My first rescue bird and my first older parrot.

[quakerxxoats]

I'm adopting a 10 year old sun conure that was given to a pet store after being left in a dirty cage with no toys. The cage was so dirty that the store had to throw it away. I know she is female, because she laid an egg. She was fed seed from the supermarket and nothing else. The family that owned her simply didn't want the bird anymore, and didn't give proper (any) real care. Usually, birds like this are nasty biters and want nothing to do with people, but I picked this bird up, and she came right to me and my mom. She was the sweetest thing! The store owners, who we've gotten birds from before, said that she has gone to everyone and that she hasn't bitten at all since she got to the store.

At my home now, we have 2 jenday conures who share a cage (we would not put the sun conure in that cage since they are already bonded) a parakeet, a lovebird and a cockatiel. We already have a nice cage for the new arrival, and plenty of toys that we've collected since we got our first birds. We love them all so much, and want to extend our care to this sun conure who was so neglected.

My question is, is there anything I should know, expect, or do to prepare for the new arrival of this rescue bird tomorrow? This is my first rescue parrot so please let me know!

 

[Deanna]

Bless your sweet loving heart!! Gosh, my heart strings are tugged greatly by this story! This little creature has been placed in the care of an angel.

I may be saying things that you already will do ... but, when I bring a new (rescue or breeder-raised) bird in, I always set up the new arrival in an isolation room (for 45 days), always wash hands before and after feeding, visiting and playing, and first and foremost make an immediate appointment with a vet and do a full new-birdie check-up and complete avian blood panel.

And, love, love, love ... that part, I think you've got covered!

 

[Deanna]

!! I almost forgot !! Shop 'til you drop ... have a blast buying toys and treats!

(Do you have a name?)

 

[quakerxxoats]

My family has been known to splurge on parrot supplies such as toys and treats. I also make my own toys when I get bored, and now that school's out, I'm bored a lot.

When the bird came to the store, it had a strange russian sounding name that seemed very hard for anyone to pronounce (all I remember is it began with an S and had a Q in it somewhere). The bird store owner seemed to have a hard time saying it and had no idea how to spell it. The store has re-named her "cookie", which I think is too cute!

This bird does not fit the stereotype of a "rescue" parrot. She's just too sweet and when I heard her story, I couldn't believe it. I remember a macaw that was rescued by a friend of mine and that bird took YEARS to change her behavior problems.

I'd like to add that this store is not like some animal kingdom or whatever. It's a quality bird shop who have been in the buisiness for a long time, who my family has gotten wonderful birds from before. I've never had any problems. They are wonderful at handling birds and are more than willing to give quality advice and answer any questions.

 

[Peta]

As Deanna said, you are an angel, for taking this bird in. I have two rescue birds here and they took a long time to come to even trust, but we have a few rescues and I'm sure they all have different times in which they learnt to trust again. You seem very fortunate with your cookie,

is there anything I should know, expect, or do to prepare for the new arrival of this rescue bird tomorrow?

Seems to me you are doing great already. Are you going to try to get him onto a healthier diet? Lots of fruit and veg, and plenty of love (which doesn't seem to be a problem)

Oh WELCOME TO PF, look forward to seeing lots of pics of the new arrival, and all your others. Any problems just ask, we are always about.

 

[darkchi]

ok, I kind of skimmed this thread ... morning coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

so if this was already said I apologize a head of time.

Is you new set up away from where your other fids are of temperary isolation?

Had to ask


ok... on with buisness...

WELCOME

and, yes, your new fid is luck to have someone who is willing to go to the trouble to help her out, not many rescues get a second chance like that.

 

[darkchi]

I always set up the new arrival in an isolation room (for 45 days),

haha, see I told you I skimmed

 

[quakerxxoats]

Seems to me you are doing great already. Are you going to try to get him onto a healthier diet? Lots of fruit and veg, and plenty of love (which doesn't seem to be a problem)

The store owners said she has been eating almost everything they've given her, and their birds are always put on a healthy diet, so yes, we're going to get her on a better diet and on the road to a better life.

 

[quakerxxoats]

I just got her home and settled into her new cage. Pictures will be up as soon as I figure out how to work my camera with my computer. She seems pretty scared, but after all, who wouldn't be? I figured that I would let her calm down and get her used to her new surroundings before taking her out and introducing her to the playgym and other things like that. She is in a room far from the other birds and she'll stay there for a little while just in case she is sick. She shows no signs of being ill, though her right foot looks slightly injured. Apparently there was duct tape on her former cage (the one her old owners brought her into the store in) that may have been used to cover her, so maybe she got her foot hurt in that. I found out that she had only been in the bird store for a week before I fell for her and overall, I think she's going to be much happier here.

 

[pheobus]

Welcome first of all!
I'm sure Cookie will be much happier with a bird lover like you! She is very lucky you got her!oh..and don't forget we are waiting for pics..

