*SIGH* in depth experienced advanced help required

[Thingamagigs]

Dr Ross Perry talking about a galah with PBFD (with photos)

After someone mentioned it, I looked it up. Its one of the lesser noticed symptoms of PBFD and one of the first warning signs. Its casually listed as "darkening of the beak and legs and even deformity of the toe nails" in a few resources. I was pretty upset last night but there is no point in worrying about it until test results come back. If they come back positive, I will be plastering the information all over the internet... notifying local vets, notifying the transport company that took the birds, notifying all places they are advertised and hell... probably even take out a gumtree ad to make the information available.

If he has PBFD I wont be getting any other birds and Piña and Colada will have to have an extended stay at their Aunties (they are loving having them there anyway). Thank god I followed quarantine procedures! Piña and Colada will get tested to be on the safe side.

 

[Aims]

Thanks for that link. Everywhere I looked just mentioned feather, down powder (or lack of it) beak and nails. I will keep everything crossed that you get good results.

 

[lene1949]

Dr Ross Perry talking about a galah with PBFD (with photos)

After someone mentioned it, I looked it up. Its one of the lesser noticed symptoms of PBFD and one of the first warning signs. Its casually listed as "darkening of the beak and legs and even deformity of the toe nails" in a few resources. I was pretty upset last night but there is no point in worrying about it until test results come back. If they come back positive, I will be plastering the information all over the internet... notifying local vets, notifying the transport company that took the birds, notifying all places they are advertised and hell... probably even take out a gumtree ad to make the information available.

If he has PBFD I wont be getting any other birds and Piña and Colada will have to have an extended stay at their Aunties (they are loving having them there anyway). Thank god I followed quarantine procedures! Piña and Colada will get tested to be on the safe side.

It's a frightening prospect... Have the conures had any contact at all with the galah?

The galah can live for many, many years with this disease..

 

[kc_y0]

Arghhh I am sorry to hear of this news and I really hope your little guys test results come back negative!! Especially seeing as you have your little conures and a corella on the way arghhhh!!

 

[momto3]

I am waaaayyyy to inexperienced to help you, but I just want to say that you have a kind heart and bless you for taking this poor bird on. I am sure you will be rewarded greatly for your kindness.

 

[Karigan]

I don't know the laws where you are, but can you get the woman who sold him to you in trouble?

 

[Supriya]

I really hope the tests come negative...........plz keep us updated dear....

 

[Thingamagigs]

Updates!

Tests havent come back yet and am still waiting nervously. Unfortunately, other than her lack of veterinary care (which I cant prove) she has broken no laws. There is no way she can be reprimanded for what she is done and that boils my blood. Thankfully I was able to track down the person who DID actually handrear him! She is distraught about the condition of the babies she lovingly handreared. She wont be selling to the girl again and fortunately news of this girl has spread through the bird community like wildfire... she wont be buying birds from any reputable source again. Of course there is always someone just like her, willing to do anything for cash.

I have been doing a lot of research and talking to those involved. I have discovered a galah can live a near normal life with the disease and good veterinary monitoring, so that is a comfort. The rumours I heard about the aviary selling birds with PBFD may or may not be true but as a precaution I would ask to have any baby tested prior to sale.

Manny's wing is coming along very well I will pop some photos up soon.

 

[Oedipussrex]

This story is so sad I hate the laws here in SA, i found a baby galah on the side of the road who had obviously fallen (or been kicked) out of his nest, he was pecked, and not fully weaned and couldnt fly (yes i am sure that he wasn't just being taught how to forage, there were no other galahs around all day, and he didnt move from that spot for 8 hours). I took him to the local vet because they are all supposed to take care of natives for free. I then get a phone call later that he was uninjured so they 're-released' him. I will never be going back there.

I sincerely hope the little guy doesn't have PBFD. For his sake, and the sake of all the other babies still with that woman. You did an amazing thing taking on the task of rehabilitating this little guy.

Even though im not sure if we can technically do anything about the capture-trade thing, if the ones you left there truly are that dirty and that dog she has is in a bad enough state you might be able to get the RSPCA involved.

 

[Abigal7]

Updates!

