New Here! Hello!

[EllenD]

I apologize, I always have so much to say to new parrot owners..."Just in-case" things that are extremely important usually..

I'll stop rambling about the boring stuff now, lol...Oh, wait, I lied!!! OOPS! Really quickly, just checking to make sure you are aware of the life-threatening issues that birds have with any pots and pans or other cookware/bakeware and any other small appliances that heat-up that contain either a Teflon brand coating, or any other type of coating that contains any of the many Fluorinated Compounds that can off-gas and emit deadly fumes, such as PFOA, PTFE, etc. (there are a bunch of them)...You must use either Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, REAL Copper, or most-commonly Ceramic non-stick pots and pans, cookware, and bakeware...NO "George Foreman Grills", they are absolutely ALL deadly, and you must check on any electric griddles or non-electric griddles like the ones you sit on-top of the stove burners, any Toaster Ovens, Convection Ovens, Microwaves, and other small appliances like Space-Heaters, Air-Purifiers, etc. Also, NEVER use the "self-cleaning" function on any oven.

Now I'll shut-up and stop talking about boring things!!!

I know you said that you are "probably" not going to bring home the baby Congo African Grey that you were planning on bringing home, but just in-case you do decide to go ahead and bring home that baby as well, you need to make certain that you do a 30-Day Quarantine by putting the new baby CAG in a totally separate room (preferably with a door that you can keep latched/shut at all times) from Beemo. This means that you cannot introduce them at all until after the full 30-Day Quarantine is over with no signs of the new CAG baby having any type of illness, parasites, etc. And after the 30-Day Quarantine is over and you first introduce the baby CAG to Beemo, you need to make sure you do it very slowly/gradually and under full-supervision any time they are both out of their cages at the same time, AND when one of them is out of their cage and other one is inside of their cage, but the one that is outside of their cage lands/sits on the cage of the other one while it's inside, as this often results in bad bites and horrible injuries to their feet, toes, beaks, etc. A good way to first start their introduction is to place their cages in the same room (in this case your living room, which is an excellent place to put Beemo's cage by the way, I'm thrilled that you did that), but across the room from each other at first, and for about the first month, so that they can see each other clearly, hear each other, and talk to each other, but so that they aren't close enough that it might cause either of them stress, anxiety, etc. Once they've been on opposite sides of the living room for a couple of weeks to a month, then move their cages next to each other, but with enough space between them that they both still feel like they each have their own 'territory". And any time you have them out of their cages together at the same time you have to make sure that they are always supervised...You never know how two birds are going to react to each other, they might bond very closely and be the best of friends, or they might hate each other and be aggressive towards each other all the time. You just aren't able to know until they are put together and they start to get to know each other over time...I know you probably aren't going to bring home the CAG baby, but just in-case you do decide to bring him home as well...

Congrats again on saving this little guy and giving him a whole new life and family...He'll settle-in, get used to his new environment, new people, new routines/schedules if you just keep doing what you're doing. He sounds like a sweetheart and every day you're going to see him coming out of his shell more and more...Don't ever hesitate to ask any questions you might have!!!

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome to you and Murphy!!!!! Talk about kismit ! 100% ment to be!!! Thank you for the rescue!!!
I rescued my Penny because I went to dinner with a friend and stopped in a store with him. In the store was a cage about 8 inches by six inches and covered in poop was a screaming quaker. I couldn't sleep that night and came back and got her the next day. She is so wonderful ( now)
So glad you heard your baby screaming for a rescue, so glad your heart was open to that call, so glad you stepped up!!!! And gorgeous bird!!! Hope you have a long happy life together!!! At the top of the Amazon forum is I love Amazon's , an in going journey it's highlighted in blue. Read that, great stuff there

 

[LeafyGreenBeaks]

Welcome to you and Murphy!!!!! Talk about kismit ! 100% ment to be!!! Thank you for the rescue!!!
I rescued my Penny because I went to dinner with a friend and stopped in a store with him. In the store was a cage about 8 inches by six inches and covered in poop was a screaming quaker. I couldn't sleep that night and came back and got her the next day. She is so wonderful ( now)
So glad you heard your baby screaming for a rescue, so glad your heart was open to that call, so glad you stepped up!!!! And gorgeous bird!!! Hope you have a long happy life together!!! At the top of the Amazon forum is I love Amazon's , an in going journey it's highlighted in blue. Read that, great stuff there

I love your story! You are Penny's angel for sure. And yes, it was definitely kismet! The funny thing is, I hardly ever go to Miami. I live in Parkland, which is an hour north. But on that Saturday, I had to meet with a client to drop off some paperwork, so I stopped for a bite to eat in this little rinky-dink plaza because it was just off the highway. Furthermore, if I hadn't had the cage already set up and all kinds of foods and toys ready, I wouldn't have been able to bring Murphy home even if I wanted to. So there, everything just seemed to fall into place!

 

[LeafyGreenBeaks]

***I don't know where you live in Florida, but you've got access to some of the best Avian Vets in the country and the world, namely if you live anywhere near or in Broward County (Dr. K and Dr. T have their Avian and Exotic hospital in Deerfield Beach, so if your bird ever becomes seriously ill or needs ANY TYPE OF SURGERY, I would absolutely make the drive to "Broward Avian and Exotic" in Deerfield Beach...Dr. Susan Kelleher is one of the best Avian surgeons in the world; she has rebuilt legs and wings for baby parrots born with horrible congenital defects like a leg literally bent around it's neck and over it's head! She also has a full understanding inside and out of General-Anesthesia and what is safest for birds, as that's always a major issue with birds, even if they're only having a minor surgery they still often die while waking-up from the anesthesia, and I would trust Dr. Kelleher with any of my birds before anyone else...Hopefully your Amazon won't ever need to have any surgery or any other medical procedures done, but if he does I wouldn't take him to anyone else...I can tell you for certain that even though I have a wonderful Board-Certified Avian Vet of 25+ years 10 minutes away from my house who I love and trust, we've already talked about the plan if he decides that any of my guys need any major surgical procedure done, I'm driving them the 2+ day drive straight to Fort Lauderdale...So that's a huge asset that you have in your state..

Ellen, yes I do live in Broward County, and Broward Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital is where I take my guinea pigs! Dr. Kelleher and staff are great with my piggies! However, with Murphy, I decided to take him to Backos Bird Clinic, also located in Deerfield Beach. Dr. Backos is a Certified Avian Specialist as well, and I've only heard great stories about him through my bird friends down here. He also does surgery, ICU, specialized avian X-ray, anesthesia and endoscopy. And all tests and lab work is done in-house, so you get results a lot sooner than if they have to send it out, which is critical for rapid diagnosing and treatment. But the main reason I chose him was because his practice is exclusive to birds (no other animals) and the clinic is available for 24 hr emergencies, which is a huge plus! Sadly, Dr. K doesn't offer after-hour services. In case of emergencies, they tell you to call a separate pet emergency center that handles all pets.

Regardless, I feel very fortunate to have access to 2 wonderful Avian Vets just minutes away. I've heard horror stories where parronts have to drive hours to see the nearest CAV, or worse, they have to settle for a general dog/cat vet who knows little to nothing about treating birds (or guinea pigs for that matter! lol).