 

[quakerxxoats]

oh..and don't forget we are waiting for pics..

I know, I know. I just have to figure that out... I'm not very computer-smart.

EDIT:
I put some fresh seed in her cage (we feed fresh table food in the mornings and seed in the afternoon), and she's really not interested. I know she's only been here a few hours, but is there any way I can encourage her to eat something, or should I just wait and see what she does? She's not really interested in any of the toys I put in her cage either. I guess she doesn't know how to play with toys, or what to do with them. All she's really doing is sitting on her perch. I figure these two things may be due to having three homes in the past week (her former home, the bird store, and my home), but is there anything I can do to help her out a bit more?

 

[pheobus]

I think think you should just let her relax at the moment and let her take her time to do things.I would keep her company and talk in a calm steady voice, reassuring her I am a friend and try to make her feel safe, and I'm quite sure she will make a move towards the food.make sure that her bowl can be easily reached by her at least for now, the begining, and is no weird shape or colour.the same for her water bowl...she will soon feel friendly for you! keep us informed how she is doing..

as far as the pc is concerned I'm not an expert either , don't hesitate to ask, all people here are kind and willing to help!

 

[quakerxxoats]

I thought that it could have been that she didn't want to go towards the bottom of the cage for food, so I got another cup (the kind that you can put anywhere on the cage-not just by the seed doors) and only put seed (as opposed to putting seed and pellets) and placed it near one of her higher perches. I just want her to feel comfortable. I made everything as normal as possible, and I used plain white or clear seed dishes so I wouln't confuse/frighten her.

I guess I'll just wait and see.

 

[Peta]

Well when I put the veggies in with Errol and Flynnie I would just say yum yum, and put them in, for ages they just wouldn't touch them, they had never seen veggies before, food was fed only rarely, and water was a green slime. yuk. Gradually they started tasting some and I would praise them up very quietly, Try only putting very small amounts in their at a time, that helped with my two. I would only put in enough to cover the bottom of a very small dish, then gradually as they started eating it I would increase the amount. It took me about 6-12 months before they would even peck at it. It was a long hard slog.

Toys, well mine still don't really play with that many toys at all. They never had toys before they came here, not one. Errol loves his mirror now, but used to be so scared of it. He will sit and chatter away all day to the handsome fella in there. Flynnie well she just sits and rules her kingdom. I always had lots of toys for them, and still do, the only thing Flynnie ever played with was one of Bucc's wooden wheels and she would sit and nibble on that for ages.

 

[Deanna]

Wonderful to read that Cookie is home where she belongs and is loved!

 

[quakerxxoats]

I don't expect her to go for her fresh food right away. She's never seen it before, and probably will not recognize that it's even food. I offered her a sunflower seed by hand and she took it and gladly ate it, but that's all I was able to get her to eat today.
I took her out for a couple of minutes, and when I put my hand in front of her, she stepped up before I even said "up". She climbed up to my shoulder and just cuddled under my neck. It was so cute! I'll have pictures up as soon as I figure out how to upload pictures to my computer. I don't know if I'll be able to even do that because I lost the CD that came with my camera, but I'll see if they have it on bittorrent.

 

[TexDot33]

Ya know, I really hate people who think that birds are "convience" pets ... when I don't want to care for them anymore I will just give them away ... I couldn't immagine giving away Hamlet ... our lives would be so ... so ... um, quite er .... rather, BORING ... our lives would be so BORING without him .... and besdies, he's a part of our family I can't give away a member of the family ...

 

[quakerxxoats]

Ya know, I really hate people who think that birds are "convience" pets ... when I don't want to care for them anymore I will just give them away ... I couldn't immagine giving away Hamlet ... our lives would be so ... so ... um, quite er .... rather, BORING ... our lives would be so BORING without him .... and besdies, he's a part of our family I can't give away a member of the family ...

My guess is they got her as a "decorative" bird because she is soooo pretty and they did little or no research on the species before getting her. Her former family probably had no idea of the needs of this sweet little birdie. She was quite possibly an impulse buy. She was left alone in her cage for years with no toys...the cage was filthy, even after it was powerwashed, it had to be thrown away.I'm amazed the sun conure hadn't started pulling her feathers. If I was in a blank room for that long with nothing to do, I'd surely be pulling my hair out.

And Cookie is alread a loved member of the family, and I couldn't be happier to have her.

 

[TexDot33]

Conures aren't notrious pluckers (it can happen) but it's not common. IF Cookie isn't plucking after that then I would say that it's a pretty safe bet that she's not going to pluck - EVER!

 

[quakerxxoats]

Conures aren't notrious pluckers (it can happen) but it's not common. IF Cookie isn't plucking after that then I would say that it's a pretty safe bet that she's not going to pluck - EVER!

That's good to hear. But hopefully now that she's here, she won't have a reason to pluck.