Looking to adopt

A

AfricanGreyEnthusiast

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Location
Highland, CA
Parrots
9 year old B&G named George
19 year old B&G named Bo
20 year old CAG named Ruby
I have been looking for an African Grey to adopt for the past few weeks. Breeders and pet stores seem to be empty right now, so I opted to find pet owners online who needed to rehome their feathery friend. After sifting through hundreds of scams, I found a lady trying to rehome her grey because her father in law has emphysema. When she sent me photos of the grey, who she says is 20 years old, the bird has significant damage from feather picking around its neck and down its chest. Also, the cage and environment look very dirty and rusty. She also says that aside from when she first got the grey, that she has never been to a vet.

Now here comes the questions. Should I be worried about the overall health of the bird I'm adopting? Will the feather plucking be an incredibly difficult issue to curb? I've owned a quaker parrot for around 6 years but I'm not as experienced with larger birds and don't want to be unable to provide the care this bird may need. Also, if I don't adopt this bird should I consider reporting this person to authorities for possible neglect? She also has a b&g macaw who also looks fairly rough as well, but they're not as prone to plucking. I'm half tempted to adopt both of them and then perhaps find permanent homes, just to ensure they get better care than they are receiving right now.

Anyways, I'm mainly just reaching out for information and advice on this one. I've done a lot of research and have been a huge fan of parrots since a very early age, but any extra imfornation would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Kudos to you for wanting to adopt a rescue/rehome! I have done it twice and both birds have been great family members.

They grey does sound like its in not great shape - who knows what health issues are lurking but I would guess there are some. The feather picking might go away or at least improve with some better care but those habits can be hard to break once started and there can be damage to the feather shafts if they have been doing it long enough. That being said, a plucker can still be a great bird! My GCC chewed his feathers - somewhat seasonally or if he was stressed but he always looked a bit as though moths had gotten to him. He had a great life, very healthy, lots to do and lots of attention but it was who he was and we accepted him.

If you were to adopt this bird (or birds), you would have to go in knowing that there might be huge vet bills and at least a lot of work to get them back to a healthy state, mentally and physically. You would have to do it knowing that the birds might get healthier but might never be overly friendly or chatty (although it could happen too!). You will get to know each other and have great times/frustrating times but you just have to erase any expectations and work with the bird(s). You could try calling the authorities but I'm not sure if they would be able to do anything (although they could tell you).

Others might have more experience adopting older birds, especially greys. They are particularly sensitive and take time to come around with a change in environment.
 
Printer bird has given you a great answer and all I can say is; Well if you are looking to rehome a bird (and well done for considering a rehome) then this Grey and his buddy the Macaw certainly does seem to need rescueing. I will just jump in here without knowing the history and hazzard a guess that these two birds knew better times before the persons father in law got so ill he couldnt take care of them anymore...you could be lucky and there might not be underlying issues that would necessitate prolonged veterinary treatment, on the other hand there could be underlying health issues that need veterinary treatment on an ongoing bassis...if it was me and I had the space and the financial ability I would take both the Grey and the macaw and take things from there whereever the road may lead...I hope these guys are healthy and will perk up with proper treatment and good food and lots of patience and minimal veterinary treatment and of course tons of love and patience but birds with underlying illnesses and long term illnesses are no less in need of a good home and lots of love too even moreso than the healthy ones, in fact they are more in need...I also would be slow to seperate the Grey from the Macaw...they may or may not be buddies but I bet they flock call to each other morning and evening and find security in each others responses and as I believe the father was the carer until he got too ill to care for them (I am guessing) they have already lost the center of their world...if it were me I dont think I would seperate them. I would take both. You will have to weigh up your own ability to deal with a rehome of this nature and see if you have the means and ability to take it on for better or for worse for as long as it takes even for life. Think about it and look at it from all angles then make an informed decision. If your decision is to rehome one or both of them then rest assured everyone here will wish you well and Grey owners and Macaw owners alike will rally to support you with tips and help to make your journey as easy as possible for you and the parrots (it wont be an easy journey, few rehomes are, but they are always very rewarding journeys) However it is you and only you can make the decision as to whether you are up to this task or not. Nobody will blame you for saying no and everybody will try to help if you say yes...its up to you.
Ps I edited just to add this: if you still have your Quaker or any other birds you will need to quarrentine the new bird or birds should you decide to take one or both of them. Quarrentine is so very important especially in a case like this
 
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Look at that pile of poops in the macaws cage! I would say please remove these 2 parrots, the home they are in now is pretty bad.
 
