Visiting a Severe macaw in foster care because of Sandy

[osnyder]

Hey folks-- never thought I'd be posting here! Holy moly.

I have been thinking of adopting another parrot, and have submitted a couple applications. The first one was accepted (Wings of Hope in NJ) and I have an appointment to visit a Severe macaw on Saturday morning. His name is Gonzo, and he's 7. Was with one owner since a baby, and has been displaced because of the Sandy devastation.

He's been in a foster home with a lot of expereince and a lot of birds. They seem a bit afraid of Gonzo, because he's a little nippy, and managed to bite the foster mom badly one time. He'll take treats, and eats a good diet, and loves to hang out on top of his cage and observe people and the birds, has shown no sign of agression. He will not step up so far, and is not into human contact much. They said he flew to the foster dad once, randomly, but that's the only time that heppened. He does not lunge or seem fussed by the other birds, but I think is in a low-traffic area.

The original owner seems to have been too upset to give a lot of info when he dropped the birds off. He told them he prefers women and is "a bit of a handful." The foster mom says he is overall very pleasant and not a bother. But I am thinking, we really have no idea what he'll be like, due to the terrible things he's been through.

I want a bird to be an eventual roommate (NOT cage mate) for Stitch. Just someone(bird) to observe and listen to and keep company. I know they won't necessarily be BFF. For me personally, I want a bird to have the potential to be interactive, and ideally be able to hang out on a shoulder and want to be scratched here and there. I love simply having the birds as a presence, and know that the relationship can take a VERY long time to develop.

Thoughts on this as a match, in theory? He seems to be a pretty chill guy. Not super noisy beyond meal times and such. I don't know. A Macaw (albeit a "Mini" macaw) seems like unknown waters. Am I overthinking it?

 

[weco]

Any bird is 'unknown waters.' True re-homed birds may carry unknown baggage & that baggage may be more than you are willing to deal with...only you can determine that, after meeting him.....even a face to face meeting may not show true colors. If you have the time and patience to spend with this severe, then go for it, but if you are thinking it will be a quick turn around, you might want to pass and stay with less complicated birds.

 

[SandyBee]

If your willing to put in the time it may be a good fit. That's the hard part about rescues.
That being said, we adopted a 35 year old DYH Amazon that had been in a rescue due to it's owner passing away. The rescue was never able to really handle it much, would not step up on hand or stick. It did not attack, but would not let anyone close to it either.

I had never owned a bird before and the meetings we had with this amazon were fine, but nothing to right home about. Yet there was something about him that tugged at my heart and we proceeded and adopted him.

4 days after he was home he was in my lap. Now 4 months later he is like my little dog with wings, he comes running to me when I get home, he steps up some of the time, he purrs like a kitten, he naps on my chest and rides on my shoulder. He is the sweetest bird. ALL he wanted was to be loved. So it can work out, go meet the bird and follow what your heart and mind tell you. Not all baggage is bad and it sounds like he lost his home to a trajic circumstance, not abuse or neglect.

 

[osnyder]

Sandy, what an awesome story! Thanks for telling it. I look forward to meeting the guy and will be following my gut.

 

[SandyBee]

Oh,

I forgot to add, he had been in the rescue for over a year and was also dropped off by the owners daughter in law in tears. All we ever knew is that the owner had passed away and his son and wife took the bird in, Bosley never got along with the son and his wife dropped him off.

Good Luck and remember no matter how experienced the rescue/foster home is they only have so much time for any 1 bird and their objective is not to bond with the bird, but to assess it's health and whether it's a candidate for adoption.