I'm impressed...

[bluecrownmama]

...with the number of people I've seen on here with re-homed parrots. I think that's awesome but I've been dying to know-how has it been? If anyone is willing to share their story I'd love to hear it. How much "work" did the bird need, how hard was it-the adjustment period, the training, etc? Do you feel that the adopted bird will ever been as good/tame/adjusted (can't think of the right word) as perhaps another bird you have had from the youngest age? Would you do it again?
I got my blue crown when he was 7-8months old and I feel like I missed out on some valuable, if not vital time of socialization with people and objects. But then that's what brought me to this site-to really crack down on working on all that. I don't know if I could adopt an even older parrot-but there are soooo many out there it seems. We adopted a 1yr old pitbull last January and she has been A-L-O-T of work-at times it felt impossible and while she is a total sweetheart we still have a looong way to go (she's afraid of the wind-literally). I guess I feel like adopting a parrot would be even harder than adopting a dog. What do you think?

btw....Every time I'm on this forum I learn something new. I wish I had thought to look for this a yr and half ago! Thanks all for your friendliness and advice in all the posts-not just mine!

 

[Mayden]

I've got a handreared 2 year old senegal who I've had since he was 8 weeks old.

I've also got a 10 year old senegal who's background is unknown. We've had him for 4 months(?).

I won't buy a baby again, I honestly can't be doing with the whole 'new to hormones' thing they go through. Charlie is set in his ways, he's a good boy and he's settled in so well. He's learning new things, he's learning to trust, he's brilliant.

Merlin is trusting of everyone because we socialised him with everyone straight from the word go. He is also a brilliant bird, his poops are stinkier, his bites are harder and his hormones are wild right now.

I would change some minor things about Merlin, and the same with Charlie. Merlin's changes will come with time (as they're generally hormone related...) and Charlie's will come with more socialisation. (He needs to stop attacking my partner...)

Personally, I find younger animals to be harder than older. A new puppy, who's yet to learn the way of the world, teething, peeing everywhere, separation anxiety as he learns..., or a dog who's settled into life, knows basic rules, etc. Older dog please!

Same applies for birds. There's pros and cons to each, but I wouldn't ever rule out an older bird because it "might" be harder to train.

When we got Charlie we were worried he wouldn't let us do all the things Merlin lets us do (flip on back, play dead, blowing raspberries on his tummy, etc) but Charlie has his own way of showing he trust us. He doesn't like me 'picking' him up with my hands around his body (which we do ALL the time wtih Merlin) but he's sloowly coming around to it, slowly learning it's okay to be on his back etc.

Whether you get an older bird, or a new bird, they've all got to learn that things are okay. Some might take longer because they've had a bad experience, (or just don't like what you want to do!) but baby or not, they're going to have their preferences and take time.

 

[Merlee]

I have a rehomed 27 y/o yellow nape who I got from another member here. He has been great from the moment I got him. He talked all the way to his new home which was a 30-something ride home. He was already tame with his previous owner and didn't need any work at all. I got lucky because he was flighted when I first met him and he flew away when I wanted to interact with him, but I took him home anyway.

Would I do it again? Yes, because there are so many birds looking for new homes.

 

[Kalidasa]

My conure is re-homed, I got her when she just turned four. I actually had a deposit down on another bird, but I kept visiting and interacting with her instead, so I got her, a plucked-to-bald traumatized bird. She's made a total turnaround, but it's been a lot of work. The first month was a roller coaster ride of pure crazy. I was covered in bites. Now she's fully flighted and covered with feathers (no more bald spots) and very healthy. She still has issues, but what bird or human or whatever doesn't have issues. It's worth it. A baby bird or an older bird is no difference to me really, they both need lots of attention and require a lot of work. She's still a baby to me lol

 

[MonicaMc]

My bourke parakeet is currently the longest bird I've had in my flock that is a rehome. She was 5-7 years old when I got her in 2002. She's not tame and I've never tried taming her. I just enjoy her as she's quiet, sounds amazing when flying and she's pretty. Some people think she looks like a miniature falcon, but falcons don't have pink, blue and yellow on them... I do miss the sound of a male bourke though!