Some good advice above and just to add that just because a bird plucks doesn't make it any less of a bird.

The financial commitment is probably going to be high as new, bigger cages will be required along with the correct cage kit, foods, toys, etc and as said previously visits to the AV. If you can cope with this and the birds seem agreeable towards you then why not.
 
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I agree some good advise above. I have an approximately 15-20 yr old grey that I've had for 4 mths. Outwardly she appearedin decent condition some barbered feather (she cuts them in inverted Vs when she's under stress) her diet, living environment & past owners were really bad.

I wanna stress she did not appear sick but I did want her to have a wellness check and establish baseline blood work Etc. The only sign was she was massively underweight 287 grams she is now a healthy 435. I was under the impression she was a 2-3 yr old .
This was the beginning of a few months of constant avain vet visits, testing & treatments in the hopes of providing her a more comfortable healthy life.

She had a massive internal infection, liver & kidney problems and heart disease (hardened arteries). Lots of tests (blood work, fecal, X-rays, ultrasounds), a procedure for a hormonal surpressing implant (laying eyes put her at high risk for blood clots, stroke etc due to her heart disease), a dangerous endoscope procedure to biopsy her air sacs & visually diagnosis an abnormally reproductive area. Lots of meds to get into an angry birds beak.
There were other minor health issues that were also handled, vitamin deficiencies to correct etc.
Her infection(s) were cleared, her liver and kidneys are much better .
Nothing can be done to reverse or correct the heart disease (there could come a time that she requires expensive medication)

There are good practices that every parrot needs, well balanced diet, exercise, undisturbed sleep, natural light (sunshine/outside direct) etc.
In Gracie's case these things are literally vital to her maintaining her new found good health & slowing the progression of her heart disease etc. There is no such thing as a day off .. She's family & depends on me.
She will also require routine check ups, blood work checks, yearly procedures to replace her implant etc.

Of course new cage, toys etc were also required. It's been more than challenging get her transitioned to a healthy diet

I'm not sharing this to scare or discourage you in any way. I certainly would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I don't regret my decision for a second.

This is just our story.. Our truth. It doesn't mean that it would be yours but like everyone said it is best to be prepared & to make sure you're able to financially, mentally & emotionally to give them their second chance responsibly.
If you can do that I say go for it there is nothing more rewarding!

Good luck in your decision. Keep us posted :)
 
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Really great responses from everyone so far, I have just joined the community and am already glad I did. Seems like a really lovely group of bird lovers :)

Here is my 2cents. I would look at it as more 'rescuing' than adopting, in this particular instance. If you have the time, money, space and patience - you could certainly take them out of a bad situation and greatly improve their quality of life, as all animals deserve. But it will require a large commitment of your time and money.

Having said that, and echoing what others have said already, you would have to be prepared to deal with any pre-existing medical and behavior issues that they have developed in their previous home.

It may be a case of you taking 1 or both of these birds purely for their benefit, as opposed to expecting them to be affectionate and pleasant pets.

At the end of the, do what feels right for you.

Things to consider:
The Blue and Gold

Blue and Golds are big, strong and often play rough. Not to mention they can be very loud. They for sure need someone who is not afraid of getting bit. Handling and training a blue and gold is not recommended for beginners (not saying that you are). They are kinda like the energetic puppiess of the bird world, but a big strong puppy that could accidentally hurt you if they get too excited or scared. Especially if they have developed trust issues with humans.

Greys: I've seen more Greys and Cockatoos who pluck than any other type of bird. They are the most common pluckers. But each for different reasons. Where Cockatoos often develop plucking issues from stress related to not receiving enough attention (between 3-5 hours a day minimum) and/or from female nesting behavior that becomes a habit. Greys on the other hand are highly intellectual and must be constantly challenged mentally. Imagine that a grey is a genius, if he is put in a first grade class room all his life, he will get bored, frustrated and agitated. This is most often is the reason greys develop plucking habits. So be prepared to provide a grey with challenging toys, foods that require him to work for it, and daily training games you can play together. And the most important thing, do not stress about the plucking. If you worry, the bird will pick up on that stress and become the same way. Its best to love your bird and treat them the same as if they didnt pluck, then go on providing them with the stimulation they need. In most cases, the plucking will eventually stop, sometimes tho it does not. But that is okay too :)

I hope this was helpful, Im glad that you are the kind of bird owner that seeks information before making a decision.
 
