My wild child! 💚

[Ninjina93]

I'd love to get more active on this forum, so I decided to introduce myself and my little Odo properly!

Odo is a wild Quaker parrot who we found injured, broken and bleeding less than 4 months ago in a park (they live wild in large colonies in our country!) Never did I think I'd become a bird mama but apparently Odo had other plans and has filled a hole in my heart I never knew I had!

We went through 1.5 months of bandages and medicines to unfortunately receive the news his injuries are permanent and he cannot fly again.

Now he has gone from a wild, biting and fearful parrot to my absolute world. Every day I try to build his confidence and we spend hours together. He's learned to dance, sing and do all sorts of tricks which he finds mentally stimulating. He's crazy for the vengaboys. He feels confident enough now to jump to me a short distance from a branch. He has learned to eat pellets and chop, sit on my shoulder as I work at my desk and give me endless kisses. He is even protective of me, and I'm SURE he does hilarious things on purpose to make me laugh!

Anyways, we have a long journey ahead of us still. My goal is to get him harness trained this year so we can go beyond the garden without him falling off my shoulder (he tries to grip, but now he is disabled, balance is an issue)

With how quickly he grew to love us, and to feel safe, it makes me wonder if he's very young, but I know it's difficult to tell. Maybe he just understands he was saved

Thanks for reading

 

[HeatherG]

Quakers are great birds! Thank you for helping this bird. And welcome to parrot forums.

Two years ago, my very old Quaker parakeet, Lucy, passed on at 24. She had multiple disabilities also. She was missing an eye, had a bad leg, and couldn’t fly. And she was the smartest and most loving funny bird ever. (Unfortunately her photos are on another device.)

Lucy also had balance problems due to her bad leg and inability to fly. She liked to be carried around like a baseball. She also likes to ride in my infinity scarf; I would double it so she was highl up under my chin. I also found an apple green scarf that matched her exactly so I could smuggle her into places.

Lucy loved to be held and would lay on her back in my hand. She would nap on my chest or on my pillow in the morning because she woke up earlier than me and I didn’t want to get up. She sang the Quaker song and talked a LOT. She was a bossy little bird and my best friend.

About five months after I lost Lucy, another (blue) Quaker, Willow, came into my life. He’s been with me for a year and a half and is very different from Lucy. He was not handled much but flew around his owner’s house. He was very quiet but is now coming out of himself and getting louder almost by the day.

I am finding that Lucy was more trusting of me than Willow is; he won’t let me in his cage and tries to bite me near it. But I can tell he feels GOOD and Lucy did not feel well the last few years of her life. Your bird might have arthritis from his injuries and that can be treated with NSAIDS.

I hope you have many good years with Odo. I’m guessing maybe he took a tumble out of the nest before he was ready? Because you are right, he would not likely be so trusting if he were an older adult. I would love to hear about Odo’s adventures with you and can suggest cage modifications if he needs them.

Here’s willow and me.

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome!
What a rescue story wow!! You are wonderful people. I'm so glad Odo was saved!

Yes in the first picture, you can see is a just weaned baby.

So precious! Love him! Those eyes closed with head scratches! The sweet kiss!! Such a happy family filled with love

 

[Flboy]

Really awesome!

 

[PyroParrot]

What a wonderful rescue story! I had to read it out loud to my husband, You gotta hear this sweet story!
I think I had that hole in my heart I didn't know about either until we got Sunny. I never realized how much a little bird could wiggle their way into your life and heart!

 

[Ninjina93]

Quakers are great birds! Thank you for helping this bird. And welcome to parrot forums.

Two years ago, my very old Quaker parakeet, Lucy, passed on at 24. She had multiple disabilities also. She was missing an eye, had a bad leg, and couldn’t fly. And she was the smartest and most loving funny bird ever. (Unfortunately her photos are on another device.)

Lucy also had balance problems due to her bad leg and inability to fly. She liked to be carried around like a baseball. She also likes to ride in my infinity scarf; I would double it so she was highl up under my chin. I also found an apple green scarf that matched her exactly so I could smuggle her into places.

Lucy loved to be held and would lay on her back in my hand. She would nap on my chest or on my pillow in the morning because she woke up earlier than me and I didn’t want to get up. She sang the Quaker song and talked a LOT. She was a bossy little bird and my best friend.

About five months after I lost Lucy, another (blue) Quaker, Willow, came into my life. He’s been with me for a year and a half and is very different from Lucy. He was not handled much but flew around his owner’s house. He was very quiet but is now coming out of himself and getting louder almost by the day.

I am finding that Lucy was more trusting of me than Willow is; he won’t let me in his cage and tries to bite me near it. But I can tell he feels GOOD and Lucy did not feel well the last few years of her life. Your bird might have arthritis from his injuries and that can be treated with NSAIDS.

I hope you have many good years with Odo. I’m guessing maybe he took a tumble out of the nest before he was ready? Because you are right, he would not likely be so trusting if he were an older adult. I would love to hear about Odo’s adventures with you and can suggest cage modifications if he needs them.

Here’s willow and me.

Lucy sounded like a queen I laughed so much about the scarf smuggling. You were a great mama to her! And Willow is just a perfect example of how incredibly different personalities animals can have! He has landed in the right hands with you, you'll have a beautiful life together.

