Angelesse
New member
Hello everyone, and thank you so much for taking the time to read my situation. Your time, experiences, and advice are appreciated and very much needed. I'll try to explain my difficult situation as descriptive yet as briefly as possible.
I own a approx. 32 year old male Panama Amazon, Albert, whom I took in 9 years ago from another family member whom rescued him from a bird club 16 years ago, whom has come to have mutilation associated anxiety. As he has been in my family since approx. the age of 16, same as my age, we have grown up together and he ultimately bonded to me, after rejecting the person whom originally adopted him along with other family members who tried to tame him. Knowing this, along with the obvious that I love him, and am just as bonded with him as he is with me, I am moving out of the house we've both been staying in, along with my approx. 15 yr old male cockatiel, Ricky, he amazingly shares his cage with and loves, along with my dog and cat. He has moved into other places with me before with very little issue. However, where I am moving to now concerns me. This is a finished basement apartment in a mother-daughter, the only apartment I could afford on my own that accepts pets. I had to take it. My living situation where I am now has deteriorated to emotionally abusive and I needed to find a new place asap.
I have not confirmed with real facts but have observed that anyone I knew who owned birds did not seem healthy and did not live long in below ground dwellings. I am unsure if that's actually a directly related thing, or a combination of many other things and just a coincidence for the few people I've known to keep birds in such places. I will be having the small basement windows for natural light and circulation in his possible living space, but am concerned that will not be enough for him for a healthy internal clock and hormone release. I worry about the boiler(which is behind a closed door at least), but still a worry about indoor pollution and gases. I worry about the landlord cooking with non stick cookware upstairs as well(I have a drop ceiling. Would that go through a floor?)
The other side of this is, I do have someone who is willing to take him and is experienced in owning birds, but not parrots. And while I have multiple people saying that this seems like a great idea and am encouraging me to take her up on her offer for the reasons listed above, I am very torn. At his age followed by his anxiety and mutilating, I'm afraid he won't bond with a new owner, let alone a new owner in a unfamiliar house all of a sudden. I have made the mistake of not slowly transitioning cages when his kings cage he's had since we first got him rusted to the point of being dangerous and needed to be thrown away immediately, to my own ignorance and unpreparedness, which is what has made him become so anxious and upset to begin with. It's because of that he wears his rx fleece collar full time(which he loves and is very protective of). He needs to be hand preened every so often and water bottled down, as he immediately goes back to trying to bite himself within a short time of taking it off, and I feel that my friend will not be able to do that for him, which would lead me to having to drive an hour each way to see him and take care of his pin feathers for him and bathe him periodically. I worry that a move into a brand new home with a brand new owner would be stressful enough, and worry about how my visiting monthly would affect him.
Despite growing up with him all these years and being his only handler for so long, I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place and am not experienced enough, as well as emotionally biased, to know which situation is best for him. My heart tells me if he is going to be stressed and depressed, it would be negligible for me to put him through a new home when I am allowed to have him with me in this new apartment, but at what risk to his health with the boiler room a door away and only two tiny windows into the living space for light and circulation? Is it worth those risks knowing that he would at least feel safe and happy with me? I also have my landlord to worry of, for he has no problem "giving them a try", but if they do not adjust or is too loud for his liking, I may not be able to keep them there, as he lives right above me. I've had people tell me I'm better off putting him to sleep as the ultimate answer to all of my thoughts and worries, as they think each choice is bad for his well being and are both negligible choices on my part, but that sounds awful and heartless. I do not have the heart to do that to a healthy animal, let alone any of my pets in my care. Albert along with all of my pets are my family. He's like my sibling or cousin to me being around him in and out all of these years. Your advice and expertise would be very much appreciated. I am very distraught and wish this move wasn't necessary, but circumstances lead to me having no choice.
With all that I explained: What do you think Albert would want, and what do you think the best would be for him?
Thank you all,
A sad and concerned parrot mom
I own a approx. 32 year old male Panama Amazon, Albert, whom I took in 9 years ago from another family member whom rescued him from a bird club 16 years ago, whom has come to have mutilation associated anxiety. As he has been in my family since approx. the age of 16, same as my age, we have grown up together and he ultimately bonded to me, after rejecting the person whom originally adopted him along with other family members who tried to tame him. Knowing this, along with the obvious that I love him, and am just as bonded with him as he is with me, I am moving out of the house we've both been staying in, along with my approx. 15 yr old male cockatiel, Ricky, he amazingly shares his cage with and loves, along with my dog and cat. He has moved into other places with me before with very little issue. However, where I am moving to now concerns me. This is a finished basement apartment in a mother-daughter, the only apartment I could afford on my own that accepts pets. I had to take it. My living situation where I am now has deteriorated to emotionally abusive and I needed to find a new place asap.