I've had Pistachio since 2005, and I only know that his previous owners have had him since 1998, and he was already an adult then. I haven't tried taming him either. His previous owners bred him and he is by nature a very nervous and flighty bird. At one time though, he did overcome his fears and would fly to my hand in the mornings for food. I'm sure he was stressed when he first got here, considering his owners showed up at my doorstep with him and his family in a cardboard box and their cage in the back... they and the cage smelling horribly of cigarettes, the cage so bad it had changed colors. He now hisses at me in the mornings because I can't automatically refill the food dishes without touching them!

I've had Tomi Girl since 2006, no clue on age, and she came from a horrible place. The people found her in their yard. Their house was over-run with cats and kittens (free access to outside!), many with sinus infections. Everyone in the house chain smokers, some with nicotine stains on their hands so bad that they wont wash off. Smoke filled the home and you could see it move in the air. The kids also did drugs. She was kept to a tiny cage fed only seed, and eventually covered 24/7 because she was "too noisy". Eventually, they "forgot" to feed her and she was nearly 50% underweight when I discovered she wasn't getting enough food. She was also a chronic egg layer. When I took her in, my main goal was to just get weight on her and increase her calcium. I handled her *a lot*. I weighed her *a lot*. I encouraged her to fly daily to regain her strength and it was so hard to see her so weak that she flew slowly and couldn't land without fumbling. Once she regained health, she ended up fitting into the flock quite well! And she learned what millet and healthy food is! She is a quirky bird though, she's not crazy about being handled nor does she seem to care about the other birds except that she considered the tiels as part of her flock. She pretty much keeps to herself, but is one of the easier birds to handle.

I've also had Charlie since 2006 and he was 12 years old when I got him. He already ate well, was already tame, he just needed a home! He doesn't get along with any of my other birds so I have to be careful with him and other birds. He was really clingy when he first came home, and he is still clingy! Interestingly enough, he's not a shoulder bird. He will sit on my shoulder, but he often prefers being on my hands or arms.

I've had Faye since 2007. I was supposed to get her much sooner, but the people who had her decided to keep her for longer. She is the only bird I didn't have to switch to eating a healthier diet... she took to it as if she had always ate it. She has had 3 homes prior to mine and probably ate only seeds in all 3! Her last home even fed her wild bird seed. She's a sweet natured bird, but never tried taming her, either. When I had the flock cage-free, she came to demand being hand fed in the morning. She was happy to be around other cockatiels again, after her mate had died in her last place. Before Pistachio's mate died, she was crazy about him! Kept following him around like a love sick puppy! He didn't like her back then, but after he lost his mate, he turned to her and it was a little awkward at first... but they are now 'together'.

Jayde is my newest addition, as of nearly 5 months ago. She is my third conure, and youngest conure at at 3 years, going on 4. When I got her, I couldn't handle her. She was scared and terrified. However, I expected that. Her foster mother couldn't handle her, so I knew she'd be work. It was a few weeks before she started climbing on my shoulder to be with me. She was very nervous being away from her cage. Any time she showed being nervous, I would take her back. I allowed her to decide what she was comfortable with. It was 3 1/2 months before she was comfortable enough to step up on my hands and arms. Four months she started dashing down my front for food as if I was starving her! (she has a love of food!). Four and a half months, she's starting to get comfortable enough to wander away from me without having to be on her cage. She also has her wings now, and is getting comfortable enough to fly to me from her cage as well as from other locations. Biting is far less frequent and less hard. Still need to work on her *not* biting other people, since she's a very social bird! Still a work in progress!




I've actually never purchased a hand raised parrot from a breeder or a store. All of my birds have come from stores (not hand raised), other people (hand raised and parent raised), and I did get two budgies from a breeder but they were not hand raised. I've had Casey the longest, and she's 12 years old. I've had her since she was 5 months old but she was a gift to me. She's also hand raised. I'd honestly love to get a hand raised conure! Likewise, I'm also extremely interested in a "wild caught" conure! (feral flock - some of the birds end up within captivity due to illness/infections and injuries and can't be returned to the flock)


So I really have no issue taking in adult birds in need of homes, regardless of being tame or not! And I'm also of the opinion that not all birds *need* to be tame in order to be happy! If I can provide them a good home where they are content, that's fine by me! If they want interaction with me, then I'll provide it! If not, that's ok, too!

