No Name and in a jail for 25 years. This is really one of the worst cases that I have seen of feather picking, and overall poor health. So bad in fact that I immediately called the vet and asked her to come up here (45 min. drive) and take her back to the clinic. This bird was given up voluntarily after several neighbors had complained to Minae (our Fish and Wildlife folks) about her conditions. She was living with an elderly couple who said that she is 25 years old. The cage is iron, completely peeling after so many years, the horrible feather conditions make me suspect some type of lead poisoning, along with very strange respiration and air sac problems. Her feet are hard from standing on metal perches, instead of the nice natural wood ones that we place in all our cages.
But here is the amazing thing: I stood looking at her yesterday in the back of the pick-up truck wondering just what to do....do I say yes, do I refuse to take her and send her away to another facility, make her chances of survival even less? I just kept staring at her and she back at me and the folks were waiting for my decision, and I said, well, leave her here for now, but I may send her away to someone else. The bird kept studying me, so I was intrigued, I just felt like I could not let her down. Once I placed her in the corridor she looked at me and whispered "Hola".
The report from the owners was that the feathers were so horrible because mice go into the cage every night and eat the feathers...bizarre. Yes, there are probably mice, but they are not causing this feather problem. She is so overweight and not able to breathe that I really think it will be amazing if we can recuperate her. She has some beautiful new feathers coming in, and with that I am hopeful that once she is in a proper cage with a great new diet, rain showers and overall improvement in health she will get better. Plus, she has spunk, amazingly she does not look depressed.
She has refused any type of food, I have put in some nice fruit, seed mixture, clean water and nothing. So, this morning I placed coffee and bread and rice (horrible) and she actually took a bite. We will have extreme challenges with her diet.
This leads to my petition for help with all the lab tests that we need to perform on her. We will need to do extensive blood studies, feather studies, the x-ray the vet is willing to cover and of course the medications that she will need. Cheaper than the states, however still a huge expense for us.
So depending on what all the tests reveal, that will be the deciding factor in whether she can come stay with us. I am not willing to risk our other birds health, and that is why she is in quarantine at the vets office. I desperately need a hospital quarantine area here for cases just like this one.
By now you all must be thinking I am crazy or addicted, even I think I should of said no, (logically speaking) but that look in her eye and the idea that she might get better with help had me once again offering to care for her. It's very difficult to be placed in this situation deciding this poor birds fate, I have to do what is right for her, she has suffered enough in the hands of her "caretakers"
Please help if you can, and please pass this blog along to friends, family and social networks lets be Thankful for what we have this Thanksgiving and give a little to help this unfortunate lively soul.
If anyone has any great names please send them along! You can donate using Pay Pal on the website. www.toucanrescueranch.com
Thanks so much and
God Bless you all this holiday season. I will keep you posted on her progress.
No comments:
Post a Comment