New member with a problem

[spitz006]

My girlfriend called me today and said she wants to rescue her grandfather from the burden of caring for a parakeet that was owned by his mother who is now too ill to take care of the it. She says she doesn't know what kind of bird it is, but she said it's some type of parakeet that used to be green with red neck feathers but because of some stress it has plucked most of its feathers out. She said this bird can be very loud if left alone in a room. She also said that this bird has violently attacked her grandfather and "torn his hands up". Her senile great-granny apparently fed this guy chocolate cake and all sorts of silly human food, and apparently it received antibiotics to treat some sort of ailment, but granny popped the pills instead! She said that the bird doesn't have any consistency in it's life and it may be able to become a sweet bird again with a little tender loving care, but I don't know if this might be best left up to a professional (or a more experienced amateur). I am an animal lover and have owned birds in the past, but I'm not really sure what to do here.

I was just offered a job at a prestigious pet store which has a large bird department, and I know I will have a strong network of bird experts at my disposal soon, but due to the fact that my girlfriend and I both have roommates and other pets (two cats each) I'm a bit worried that this is more than I can handle.

Any advice?

James
Lansing, Michigan

[zazanomore]

I think the bird might either be an Indian Ring Neck or an Alexandrian.

IRN: http://www.birdtricks.com/images/indian ... photo2.JPG
Alexandrian: http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium ... gerber.jpg

Personally, I've never owned either of these birds, however, from what I've heard, they can be quite loud. You say that you live in an apartment, so that could be a problem.

Also, I think I need to warn you that cat saliva is poisonous to birds. One playful nip from a cat might not seem that bad, but the bacteria is potentially fatal. I'm not saying that it's impossible to keep cats and birds, I just think that you need to make sure that the cats won't be able to get the chance to bite the bird.

Feather plucking is a very common psychological behavior in pet birds. It can be stopped though.

Have you checked to see if there are any bird rescues in your area?

The situation with the elderly man and the bird is unfair to both parties. It is very brave of you to try to rescue them. Consider your options carefully. There's a very strong community of users on this forum, and we will be glad to try to help you.

Merry Christmas!

[entrancedbymyGCC]

There are a number of us with both cats and birds. It can certainly be made to work, especially if the cats aren't particularly avid hunters. It makes me slightly nuts when people say cat saliva is poisonous or toxic. More correctly, their saliva carries bacteria that can cause a very nasty infection. In fact, our own saliva is probably as bad, but we are admittedly less likely to bite our birds. But it is clearly important to avoid a situation where a bird is bitten by a cat.