Hello! Recently Adopted Blind Macaw

[Mom2Rain]

Hello!

We have recently adopted a seven yr. old Green Wing Female named Rain. Despite her inability to see, she's adjusting remarkably well: responds positively to our voices and music, strong appetite, loves her toys and showers. Rain is a character, and handful in a good way. In the short time we have had her, she has definitely made herself at home. I am introducing myself and I'm interested to know if there are other people out there with blind birds? It would be nice to compare notes. She had very good first check-up with our avian specialist yesterday, and he said blind birds can do quite a bit. Looking forward to meeting you all. Attached are some recent pictures of Rain. The whole family absolutely adores her.

 

[LaManuka]

Hi Mom2Rain and beautiful Rain!! Unfortunately I have no particular advice I can give you, but I just wanted to say welcome to our community, thank you for adopting Rain and sharing her with us, and that she is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!

 

[Mom2Rain]

Hi Mom2Rain and beautiful Rain!! Unfortunately I have no particular advice I can give you, but I just wanted to say welcome to our community, thank you for adopting Rain and sharing her with us, and that she is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!

Nice to meet you. Thank you for the welcome and kind words regarding our girl. I look forward to being part of the community.

 

[saxguy64]

Sorry I don't have much to offer regarding blind birds, but wow, Rain is beautiful! I do have a soft spot for those with special needs, so thank you so much for giving her a loving home! ❤️

 

[GaleriaGila]

THANK YOU for sharing your story. You are giving me smiles, joy, happiness, and just general optimism about our Community here.
Welcome. I am so glad you are here.
What a wonderful journey you have undertaken.

 

[Mom2Rain]

THANK YOU for sharing your story. You are giving me smiles, joy, happiness, and just general optimism about our Community here.
Welcome. I am so glad you are here.
What a wonderful journey you have undertaken.

Thank you so much. She's pretty cool. You just have to announce to her when you are around so she doesn't startle. Working on step up, and so far so good.

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. Of course its very important to not change her surroundings once she learns where everything is. THank goodness that she is a companion bird, because in the wild she would certainly not survive!

 

[HeatherG]

What a beauty Rain is.

Years ago, I adopted a very mistreated Cherry headed conure who was blind. He did not like to hear strange voices in the apartment and would start to wail if he heard someone he didn’t know. But he was a loving bird; I just left his cage set up the same way and he got around well. He really liked a cotton preening ring toy and also loved to be pet and held. He also enjoyed being held while out in the sun. He loved the sun on his feathers.

I hope you have many years of happiness with Rain. She will probably need sameness and reassurance but she will love you and I am sure be a good bird.

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you both!

 

[Mom2Rain]

Sorry I don't have much to offer regarding blind birds, but wow, Rain is beautiful! I do have a soft spot for those with special needs, so thank you so much for giving her a loving home! ❤️

Thank you for the welcome. I have a soft spot for the special needs too. We have other birds but this is our first (and only) blind bird. She is pretty sweet.

 

[Mom2Rain]

Welcome and be welcomed. Of course its very important to not change her surroundings once she learns where everything is. THank goodness that she is a companion bird, because in the wild she would certainly not survive!

We are careful not to change up her cage. Her favorite pastime is to sit on a large standing wooden perch in the living room. I put a 'play blanket' loaded with toys around the base of the perch. She will climb down, select a toy, and then take it to the top of the perch to play.

 

[Mom2Rain]

What a beauty Rain is.

Years ago, I adopted a very mistreated Cherry headed conure who was blind. He did not like to hear strange voices in the apartment and would start to wail if he heard someone he didn’t know. But he was a loving bird; I just left his cage set up the same way and he got around well. He really liked a cotton preening ring toy and also loved to be pet and held. He also enjoyed being held while out in the sun. He loved the sun on his feathers.

I hope you have many years of happiness with Rain. She will probably need sameness and reassurance but she will love you and I am sure be a good bird.

Interesting and wonderful! So you had a blind buddy. I find that Rain likes different textures on her face. She will rub her face into blankets, sheets, anything with a soft texture. Did your Conure ever try to fly? We have a lot of wing flapping over here. It never goes anywhere but I'm sure she misses flying and is trying to emulate that feeling again.

 

[Mom2Rain]

We to you both!

Many thanks!

 

[Mom2Rain]

THANK YOU for sharing your story. You are giving me smiles, joy, happiness, and just general optimism about our Community here.
Welcome. I am so glad you are here.
What a wonderful journey you have undertaken.

Thank you for the warm welcome. She's a lot of fun, and we're just grateful her former owner trusted us to adopt her. She was loved in her previous home.