I have not confirmed with real facts but have observed that anyone I knew who owned birds did not seem healthy and did not live long in below ground dwellings. I am unsure if that's actually a directly related thing, or a combination of many other things and just a coincidence for the few people I've known to keep birds in such places. I will be having the small basement windows for natural light and circulation in his possible living space, but am concerned that will not be enough for him for a healthy internal clock and hormone release. I worry about the boiler(which is behind a closed door at least), but still a worry about indoor pollution and gases. I worry about the landlord cooking with non stick cookware upstairs as well(I have a drop ceiling. Would that go through a floor?)
The other side of this is, I do have someone who is willing to take him and is experienced in owning birds, but not parrots. And while I have multiple people saying that this seems like a great idea and am encouraging me to take her up on her offer for the reasons listed above, I am very torn. At his age followed by his anxiety and mutilating, I'm afraid he won't bond with a new owner, let alone a new owner in a unfamiliar house all of a sudden. I have made the mistake of not slowly transitioning cages when his kings cage he's had since we first got him rusted to the point of being dangerous and needed to be thrown away immediately, to my own ignorance and unpreparedness, which is what has made him become so anxious and upset to begin with. It's because of that he wears his rx fleece collar full time(which he loves and is very protective of). He needs to be hand preened every so often and water bottled down, as he immediately goes back to trying to bite himself within a short time of taking it off, and I feel that my friend will not be able to do that for him, which would lead me to having to drive an hour each way to see him and take care of his pin feathers for him and bathe him periodically. I worry that a move into a brand new home with a brand new owner would be stressful enough, and worry about how my visiting monthly would affect him.
Despite growing up with him all these years and being his only handler for so long, I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place and am not experienced enough, as well as emotionally biased, to know which situation is best for him. My heart tells me if he is going to be stressed and depressed, it would be negligible for me to put him through a new home when I am allowed to have him with me in this new apartment, but at what risk to his health with the boiler room a door away and only two tiny windows into the living space for light and circulation? Is it worth those risks knowing that he would at least feel safe and happy with me? I also have my landlord to worry of, for he has no problem "giving them a try", but if they do not adjust or is too loud for his liking, I may not be able to keep them there, as he lives right above me. I've had people tell me I'm better off putting him to sleep as the ultimate answer to all of my thoughts and worries, as they think each choice is bad for his well being and are both negligible choices on my part, but that sounds awful and heartless. I do not have the heart to do that to a healthy animal, let alone any of my pets in my care. Albert along with all of my pets are my family. He's like my sibling or cousin to me being around him in and out all of these years. Your advice and expertise would be very much appreciated. I am very distraught and wish this move wasn't necessary, but circumstances lead to me having no choice.
With all that I explained: What do you think Albert would want, and what do you think the best would be for him?
Thank you all,
A sad and concerned parrot mom
First, amazons form strong bonds with their social group (i.e. their flock) in nature. Most birds stay in the same flock they were born into their entire lives. It is against their very nature to go from home to home (flock to flock). Our amazon has lived in some pretty abysmal apartments with us, including a studio and a sublet basement in a house, but I guarantee you he could care less where we lived or if it was a beautiful, new, modern living space. All he wants in this world is to be with us, his "flock", the people he's accepted as his own family. That is all Albert wants too. I'd move mountains not to give up my bird. They're like children, you figure things out and you don't just get rid of them, you work harder for them to better your situation for them. This precious little creature is bonded to YOU and that is a very very special relationship, one that will likely last the rest of your life. A crappy living/life situation will not last forever. He won't care it's a dingy, dark basement apartment. If there's no good window for him to look out, turn on the TV for him to watch while you're at work. Make sure he has toys so he's happy/entertained during the day. Make it a point to play with him every day, as much as you can. Get him outdoors enjoying real sun on the weekends, weather permitting. Getting a bird backpack such as the pak-o-bird (a more pricey option) or if you're budget is really tight, simply placing a small cage (padlocked shut) in a baby stroller (which can both be picked up cheaply at garage sales/craigslist etc...), or harness training him (bird harnesses are available for under $20) if you feel he would be accepting of that, would all be great options to allow him to venture out safely with you in the warm months and to get lots of natural sunshine and fresh air if that's a big concern. Speaking of air, a small air purifier will help indoor air quality. Again, if your budget is super tight, turn to craigslist or thrift shops, find a used air purifier, clean it up, new filter and your set. Our amazon also enjoys a special "sun lamp" made for parrots by Featherbrite in the winter months where it is very gloomy and too cold for him to go out. Some people say full spectrum bulbs from the hardware store are a more affordable option and provide a similar "pick me up" for birds in dimmer spaces. 
