ISO Greater Macaw or Mollucan Too

TiredOldMan

Supporting Member
Joined
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Location
South Central Texas
Parrots
CAG Hen-Gracie age unknown, U2 Rooster-Anakin 2008-11/2/2024 RIP
I have a place in my heart and home for a bird in need of a good home.
Prefer Greenwing macaw but will consider any greater macaw. Will also consider Moluccan cockatoo
I'm located in Central Texas but will travel.
Thanks
 
I have a place in my heart and home for a bird in need of a good home.
Prefer Greenwing macaw but will consider any greater macaw. Will also consider Moluccan cockatoo
I'm located in Central Texas but will travel.
Thanks

Any bird you manage to adopt will be one very fortunate and blessed birdie, Dave. I wish you the best of luck!!
 
Dave, I just joined Parrotforums a few minutes ago and am not yet familiar with the interface, so I may stumble a bit. I have the sad duty of needing to find a good home for a much-loved Molucaan Cockatoo I've had for 35 years. I typed Moluccan Cockatoo into the search engine here and got your post. So let me begin by asking if you are still looking for a bird? If you are, I'll tell you about Chester and me. We both live in St. Petersburg, Florida. and we both love cockatoos!

My husband and I adopted Chester years back when we were just beginning to look for a cockatoo. The owner of a pet store we'd been in many times told us he was about to have a cockatoo euthanized so he could collect insurance on it. He'd purchased the bird for $350. from the quarantine facility, expecting to be able to sell it for two thousand. Back then, that's what people were paying for hand fed, young cockatoos. He'd found no buyer for this very large and not-even-tame cockatoo, so was planning to have it put down. My husband and I were so horrified by the callousness of the situation, that this bird had been wild trapped, kidnapped from his family and home, and now would be killed for not being profitable enough--well, we wrote out a check for $350 on the spot.

At the time, we had no experience with large birds. And Chester, who is quite large, had no reason at all to trust human beings, so we put him in the biggest cage we could find and gave him time to calm down and start feeling safe. He wasn't alone for long, as within a year we took in several more abandoned cockatoos.

With other birds for companionship. Chester never really became what I would call "tame." He was fine flying around the bird room to visit the other cockatoos. And he liked being spoken to by us, liked taking treats from our hands, submitted to being touched when it was necessary, but never softened into the sort of cuddly behavior we got from our other birds. And because we were getting what we wanted from our other cockies, we never pushed hard to tame Chester.

All these years later, we are in a situation where we must find a new home for Chester. I'm in my mid 70's and have been diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. My husband has his own health issues, and cannot cope with taking care of me, our house and our 4 remaining birds. The other 3 are Citrons, small, tame, and we hope will easily find good homes. But Chester needs someone accustomed to Molucaans.

Sadly, St. Pete is no longer the sleepy town it once was. It's an overpopulated, bustling city. Virtually no one here keeps large parrots anymore. We've asked the only two vets that still offer bird care for help, but they had none to offer. I asked Google to show me parrot forums, which is how I came to Parrotforums today, hoping I could get some honest advice on how to find a good home for Chester. And here, I found your post.

You may already have found a bird. Or Chester may not be what you were hoping for. But if his story sparks any interest in you at all, I'd be happy to send you photos or video of him, and answer any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.
Bonnie Boots
 
Bonnie,
First off I'm very sorry to hear of your medical situation and I wish you all the best
I appreciate you reaching out to me regarding Chester.
My biggest concern is the distance between us as I'm in Texas southeast of Austin. I don't drive at night anymore so it would make for a lengthy trip. It also doesn't sound like Chester is the type that would appreciate a seat on an airplane and I will not let a living being travel in the cargo hold. There might be a possibility of friends helping me with the trip as they love Florida but I'm not certain of that.
If it's not too much trouble I would like to see pics or videos of Chester.
Again I appreciate you contacting me,
Dave
 
Dave, thanks for your reply. I understand the distance between us may be an issue, but if you and Chester would be a good match, we will find a way! At this moment, nothing in my life is a higher priority for me than finding good homes for my birds.
I will take photos and video Friday or Saturday. Does this forum allow video? If not, I can put them in online storage and send you a link. Is there a way to send you a private or direct message here so I can send you my contact info and links?
Bonnie
 
You can't send DMs until you have a minimum number of posts. I can't remember what that number is either 5 or 10 I think. However it's very common for a moderator to help in this situation
The forum does allow video
Thank You for getting back to me and I look forward to seeing Chester and talking to you more
Dave
 
Any of the mods will be happy to help with forwarding PMs until you have reached the 10 post requirement to use the PM system. We do allow videos, but it's fairly limited. Easiest way to post them is upload to YouTube and put the link in your post. Hope that helps! :)
 
Thank you for the information.
I’m having trouble finding my way around here. Where do I go to contact a mod?
Bonnie..
 
