I feel horrible

[mnsalani]

He is so handsome!! And you are a WONDERFUL person for what you are doing!!! There are too few people on this planet that would go out of the way for an animal like that. Give him all the love you can and if by some chance his owners do come looking, they'll see how much you've done for him. He sounds like an incredible ekkie

 

[mtdoramike]

Awwwwww, he is such a cutie. Your right, that beak needs a bit of trimming.

 

[Cowtown]

Thank you for taking care of him
I can not see your picture posts...

Good luck and love him

 

[kerry]

Yes, I think that he does need a beak trim, it is longer than the norm for an Ekkie.
That is great that you are taking good care of him & taking him to the vet Crone.
He is beautiful, he looks great for having been living in the wild for who knows how long!
Now I can see why your friend who called you said that she was afraid of him.
I thought what, she is afraid of a parakeet? but he is no parakeet!!
Many years ago my kids found a loose cockatiel in our yard when they were 10 or 12 years old or so. He was on a tree in our year & they recognized his sounds because I had a male hand fed cockatiel & 5 large & extra large parrots at that time. We lured him onto our deck with some bird seed & I threw a towel over him & put him in an extra cage in our garage. I didn't want to bring him into the house because of the chance of my large parrots getting a disease from him. I put an ad in the paper, at that time about 10 to 15 years ago I don't think that Craig's List was around yet. I didn't find anyone who lost a cockatiel & I found someone who wanted him so I just gave them the cockatiel.

 

[Weeegiewarbler]

He may be micro-chipped, in which case the owner will be found. But, if after checking all the local vets, shelters and police no-one comes forward to claim him, I wouldn't be feeling guilty about keeping him.
And after a suitable time (the 3 months some one suggested earlier) I'd have him chipped... so he never gets lost ever again. My boy's chipped - just make sure a competent avian vet does it though!

 

[Crone]

Well these forums have just been a wealth of information for me and this new bird in my life!

I read a thread about leg bands and well, admitting stupidity here, I then thought oh....maybe I should check out that band on the parrots foot. I went to a website, spent time on Google and was able to determine he was bred at Gulf Coast Exotics in Florida. With a bit of investigating and a phone call with the breeder, I found out he is 11 years old. I also found out that it is VERY highly likely he was misplaced during the tornadoes April 27th. There are no reports of him missing yet or anyone looking for him, but I will keep checking.

Meanwhile back at the farm....well my daughter's house....He has not been named yet but should be this week. He seems to be settling a bit and his vocabulary is starting to sprout forth. He laughs, says Hi, meows, says Hi Mom and LOVES my fiance' Chris. My daughter and I have been the ones setting his cage up, making sure he is happy, feeding him, giving him treats and spending time with him. Suddenly Saturday he decided he likes Chris and will leave our shoulder to fly into the other room and sit with Chris, pruning his hair, ears and sticking his head in Chris' mouth looking around. He gives us kisses when we ask for them by putting his beak to our lips or actually pressing it to our mouth and sticking his tongue out to touch our lips. Perrin, my grandson, hurt himself Saturday and screamed, the bird screamed every time Perrin did...until Perrin thought it was so funny he forgot about his injuries.

His beak is really starting to look better, he is using the wood and the perch and both the beak and toenails are wearing down and looking better. It is very weird but he will not poop on us. It is almost like he holds it when he is out with us, for a long time and as soon as we put him back in his cage he will poop right away. He chooses when he wants out, he will hit his beak against our hand and make a noise if he wants to stay in, but will get right on our hand when he wants out. We leave the cage open and he chooses to get out and socialize when he is ready. When he acts a little grouchy, we shut the cage and ignore him (we figure calling attention to any negativity will increase the negativity). It seems to be working OK but I may be raising a monster who knows.

The only problem I am really having is he is not wanting to eat his fruits and veggies much anymore. He only wants to nuts and I know that is not healthy. So this morning he sat on my shoulder all anxious to watch me make his food and I informed him he was not going to get any nuts until he ate some of his fruits and veggies for breakfast. He looked at me like I was NUTS and watched everything I did. He did not see me go for the bag of nut to put in the bowl and kept looking at it. I stirred the food up and put it in his feeding bowl. He made a noise of dissatisfaction when I put him back in the cage, went to his food and was NOT happy. He did not even try to see what I had in there. He just started taking his beak and slinging every bit of it out of the bowl, continuing to make the nasty little noise. I told him he would get his nuts later and walked away. He screamed at me and then went up on his upper perch. I ignored him and a bit later he went down and started eating. It was like a child pitching a fit to get the dessert before they eat their healthy meal. Is there a trick to getting them to eat their fruits and veggies better?