Odo was definitely mauled by a cat or a dog. He had a puncture in the wing and a break than never healed correctly. No signs of arthritis, but because his wing is very low and also healed fatter than the other he's extremely wobbly and cute. Doing everything I can to keep his confidence up!!

Thanks for that, I will definitely come to you for help if I need. Love your pics!

 

[Ninjina93]

Welcome!
What a rescue story wow!! You are wonderful people. I'm so glad Odo was saved!

Yes in the first picture, you can see is a just weaned baby.

So precious! Love him! Those eyes closed with head scratches! The sweet kiss!! Such a happy family filled with love

You're so sweet!!! So interesting that you think he is a baby. I honestly don't know enough to judge accurately but I feel in agreement with you. There's just certain things he does - he begs a lot bobbing his head up and down and some days it's like he will only eat if I am feeding him with my fingers and not from the bowl. The vets never mentioned how old he could be though. So I appreciate your insight!

 

[Ninjina93]

What a wonderful rescue story! I had to read it out loud to my husband, You gotta hear this sweet story!
I think I had that hole in my heart I didn't know about either until we got Sunny. I never realized how much a little bird could wiggle their way into your life and heart!

Oh I'm so glad it touched your heart!!! And absolutely, the universe has its surprises for sure! Wishing you lots of love, happiness and beautiful years together with your Sunny

 

[Laurasea]

You're so sweet!!! So interesting that you think he is a baby. I honestly don't know enough to judge accurately but I feel in agreement with you. There's just certain things he does - he begs a lot bobbing his head up and down and some days it's like he will only eat if I am feeding him with my fingers and not from the bowl. The vets never mentioned how old he could be though. So I appreciate your insight!

The first picture he is definitely a baby, probably just had been learning to fly. Baby head.. I've had a couple if young ones they have that certain look...at least i think(?)

 

[HeatherG]

The first picture he is definitely a baby, probably just had been learning to fly. Baby head.. I've had a couple if young ones they have that certain look...at least i think(?)

You mean how the forehead is more green?

I can’t quite see it on Odo but I recall the beak looks really big, eyes look big, head looks big on a baby Quaker as well. If they’re really young you can have a shorter or battered tail.

I don’t know how a cat could catch an adult Quaker. I can imagine a cat catching a fledgling who hadn’t quite figured out how to fly, though.

It must be fun to have a nest of wild Quakers where you live!!

 

[HeatherG]

Lucy sounded like a queen I laughed so much about the scarf smuggling. You were a great mama to her! And Willow is just a perfect example of how incredibly different personalities animals can have! He has landed in the right hands with you, you'll have a beautiful life together.

Odo was definitely mauled by a cat or a dog. He had a puncture in the wing and a break than never healed correctly. No signs of arthritis, but because his wing is very low and also healed fatter than the other he's extremely wobbly and cute. Doing everything I can to keep his confidence up!!

Thanks for that, I will definitely come to you for help if I need. Love your pics!

Well, Lucy was fine for most of her life; I’m meaning by the time she was 20-22-24 yrs old she was getting stiff from those early life injuries.

And I usually called her my bird princess…I miss her very much.

 

[HeatherG]

I'd love to get more active on this forum, so I decided to introduce myself and my little Odo properly!

Odo is a wild Quaker parrot who we found injured, broken and bleeding less than 4 months ago in a park (they live wild in large colonies in our country!) Never did I think I'd become a bird mama but apparently Odo had other plans and has filled a hole in my heart I never knew I had!

We went through 1.5 months of bandages and medicines to unfortunately receive the news his injuries are permanent and he cannot fly again.

Now he has gone from a wild, biting and fearful parrot to my absolute world. Every day I try to build his confidence and we spend hours together. He's learned to dance, sing and do all sorts of tricks which he finds mentally stimulating. He's crazy for the vengaboys. He feels confident enough now to jump to me a short distance from a branch. He has learned to eat pellets and chop, sit on my shoulder as I work at my desk and give me endless kisses. He is even protective of me, and I'm SURE he does hilarious things on purpose to make me laugh!

Anyways, we have a long journey ahead of us still. My goal is to get him harness trained this year so we can go beyond the garden without him falling off my shoulder (he tries to grip, but now he is disabled, balance is an issue)

With how quickly he grew to love us, and to feel safe, it makes me wonder if he's very young, but I know it's difficult to tell. Maybe he just understands he was saved

Thanks for reading

Why do you want to harness train Odo if he can’t fly? Where’s he going to go?
A harness won’t keep him on your shoulder, either. It might make him trip easier on the leash.

I wonder about carrying Odo in a modified basket or scarf, or in your hand. Those are the ways I carried Lucy.

Maybe I’m not understanding something?

 

[Ninjina93]

Why do you want to harness train Odo if he can’t fly? Where’s he going to go?
A harness won’t keep him on your shoulder, either. It might make him trip easier on the leash.

I wonder about carrying Odo in a modified basket or scarf, or in your hand. Those are the ways I carried Lucy.

Maybe I’m not understanding something?

It's to simply prevent him from falling off and dropping down, which he has done indoors many times. He's a total fidget, so not a chance he's staying in a scarf or on my hand! There are also Quakers all over overhead flying, who he calls to and they call back, and I'd be gutted if he tried to take off towards them and land somewhere unsafe hurting himself all over again.