Okay, let me start by saying I'm not sure Avery is a permanent addition to my little flock, or if I'm just going to foster for a bit. This happened really fast, so I'm not quite sure what to think yet.
A dear friend of ours called yesterday afternoon. Her elderly next door neighbor has been failing, and after a long period of 24/7 in home support, last week was finally taken to a nursing home leaving two birds alone in the house, except for her son who stopped by twice a day to feed them. The birds were her husband's, and he passed away 15 years ago. They've been cage bound ever since. The other bird, a sun, died within a a couple days of the lady going to the nursing home.
So, Avery was all alone in that house. I knew I had to get him out of there. I went this morning and met the son who's been taking care of him. I don't fault him. Not his bird, and they were all uninformed about proper care. No judgement, I was in the same place before I learned better.
He's been in their house for 30 years, so they guess he's between 30-40 years old. Diet is exclusively seed mix with a bunch of sunflower in it, and peanuts.
No fresh veggies, fruit etc. for at least the last 15 years, and not sure if the dad gave him any before that. He's in rough shape, but better than I expected after all he's been through. He didn't seem afraid of the son's hands, so I took the opportunity to coach him how to get him to step up and get him out of the cage. Once he was out, he transferred to my hand and was soooooo sweet! I couldn't believe it, nor could the son. We hung out like that for a little while while we talked and got as much info as I could about him, and then he went right into the carrier.We loaded up the cage and food and things in my truck, and then Avery in the passenger seat. He made tons of grey sound effects and whistles on the way home! I didn't want to use his little, old, worn out cage, but I set it up anyway because I want him to have SOMETHING that's familiar. He didn't want to come out of the carrier and nipped some, but not enough to break skin. I didn't force it and grabbed a perch for him to step up on. After that, he stepped right up on my hand. β€οΈ
He's now in my dining room, close enough to Tucker and Baxter that they can hear each other, and he and Baxter can kinda see each other through the glass door. I gave him a little dish of veggies same as I feed the others, and I see veggie slop on the bottom of the cage now! All things considered, he's doing absolutely amazing for the first few hours.
Stay tuned. We'll see if he fits in or not, after quarantine and a trip to the vet for wellness check/blood work... Oh, he also hasn't been to the vet for over 15 years if ever, and hasn't had a bath that anyone knows about. His water bowl is too small to get in, so there's no way.
Much work to do, I guess. Despite being rightfully terrified, he's so sweet. Totally worth the work.
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