I received my first bird; a 4 week old Blue & Gold Macaw
10 years ago. My dad and I had raised him up around everything you could possibly imagine. He went horse back riding with us, he went to the stores with us, he rode in cars and loved wearing a flight suit! He loved everyone and everything and ultimately this is the way he passed.In May of this year, my 7 year old neice let my 14 year old blind and deaf Lhasa Apso outside to go potty... A routine thing that we have done every 2 hours for the last 14 years and all of my neices life. A neighbor's dog ended up running into my house after my neice and my Lhasa, grabbed my Lhasa and started shaking her. Seeing that his flock was in trouble, my Blue & Gold Macaw; Gidget started attacking the dog. We tried everything we could to have the dog stop attacking both our Lhasa and have Gidget stop attacking the dog. Unfortunately, Gidget suffered 2 severe puncture wounds and my Lhasa suffered the same. We rushed both to the vet that was 10 mins. away, but Gidget didnt make it. He was brave and gallant to the end. And he was my first love and reason to love birds.
Gidget's best friend was my 25 year old Orange Winged Amazon
. Gidget turned my Amazon's life around completely. He learned how to talk and stopped plucking and had a new leash on life.
My Amazon; Gort was a rescue. I received him through a rescue here in Alaska. And before coming to his fosters, Gort was hand-raised by an older man who had him for 17 years. After the man's passing, Gort went to the man's daughter who didnt like him and kept him covered in a garage for the next 7 years of his life. When she finally turned him over to the rescue, over 4 inches of feces was incrusted on his cage, he was completely bald except for his tail feathers, feathers on his legs and head. He was also very antisocial, didnt want to be handled at all and I was told he bit and would draw blood. I was told he was very loud and continued to pluck whatever feathers he had left.
Upon adopting him, he isnt loud and only "squaks" when he wants food... Human food. He's a little butterball
He has never bitten me, he is a very cuddly, affectionate little guy and loves to walk around the house like a dog. He doesnt care to fly but will every once in awhile. If I ignore him, he will sit on the bottom of his cage and cry but gets very excited and starts "talking" immediately when I say hello.He also doesnt talk. He has his own way of talking and communicating.
Next is my 10 year old Green Wing Macaw
. I adopted him through the same rescue I had gotten my Amazon through. My Green Wing was with a Blue & Gold female who beat him up quite a bit. And was very aggressive.Both birds were in a very bad domestic violence situation where they heard and saw nothing but violence and swearing, thus their vocabulary and behavior had shown this.
They then went to an elderly lady who had them for the last 7 years. She couldnt handle them at-all and they began to "take over" her and her house... They ran the household. The lady would hit them with a broom, squirt them with squirtguns, etc. to try and attempt to keep them "in-line". She would swear at them, yell at them, etc.
When she finally realized that she was no longer able to care for these birds and herself, she turned the birds over to the rescue and this is where I was called because up here in Alaska... It's hard to find people who will take "large problem birds" and since I had my Amazon through them who was also a "problem" bird, and he was transformed in a matter of two weeks, they decided to give me a call and see what I could do.
I purchased Chet Womach's "Parrot Training Video's" hoping this would help and apparently it works wonders. In over 6 months, none of the techniques helped their behavior, only made it worse.
I started "training" these birds my own way and interacting with them how I saw fit. I found that if I just sat with them everyday and talked to them and allowed them to be able to interact with me freely out of their cage, then they would eventually come out of their "funk" and want to interact more.
A month into having them, I was able to hold both birds. However, they only wanted me to let them sit on my shoulder and only on their terms. I was told these birds attacked and visciously. I was told they bit and drew blood very badly causing the elderly lady to get stitches several times, I have never been bit. My Green Wing does have "bad manners" and likes to "touch" everything with his beak and grabs my hands every once in awhile but he has NEVER applied tons of pressure or actually bit me.
3 months into having them, I was able to pet everywhere on them, turn them on their backs, taught them how to do tricks such as shake, bow and dance. And so much more. Unfortunately, the Blue & Gold female was rehomed.
Having a knack for birds, I am now enrolled at UC Davis for Avian Science. And I am very excited to start my life training and eventually breeding birds.
Please feel free to check out my Youtube Channel and see my beloved birds! They're very hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/user/AKGirlJ907
that is nice. You really have some great rescue stories.
the forum is addicting.