I appreciate these forums and the wealth of information here. We are going to continue to provide as good of a home as we can for him as time passes and I will keep checking for a report of a missing Eclectus, I hope the next 2 months and 3 weeks passes quickly though. lol

 

[suebee]

lol good luck on the eating!! but lol just hide the nuts, outta sight outta mind! and he sounds such a good natured bird

 

[Crone]

This morning he watched me make his food from atop his cage. I was in the kitchen and he peeped around the corner spying on me. I added the nuts but cut them up smaller than normal and mixed them in. He ran into his cage when I got into the room with the bowl and ate everything he picked up but the strawberries. I am so proud of him. He is showing a little "personality" lately not wanting to go back in his cage at night. He would prefer to sit and watch my daughter play Jewel Quest on the computer. He is doing very well though and continues to entertain us.

 

[suebee]

aww he sounds like his well settled an very cunnin!!! hummmmmm lol but either way loads of fun down the line

 

[morrow]

If you have not already clipped his wings it is a good idea to do so right away..
Care must be taken so he does not fly into trouble or outside..

 

[Amber]

Good on you for taking this little one in!

I read you were looking at taking him in for a vet trip to get beak and nails done? I'd recommend going to an avian vet, getting that done plus a general health check. Ask them to scan for a microchip. If they find one, awesome you can contact the owners, if not, well, no harm was done trying. I think it's the responsibility of us as pet owners to make sure our birds carry a form of I.D that can be traced to us, whether it be a custom legband with our ph number, or a chip, to increase the chances of finding our lost ones. And it's the responsibility of those who find a lost pet to try to do the best by it. In your case, if no one steps forward for this bird and your happy to keep him, the best thing for him is that you do so. Someone probably misses him terribly, but at least he is safe and sound.

 

[Crone]

Is clipping the wings something you HAVE to do with your parrot? I just hate doing that because he so loves to fly from the living room to the bedroom to hang out with the person of his choice, watch games on the computer or chill on the couch and watch TV. How will he get to where he wants to go if we clip his wings? And understand this is coming from a parrot illiterate person who has no clue about simple parrot must do and don'ts.

Update: Yesterday he started saying Papaw when looking for Chris, my fiance'. He really loves him and says Papaw a lot. He also is trying to say Chi Chi, which is what my grandson called me. He whistles for a dog and even mimicked my grandson when he was mad and crying. It was a Wa-waa-waaaaa over and over and Perrin was not thrilled. lol. I had to turn my head to laugh about it.

My daughter and fiance want to call him Cosmo and I really don't like that name. I want to name him Mojo. So we will see who wins. He may just become confused and have two names. He is cute when he laughs and this morning helped me make his breakfast again, keeping a close eye on the bag of nuts and when I grabbed some to put in his bowl, he ran over to my face and kissed me over and over. He made a noise that sounded like he was purring. My daughter was amazed. I never realized they can be so smart. He looks for that bag every morning now. He started eating everything in his bowl, even his spinach....except for the strawberries. This is the 3rd or 4th time he threw them out so I am not going to get him more of those. He liked the figs this morning tho. He was eating all the fruits, veggies and nuts, except those dreadful strawberries. lol

Still nothing in the papers or anywhere I can find about him missing. I keep looking though.

 

[Molcan2]

Clipping wings is a very hot subject in this forum. You are going to get a wide variety of answers for this one. There is no right or wrong answer, read what everyone has to say and do some research on your own. Then make a decision that you are comfortable with and that best suits your lifestyle. Some people like to err on the side of extreme caution (to the point of not letting birds ever go outside -clipped or not) and others free fly their birds. There is always a happy medium, find what works for you.

With that being said, I personally wouldn't do it. Yes they can get loose that way, that is the risk. However being flighted saved his life. Who knows how long he was loose for, with the ability to fly he was able to escape danger and find food. He also sounds like he is good at it and its obviously something that he is used to doing. He may not take it well having his flight ability taken away. This frustration has the potential to lead to feather picking. You just have to be careful living with a bird with flight ability. Don't have any ceiling fans on while he is out and be very very mindful of doors being open. When you do take him outside be careful of your surroundings, anything that he considers danger may spook him and cause him to fly.

