Since I'd fallen in love with birdies, I'd been planning to rescue those who needed a home.
The plan came into effect quite suddenly one day when my husband came home with a scruffy cockatiel in a dented, dirty cage...
I knew this cockatiel, "Star", and his "owner." Let's call this person "F."
Star was a replacement cockatiel. He replaced a cockatiel (Baby) who escaped out the door, leaving F with a handful of tail feathers. The escapee was to replace a cockatiel (Angel) that was sick when F bought it and perished within two weeks. That cockatiel was to replace the one that died (I think) of old age.
The twist is that the escapee was caught and returned. Much attention was lavished upon Baby and Star became an outcast.
We all know what happens when a bird is neglected. Star began to scream and shred his feathers. The solution for this, according to F's wisdom, was to scream back or leave Star outside or in the garage for days at a time. Even the most favored pets in the household were fed and watered irregularly so I can imagine what Star might have suffered in that area as well.
When F had finally had enough of this terrible burden of a bird(dripping sarcasm here), he gave Star to my husband who brought him home to me.
You may wonder how F decided on us.
We didn't have the money to purchase Star outright so my husband had launched a subtle campaign of lies, implying that our house was big enough to just lock the troublesome bird away in a back room. He explained repeatedly to F that we didn't really want the bird but would take it off of F's hands as a favor.
It didn't take long for F to hand Star over.
I got on the ball immediatly. The cage was cleaned. The food and water dishes were sanitized and refilled. I couldn't believe how much that poor bird ate those first few days! Toys(he had no toys!) and a mineral block were purchased. Birdy vitamins were administered. There was always a spray of millet in the cage.
I decided to re-name Star as a symbol of his new life with us. I named him Piper.
Now to address the more intangible problems. Piper was a bit of a screamer the first day. It ceased the next day and I believe the screaming was from hunger. Whenever he did pipe up, I made an effort to praise him and tell him how pretty his songs are. Every day, I talked to him in a soothing voice. We worked on trust and we got to the point to where he would take a treat from my hand. Piper trusted my husband enough to perch on his finger inside the cage. The cage is his safety zone and I haven't really wanted to press the issue. I think he will come out when he is ready.
The feather shredding has ceased. He is slowly looking better as new feathers come in. I believe he is a pearl pied. He's gotten accustomed to being misted with a spray bottle every once in awhile. The other day he shocked me by actually taking a few bites of the apple slice I placed in his cage. He's since tried a bit of orange and strawberry.
I just want Piper to be content. I want him to feel loved and part of a flock. Progress is slow and, at times, I feel sad about that. I wish I could just erase his problems and bad memories. Then there comes the day that he tries eating something new or he cocks his little head to look at me and chirp and that's just the greatest feeling in the world. I feel happy when I'm in another room and I can hear him go through his repertoire of cockatiel song as he looks out from his cage through a sunny window.
I don't know how to solve the problem of unwanted birds. I don't know how to stop ignorant and neglectful people from purchasing animals. I do know that I love my dear Piper and he is a blessing in my life, warts and all. I do know that bird rescuers can make a difference, one birdy at a time.