Hi Everyone,
I just got some really distressing news, and I'm at a loss as to what to do.
The history, 5 years ago, I responded to an ad for a free B&G. The people were her second owner, and their baby had started walking and was putting her fingers in the cage. Bird became mine.
I had wanted a macaw for many years, had a mini for a short period of time when I graduated high school (it flew into a family friend's pool), when I moved into my own place and couldn't keep it, my aunt took him until he passed away many years later. My mom had a cockatiel from the time I was about 12, awesome bird. The mini was mean, this was pre-internet, so I really didn't have a ton of resources to help me learn to handle him, but we eventually got him to step-up, and he was able to be held after a lot of work.
Had been offered a B&G when we had a 1 and 2 year old, was told the bird had a lot of psych issues, so I declined, knowing at that point in our lives, we couldn't deal with a large bird with problems.
Anyway...that was pretty much the extent of my bird history. I didn't know much when I brought my girl home, but I learned quick (I LOVE the internet), and she is very much a part of our family. She came home to us on April 19, 2005.
(I apologize in advance for the length of this, I am just in shock and haven't a clue what to do now)
What I know of her history...
First owner was a firefighter, he kept a cockatoo in a cage of top of her, and apparently "punished" her with a squirt bottle. Second owner was a family that didn't ever let her out of the cage, kept padlocks on both doors to her cage, and from the way the bars are bent, I suspect they fed her by pouring food and water in through the sides of the cage. She was on a parrot seed mix when I brought her home, and according to the family, she was 5 years old at that time, which would make her roughly 10 years old now.
She plucks...her feathers are in terrible condition. I have had her on Zupreem Avian Maintenance pellets as her main food since I got her, and of course, she eats what we eat. She isn't a cuddly, friendly bird, but we can handle her, she steps up (when she wants to, she likes to tell *us* to step up :31:, but in the event of a fire or something, we would have no problem having her step up and stay on our arm), she talks, she's part of our flock. We're a noisy household (4 kids with a 5th on the way, he was a bit of a surprise!), and her perch is in the main room where we are most of the time.
We are a military family, and we're due for orders, we live in Alaska currently (we've been here almost 6 years, I got her up here). We made all our plans to travel, bought a 25' travel trailer and a truck BECAUSE of our pets (we also have 2 'tiels and cats)...purchased specifically because of this move...
We leave Alaska in July, we don't know yet where we are going, but it will be in the contiguous 48 states. Neighbor has parrots, they told us we'd need a CITES certificate for the birdies to cross the Canadian border. So, we started researching that, and hubby emailed the Candian border guard to make sure we have our ducks in a row about the animals.
They emailed back...we're square on the cats...and the cockatiels won't be a huge issue....but chances are 99% that they will not let my B&G cross the border...because of the plucking. If a bird does not LOOK healthy (regardless of any vet certifications), they will not allow it to cross.
Hubby sent a picture of her, guy emailed back there is just no way anyone is going to clear her.
So now I'm at a loss. We've talked about how we would move her for 5 years, both of us agree that we just don't think she would do well on a plane. I don't even know if the airlines that fly up here would take her, but even assuming they would...I am terribly worried that she would kill herself on the flight.
Does anyone have any suggestions, ideas, I do NOT want to have to rehome my baby. (I *may* have a good home for her if it became necessary, a friend up here does bird rescue, but before I even think about that, I want to have exhausted every available option)
Are there medications that are SAFE that would sedate her for the flight? Any surefire way to get her across the border into Canada and then back into the US? Other than driving her through Canada, or putting her on a plane, I cannot figure out how else to get her out of Alaska.
Of all the things I considered when I got my girl, I never thought I would be told I couldn't drive her out of Alaska when we left
I just got some really distressing news, and I'm at a loss as to what to do.
The history, 5 years ago, I responded to an ad for a free B&G. The people were her second owner, and their baby had started walking and was putting her fingers in the cage. Bird became mine.
I had wanted a macaw for many years, had a mini for a short period of time when I graduated high school (it flew into a family friend's pool), when I moved into my own place and couldn't keep it, my aunt took him until he passed away many years later. My mom had a cockatiel from the time I was about 12, awesome bird. The mini was mean, this was pre-internet, so I really didn't have a ton of resources to help me learn to handle him, but we eventually got him to step-up, and he was able to be held after a lot of work.
Had been offered a B&G when we had a 1 and 2 year old, was told the bird had a lot of psych issues, so I declined, knowing at that point in our lives, we couldn't deal with a large bird with problems.
Anyway...that was pretty much the extent of my bird history. I didn't know much when I brought my girl home, but I learned quick (I LOVE the internet), and she is very much a part of our family. She came home to us on April 19, 2005.
(I apologize in advance for the length of this, I am just in shock and haven't a clue what to do now)
What I know of her history...
First owner was a firefighter, he kept a cockatoo in a cage of top of her, and apparently "punished" her with a squirt bottle. Second owner was a family that didn't ever let her out of the cage, kept padlocks on both doors to her cage, and from the way the bars are bent, I suspect they fed her by pouring food and water in through the sides of the cage. She was on a parrot seed mix when I brought her home, and according to the family, she was 5 years old at that time, which would make her roughly 10 years old now.
She plucks...her feathers are in terrible condition. I have had her on Zupreem Avian Maintenance pellets as her main food since I got her, and of course, she eats what we eat. She isn't a cuddly, friendly bird, but we can handle her, she steps up (when she wants to, she likes to tell *us* to step up :31:, but in the event of a fire or something, we would have no problem having her step up and stay on our arm), she talks, she's part of our flock. We're a noisy household (4 kids with a 5th on the way, he was a bit of a surprise!), and her perch is in the main room where we are most of the time.
We are a military family, and we're due for orders, we live in Alaska currently (we've been here almost 6 years, I got her up here). We made all our plans to travel, bought a 25' travel trailer and a truck BECAUSE of our pets (we also have 2 'tiels and cats)...purchased specifically because of this move...
We leave Alaska in July, we don't know yet where we are going, but it will be in the contiguous 48 states. Neighbor has parrots, they told us we'd need a CITES certificate for the birdies to cross the Canadian border. So, we started researching that, and hubby emailed the Candian border guard to make sure we have our ducks in a row about the animals.
They emailed back...we're square on the cats...and the cockatiels won't be a huge issue....but chances are 99% that they will not let my B&G cross the border...because of the plucking. If a bird does not LOOK healthy (regardless of any vet certifications), they will not allow it to cross.
Hubby sent a picture of her, guy emailed back there is just no way anyone is going to clear her.
So now I'm at a loss. We've talked about how we would move her for 5 years, both of us agree that we just don't think she would do well on a plane. I don't even know if the airlines that fly up here would take her, but even assuming they would...I am terribly worried that she would kill herself on the flight.
Does anyone have any suggestions, ideas, I do NOT want to have to rehome my baby. (I *may* have a good home for her if it became necessary, a friend up here does bird rescue, but before I even think about that, I want to have exhausted every available option)
Are there medications that are SAFE that would sedate her for the flight? Any surefire way to get her across the border into Canada and then back into the US? Other than driving her through Canada, or putting her on a plane, I cannot figure out how else to get her out of Alaska.
Of all the things I considered when I got my girl, I never thought I would be told I couldn't drive her out of Alaska when we left