 

[MikeyTN]

Cracker the Quaker would of been the oldest bird with me as I was forced to give up all my birds at one point when my ex give them all away behind my back. But I brought Cracker back with me to living with my family. I hand raised him myself and he died in spring of 2008, he was 7 years old. That broke my heart. I love the babies I've raised but I've raised hundreds. BUT only a special few I have that special bond with, those are the ones I keep like one I have now, Nico, she's a sweetheart. She flies to us on command as I've trained her since she was a baby, I'm the one who hand fed her. But that's not always the case with every baby!

Most of our birds now are adopted or rescued. To me they can be just as good as the ones I've raised. Like my ekkies, I LOVE them sooooo much as we have a very special bond together. JoJo came a longggggggg ways since we've had him. He was scared, not trusting, not friendly, biting, etc. You couldn't tell he was that way at one point.

All birds goes through their hormone period, doesn't matter if it's the ones you've raised or the older ones you've adopted. I've dealt with them all and they all can be just as evil as the other one.

For me, I would go with either depending on what you feel is right for you. But I would always go for an adopted/rescued one cause I have the compassion to help those that's needed.

 

[strudel]

My galah came to me all tame. I wouldn't have a clue how to train a galah from scratch so I get the benefit of her having been brought up by a knowledgeable person. I was nervous when I got her that she'd be traumatized coming to a new home and leaving "her people", but she settled straight in. I think adopting somebody well socialized and without issues is a different kettle of fish from taking on somebody who has had a rough time and developed some problems because of it. That takes somebody with relevant experience to take them or to get advice from.

My 2 weiros and one of my budgies were adopted because the person was getting evicted and needed homes for them. I had bought some patio cages with a view to getting some more birds so I had somewhere for them to go. They are really nice. The weiros are not hand tame (yet!) but are not freakishly wild or scared of people. They are quite happy to talk to me through the bars.

I like getting older pets that maybe won't be picked out like the cute baby ones. I don't think I've missed out on anything. Apart from my first dog, all my adoptees have been adults (one cat was a teenager, she hadn't been picked while she was a kitten, she was a bit babyish but not completely a kitten, and my new dog is quite young, but she's not a tiny puppy).

 

[Zumaria]

About a week ago I adopted a 7 year old CAG. She seems to still be settling in, and she hasn't said much. BUT when she does speak it is a hilarious adventure for me to learn what she learned from her previous home. I suspect they had a dog because she says "GOOD BOY!" and someone taught her to say "beep beep beep". She does still bite me sometimes, and seems to be pretty protective of her cage, but we've already made a lot of progress. My biggest challenge so far has been trying to get her to convert to pellets rather than seeds.

I'm sure she is just still settling in, and am looking forward to when she is comfortable and at home so I can get to know her better!

I have always wondered what it would be like to have a baby and raise one, but as previously stated with other posts, the hormones thing is crazy and I'd rather tackle birdy teenage years when I have a teammate to help me - husband, partner, etc. LOL

 

[noblemacaw]

In May I brought home a 9 year old plucked Noble macaw. No one wanted to adopt him because he was plucked but since I had Noble macaw experience AND plucking experience I was able to adopt him. We did change his name to Julio and I will say he does not have the typical Noble macaw personality. He has suffered abuse before he went to the rescue and the rescue has taken such good care of him he came up with NO health issues with his check up. Other than being plucked Julio is very healthy. His blood, organs, weight and general health are very good.

He does have behavior issues. A normal Noble macaw with no issues and well socialized will go to anyone, expectantly if you have food. Julio has the perpensity to only want to be with one person and will savagily bit anyone else that tries to handle him. I am pleased that he has bonded with Lupe because he is mainly her parrot but I would like to be able to handle him as well.

In "working" with him I do not force him to do anything he is uncomfortable with. If he does not want to step up onto my hand I do not make him. I use a lot of voice inflection and interact with him without touching him. I have been able to successfully target train him to go to his food dish and to certain perch so I can feed him foods though the cage bars. I have tried to train him to come out but the cage setup and type makes it very hard for him to successfully come out and be able to perch somewhere. My plan is to provide him a more user friendly cage WITH a play top so he can "come out" and crawl up to the playtop and not have to step up onto my hand. I believe once I can get him out I will have more success with training and getting Julio out more. I do see positive changes in Julio with our interactions. He seems to enjoy my company and enjoys the foods I feed him. He is VERY food motivated and I will use this to my favor with further training.