I ended up adopting both. The place was atrocious. The room in the house where they were kept was covered in dog food, mold, floors rotting down to the ground, feathers, and there were bugs crawling around. The woman had 10 or 15 dogs in her house. As soon as I got back into my neighborhood I took the birds to a parrot rescue and they hooked me up with two cages (I was told to discard the ones that came with the birds), toys, and food. They gave both of them a bath, and she looked them over. The macaw was malnourished and was struggling to stand correctly on her own. She said that both parrots would in very good shape overall considering the conditions and that they both should make a full recovery.

My boyfriend is taking responsibility for the Macaw because they immediately bonded. I'm going to be looking after the African Grey. So far neither of us have been able to handle the birds since putting them in their cages. I was able to pet Ruby's (the CAG) on the belly a little bit but she won't step up and will opt to biting most of the time. I understand a lot of the signals she's giving off from my experience with the quaker, but I'm not confident in handling her or calming her down yet.

My boyfriend and I could definitely use help with handling them. My experience is limited to having a Quaker since he was just barely weened, and was always comfortable with him. Any advice would be welcome.
 
So much to read, for both of you. And different materials, they are 2 different types of parrot. This website and the sub forums are a great place to start. Bless you for taking them in.
 
my belly did a flip flop when I saw those pictures :( You and your boy friend did well in rescuing those poor creatures. You have no idea on how resilient parrots are. You will be rewarded ten times over with their love for saving them from a very deplorable life. THANK YOU!

Jim
 
So happy you adopted them! Check out the African grey forum for all kinds of advice. Greys are so special but do recover with love and patience. Once they make the turn and feel safe, they do great. Also, YouTube has some great videos to help.
 
So glad you adopted them! You've done the right thing and they are already in better shape so now you don't need to stress as much and can spend lots of time building a slow relationship. Don't be frustrated if it takes awhile to make first steps - sounds like they've been through a lot. Don't worry about handling them yet - let them know they can trust you. Talk to them, sing, dance, whatever has them give good signs (or at least not bad signs!). See if they will take a treat from your hand once their body language indicates that they are OK with you being near the cage. You can't force a treat on them if they are afraid of you or angry with you (although you can deposit one in their dish to start with). See if you can have some positive interactions in this way or at least get the birds OK with you being around. This could take awhile (or it might be quick) but a little bit of progress at all is a great sign. You are doing great and sounds like you have a great local resource too! :) There are lots of great macaw and african grey expert people on here who can help you out (who have themselves rescued these types of parrots and who are now amazing members of their family) - feel free to start a new thread on each one although I think right now just getting them used to you will be the first step.
 
So glad you adopted them.. man those pictures *shuddering* & they even get to stay together in their new home!! Congrats!

It wasn't too long ago I was in your shoes with a newly rescueCAG & feeling very overwhelmed so you are not alone. Gracie barbered feathers & has & will occasionally pluck tail/wing & back feathers. She was pretty bitey & didn't like woman. Had a bad diet, bad health etc.

So the first thing I'm gonna say is ... relax & breath - it's gonna be a marathon not a sprint :) You've handled the immediate needs, they are in a safe loving environment, warm, clean & belly's full with no immediate medical emergencies.

I can recall feeling such pressure (self-induced) that made me feel like I had to resolve all of the behavioral/handling/eating etc. issues right away - quickly. Fact of the matter is once I lost my expectations, set aside any disappointment when we didn't make progress & stopped feeling like she didn't "like" me that's when the everything started actually coming together. I celebrated the small steps or big leaps and just learned from anything that didn't work. In no time at all we were buds.

Fear of the beak or lack of confidence - that's a hard one but parrots bite & you're gonna get bit. I opted the route of just taking the bites, didn't react except to say "easy - gentle" & grasp her beak from the sides to jiggle her loose, I always kept a favorite treat and toy with me to distract her while I returned her to a perch if need be. I also tried the earthquake technique (be careful tho - she may hold on more to avoid being unsteady). I figured the only way I was gonna have the opportunity to correct/redirect the behavior was when it happened so bites where inevidable.