If you are going to keep him flighted then I suggest you teach him to recall. Find out what his absolute favorite thing in the world is to eat. Then give a command for him to come and when he does then give him his treat. Do this multiple time a day every day and you'll have a higher chance of getting him back should he get out.

Good luck with what ever you decide, he sounds like he is really happy.

P.S. If you want him to work for his nuts, they make a triangle thing with shapes cut out where you put the nuts inside and they have to figure out how to get them out. It makes them have to think a little more.

 

[Crone]

I really will have to think about the clipping wings thing. He is alive because they were not clipped and we love giving him the option to socialize with who he desires and go back and forth, spread his little wings and fly, he seems so happy doing that. I don't want him to get hurt tho. We always make sure the ceiling fans are off and the home is baby proofed. We would never let him do this or even be out of his cage if we are not in site of him. I won't even take a shower without taking him with me or putting him back in his cage. He even goes to the bathroom with Chris or goes back in his cage. I can see the benefits of clipping for sure, but like the benefits of not clipping as well. Will have to dwell on that one.

He just started saying some new words today, which are probably old words he was taught before I saved him. He is saying "OK Papaw, OK OK" and "Pretty Bird". It seems he has a pretty good vocabulary and picks up words and phrases very easily, is this normal? I can't wait until he calls my grandson Snot Face or Chitlin, because those are the two things I call him all the time. (Drop Dead Fred is my favorite movie). He tried to say "snot" yesterday and it was cute.

Oh he is so adorable and I just hope he is happy and even if I find the original owner, as long as he is OK and taken care of, I will be happy for him. Someone must have took a lot of time teaching him all these things.

I will have to check into the nut puzzle thing. I think he would enjoy that as nuts are his very favorite thing on Earth. I don't give him peanuts, because I read on here it is not that great for them. I buy organic nuts and fresh fruits and veggies, organic grains. Although I have to admit I do share a corn flake or bran flake from cereal with him once in awhile.

Who woulda thunk you could love a bird so much!

 

[Nakiska]

Who woulda thunk you could love a bird so much!

I know that feeling EXACTLY! Chaco bird, a male gray cockatiel was found in my father in law's front yard, he never got claimed by anyone so I ended up with him and named him Chaco.

Chaco made me fall in love with him more and more every day and he too, talked up a storm! He taught ME what HE knew and we bonded like you wouldn't believe. He was my first "bigger" bird as I'd only ever had a parakeet in the past. He wolf whistled, said pretty bird/birdie, he mimicked my phone ringing exactly, did squeeky dog toy and occasionally would flat out laugh, belly rolling laughter...who knew a bird could do that?!

Anyway, I never clipped Chaco's wings...he was such a good boy, he flew all over the house and one particular day, I was leaving to pick my kids up from school...was only going to be gone about 10 minutes. When I went to put Chaco away in his cage, he flew off (cause he didn't want to go back in his cage I'm sure) So rather than chase him around, I said to heck with it...I knew he'd be fine. I opened up the door to leave, Chaco flew and landed on my head just as I had stepped outside. I panicked and said..."OH NO! OH NO! And spun around to go back inside, but it was too late, he flew off my head, around the house 3 times and landed high up in a spindly alder tree.

I was DEVISTATED!!! I HAD to go pick up my kids...so I rushed to school, got them, we came home, put his cage on the roof of our house with treats and millet hoping he'd come to it...he never did. I was never able to catch him even though he lived outside our house for 3 days. He'd talk to me when I'd go outside and say "Pretty Pretty" he'd answer...but never came down to me. Each day, he was further and further from our house and on the 4th day I went out and called to him and he didn't answer so I knew he'd flew out of hearing range. I put up signs, I put ads in the local classified and on craigslist...and I cried.

It took me 5 years before I decided my heart was healed enough to have another bird...now mind you...I have and have had, TONS of animals, dogs, horses, cats, goats, fish...I've loved and lost many pets in my life...but loosing Chaco, a silly bird (to some), absolutely affected me.

We have 3 birds now, 2 tiels and a conure and OMG! I love them soo much! So believe me, I completely understand where you are coming from. And how awesome that he's talking to you...he must really love and feel comfortable around you and your family. He's very grateful for the "rescue" for sure!

Congratulations and enjoy him all you can, while you can.