Any of the mods will be happy to help with forwarding PMs until you have reached the 10 post requirement to use the PM system. We do allow videos, but it's fairly limited. Easiest way to post them is upload to YouTube and put the link in your post. Hope that helps! :)
I just realized you ARE a mod. If I give you my email and phone number, can you pass it on to TiredOldMan/Dave?
 
I am in SE Florida with a very jealous macaw, so cannot take in your precious Chester, but what about contacting all avian vets in your part of Florida and beyond (there are a lot!)? They may have clients who have lost a bird and are open and eager to adding a new member to their family. If I ever were to lose my bird, I would ask my vet if she knows of someone wishing to rehome their bird. It is worth a try!
 
I just realized you ARE a mod. If I give you my email and phone number, can you pass it on to TiredOldMan/Dave?

Hi @bboots, I'm also a mod here and I'll be happy to help you pass a message to Dave if you'd like. In fact I sent you a private message when you first joined that you may not have seen yet, you can access it by clicking on the envelope-shaped icon located on the right hand side along the top of our home page. If you want you can just send your contact info as a reply to that message and I'll be happy to relay it on your behalf :)
 
Hi @bboots, I'm also a mod here and I'll be happy to help you pass a message to Dave if you'd like. In fact I sent you a private message when you first joined that you may not have seen yet, you can access it by clicking on the envelope-shaped icon located on the right hand side along the top of our home page. If you want you can just send your contact info as a reply to that message and I'll be happy to relay it on your behalf :)
Thank You So Much
 
I am in SE Florida with a very jealous macaw, so cannot take in your precious Chester, but what about contacting all avian vets in your part of Florida and beyond (there are a lot!)? They may have clients who have lost a bird and are open and eager to adding a new member to their family. If I ever were to lose my bird, I would ask my vet if she knows of someone wishing to rehome their bird. It is worth a try!
Thank you for hour suggestion. My veterinarian clinic is where I began my search. My husband and I have been clients there fir 36 years. Our vet for most of that time was one of the top docs in the US for parrots and hookbills. He wrote one of the first books on parrot and hookbill care for pet owners was for actime the President of the national vet’s association. He was a wonderful doctor and generous man. We learned most of what we know about bird care from him.

As we got older, my husband and I wrote instructions for continuing bird care into our wills. Our vet was always involved in our plans and promised he would do anything he could to help us. With his vast contacts, we were always assured that even is our chosen “ godparents” for our flock were for any reason unable to step in, substitutes would be easily found.

But you know the old saying— Man makes plans while God laughs. Our vet sold the practice a few years ago to people with virtually no bird experience. A couple years later covid hit and the clinic made big changes. And almost overnight it became primarily dog and cat care.

To be fair, the city itself has changed in the same way. 30 years ago our bird club had 250+ members. Today we don’t even have a bird club. Keeping large birds just doesn’t fit in a city that is now an crowded metro area. In my whole county, not just my city but my county, there are only two clinics that provide large bird care— my own, which is not up to the task, and another an hour’s drive from us. I have asked for help at both and gotten nowhere. I expected that at the very least my own clinic, where let me repeat- we have been clients for 36 years, would at least offer to reach out to other bird vets they know, but when we asked for this courtesy, we were told no, with no explanation.

I’m aware that even as our vet clinic has become unrecognizable to us, much of the whole country and culture has shifted in the same way. We are, I’m sure, just two people out of millions that wake up some days wondering where we are and how we got here. For that reason, I am so deeply grateful for the warm welcome I have received here at parrotforums. It’s a painful task to have to face rehoming our feathered family, and this forum has helped reassure me that good people and good homes really are out there. Thank you all!
Bonnie
 
This is Chester, our big boy.
 

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Gorgeous boy! A moluccan has been one of my bucket list birds for as long as I can remember, but I have long since accepted that they're above my skill set/time constraints. They are special birds for sure ❤️
 

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