Gracie will not let anyone handle her even now if they approach her hesitantly. If someone walks up to her says step up & follows with "easy" when she starts to steady herself IF they are confident she goes to them without incident. If not - whammo she'll lunge bite.
She absolutely measures a person up .. even if she knows them already.

Before I even attempted handling I did spend lots of time talking, singing, playing etc. with her. She was at that time extremely underweight so in the beginning she treats worked to start bonding.

To get Gracie to step up I did try a perch rather than hand but she is terrified of any sticks/brooms perches that are in someones hand - she's ok if they aren't being held. So this is when I realized I was gonna hafta take the bites to work with her.
I would keep a treat in one hand closer to my chest (making sure she could see it) with my step up hand extended, I'd ask her to "cmere" & "step up" (basically she had to stretch, touching my hand in order to get the treat) whenever she reached her foot towards me I gave a treat, when she advanced to touching my hand - treat, stepping up - treat etc. Once she would step up I used nuts as treats since it really kept her beak occupied longer.

Head scritches were ok with Gracie from minute 1 so I also used that as a "treat"
I'd get her to lower her head and while scritches I would offer "step up" & my other hand.

Gracie advanced super quick with me for handling - she wanted out of the cage & the only way I allowed her to leave in the beginning was by my hand. I used her wanting to get out as a form of "treat" the minute she stepped up I took her immediately to her favorite perch and made no further demands - none - little by little I took longer to get there & talked to her more when I did it. I'd reassured her constantly "wanna go over there?" , "you're ok, let's go get your toys" "easy Gracie" " Here we go ..weee" etc. I'd also encourage her to flap her wings & "fly" to the perch while still grasping my finger with the accompanying "wee" "fly Gracie" etc. All positive tone of voice.

Plucking - is a hard one. Gracie plucked/plucks damaged feathers but sometimes she's the one doing the damaging so eventually that will lead to her plucking the feather she previously barbered.
The plan the vet & I decided on.
Daily showers - she takes them with me in the morning, waits on the curtain rod when I'm done I bring her down to play. If I put her in alone she sometimes gets anxious & she doesn't play as much in the water.
On hot/itchy/dry days - she gets a misting in the afternoon or a full on shower if she decides to venture in & ask for one. Misting every few days I mix 100% aloe.
Healthy balanced diet
Direct natural sunlight (not thru glass or by artificial light - although she has one of those also). She goes outside in her travel cage several times a day (this is where she usually takes her afternoon misting), morning is a more direct sun afternoon is shady time usually. She has the option half of the cage is in shade/ half in sun. A minimum of 2-3 hrs a day. This is also to help with her other health issues.

Gracie has some triggers to her barbering so I watch for them & trying to prevent it before it happens.
She doesn't like to be completely alone in the house with 2 teens she usually isn't. Being locked up in her cage during the day/evening - unless it's bedtime - she's free reign.
Overpreening - she a preening freak & that is a prime time for her to decide to trim (barber) her feathers. I pay attention to her preening - if I start to see her getting that aggressive preen going on I'll distract her with a treat, toy, music or take her for some outside time.
Boredom - she has a lot to do just sometimes she doesn't wanna do it alone so I get her interested in an activity if I can't interact with her at that time (outside time, new foraging toy, shredding etc.)
Loud noises/yelling etc. - she hates it even if it isn't us doing it - if it's in a movie etc. she gets upset clearly she's lived in a fighting violent household at some point - we avoid the types we've learned scare her a lot.
She doesn't mind loud music, action movies etc. - it's mostly fight scenes/yelling/arguing that upset her.
Avoid any lotions or anything on your hands or the environment that may transfer to the feathers triggering a response.

Grey's sometimes have to be encouraged to get the blood moving so to speak or they'll laze around.
Lazing around/ idle beaks = preening/plucking/barbering etc. Get em engages & interested in something so they don't fixate.

Of course everything got a bit easier too once our avian vet was able to pinpoint her health issues & treat accordingly. No one wants to be handles or messed with if they aren't feeling well. So many issues can only be detected with bloodwork, fecal, testing etc. I would strongly urge getting them in to get some medical insights. I'd document anything you know about their past, husbandry etc. or anything you've noticed out of the ordinary no matter how odd or silly.. it may well help the vet determine what to recommend for testing or what you can do at home.