Tests havent come back yet and am still waiting nervously. Unfortunately, other than her lack of veterinary care (which I cant prove) she has broken no laws. There is no way she can be reprimanded for what she is done and that boils my blood. Thankfully I was able to track down the person who DID actually handrear him! She is distraught about the condition of the babies she lovingly handreared. She wont be selling to the girl again and fortunately news of this girl has spread through the bird community like wildfire... she wont be buying birds from any reputable source again. Of course there is always someone just like her, willing to do anything for cash.

I have been doing a lot of research and talking to those involved. I have discovered a galah can live a near normal life with the disease and good veterinary monitoring, so that is a comfort. The rumours I heard about the aviary selling birds with PBFD may or may not be true but as a precaution I would ask to have any baby tested prior to sale.

Manny's wing is coming along very well I will pop some photos up soon.

Thank you for keeping us updated. You have a big heart. To be honest it is frustrating to hear that nothing can be done about how these animals are treated. I would have liked to at least seen the animals taken away from her. It is good to feel bad for animals in those situations but I wish people like that could not get animals. It is one thing to be need of advice on proper care (such as a niave person not having any toys in the cage), then it is to never clean the bird, to never clean its cage or try to learn how to do proper care. I hope you succeed in warning the bird and dog community about her.

 

[Thingamagigs]

Someone is buying the other one which is up for sale, but the one in her care we can do nothing about

It is disappointing, but the RSPCA and other welfare groups have no legal powers what so ever.

 

[Sherry]

I know this might be a stretch but have you tried contacting your local tv station? Tis the season for pet sales and your story (although very sad) is interesting. You would be surprised as to how news programs jump on these stories. If they do it you could not only expose this woman but the others that are selling her the birds as well. Might be worth a shot. Good luck to you and yours.

 

[Pedro]

Updates!

Tests havent come back yet and am still waiting nervously. Unfortunately, other than her lack of veterinary care (which I cant prove) she has broken no laws. There is no way she can be reprimanded for what she is done and that boils my blood. Thankfully I was able to track down the person who DID actually handrear him! She is distraught about the condition of the babies she lovingly handreared. She wont be selling to the girl again and fortunately news of this girl has spread through the bird community like wildfire... she wont be buying birds from any reputable source again. Of course there is always someone just like her, willing to do anything for cash.

I have been doing a lot of research and talking to those involved. I have discovered a galah can live a near normal life with the disease and good veterinary monitoring, so that is a comfort. The rumours I heard about the aviary selling birds with PBFD may or may not be true but as a precaution I would ask to have any baby tested prior to sale.

Manny's wing is coming along very well I will pop some photos up soon.

I am a little confused here, was your baby taken from the wild & hand reared. Or were they avairy breed & taken from the nest. If he was hand reared by someone else & sold to this girl it seems strange that the birds were in such condition at the point of sale. I do admit i haven't read all posts.

 

[MikeyTN]

Updates!

Tests havent come back yet and am still waiting nervously. Unfortunately, other than her lack of veterinary care (which I cant prove) she has broken no laws. There is no way she can be reprimanded for what she is done and that boils my blood. Thankfully I was able to track down the person who DID actually handrear him! She is distraught about the condition of the babies she lovingly handreared. She wont be selling to the girl again and fortunately news of this girl has spread through the bird community like wildfire... she wont be buying birds from any reputable source again. Of course there is always someone just like her, willing to do anything for cash.

I have been doing a lot of research and talking to those involved. I have discovered a galah can live a near normal life with the disease and good veterinary monitoring, so that is a comfort. The rumours I heard about the aviary selling birds with PBFD may or may not be true but as a precaution I would ask to have any baby tested prior to sale.

Manny's wing is coming along very well I will pop some photos up soon.

I am a little confused here, was your baby taken from the wild & hand reared. Or were they avairy breed & taken from the nest. If he was hand reared by someone else & sold to this girl it seems strange that the birds were in such condition at the point of sale. I do admit i haven't read all posts.

Keep up with the post Pedro!!! lol....
From what I've gather following through the whole post is that the aviary place where the bird came from have birds that had PBFD. A girl handreared the babies and sold them to this woman. Then they were in a poor condition with multiple issues. Now we're waiting on test results for PBFD.

