We've been hearing from a lot of past Birdroom residents of late, which is wonderful - I love to hear how my former 'kids' are getting along with their new families!
Flame the sun conure is doing wonderfully, though being a bit naughty (as conures are prone to being!) for his new owners! Tito and Bella, a musk and a red-collar lorikeet, are now fast friends and also getting very bonded to their owners. Snowy, a white ringneck from late last year, is chewing everything in sight but his owner loves him all the same! I often wonder about Azure and Argent, the blue and grey hand-raised ringnecks I brought with Snowy, are getting along.
We've also had a visit from Coco, a very special Galah we rehabilitated last year. He has crippled feet, and also had severe selt-mutilation issues, pulling out not only feathers but his own toenails, and making terrible wounds on and around his feet. Despite two vet verdicts that Coco was beyond help and that his best option would be being put down... I had to at least try. It's not in my nature to give up on a life, any especially not one as special as I sensed Coco was.
So, I tried. Diet change, including the introduction of fruit and vegetables which initially he would not touch, was the first step - painstakingly slow. It took me two months to get him on pellets and fresh fruit and vegetables. While I was trying to tempt him into eating fruit and veg, he had vitamin injections - he bore them stoically.
The second step - his mutilation. Diet might help, but it's long term progress. I needed something, then and there, to help Coco break the habit of plucking feathers and mutilating his feet - I suspect they pained him and he just went mad trying to get away from it. He had pulled four nails off entirely, leaving bloody stumps of his toes, and just above one of his legs was a matted, bleeding mess where he'd torn into his own skin. It was one of the worst mutilation cases I've come across. I remember recruiting Jenna - a wildlife carer and used to dealing with the less-pretty situations that will crop up from time to time - to hold Coco for me while I tried to clean his injuries. Time and time again the paper towels I used came away red-soaked. Jenna and I agreed we had to try something drastic to stop him from doing this to himself... so we resorted to a collar.
Now I'd just like to say that collaring does NOT work in many situations - this is because it's not targeting the
problem of feather-plucking, but the
result. You're preventing the bird from pulling feathers, not addressing WHY it's pulling them in the first place - so it don't fix the problem.
In this situation I found it was one of the only viable options. Though I planned to make other changes to Coco's lifestyle his number one issue was those mangled feet. I made him a collar and Jenna and I spent an interesting half-hour trying to get it on him!
The next step was housing. Coco's feet were so crippled he couldn't stand on a perch when we first met. I was also worried the open wounds of his bitten toes would be prone to infection - because of course, Coco spent most of his time on the ground.
The paper in his cage had to be regularly changed to prevent this. I also set up his perches in steps. First, on the ground, was a hefty and solid cement perch. Within stepping distance, a thick natural branch, and above that two wooden dowel perches. Bit by bit he was encouraged to use his feet, flex his toes, practice his climbing and balance. Twice a day I took him out to bathe his feet in weak bedadine solution, trying to keep them clean. He would lie quietly on his back while I did this, only fussing occasionally when I cleaned a still-raw toe.
Enrichment was also part of his routine. Rotating toys, giving him leaves, bark and twigs to shred - anything to keep his mind active, and away form chewing himself!
This was the type of bird who stole everyone's heart. He always shared the lunchroom with Jenna then myself during lunches, wandering over our table (and often our lunch!), dancing, ambling over to butt our hands to get a head-rub, or talking to us - '
Hal-lo Co-co', he'd tell us in his sweet little voice. He lived in the room beside the lunchroom so that he could whistle at the staff passing through for attention and a pat. We all loved him.
Two months on -
success. I'd never been so proud of any bird before. Coco was now stepping up, though very wobbly, onto hands and perches. Thriving after finally having taken to pellets, fruits and vegetables his feather condition had improved. The day we took his collar off was a tense one - I think we all half-expected to come back the next day to find his toes chewed again, but the collar seemed to have done the trick. Though he had a few minor nibbles, he seemed far more comfortable with his feet now.
Coco was rehomed with a truly lovely couple. Familiar with galahs, they had heard all about his struggles, and were fully committed to proving a loving home to a bird they knew, might never be 100% healthy. His feet will likely always remain crippled, though now they were much better without the chewed toes! In fact, his nails had actually started to grow back, when I had worried he'd damaged them too badly, so it was a pleasant surprise. With lots of love, cuddles and hope, we sent him off to his new home. Lunches were very quiet affairs for a few weeks after Coco left us.
I had a visit from Coco recently for a wingclip - and he's doing incredibly well! He can actually climb up the bars now, though he helps hold on with his beak. He sits on high perches, something he never used to. The strength in his feet is vastly improved (though as I always suspected, not 100%) and he is obviously content, well-rounded and happy.
Sometimes, no matter how much effort you put in, you miss out. Every time, that's hard And sometimes - sometimes, you win one, and it's all worth it. And when you do - when you see a bird sitting on your hand, nuzzling at you for attention, that just six months before - was under a death sentence? That now he has a happy, immensely loving home to return to? That's the sweetest success there could ever exist.
