found a parrot on the street! now what?

[wrench13]

Oh you found my little guy! Thank you so much! I don't know how he could have flown all the way from NY to Greece, but there he is!

NOT. Be careful of scammers

 

[spyratos]

You make a good point. We have the same problem here, it's the same everywhere I guess: people posing as they lost their cat/dog/bird/wallet in response to any ad, because it's easier than breaking in to steal. You would have to say something vague, like I found an animal, message here to identify (not using your real name or address for the thieves) with a callback number, make the say what kind of animal. Tell them right away to describe the animal in detail. If they just say "bird" and wait for a hint, it's not theirs. You might get a few scammers, and might get the person who describes the parrot, how he acts, details about his feathers, etc.

Maybe the vet would know the best way to locate a lost owner. If he is really lost, are you going to keep him? They are supposed to be wonderful pets and can be good talkers. If you do, or even just in the mean time, the IRN people here are good help.

I was thinking exactly what you said above! Also I forgot to tell you that yes there are sites for lost animals as well as forums but I searched and there was no green parrot missing (i searched for last 9 months) in genereal in the area of Athens (radius 25 km).I only found some ads about lost cockatiels and african greys.

As for your question... I already started training him with a clicker and managed just in a day (8 hours with the bird training with small breaks) to make him feel comfortable again with me, found his favorite food (sun seeds), gave him again to eat from my hand several times and today even managed to learn him to hit a stick with his peck in order to receive sun seeds as reward! I am in love with this bird (always wanted a parrot but I do not like the idea of shops that sell animals. Especially when it comes to exotic ones!) and I believe that I may get sadder than the owner if I have to give him ! but ofc this is what I am going to do if i find his owner!

Now that you mentioned it let me ask you a question! If I keep him/her would it be a good idea to find him another (opposite sex) one of the same (or different) species, that they can accompany each other?

 

[plumsmum2005]

It is not necessary to find him another if you can devote enough time and attention to him/her. If/when appropriate a good sized cage with plenty of perches and toys etc will also help to keep him/her happy. It probably is worthwhile saying now that parrots are very time consuming. Life is certainly different when you have a parrot for sure. You will need to think about this, holidays can be difficult as finding someone/somewhere they can be taken care of properly whilst you are away is not always easy.

Go steady with those sunflower seeds as they are very fattening ok? Great news re the clicker training!

 

[spyratos]

You make a good point. We have the same problem here, it's the same everywhere I guess: people posing as they lost their cat/dog/bird/wallet in response to any ad, because it's easier than breaking in to steal. You would have to say something vague, like I found an animal, message here to identify (not using your real name or address for the thieves) with a callback number, make the say what kind of animal. Tell them right away to describe the animal in detail. If they just say "bird" and wait for a hint, it's not theirs. You might get a few scammers, and might get the person who describes the parrot, how he acts, details about his feathers, etc.

Maybe the vet would know the best way to locate a lost owner. If he is really lost, are you going to keep him? They are supposed to be wonderful pets and can be good talkers. If you do, or even just in the mean time, the IRN people here are good help.

It is not necessary to find him another if you can devote enough time and attention to him/her. If/when appropriate a good sized cage with plenty of perches and toys etc will also help to keep him/her happy. It probably is worthwhile saying now that parrots are very time consuming. Life is certainly different when you have a parrot for sure. You will need to think about this, holidays can be difficult as finding someone/somewhere they can be taken care of properly whilst you are away is not always easy.

Go steady with those sunflower seeds as they are very fattening ok? Great news re the clicker training!

Roger that! (for the flower seeds)
As for the time. Thank god I am a developer and I work remotely (from home) as for holidays etc I have my parents that can take care of him! however is it a bad idea to take him with me in some occasions? (for example travelling with ship? I am not saying car because I surely know that a 3-4 hour trip by car is going to be bad for the bird)

 

[plumsmum2005]

Thanks for the Sunflower seeds, couple now and again only. Find something else (healthy) that works as a replacement.

If this green guy can cope with car rides then a trip by car is OK. I do take my Plum with us, three and half hours and he has had enough but it is possible by taking breaks and ensuring that they have food and water and are not getting too hot or cold to extend this. It is all about being attentive and considerate really. By ship, you would need to check on the company and think about any weak points in choosing this type of travel such as would he be exposed to anything dangerous ie fumes? I have cut my holiday short because Plum seemed to want to be at home and the travelling on the due date would have been horrendous and he would have been stressed by sitting in the car in traffic.

If it looks like this little green one is stopping can I ask that you read everything you can find about the species, the do and don'ts of parrot keeping, correct diet/feeding please? It sounds like you are very taken with him. Each species has their quirks and it definitely helps to understand them.

 

[Kentuckienne]

1. You should not get a companion bird for your bird just yet...it is possible that they will either not get along, and you will have trouble giving them both attention while keeping them separate...or they might like one another so much that they won't want to be with you.

2. We used to drive hundreds of miles a day with an amazon in the car. He sat on his human's shoulder most if the time, being put back on top his travel cage now and then to poop. We rarely left him in the car for safety reasons, and he couldn't go into restaurants so we ate lots of drive-up food or picnics on the road. We always put him in his cage before taking him out if the car. He was a great traveler. He'd lean his beak against the side of J's head for stability and sleep. Walk over to whatever side of the human wasn't in the sun. Partake enthusiastically of car snacks.

Ships might be worse...the times I've been on a ship there was sometimes a lot of fumes, the engines don't have the same pollution control as a car and the fuel is dirtier. Of course you will need paperwork to cross boarders and that might be a problem since he's undocumented. Maybe the vet can suggest a way to get the paperwork you need.

 

[gracebowen]

I understand worry about finding the true owners. They should at least have a picture of their bird and cage in their gallery.

I have a new lovebird. If she got out and someone found that is all i have. She still bites me through the bars of her cage.