Sorry in advance, I wrote a book, but it's only fair for me to paint the whole picture...
What brought me here? My own ignorance and arrogance. Sounds odd, I know, but it is what it is. My first "big bird" was Cuckoo, my BFA. I freely admit, I didn't know enough to give him everything he needed and deserved. I took it on faith that his previous owners knew what they were doing, and fed him what they did, which was horrible, and I lost him to likely heart attack and/or fatty liver after quite a few years. I failed my feathered friend. I accept that, and I live with it always.
So, after a few years with no birdie friend, we decided it was time to start looking, but not yet realizing how ignorant I really was. We found a wonderful refuge, less than an hour drive from us. My intention was someone a little smaller, maybe a conure or another cockatiel, since we had tiels years ago, rehomed from brother-in-law, and they lived to 24 and 26 years old. There were none available for adoption at the time, but there was Patches, in all his fuzzy plucked glory. A grand eclectus. Here's where I got the first glimpse of my ignorance. I had never heard of eclectus parrots, and had never even seen pictures, let alone met on in person. Also, he was a long time plucker after a hideous past before coming to the refuge. I had no clue about any of it.
The owner, whom I just met after a chat on the phone, handed him off to me. Looking back, I believe it was largely to watch me and see how I was with birds, and my reaction to one who wasn't considered "perfect." Love!!! OMG, just love. Almost immediately, he reached up with that gorgeous beak and kissed me, full on the lips.
Okay, now what? We hung out for several hours, and he was the sweetest thing I'd ever met. I had no idea at the moment, but came to realize I had been chosen. Still, I had always wanted a grey, or so I thought, and she had several available. Nope. No connection really with any of them. Not like Patches. So, we talked about ekkie diet a little, and plucking... Time for research. That was okay. The refuge requires a number of visiting hours to make sure it's a good match, so the birds won't quickly wind up being rehomed yet again. So, many weekend visits were in my future.
Now, after the first meeting, I just assumed Patches was a social kind of guy, and was like that with everyone. Nope. My second visit with him, I was warned that he was kinda hormonal and cranky that day, and another potential adoptor who met him got bit. Hard. Armed with that bit of info, I walked over to him, talked to him for a minute, and offered my arm. He stepped up, reached out and kissed me. I thought, okay, there's some kind of connection, and the owner knew he had chosen me. No question. He knew I was coming every Saturday, started bathing himself on Saturday mornings before I came, and did his "happy dance" of excitement when he heard my truck pull in. I credit him for teaching me what being chosen means, feels like, and what a true bond is all about.
Okay, I searched everything I could find about ekkies, and plucking, and diet, and landed here, on this amazing forum. Sooooo much information, and the community, the family really, is what kept me coming back. I lurked, and read everything I could find for months, until I finally felt comfortable enough to bring Patches home. The forum is where I found people who get it. People who put into words what I was beginning to understand with Patches. Chosen. What a concept! My boy quickly became my once in a lifetime, my heart bird. I vowed never to fail him, and give him the best of everything I could.
Unfortunately, his past 18 years of horrible diet, mistreatment, and neglect took its toll, and his health failed after less than a year together. He passed in my arms, in the car on the way to an avian emergency clinic after my regular vet had done what he could. At least, my boy knew how very much he was loved, something he never had in his previous life, right until the end.
Support from the forum community helped me realize for myself, as soon as I was ready, that the enormous hole left in my heart made room for another bird in need. The rest, as they say, is history.
So, thank you, my forum family, for all you've taught me. About birds, and about myself as a parront and human being.
𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽〘F Lutino Budgie〙
𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙧〘M Cinn-Turq-Pied-Spang Kakariki〙
