Tusk is home...

[Birdman666]

Yes, hopefully they'll have their "routine" like with Tusk so that it'll be obvious that they are his family. My bird only says "hello", but I know her schtick and she knows mine. Luckily, she also has a chip, so I'd be able to identify her that way, if she ever got lost and found. (touch wood)

I've worked with enough birds to know one that has been worked with extensively... clearly this one was! So, yeah, the bird will be able to tell me if this is his owner or not. And there are a couple of very unique and quirky things about this bird that only an owner would know. I intend to keep those secret and quiz...

Most CAGS look alike. How else would you know? Unless someone had a band number, or the bird was microchipped.

 

[torrap]

What a joy it must be for you to know you saved this bird's life!
I was wondering...maybe you should go for a walk every day just to look for lost birds...., maybe keep the permanent feeding stations (?).......LOL.
How many lost CAGs are there if you found 3 in one day???

 

[Dopey]

I am so happy for you Mark. I imagine you all are still doing the happy dance...or grinning like crazy.

 

[Birdman666]

What a joy it must be for you to know you saved this bird's life!
I was wondering...maybe you should go for a walk every day just to look for lost birds...., maybe keep the permanent feeding stations (?).......LOL.
How many lost CAGs are there if you found 3 in one day???

Well, we found one of them on Friday. The other two we found on Sunday. And technically someone else found my bird, they just called me and I went running...

I'd go broke putting up feeding stations, but the wild birds would love it. Trust me, they discovered my feeding stations, and emptied them on a regular basis.

It's just a happy coincidence I guess. Birds that get out and get lost generally WANT to be found. They get out all the time. This one found my feeding station. He was very badly malnourished when I found him. He wouldn't have lasted much longer. He didn't even have the strength to fly away from me. I was able to just walk up to him from behind and grab him.

Right now there are two macaws, another CAG, a conure, and another quaker somewhere out there. (And that's just in our area!) I already talked to the lady who lost the CAG. The one I found isn't hers.

 

[Birdman666]

I am so happy for you Mark. I imagine you all are still doing the happy dance...or grinning like crazy.

Life seems a lot better since I found him. I was high as a kite yesterday. Now, mostly what I feel is relief. The one I found is gonna make it just fine, and Tusk is home.

 

[torrap]

Oh my! How lucky for these birds to get lost in TX!
They all wouldn't last through the night here where I am.
It dropped to freezing here last night.
I am seriously considering clipping the wings......:11:.....

 

[SoCalWendy]

I'm so glad you didn't lose hope, and now you got two. I hope the other owner can be found too. Congrats!

 

[Taw5106]

My first bird was a budgie that I found as a kid. It was Valentines Day, I saw him clinging the the metal frame of my bedroom window, ran and told my Mom. It was too cold but he was shivering. We opened the front door and he flew into the house on his own. We went out and bought a cage and seed, brought those home and when saw the cage he flew to it and went inside it. We made fliers and walked the neighborhood looking for the owner, hung fliers but no one claimed him. He was blue, we named him Tweety because we had an orange and white cat named Sylvester, it made sense and was logical, lol. He was tame, loved people, loved my Mom's hair, use to hands so we knew he had been with someone and trained. He wouldn't come out of the cage for weeks, he was so happy to be safe. It feels good when you help and know creatures are comforted by your efforts.

 

[Birdman666]

Oh my! How lucky for these birds to get lost in TX!
They all wouldn't last through the night here where I am.
It dropped to freezing here last night.
I am seriously considering clipping the wings......:11:.....

No danger of freezing here! In fact, over the weekend it was mid to upper 80's... The real danger is that everything is bone dry. Not much water to be found right now. They can survive for many days without food. Not very long without water.

 

[thekarens]

What a joy it must be for you to know you saved this bird's life!
I was wondering...maybe you should go for a walk every day just to look for lost birds...., maybe keep the permanent feeding stations (?).......LOL.
How many lost CAGs are there if you found 3 in one day???

Well, we found one of them on Friday. The other two we found on Sunday. And technically someone else found my bird, they just called me and I went running...

I'd go broke putting up feeding stations, but the wild birds would love it. Trust me, they discovered my feeding stations, and emptied them on a regular basis.

It's just a happy coincidence I guess. Birds that get out and get lost generally WANT to be found. They get out all the time. This one found my feeding station. He was very badly malnourished when I found him. He wouldn't have lasted much longer. He didn't even have the strength to fly away from me. I was able to just walk up to him from behind and grab him.

Right now there are two macaws, another CAG, a conure, and another quaker somewhere out there. (And that's just in our area!) I already talked to the lady who lost the CAG. The one I found isn't hers.

That's how we ended up with our budgie. It was so exhausted and hungry that it didn't even try to get away when we used the finch net on it. I thought it was tame until it had a few days to rest and eat and then she made it very clear to me that she was not tame and the fun times were over, so we got her a buddy and a flight cage.

 

[Birdman666]

This little guy is definitely tame and well-trained. In fact, he's less stand-offish than my own CAG.

Show me a CAG that isn't stubborn and attitudinous at times, and I'll show you a CAG that must be near death!

 

[strudel]

As awful as this sounds, I think losing a pet is worse than having them die. There's always that not knowing whether something horrible happened or they found sanctuary.

Some people might find a wonderful bird and just decide to have it for themselves and not to return it to the owner. As you say, you'd never know unless the bird was chipped. My cousin's dog got lost once and after quite some time, they found him living up the street with another family and got him home.