I am in awe with people who have adopted larger parrots with behavior or medical issues. I learned that with adopting Julio it is a HUGE commitment even larger one than bringing home a baby. You need to be true to yourself and the adopted parrot because it is so much more involvement and work than it would be bringing home a parrot that is much easier to interact and work with. Not a lot of people want to work with an animal that wants to hurt you physically.

 

[Birdman666]

That depends on the bird, their situation, your experience level, your home environment, and how well they respond to training protocols...

With some birds (Maggie for example) it is very much like flicking a switch...

With others, it takes awhile.

Some (rare) never come all the way around, but I have found that to be unusual.

Maggie, my greenwing, was cage bound, and hadn't been handled in 8 years when I got her. It took me 4 days to get her back to where she should be... and she's my most bonded, go everywhere, love everyone, out and about bird at the moment.

My red lored amazon had been badly mistreated, and was one of the worst biters we ever had at the rescue... It took 5 hours a day for 2 months to get her to trust me, and another 2 months to get her completely turned around...

I did a Ruby macaw rehab, and that bird was very smart, and very evil. She took about 8 months to get her tamed back down and stepping up for people without biting...

My Lilac crowned amazon is 40 years old and wild caught. She will step up for anyone, and take food from anyone, and does not bite, but to my knowledge, she has never allowed touching... EVER! So, four years into it (for me) she is still hand shy. I'm the FIFTH home for this particular bird.

I've also found that birds learn from other birds. I took in rescues for many years. We have a "flock ettiquite" around here. The birds themselves enforce it. They keep the newbies in line... "That's against the rules, and Dad's gonna get mad!" I've seen them gang up on a bird that was being disruptive.

DEPENDS ON THE BIRD...

 

[Birdman666]

I won't buy a baby again, I honestly can't be doing with the whole 'new to hormones' thing they go through. Charlie is set in his ways, he's a good boy and he's settled in so well. He's learning new things, he's learning to trust, he's brilliant.

YEAH.... I feel your pain, but try that one with a dominant male greenwing sometime...

I've had similar experiences with older birds. You butt heads with them on a few issues, but they usually work out just fine...

 

[strudel]

DEPENDS ON THE BIRD...

Yes, and I think you have to approach getting any pet, baby or adopted, without expectations for YOURSELF. You just have to take them as they are and deal with how they are. You need to be willing not to have everything all perfect all the time. If you adjust your expectations, it'll turn out well, if you are inflexible, you'll get frustrations and grief. They are individuals, there is no "one size fits all" and if you aren't expecting anything in particular, it'll be what it'll be, but there'll be positives in there. (I haven't expressed that very well, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say)

 

[MenomaMinx]

Most of the work didn't actually involve the bird. It was more of research oriented while waiting to bring her home.

Kumiko didn't have a name for the first eight years of her life. She was being kept with a number of large parrots in a tiny Philadelphia apartment by a hoarder. By the time she was rescued, her severe medical balance issues were still correctable to a certain extent {vet has informed me her wings can never be clipped again – he's been giving me the opposite advice for my other birds for about 17 years}. Psychological damage shows up in weird places {the incident with the loud blender where she does a perfect CD-quality mimicry of a woman's voice saying, "I'm a bad bird" still makes me fear for her having future flashbacks to her old life}.

I have an extensive bird background going back to the single digits of childhood. What I didn't have was any experience with calico macaws. In fact, sheer proof utter stupidity is completely possible no matter what the IQ test says, I actually mistook a "calico" is being her name when I saw it on the card in that room. Someone there had to explain it to me.

Didn't come for a macaw. Never expected to get a macaw. This macaw's personality suits mine perfectly. This is my macaw.

I only had experience handling very young blue and golds. Having never intended to get a macaw, I knew only some basic stereotypes of certain subspecies in relation to how adults behaved and needed to be treated that might differ from other parrots. This wasn't going to work for working knowledge, because I had a macaw coming home.

My first major shock was that they needed their beaks trimmed as part of the regular grooming....uhh,WTF! You want to chop off part of my birds beak? Are you insane?! Actually, thinking this about the author wrote it, whose book I finished while waiting for someone to get her for me during the last of my four multihour visits before bringing her actually home. Turns out, she did need the dremel on her beak the day I asked about it – which again was the same day she came home. I had to wait a few days for a container big enough to safely carry her in, only to find out the loaner dog cage I used was galvanized a.k.a. toxic metal(mind you, the bird people OKed the container for the ride home, but once I got home she was never in it again.