Take care,

Toni

 

[MikeyTN]

I personally wouldn't clip too!!! It can cause them to become feather cheered!!! Even plucking!!! He's a beautiful boy, your not horrible for wanting to keep him but it is the law to bring them into animal control then they give owners just a few days to claim them, if not you will be able to adopt him under the right condition. Cause if someone ever claim he is their bird and you kept him, you can be sued! By going through the law, they can't reclaim him! Its something for you to think about!!!

 

[Crone]

I took all pics of him off FB and posted that I found a parrot, I posted it on the local news FB page as well. The local news in Chattanooga is going to do a story in hopes of finding his owner. I want to keep him so bad but I am losing sleep thinking someone loves this bird as much as I do, raised it from a baby maybe, spent time teaching him all these words and manners and love and they are missing him terribly, not knowing if he is alive or dead.

I am not posting breed, sex or any other info. The owner will have to provide that to get him back.

It makes me sad, but.... he has a family somewhere and I need to find them. Seeing how you all love your birds it just breaks my heart that someone may have lost him in a tornado and think he is dead.

So I am going to diligently try to reunite them

 

[parrottoys]

Perhaps the bird should NOT go back to the original caregiver if they should should appear. Clearly they didn't take care of it or supervise it's activities. If the beak and toenails are overly long and the bird was loose, they were not taking proper care of it in the first place. If they have not made much effort (and to date there has apparently been no effort or someone would have heard from someone that a bird had been lost) to locate the bird, which they have not, they do not deserve this parrot. Plain and simple.

 

[MikeyTN]

Perhaps the bird should NOT go back to the original caregiver if they should should appear. Clearly they didn't take care of it or supervise it's activities. If the beak and toenails are overly long and the bird was loose, they were not taking proper care of it in the first place. If they have not made much effort (and to date there has apparently been no effort or someone would have heard from someone that a bird had been lost) to locate the bird, which they have not, they do not deserve this parrot. Plain and simple.

That's not the way the law views it! Unfortunately its not for you nor I to decide that part. That's why I usually turn the owners in and let them deal with it.

 

[Crone]

There is a good chance it was displaced in tornadoes that occurred heavily in this area April 27th. I do think the bird was taken care of honestly. He is too loving, sociable, trusting, intelligent. Someone surely worked with the Parrot for years to teach it everything it knows. I mean the bird won't even poop outside of his cage, he will go to his cage and poop, then come back out to socialize and play. Yesterday he started saying "Sam". I don't know if it is his name or his owner's name. Trust me, I would love nothing more than to never have an owner show up. BUT, if I had a parrot for 11 years and it was my family member, a tornado took everything I owned and I am left to worry if my sweet baby was alive or dead, I would hope someone would find him, love him and at least try to find me. I cannot live with myself if I don't try.

I have taken care of rescue animals since I was 24 years old. I am certified to foster injured wildlife (raptors, reptiles, and everything from possums to deer). It is tough helping these animals and then saying goodbye, but I have done it for years...and it never gets easier. The hardest one, believe it or not, was a possum I found sucking her dead mother on the road. She was smaller than my little finger. Anyway....

There is the chance the owner did not take care of him. But there is also the chance the storms ripped them apart and he is missing them as much as they are missing him. I cannot rest easy until I know I did all I can to reunite them if it is meant to be.

I stopped by the police department and after what seemed like a million calls yesterday and today, he has been placed under my care with the understanding that if the owner shows up, I am to turn the bird over immediately. Unfortunately, they will only pay for a local vet to look over the bird and that is what happened. The vet has ZERO experience with parrots. He claims he is happy and healthy. He did check for a chip and there is none. I am still paying to take him to an Avian Vet today. Who knows, there are so few in this area, he may know where the bird came from.

So, I am legally fostering the parrot and know I may have to turn him over to his owners some day. It will be sad, but I can do it. If no one shows up in 90 days from the day I found him, then he will be legally turned over to my possession. If the owner shows up after the 90 days, they have to take me to court unless I willingly give up the bird.

Sounds so complicated, but at least I am doing everything I can and doing it as legal as I know how.

Meanwhile back at the farm, I got him banana and kiwi for the first time and he loves it. He seems to like mustard greens as well as the spinach. He ate very well this morning and I bought a sweet potato I will prepare this evening for him. He did not talk so much yesterday, but did start saying "Sam", which is a word we have not taught to him.

Lastly....I have to say how much I admire all of you and enjoy reading all about your parrots and other feathery family members. There is so much wisdom in these forums and I am learning so much about parrots. I appreciate each of you!