Become A Mickaboo Angel

You may donate online via Network for Good or PayPal.
If you prefer to mail a check or money order you may mail it to: P.O. Box 697, San Jose, CA 95106-0697. 

Please specify that you want your donation to be an Angel donation, which bird you would like to sponsor and how you would like to be acknowledged on the website: full name, first name only, first name and last initial, etc. 
If you do not want to specify a particular bird to support, you may also ask us to pick one for you. You may also have the Angel donation be in honor of someone (human or pet). 

Please email angels@mickaboo.org if you have questions. Thank you for your contiued support!

She recently gained a tremendous amount of weight in a very short time and although it appears to be hormonal, there might also be fluid buildup. Dr. VanSant will keep her for hormone treatment and safe weight loss. She'll be monitored to make sure she doesn’t have any further breathing troubles.

Kol

Cockatiel
1-15-24

 

Gizmo
Blue and Gold Macaw
1-15-24

Gizmo had a home in California’s Central Valley for 25 years, where he was loved and cared for, but not thriving. Sharing a cage with another macaw named Tim, Gizmo had become hormonal and the pair were fighting. Gizmo suffered a beak wound and subsequent serious infection. His super-charged hormone condition also created issues in his gut, and he had very stinky poops.

When Gizmo’s elderly parront became ill in 2022, a friend tried hard to visit daily to look after the pair, but it was evident they needed rescue. Gizmo and Tim’s human mom made the difficult decision to surrender the pair in June 2022, choosing to do what was best for them. Gizmo went directly into an avian veterinary hospital. (Tim was adopted.) The veterinarian treated Gizmo’s beak wound, which had become necrotic, as well as his hormone condition. Gizmo lived at the hospital and received care for nearly two years, until he was well enough to be released and a foster home became available.

The beak treatments continue to this day, and his beak is healing well. He will need to receive periodic hormone injections long term, perhaps for life.
As you can see in his picture, Gizmo had a long-standing habit of plucking his feathers off his chest, abdomen, back, legs, and shoulders. The feathers likely will never regrow in those areas because he plucked them for so long. (But he is still beautiful, with luxuriant feathers on his head, wings, and tail.)

He is thriving in foster home, friendly and gentle with his humans, and happy with the ambient company of his foster parront’s flock – in his own cage! No more sharing cages, for Gizmo. He loves to come out to a big playstand, jabber softly to his humans, and sit quietly on his foster mom’s arm to help her grade her students’ papers.

Would you like to be the Angel for this gentle, sweet boy, assisting Mickaboo with his considerable veterinary expenses?

Boomer
GreenWing Macaw
1-01-24

UPDATE June 2024:
Boomer is a quite a macaw! He has a long history of terrible explosive malodorous diarrhea that caused his foster to bring him in for hospital care. The infection he arrived with was caused by a rabbit pathologic bacteria  that was eventually  identified by DNA sequencing at the University of Georgia. He had previously been treated by several veterinarians with numerous antibiotics that failed to help the old guy. Once the bacteria was identified as a bad clostridium we were able to treat with special antibiotics. Sometime in his distant past he suffered numerous long bone fractures and an amputated tail. He has chronic eye disease that requires regular treatment and is able to see a bit with his left eye. He suffers occasional seizures. Boomer is usually flat on his sternum but moves around his cage with help from his beak. Despite all this he manages to maintain a good attitude, and a voracious appetite. He has a crew of people that manage to keep him entertained and clean. Because of his many challenges, he is unable to pass droppings normally and is likely to hold them until he has a big dramatic evening poop. He needs regular baths for this tail and vent and really enjoys a frequent "sitz" bath in a special tub. He divides his time between a daytime cage and a padded flat surface cage at night.
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Boomer has been in Mickaboo's care since 2012. Now in his 40s, he's had quite a rough life and is a very special needs bird. He requires a special cage setup because of his severely contracted legs that limit his ability to walk, though he can crawl and climb. He was recently at the vet again to address his arthritic pain.
More updates coming soon...

UPDATE June 2024:
Mrs.Green is still on meds but has an upcoming vet appointment later this month. For the most part, she is eating, playing, and acting fine. We look forward to the restults from the vet visit.
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"Noname" was surrendered to Mickaboo without even a name – the poor thing was never given one. As a hatchling and then a juvenile, no one had bothered to hand tame her. Now at about three years old, she is still a bit unsure of people but you can see how active and alert she is. When she was first picked up by a kind Mickaboo volunteer, they noticed her abnormally long beak and very wet poop. This of course called for a visit to the vet. She was treated for an acute bacterial infection called Avian Spirochetes and possible liver disease, most likely due to a poor diet. With the overgrowth of her beak, she may now require regular beak trims. 

After her latest test results, she is continuing to take medication with a recheck scheduled for February 2024. While not yet finger trained, she can fly out of her cage and back and when handled closely, she does not struggle or bite like most parrotlets. Phew! Her current foster is very optimistic that with continued support, Ms. Green has the potential to be a tame and friendly birdie.

Angels for Mrs Green
Peilin Wu Ochi (In memory of her beloved Blue)

This poor gal had a few old fractures that don't allow her to stand up straight, walk, or perch anymore. She has to somewhat scoot around to get where she wants to go. Last year, she was struggling with a bacterial infection that caused her to be unable to poop normally. On top of that, she became hormonal and began to pluck her wings. She couldn't catch a break! Thankfully, the vet gave her antibiotics, probiotics, and hormone injections. She has retained her feistiness and loves to sit in her foster mom's hand and have her head scratched.

Angels for Lucia
Smokey and Tucker

The Budgie Group
5/20/22

JoJo is about 15 years old. He's a very sweet cockatiel who likes hanging out with his humans. He loves his lifetime buddy even more though. But, because he was over-preening him, JoJo had to be placed in a separate cage. He became very unhappy and lovesick, and he began to fret and pace when he was in his cage.

JoJo's avian vet found ankle and tail base injuries that required medical treatment and hospitalization for several weeks. His feathers are growing back in, and JoJo is doing much better now. He’ll need ongoing treatment for his hormonal issues though. JoJo’s a bit embarrassed by his self-inflicted injuries and the cost of his medical treatment. He’s hoping for a few donations to defray the costs. Will you help?

Jasmine arrived in horrible shape after being rescued from a feed store that sells birds. Starved and half beaten to death, this very young lovie was lucky to be picked up by a Good Samaritan before ending up with us.She spent a couple weeks in the hospital for her wounds and bad AGY infection and was also tested for PBFD (Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease).

Even though she is still very young, she has some breathing issues, sleeping problems, and belly issues. She was recently tested for Avian Bornavirus after her foster mom noticed the symptoms. Unfortunately, not only is she positive but is also shedding the virus which means that it is attacking her immune system. It was devastating news for her foster mom. There is no cure for ABV and while treatment can prolong her life, it will eventually be her end.

Jasmine has now been with Mickaboo for about a year and a half and has won the hearts of everyone! She is super sweet and has a quirky personality.

Angels for Jasmine
Amy Pate

Ike
Blue Crowned Amazon
8/9/17

The vet did an ultrasound of his liver and saw evidence of fibroid tissue. He will be monitored for the next six months for signs of more changes in his liver. If changes are observed, surgery to take a biopsy will be required. Ike is very happy to be home again.

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Ike recently injested some of his calcium perch rather than spitting it out. As a result, pieces of calcium built up in his digestive system. He was uncomfortable and drank an increasing amount of water. When his entire bowl of water disappeared in one day, his foster mom knew something wasn't right. She took him to the vet and they noticed how subdued his personality was. Ike was admitted to the hospital and was given a pain reliever while testing was underway. The radiographs (x-rays) showed a trail of minerals in his digestive system.

When the vet asked where was the source of the minerals could be coming from, Ike's foster mom realized that the calcium perch in his cage had lost more than an inch in length but there was no calcium powder on the floor. When she reported that information to the vet, Ike was put on an antibiotic as well as the pain reliever. The radiographs also identified severe arthritis in one knee.

With the addition of an anti-inflammatory medication, Ike felt much better. He was able to return home to recover in a cage with soft perches. Please consider helping to cover the costs of Ike's unfortunate vet visit.
 

Angels for Ike
Sharmin Ritterson

UPDATE: June 2020
Charlie is doing great now. He says "How are you today?" and "I love you".  He allows head scratches, especially on his cheeks. He also likes to jabber with his friend, Ike. Sometimes the jabbering even turns into an argument! They sound like an old couple yelling at each other. It always ends with gleefully laughter though.

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Charlie came from an empty home. His guardian passed away a month earlier and someone had been feeding him every day. He had been eating only sunflower seeds for 25 years. People started to break into the home. When the police arrived, they realized that the bird needed to move to a safe home. One of the officers called Mickaboo. Charlie was picked up right away and put in a foster home.

Charlie is so cute with his big amazon eyes that look up at you very sweetly. Despite his size, he is able to climb around his cage. He is afraid of hands but he steps up and allows head scratches when approached slowly. He loves to climb up your arm. Charlie talks very appropriately. He has said “Go away, go right now!” and calls for “Don”. He is eating a healthy diet of pellets and vegetables.

Now Charlie looks a lot bigger than he is. He has air sacs under his skin that are not releasing air like they are supposed to. This can be caused by trauma. A thorough veterinary work up was done. There aren’t any underlying causes for the air sacs other than trauma. The air sacs were drained but they filled back up. The next step in treatment might place a stent between the air sacs so the air has a way to be released internally. We will know in the next few weeks.

Angels for Charlie
John & Trudy Landgrebe
Rhonda L. Bennon