Next I had to find out about which behaviors were specific to macaws, which behaviors were specific to calico macaws, and finally which behaviors were specific to this particular calico macaw. Yeah, I actually thought there would be information...... not so much. At least, not in one place. I had to put together a cheat sheet using various message boards'with their antidotal stories about their personal bird experiences by cross-referencing similar experiences. I learned, but because the information is so scattered, I don't think anyone else is actually going to do the kind of research I did – so it pretty only much benefits me. And that's not to say I'm not still learning.

Kumiko herself is quite possibly the quietest macaw to inhabit the planet. Her voice rarely raises above loud human conversational tones, with the exception of the "arc" noise everyone knows from the parrot stores – post vet exam and micro chipping she started to use that noise staccato style whenever she was left completely alone, whereas before you would never get more than one in response to any single stimuli. Having another live anything with there is enough to stop that panic she developed – my friend' s cat is enough to keep the peace when Kumiko is there. Here, I'm looking into getting her a pet that she would be compatible with – still working on it, even though the panics are much less frequent now. Besides, I'm still getting guilt tripped for leaving when I return from other rooms – even the bathroom!

Her transition from decorative furniture to service animal was shockingly easy. She's highly intelligent and adapts quickly. She's also completely nonviolent natured and will do just about anything for peanut butter apples and hugs – head rubs had to be taught as the command "cuddle" using the things she already likes as bribery.

I'm pretty sure she's perfect

I don't think it would've mattered in the here and now if I got her as a baby, as long as it was her as she is now – and I wouldn't be able to tell that with a baby. She pretty much would've only made her way into my house as an adult, simply, because as I said before, I wasn't looking for a macaw.

I can't stress how important personality compatibility is in rehomed parrot. Without it, you're just making unnecessary work for yourself. If that means considering the species you didn't come for, then so be it.

 

[jenphilly]

I have to completely agree with MenomaMinx in the statement that the right bird may not be the one you were looking for. I absolutely love the Eclectus... was so sure that would be what I would bring home when I was 'looking' for a larger bird for our home. My daughter has cockatiels and conures (the conures are the feathered goofs that won me over to be a bird lover). I am no longer able to work full time, I have MS and am home more then I ever have been in my life. But, even with that said, I was not actively looking, my thought was after we move and have a larger place.... but, with a pile of ironies and whathaveyou, all 3 of us (husband, daughter and me) along with our bird sitter ended up at a bird event and tho my husband kept telling us we were not getting another bird (my daughter wants a sun), he was the one that our adopted Bare Eyed Cockatoo picked out of the crowd. He found me and tugged me sleeve and said 'you have to come see this'... I was thinking it was gonna be an Eclectus for adoption and I walked up to a cage and looked at him, shrugged and said 'its a bare eyed cockatoo', kinda that WTF look I'm sure. His reply of doesn't she look sweet had me laughing out loud. I had read up on cockatoos and even bare eyed cockatoos specifically, but never considered one would be in the family. She came with some issues, most from stupid people, she is an absolute doll and even tho she is still learning that being alone doesn't mean she's been abandoned, overall she's a whole new bird from the one we met. She had a nasty biting habit when you asked her to step up, but as we quickly realized, she associated being asked to step up with going back to the cage and being locked up. After getting passed around with rewards and neck rubs every time she stepped up, it did not take long for her to stop that behavior. I could babble on, but my point... while I never thought a Bare Eyed Cockatoo was the right choice for us, Ivory definitely knew we were the right choice for her.

I think of a horse saying and its true for birds too... A good horse is never a bad color... so true for parrots / birds too. She's not green or blue/red, but she has an amazing personality and fits in perfectly with our family!

I don't know if I would have fallen for her when she was a baby, but she definitely won over all us as an adult who needed a little time, patience and love to become a wonderful family member.

Jen

 

[KeroRocks]

I recently adopted a 5 year old male Congo African Grey. He was in a cage that might be the right size for a Green Cheek conure and I would even question that. I moved him into a very large cage. His name is Sam and he loves to talk and make sounds. He also loves to have his neck scratched. I haven't had him long but he hasn't shown any agression yet. He will take my finger in his beak and move it if he doesn't like where it is but he has been very gentle about it.

