the rest of his life.

Please let us know what happens and whether we can be of further help.

[Maryellen]

Thanks everyone! Yes he is coming from Jeanne:). Its not final yet i still need her to do my home check and i still have to visit 2 more times to make sure its a good match. I have a bag full of toys for him if he gets to come home with me.

She said he has sight problems ,I'll ask more when i go back on the 25th:)
Thank you sooo much for the info too, I'll ask her about the test too..

All i need now is a passing home check and pumpkin wanting to come home with me

[Pajarita]

Please do a lot of research on liver malfunction and its treatment because you can't feed it any of the commercial parrot foods like pellets, nutriberries, etc. (you will have to cook for him and transition him to a strictly organic, fresh food diet) and you will need to supplement him for the rest of his life as well as get a bile acids test done semi-annually once his levels are lower.

[Maryellen]

Just a quick update pumpkin is home with me, liver is good thankfully.
He is settling in slowly which is fine..

[Wolf]

Again thank you for giving this bird a new home, and the opportunity for a good life. Not many would even consider this, you are one of the special people and have a very caring heart. Wishing both of you all the best, if we can help in any way let us know.

[Pajarita]

Great news! Congratulations on your new friend! But, he doesn't have to remain almost blind, you know, those deposits can be surgically removed and, as long as his bile acids and cholesterol levels continue normal, he won't get them again (get a copy of the blood tests done on him by the rescue so you can give them to your own vet for comparison).

[Maryellen]

Saturday he stepped up on my hand for the first time. He is slowly gaining trust which is good. He still lunges at the shadow of us if he doesn't know its us but thats to be expected right now. I hope as he feels more safe it slows down.
I kept the session very short a few seconds so that he had a positive experience with me. This weekend will be two weeks he is with us so I'll do the Step Up again. I'm going beyond slow with him so that its at his pace.

I dont know how to upload pics from my iPhone once i figure it out I'll put some pics up