31/08/2026
We're thrilled to welcome 30 year old Debbie, a beautiful, larger than life , with the most beautiful eyes - and a sizeable beak, apparently not shy to draw blood in an effort to remove an appendage 🫣❣️.
Debbie is a fully winged "cagebound" bird. I use that term cautiously. "Cagebound" could mean one of several things.
1. The bird is too shy, scared, untrusting of the world and people outside of his/her cage, despite efforts made by the humans she lives with to gently entice her out.
2.The bird has, at some stage, experienced severe trauma, usually at the hands of humans, (or dogs/cats, less regularly) and feels only safe inside the cage.
3. The bird has always lived in a cage, never having had the opportunity to experience life outside the bars.
4.Diet plays an enormous role in plumage. Diet alone cannot fix the FPD which has progressed to self-mutilation, but being confined for 30 years on sunflower seeds and water is not an appropriate diet. Debbie's been offer a small quantity of seeds, plus a healthy serving of AVI Products , together with fresh fruit and veggies. To our delight she tucked in, try this, that and the next thing.
Our conclusion that this is not a medical condition, but a psychological one. Debbie arrived on Saturday in her "carry cage" and I've been with her and some of our flock since arrival. Today, weather permitting she'll go into the rehab flight aviary, with her cage on a stand, left completely open. We'll let you know how that goes ♥️❣️
Finally, I just want to mention that this video clip of Debbie was taken, while my hand was in the cage, hatches all over - and remarkably, my appendages are all intact 😉
We are not here to judge, for who are we to do so? We're here to help Debbie discover freedom from a cage, guide her in learning to fly and not crashland, and very importantly commence rehabilitation. Debbie is completely fatherless on the entire torso and most of her legs. The fact she had started self-mutilating is is of serious concern.
Whilst there are several reasons for (feather plucking disorder) we have yet to receive a biopsy report positively specifying a skin disorder, exzema, etc, save on one occasion ion many years ago I walked into a pet ship in PMB, saw a who looked severely ill, cramped into a glass fish tank.
The Abridged version:-I was not under any circumstances prepared to leave the bird in that situation, and since the shop owner refused to provide medical treatment, I said I would take the bird to Dr T for testing and keep him with me, in quarantine, until test results came back. Said shop owner accepted that condition. She'd didn't want to be "lumped" with vet bills.
Ollie tested positive, as I'd expected him to. I had no legal choice but to return him to where we'd retrieved him, facilitated by the SPCA. We covered all the medical bills, as I said we would
The final decision was made via SPCA Pietermaritzburg and little Ollie, I'd called him, was shortly thereafter seized from the same pet shop who'd put him up for sale again. It was a bittersweet call I received that Friday morning from then the senior inspector, who informed me that Ollie would suffer no longer. 😭💔
A gentle reminder 🙏🏻🦜 if see or think that something is not looking right with your parrot, if he/she is in fact ill, generally is a good argument for the illness having progressed to adnances stages. Parrots are prey animals. They inherently mask illness to avoid being ostracized, and in many cases, killed.