I did manage to get him to step up last night from the top of his cage for the first time. I am doing everything on his schedule, I'm not pushing him in any way. I want to develop a strong trust bond.
He loves grapes and banana chips so I give them to him as often as I can.

I'm hoping that he wants to use his Java stand soon, he hasn't shown much interest yet.

I rescued a 2 year old Green Cheek (Cooper) he doesnt' really like people and is content to hang out with Sheldon my other green cheek.

Dori was two when I got her. She's very sweet and only went through a slight nippy stage when I changed her cage. She seems back to herself now though.

 

[Jayyj]

I'm another one who didn't plan on the bird I ended up with. I always loved cockatoos but having been on the Mytoos forum and done some general reading around the subject, was convinced a too would be a disaster for a first bird. I looked into conures, senegals, pionus, but every time I went in the most local shop there was the one cockatoo that always looked really dejected and miserable. I'd go to the cage and talk quietly to her, ask what was wrong and all that, and she'd brighten up, come to the front of the cage and hold my finger through the bars. She was priced staggeringly high for an eight year old with obvious issues, but eventually I decided I couldn't bear seeing her there month after month, and paid the ransom.

I wouldn't say it's been easy. I quickly learned that theory memorized from books didn't really go all that far, and that my new companion was not going to be the happy bundle of enthusiasm that I might have expected from a baby. But we've kept at it, helped each other through and to see her now compared to how she was four months ago is the most amazing feeling. I feel great that she got to have a second chance, and lucky to have found her, and how she feels is evident in the sea change in her personality...

Of course the fact that she won't be hitting puberty in a few months is always a bonus!

 

[Birdman666]

See, I didn't do a whole lot of research...

Someone gave me a conure, I did a little research on line and that was it...

THEN I started volunteering at a rescue that had 350+ birds of all colors, shapes, sizes, and levels of aggressive-ness, and plucked-ness, and screamy-ness at any given time. What I learned I learned from working with the birds themselves, from rescue rehab protocols, and from the handful of people who really, really could handle anything with feathers, feet and a beak...

Somewhere along the line, I actually became one of them, and ended up teaching what I had learned to others.

 

[noblemacaw]

I would of loved to help out with the rescues in my area. Unfortunately they seemed to be very closed off and a "who you know" kind of atmosphere. Nepotism is very strong here and frankly I do not put up with that BS.

I am a person who has time to volunteer and help out. I also wanted to see if any parrots were a good fit for us and then move forward to adopt but after several attempts with reaching out and offering my time they stopped communicating. Logic dictates to me that is a person was willing to help out and offer their time why not take them up on their offer? I ended up adopting from out of state six and half hours drive away.

I realize I have been out of the bird community in my area for many years but that does not mean I can no longer offer anything of value to their organizations.

 

[bluecrownmama]

Such great stories! I also think its an interesting, and valid point, that sometimes the adult bird you end up with is not the type of bird you would have chosen if you got a baby one. There's a rescue place near me that will not allow anyone to adopt their birds until they volunteer so many hours-mainly to show they have the time for a bird, and to find the bird that likes them most-not necessarily the one they thought they went there for. I think its a great idea/policy.

 

[MenomaMinx]

I'm sorry, but that rescue's policy is a crock.

It's extremely discriminatory.

I'm not particularly litigious, but I hope somebody is – because these are the kind of policies that keep birds homeless.

I'm disabled.

I sincerely doubt I could do a prescribed amount of hours of physical drudgery, so I would never qualify for any bird anyone else interested in the same time – does that mean I don't deserve the bird?

Many years of experience from the single digits of childhood years onward dealing with birds of various sizes and their own disabilities says otherwise, but your rescue would still require me to volunteer as a form of competition?

Excuse me, but WTF!?!

I just volunteered at a rescue today to help rehabilitate some of their physically and psychologically damaged birds. This involves the actual handling of the birds, which I can do. What I cannot do I have a home health aide for five hours a day for. She's not the volunteer, I am, so by their own policies they couldn't take her to consideration were I to apply to adopt a bird with your rescue's kind of policy.

I am really sick and tired of being discriminated against......... no offense.