 

[Thingamagigs]

Sorry to keep you all waiting

This is the approximate chain of events, from what I have been told by those involved

A pet store/aviary in S.A. purchases 3-4 week old baby galahs from "a local man with multiple pairs". They then employ a lady to handrear them. At 8 - 10 weeks they are weaned and go back to the store. The owner of the store ships birds out regularly to all around Australia but also has local buyers. They sell the handreared babies for $120 each with $50 shipping (They are $350 in QLD).
A money hungry girl in QLD noticed the price of the birds was less than half their value in QLD, if she bought these she wouldn't need to do any work and could make a tidy profit "flipping" them. So she purchases bulk numbers of babies, all put into the same crate and flown up to QLD. Then, she resells them without health checks or veterinary care if they are injured. She does not tell the buyers she didn't handrear them and avoids direct questions with indirect answers.... such as Q: "did you breed these or just handrear them yourself?" A: "I got them at a good price from a breeder who had too many to cope". One then ends up assuming she handreared them herself, as she continues to talk about when they were weaned and what they were weaned onto. She attempts to sell them injured, without drawing attention to the injury or without getting the birds veterinary treatment. I noticed the injuries on both babies and she had many, different excuses for it.

I was contacted by the actual handrearer, who helped me track down Manny's age and informed me none were injured before leaving SA. Manny is 16 weeks old. I don't like the fact they were weaned so young and shipped out so young, but I very much respect the fact that the aviaries and handrearer made no attempts to hide any information and were very helpful in not only getting me info and offering help with manny's behavioural problems... but also guaranteeing that this reseller will never get another baby from them again. She had lied to them, saying the babies went to friends and she did not sell them on. They were also honest about their past and that a bird with PBFD was sold through their aviaries, but tested positive 6 months after sale. Still, they gave the person a refund and do not deny it is possible the bird was infected prior to sale. Although I don't agree with everything they do, I am impressed by their honesty and their compassion for my situation.

We are still waiting for the test results (gee, has it been ages or am I just nervous?). Manny is slowly improving with his begging behaviour through diversion. He will always have anxiety issues though. But as time goes on, it becomes easier to deal with his issues and the noise he creates as a result.
He is talking! He is still perfecting the clarity of his words, but he already says a lot. He loves laughing, he says "hello", "hello Manna Bird", "Whatcha doing" and "whatcha talking 'bout". We are trying to get him to say a lot more, but these are the things he decided to pick up, even though we have been repeating what we WANT him to say more often LOL

Photos of the new improved Manny!!

So much cleaner than he was when he arrived!!!

His "Busy bird" look... "Go away, Im eating!"

holding his wing MUCH better! (Look at the horrific clip!!!!)

He wants a cuddle <3

 

[Thingamagigs]

This is Manny a couple of days after he arrived... I had cleaned him up as best as I could but he still had "stains" from the poo that caked his feathers. A couple more washes and he is clean as a whistle! Such an improvement. His sister was in far worse shape. Good news is she was apparently purchased, so hopefully is in a better home now

 

[JerseyWendy]

I am in AWE how wonderful Manny looks in such a short time!

YOU are just what he needed.

I have fingers and toes crossed for you guys!!!

 

[Bobioden]

I am glad he found a great home. He looks 100% better than when you first got him. Congrats on the great care.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I'm so happy you found out more information about him, and that he is in such a good home. It makes me want to cry to know how that horrible lady only thought of them as quick cash

I'm crossing my fingers that Manny's test results come back with good news.

 

[Thingamagigs]

I'm really nervous about it, but trying to keep an open mind. Even if he has PBFD he will be a good role model for the regulation/banning of import/export for resale. I am lucky to have traced his origins back, but others may not be so lucky. They may never know something is wrong until their bird has died of acute PBFD or begins to show symptoms of chronic PBFD.

He has some dodgy powder down feathers that make me nervous. Some excessively long ones around his rump area that stick out of his feathers and some small curved pinfeather type ones around his head. But Galahs and cockatiels can live a long happy life with the disease and don't go bald and die the same way a white cocky does (thank you who ever mentioned that, I looked it up and got more specific info).