Oh, and to add to the above, I agree with the person who said she'd probably be showing some signs of pain if there was a problem. With all the falls Charlotte has taken, there's been only two injuries. She broke the very tip of her beak off once. It bled a lot and we had to take her to the vet to get it to stop bleeding, and then he dremmeled it down and all was good. The other injury was mine. She grabbed for the nearest thing she could find to keep from falling, which was unfortunately my hand and wrist, and managed to do some damage to the ligaments keeping my hand attached to my wrist as well as some nerve damage. In her defense, there was already significant existing damage to that hand and wrist from a mountain climbing accident years and years ago. She just made things a whole lot worse.
I read your post about that. I squeaked through my rock climbing years without serious injury only because I developed another physical problem that made climbing impossible. I'd enjoy hearing some of your mountaineering tales. Do they all go along the lines of "oh we are very careful, why driving to the park is the most dangerous part" and gradually morph into "oh man, you were so run out, just one manky piece of pro and joe took that whipper"? Good times.
You are so right, it's about watching this particular bird at this exact moment, knowing that everything is in flux. He's new in our home, so he is probably concealing any problems he can ... He's probably weak from not having any chance to exercise being locked in a hellish cage 8 years...wing and foot muscles either atrophied from disuse or damaged by bone disease...we will watch to see how he does, and I hope that where he is now is not where he will be. He is eating better, being loved on, has room to move, wings will grow...maybe he will get stronger. And if not I hope we can figure out a safe world for him.
His real parront, my husband Wonder Boy, is the true hero here. He looked at shelter birds, sent donations, drove to another city to look at a crippled bird that was terrified of him, paid the adoption fee, brought him home, got him the nicest cage I ever saw, wakes him for breakfast, cleans the cage, and loves on him every evening. I just write on parrotforum and sue for all the bird I can touch. I watch and fiddle and try to understand what he needs, but Boy is the one who saves him. Maybe some day he will register here and you all will get to know him, as I slide into the inevitable isolation of the Not Chosen, start drinking with The Rival and muttering darkly about ungrateful fine feathered friends. Man, it is way too late at night to be making sense. Oh wait, I'm not.
Please keep pitching the helpful suggestions for Gus, it's so appreciated.
:red::46::ip::mo::mo::mo:
