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UPDATE: "Claire is such a special little bird! I remember when she first came to me, and was so sick, it was painful to look at her. She looked like a little birdie E.T., with a bald, scabby crusted head and eyes so swollen it was hard to tell exactly where they were. The twice daily medication/nebulization routine was an ordeal, since she would shriek in terror and run away with her wings straight up in the air as soon as she was let out of the hospital tank. The first couple of weeks, I would hold my breath every time I checked on her, not sure if she would still be with me. When she finally moved into a cage during the daytime, sleeping in the tank at night, often I would find her at the end of the day in the exact same spot where I had placed her in the morning, all toys completely ignored. Now she is in the big cage with all the others, and the medication is down to occasional steroid eye drops, when needed. The vet told me to be sure the other birds did not pick on Claire - well, I needn't have worried. She is literally at the top of the pecking order! Sleeps on the top perch, and while she has her own favorite food dish, if she wants to move in on anyone else's, she just squawks at them and they move over. She is so active in this big cage! Travels all over it, playing with every toy, and bossing all the others around. She LOVES her daily shower, I think especially since her eyes are still a bit "funky", the water feels good. Though she doesn't look like she should be able to fly - I am not sure if this is due to old injury or deformity - she has managed to make it all the way across a 20-foot wide room! What she may lack in looks (to be generous, I'll say she is a bit "odd" looking) she more than makes up in personality. She has a distinctive gravelly squawk, and I think she may be an insomniac, because hours after the cage has been covered and all the others are asleep, I will hear her grumbling to herself." I was surrendered to a shelter by someone who gave no information about me, but the one thing they did say is obviously true: "We don't know how to take care of no birds." I'm Claire, a pretty lutino cockatiel, and obviously my people did not know how to take are of me. I came to Mickaboo with severe conjunctivitis as a result of advanced sinusitis. Because of this condition, I have lost some of my sight. I also have weak bones from a poor diet, pressure sores on my feet, and a wing injury. It is hardly surprising that I was afraid of people. If anybody could turn this around and achieve a happy ending, it's the folks at Mickaboo. My foster mom says I have already made the leap from screaming mimi to lap bird. When I first came out of my hospital tank, I spread my wings and wobbled to a corner, screaming like a banshee. Now I go immediately from my tank into my person's lap so I can get head rubs and cuddles. Even though I am on several medications, including "eye goop," I take it all in stride. Though I eat well, I have lost a lot of weight. Nonetheless, my prognosis is good, despite the neglect I have suffered. My foster mom is very impressed with the dignity I display while enduring my pain. Please check back to see how I'm doing after some more time with people who DO know how to take care of birds. Notice: Cockatiels are flock animals, and most of them are much happier when they live with at least one other cockatiel! Because of this, unless a household currently includes another cockatiel, Mickaboo usually requires that a minimum of two cockatiels be adopted. Print this page |