Sorry I was so long winded, it was a rough night - Gracie was stressed over the fireworks & she yanked out a tail feather last night right in front of me so I guess I'm a tad raw & questioning everything I do.

I can't help with macaws - but I'd suggest reading everything you can find in the forum by Birdman - he's like a macaw whisperer lol

Good luck & blessings to you for stepping up & taking on not 1 but 2 babies so desperately in need of a loving home.

It may take time but don't give up - it's possible :)

graciesmom-albums-gracie-picture16625-cuddle-time.jpg
 
Thank you for all of the support! We are planning to take the birds to the vet tomorrow. Any idea how best to get them there without traumatizing them too much or hindering the relationship we've been trying to build the past few days?
 
Best are small transport cages. That's a relative term, with a b and g macaw. How did you get them home to your house?
 
Treats in the carrier, treats in the car, treats at the vet. Its OK to spoil them that day. Sometimes they get over the visit really quickly (my WCP was like "This sucks!" during and then was all, whatever, afterwards. My GCC required at least an hour of snuggling/snoozing to recover and was usually very quiet coming back from the vet).
 
They're not seeming ready for handling yet though so this is going to be somewhat sudden for them. I don't think we should put off seeing a vet any longer, especially with their background. Do you agree? What kind of treats would be the best? We've been using shelled peanuts so they can open themselves. The woman at the Bird Rescue recommended toweling to get them to the vet. It seems invasive but neither of us are ready to attempt regular handling.

Oh, and I have a success story today with the CAG. She chose on her own to come out of the cage for the first time and stand on the bottom of doorway on the grate. She sat there for a few minutes looking at me then went back inside.
 
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Update:

I was able to do some handling with Ruby but she will only step up. She will not let you pet her and will bite every so often randomly. The only way to get her out of the cage is towelingb but once she is out she calms down quite a bit. If you put her on the floor she will come over to you and try to climb back up. It seems like a lot of mixed signals. What does she want?

Bo is being handled by my boyfriend and seems to be more successful. She has yet to bite but it's also a struggle to get her out of the cage.
 
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My opinion - I'm not sure that toweling her to get her out of the cage is going to be the most effective way to earn her trust. Sure it's a quick fix to getting her out to be with you but long term? If it was to medicate, go to the vet or some necessary reason then absolutely. But if it's to train her to want to come out I'm just not sold on it being the best technique for a parrot - I could very well be wrong.

I think her coming to you with the door open & checking things out was more promising. Maybe try approaching her with treats & asking for a step up or just giving the treats to earn some favor.

I don't think there is really a quick fix to solving most troubled parrots problems at least not if the ultimate goal is a trusting bond.
Personally I'd leave the door open until she was comfortable coming out on her own over toweling her.

For Gracie it took a few weeks of letting her learn nothing bad was going to happen when she stepped up & came out of the cage - out of the cage equaled good things. I strategically positioned perches leading closer to the cage door, I would hold one hand in front while having a treat with the other - if she touched my hand/stepped up to reach the treat she got the treat... I slowly moved the treat away as the sessions/days went on. When we advanced to step up & leave the cage I showed her the playtop/playstand area, boing etc. once I pinpointed her favorite out of the cage spot that was the place I took her each time she stepped up & came out of the cage on my hand. Going to her other safe place was her reward.

I'm not sure she is giving mixed signals or if her signals are being misread, she doesn't want to come out it seems, she isn't ready to be handled/petting, she's probably still trying to settle in & get her bearings, I don't believe most greys are comfortable on the floor - Gracie only gets on the floor if she flew then landed there by mistake & then she will run to me. IF i am not around or someone is closer to her she will let anyone rescue her from the floor or climb up their pant leg & Gracie doesn't let anyone else touch her except in that circumstance. They are prey animals without a flock or a reason to be on the ground it just seems to freak them out.

I don't have a lot of experience & this is all just my opinion based on my experience with a troubled grey but I got the best results when I slowed down & let Gracie dictate the pace she was comfortable going it got a lot easier. I spent A LOT of time learning & reading her body language especially the eyes - they will tell ya every mood.

It's so hard especially when they are rescued you wanna handle them & hold them and make it go away but I learned really quick parrots aren't like other critters - what they need to heal/learn to trust isn't necessarily what we mere humans want :)
 
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