There are so many possibilities to worry about what might have happened, losing a pet is just the worst. I so hope the lost CAG finds his people (thanks to you).

 

[Birdman666]

Like looking for Tusk, I've pretty much done everything humanly possible at this point. Now we wait, and question, and see if the bird gives up some more of his secrets...

 

[torrap]

One thing comes to mind......you can swing by the vet and check if he has a microchip.
Most would do it for free.

 

[Birdman666]

One thing comes to mind......you can swing by the vet and check if he has a microchip.
Most would do it for free.

Well, I'm getting them all groomed in a week or two including him (gotta wait for the Benji's) and that was on my "to do" list. I am trying to get him healthy first, and I don't want ANY of them (except Maggie) outside flighted until they have been groomed... I am not going to risk taking any of them outside until they are clipped. (Except Maggie. Maggie is a 110% sure thing.)

Unfortunately my local groomer moved away... and vet grooming is expensive.

 

[Birdman666]

.
Some people might find a wonderful bird and just decide to have it for themselves and not to return it to the owner. As you say, you'd never know unless the bird was chipped. My cousin's dog got lost once and after quite some time, they found him living up the street with another family and got him home.
QUOTE]

I think there is nothing worse then people who find someone's else's companion animal and keep it. There are so many social media platforms to advertise, that there is no excuse for not trying to find the animal's human companion. I have no respect for these people.

Of course if you have tried to the best of your abilities to find the animal's human companion and had no success then of course it's fine to either keep the animal or re-home. the question is, how long do you try for? Personally I would try for around a month before I would make a decision.
I would still expect that someone could still come forward for the next 6 to 12 months.

This doesn't mean that you just give the animal over without validating if it is the true owner or just someone after a free pet. Pictures or videos are good. But if the animal goes to that person then it's a fair chance they are the companion.

I've got ads up on Craig's list and seven different sites. I've called the local bird clubs and have people asking around if someone is missing a CAG. I search those same seven sites every friggin' day...

And I am nursing an animal that was near death back to health, and it is living in a full sized macaw cage - and I semi-displaced one of my own birds to give him that... (i.e. she really didn't go back to her cage very often anyway. She lives on her playstand in the window. Now she has too. Cleaning day is going to be birdie musical chairs. Tusk & Lila will have to go in Sweepea's cage. Sweepea in Tusk's. New bird In Lila's. Thank god none of mine are all that particular about "THAT'S MY CAGE!")

What more am I supposed to do?

I did foster care for over a decade. People GAVE ME parrots all the time. I rehomed birds all the time. I was not looking to expand my flock, nor was I looking to take someone else's bird. I went looking for my own, and found someone else's too...

I took care of a friend's bird for TWO YEARS when he was going through a rough time, and then one day, he was back on his feet, and asked for the bird back, AND THE BIRD CLEARLY LOVED HIM AND WANTED TO GO BACK - SO I DID WHAT WAS BEST FOR THE BIRD...

If he doesn't find his home, I will continue to take care of him as if he were one of my own. If someone found Tusk, and couldn't find me, I would hope he would continue to have a good life with whoever found him...

THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME A BIRD THIEF...

What you also have to understand is a lot of people see a lost and found ad, and think RESALE VALUE... This bird belongs to someone. He's not going to be placed in a little travel cage, and sold at the friggin' flea market by someone pretending to be his owner...

This bird does some unique things. His owner will know what they are. This bird will recognize his owner, just as Tusk recognized me...

WHEN THAT HAPPENS HE GOES HOME!!!

WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?!

 

[strudel]

WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?!

I think you've got the wrong end of the stick there, birdman, I don't think delfin was talking about you. I'd just said that it is awful to lose a pet and not find them, because you don't know what happened to them. Some people do find pets and just keep them without making any sort of effort to find the owner, let alone the sort of effort you are making, which is fantastic. Even worse, there are people who PINCH other people's pets. A friend had her cavalier king charles stolen (got her back, too). "Desirable" animals which cost money to buy can be a temptation to people who are selfish and don't want to pay for them and don't consider how awful it is losing a pet and never finding out what happened. Not you, we're not talking about you. You're doing the right thing.

 

[Birdman666]

Maybe I was reading something into it that wasn't there... But from the time I found this bird, my goal was to give him the same sort of reuinion I had when I got mine back. If someoene was implying that since he turned out to be such a good bird, I was taking this as a lucky find... THAT JUST AIN'T ME!!!

It means that who ever lost him works with their birds the same way I do, and is going out of their mind with worry. I just came from there... I get it!

BUT I JUST GOT A CALL FROM SOMEONE WHO LOST A CONURE, THAT MORPHED INTO A QUAKER, THAT MORPHED INTO I KNOW SOMEONE WHO LOST A CAG, LET ME TAKE HIM TO HER...

I hung up. That's one of those dispicable flea market flippers/free bird people...

That's actually the first one of those that I've gotten. So far, everyone has been very honest. The ones that aren't are pretty obvious...

 

[Birdman666]

We have a POSSIBLE... (just not probable.)

She's coming over after work to see if it's her bird.

Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[torrap]

You really didn't HAVE to share all of this with us, but you did and I thank you for that. I always worried about one of my birds (or both) getting lost. It helped me to be more careful about closed doors and windows and made me think about clipping their wings.
Sorry you had to go through something like that.
I truly hope this poor grey finds his person and I trust you to be a good judge to if it is in fact his person or not.
Does this grey talk with a woman voice?...........
Good luck!!!!!!