Meet Cookie!

[OutlawedSpirit]

I had a new foster brought over to me last night. She was brought straight from where she was to my house, not in between stop at the rescue. She is a scarlet macaw in an absolutely awful cage, but both the rescue and I are working towards getting her a suitable home. She is in sort of rough shape too, but it's thanks to a poor diet and poor living situation.



Her chest and back, where plucked, will probably never regrow. We think there is permanent folical damage. The tops of her wings may have a chance, but I'm not going to hold my breath. She has been fed department store seed in a small cage with no toys for most of her life, from what we can gather.

From what the rescue was originally told about her, she was completely untouchable and wild. Not the reality. She is a very sweet girl. I haven't tried to see if she will step up or wants to come out yet, but she loves having her head scratched through the cage. She'll let me rub her beak, the top of her head, even the bare patches on her cheeks with no issues. The poor girl wants love.

She is probably the foster in the worst shape that I've gotten so far. Usually the fosters I get come to me because they need behavioral issues worked with, like cage aggression or just a basic lack of manners. Cookie just needs love more than anything, someone who cares enough to take care of her properly. I think she is going to be hard to let go, I'm already in love with her.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Also, the people that had her said she started plucking when they got a cat. So I was worried that our little dog would bother her, but I'm not worried anymore. Not only does the dog not seem to bother her, she is already feeding the dog. It is such good fun to feed the dog, that now her whole bowl of food has been kicked out so she can watch the doggie eat it. She is turning her pellets and seed into really expensive dog food. I mixed them to see if she would at least try the pellets, but apparently they are only good enough for dog food. Sigh...

 

[Violet_Diva]

Awww, what a poor little lady. Im so glad she's ended up in your hands! I bet her rehabilitation is going to be incredibly rewarding. Im just imagining her in a nice big cage, with fun toys, nutritional food and love. What a great person you are! I did laugh about her feeding the dog! I'm looking forwards to reading updates on her progress. Thanks for sharing

 

[Kentuckienne]

I guess feeding the dog counts as play! Thank you for taking that poor darling in. She looks as if she knows her luck has changed.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Thank you, for taking her in, AND for sharing!
Nice to meet ya, Cookie. Welcome to your all-new improved world.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

PLEASE! We need more pictures of Cookie!

It is very frustrating to read some of these posts,about how a birdie needs "rehabilitation" and then the stories on how the poor creature had been treated for its entire life.

I just cant comprehend on how,or why,people will and do,sink LARGE sums of bucks,into purchasing one of these amazing critters,and not take the time,or make the effort,on being sure the animal will be trated and taken care of,properly
I mean,how would YOU like to live in a house that is way too small for your basic needs,and eat CRAP everyday ( if your lucky enough to be FED every day ) for the next....ummmmm...fifty or sixty YEARS???.

Sighhhh...sorry folks...this kind of stuff just p.m.r.o. I'm done ranting now



Jim

 

[SilleIN]

What a beautiful chicken Even though she is almost completely bare, she is still beautiful. THANK YOU for taking her ind and giving her a chance at a better life.

My heart breaks every time I hear about these beautiful animals, who have not had the love, feed, toys or space they need. Can't anything be done to the people, who mistreats animals like this? If the authorities in Denmark was made aware of an animal as bad as this, they would be prosecuted. Is that not a possibility in the US?

Unfortunately here they know it's illegal and they hide the ones that are bad instead of getting help, which I guess is just as bad...

Oh my gosh, is there no solution to stop this from happening?

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

So I took her all the way out tonight, because I went and bought her a new cage instead of the pos she was living in. She actually has a cage with a bottom that isn't sitting on the floor now.

She is breaking my heart. She is an absolute sweetheart and just wants love and attention. I had a hard time getting her into her new cage because she didn't want to be put away. I thought maybe it was just because the cage was new, but she wouldn't go into the old one either. Here she is hanging out with me.

It truly is heartbreaking to see her so desperate to interact. I don't know the last time she was out of a cage, but she wanted nothing more than to climb up on my shoulder and snuggle against me. This bird that has never seen me befits is thrown into a new cage with new people and a new world, yet she doesn't lash out or try to run away. She is willing to blindly trust me because to her it's worth it to get some scritches and attention.

I think that's worse than the tiny cage with no toys and crap food. At least if you can't provide material things for the bird, attention is free and should be freely given. I'm not saying that the rest of her situation is okay, but I do know that some people are ignorant or that life sucks sometimes. I could even understand with her being a big Mac, the people not taking her out if she was aggressive and they were inexperienced. But what excuse is there for not taking out a baby as sweet as her? There isn't one.

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[SilleIN]

So I took her all the way out tonight, because I went and bought her a new cage instead of the pos she was living in. She actually has a cage with a bottom that isn't sitting on the floor now.

She is breaking my heart. She is an absolute sweetheart and just wants love and attention. I had a hard time getting her into her new cage because she didn't want to be put away. I thought maybe it was just because the cage was new, but she wouldn't go into the old one either. Here she is hanging out with me.

It truly is heartbreaking to see her so desperate to interact. I don't know the last time she was out of a cage, but she wanted nothing more than to climb up on my shoulder and snuggle against me. This bird that has never seen me befits is thrown into a new cage with new people and a new world, yet she doesn't lash out or try to run away. She is willing to blindly trust me because to her it's worth it to get some scritches and attention.

I think that's worse than the tiny cage with no toys and crap food. At least if you can't provide material things for the bird, attention is free and should be freely given. I'm not saying that the rest of her situation is okay, but I do know that some people are ignorant or that life sucks sometimes. I could even understand with her being a big Mac, the people not taking her out if she was aggressive and they were inexperienced. But what excuse is there for not taking out a baby as sweet as her? There isn't one.

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What a wonderful bird.

I just find it hard to fathom, that people get animals without the slightest notion of their basic needs. I must admit, my B&G also does not want to go into cages. I think, when they have been stuck in a cage, they are afraid they will be left there again And until they see a consistent change in circumstance, they will be afraid to go in even a large cage.

It really warms my heart that this beautiful creature will now have a much better life

Have you seen any change in her overpreening already?

I was a little chocked to see that even her feet has been overpreened. What is the recovery expectancy for her feet?

Sending a lot of warmth and healing thoughts from across the Atlantic

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Well, Cookie has been settling in very well. I am actually sort of shocked I haven't found any feathers in the bottom of her cage. I expected to, considering all the stress of moving to a new house, a new cage, new people, etc. She's sitting on my shoulder now, preening my hair.

She's getting a little better about going back into the cage. I think she's finally understanding that she only has to go back for a little bit, then she can come back out again. I'll feel much better when I can move a toy into her cage for her to start investigating, but we're getting there. I have one hanging on the outside of her cage now, and she seems pretty okay with it, so maybe tomorrow I'll move it into her cage and see how she reacts. I don't think she's ever had a toy.

She is really a gentle girl. Even when I upset her. I was sitting on the couch with her yesterday and turned my head. I think when I did, my glasses pressed into her side. She lunged and grabbed my nose, but it was just a pinch, not even hard enough to break any skin. I thought that was a really good sign, considering it was probably pretty uncomfortable for my glasses to poke her bare skin. I am also really thankful that was all she did considering how much bigger her beak is than my nose.

She is bonding to me quite a bit. She has been preening my hair, she's regurgitated for me a couple times, and she flock calls when I leave the room. It really warms my heart to know that even after how poorly she has been kept, she hasn't seemed to loose her trust for people. Sometimes their resilience amazes me.