 

[HeatherG]

Interesting and wonderful! So you had a blind buddy. I find that Rain likes different textures on her face. She will rub her face into blankets, sheets, anything with a soft texture. Did your Conure ever try to fly? We have a lot of wing flapping over here. It never goes anywhere but I'm sure she misses flying and is trying to emulate that feeling again.

Magoo got startled and tried to fly a couple of times. The first, I took him outside because it was warm and raining and I thought he’d like a bath. But he was scared of all the sounds and fluttered to the ground.
The second time, years later, I am not sure what startled him. It was a sunny summer day, the kind he liked. But he went up and then gradually down, to land in the street. And because he was so plucked, he had a chest abrasion then which needed to be healed up.

Magoo was a big hearted wonderful bird. He actually supplanted my Quaker, Lucy, for a little while. He used to walk around feeling with his big old beak like a cane. Sadly, he was killed by a strange gas leak in my apartment, as was my Pionus. Lucy was up higher in her cage and was ok.

He was a really neat old bird who deserved the best of everything and loved to be held and cuddled.

 

[Mom2Rain]

Magoo got startled and tried to fly a couple of times. The first, I took him outside because it was warm and raining and I thought he’d like a bath. But he was scared of all the sounds and fluttered to the ground.
The second time, years later, I am not sure what startled him. It was a sunny summer day, the kind he liked. But he went up and then gradually down, to land in the street. And because he was so plucked, he had a chest abrasion then which needed to be healed up.

Magoo was a big hearted wonderful bird. He actually supplanted my Quaker, Lucy, for a little while. He used to walk around feeling with his big old beak like a cane. Sadly, he was killed by a strange gas leak in my apartment, as was my Pionus. Lucy was up higher in her cage and was ok.

He was a really neat old bird who deserved the best of everything and loved to be held and cuddled.

Mangoo sounds wonderful. I'm glad he had you. Rain has not been her long (not even two weeks). She came to us with some minor plucked patches. I have been working my darndest to combat what was an obvious ongoing issue. I thought we had made some progress, as there have been no new feathers at the bottom of her cage (other than the first night). Unfortunately I found TWO new feathers at the bottom of the cage this morning. Two. I know it could be worse, but dang...I worked hard for those new feathers. C'mmon Rain! Help me out here. *The vet said her feathers look great and she has tons of new growth with a healthy diet but apparently it's itchy when they come in? Idk...we'll keep working on it.

 

[HeatherG]

Magoo had been badly abused and then seized by animal welfare. He may not have been completely blind but probably didn’t have much useful sight. it took a while for him to understand that he was safe with me and he was staying. The first night after I picked him up from the airport I got him out and gave him a bath with baby shampoo because he was so filthy. I thought he would hate me! But then I dried him and cuddled him in the towel and he loved it. He wailed when I put him back in his carrier and I think he thought he was never coming out again.
I think a blind bird is very vulnerable and the anxiety is part of why he was plucking . He got a lot better but he was always pretty bare.

Is your bird’s blindness new or did she lose her sight a long time ago? Magoo had been hit and his pupils were not round anymore. He had a chunk out of his beak, too. He was still very skinny when he came to me but he loved to eat and to be hand fed and I think that helped him to feel safe as well.

Feeling safe is so very very important for birds. It is one of the biggest parts of wellness. I think it’s almost as important as decent food.

 

[Mom2Rain]

Magoo had been badly abused and then seized by animal welfare. He may not have been completely blind but probably didn’t have much useful sight. it took a while for him to understand that he was safe with me and he was staying. The first night after I picked him up from the airport I got him out and gave him a bath with baby shampoo because he was so filthy. I thought he would hate me! But then I dried him and cuddled him in the towel and he loved it. He wailed when I put him back in his carrier and I think he thought he was never coming out again.
I think a blind bird is very vulnerable and the anxiety is part of why he was plucking . He got a lot better but he was always pretty bare.

Is your bird’s blindness new or did she lose her sight a long time ago? Magoo had been hit and his pupils were not round anymore. He had a chunk out of his beak, too. He was still very skinny when he came to me but he loved to eat and to be hand fed and I think that helped him to feel safe as well.

Feeling safe is so very very important for birds. It is one of the biggest parts of wellness. I think it’s almost as important as decent food.

Rain is only seven years old, and the previous owner said they noticed one day something was 'off'. Idk if she was born that way and they just noticed, or if it was a gradual decline in her sight. She was surrendered out of love because their living situation was going to change. Beyond that I can see she was loved by her former family. She is absolutely adored here, and we are getting to know her quirks and personality. You are right. These birds are extremely vulnerable and I'm so glad we have her now. It sounds like Mangoo really needed you too.

 

[HeatherG]

Is Rain very very quiet? I had heard that cherry headed conures were loud but Magoo was almost silent.

 

[Mom2Rain]

She actually is pretty quiet. She talks, but never be really shouts or screams at all.