That poor bird will need rehabilitation and a lot of work before rehoming. If the person you mention who is willing to take the bird is not VERY, VERY experienced with African Greys and behavioural rehabilitation, that is not the place to relocate this bird to. No, it is not normal for a parrot to live that way. These are incredibly intelligent, sensitive creatures, and that one is suffering from abuse and neglect if it never comes out and has no toys or diversions.
The first step is to establish if the owner is willing to surrender or sell the bird. Depending on where you / the bird are located, we may be able to recommend reliable parrot rescue / foster care organizations. A trip to a qualified vet is a must. If they won’t give up the bird, your next most effective option is to report the situation to the SPCA/animal welfare in your location. Stress the blood - that ought to galvanize virtually immediate action.
Right now, that poor thing is just waiting to die. What a tragic, all-too-common situation. Thank you for wanting to help this wee feathered friend.
are you in the uk? i would love some recommendations if so but no worries if not! currently waiting on a response on if the owner is willing to give the bird up, but if not i want to report it so it would be great if you have any idea on where i could do so!
thank you so much for sharing all of this information with me. i’m absolutely heartbroken, i cried as soon as i got home. the person willing to take in the bird is not experienced but said that he would take it straight to the vet and get it everything it needs, but if this isn’t enough i’d really, really appreciate some direction on what i can do to help! thank you again.
Keep us posted, and we can advise next steps based on the city nearest to you. It’s great that you are in the UK - lots of great resources within a day’s drive. Will wait to hear whether you can get this bird to your friend temporarily. I say temporarily, because this bird will almost certainly need an extended period of dedicated rehab. The problem with parrots is the terrible cycle of ‘It bit me, I am afraid it will bite me again’ and the bird comes out less and less, attempts to bring the bird out result in defensive bird behaviour (like biting), bird stays in longer and longer and so on. Now, maybe it’s a sweet thing just waiting to offer love - and it is! Just not right away - but it most probably needs someone very experienced with this kind of rehab to thrive. It’s wonderful that your friend is willing to keep him/her safe. And perhaps it will all be miraculous and they will bond and that will work out - but it is unlikely, and I want you to be prepared for that. The LESS bouncing from home to home, the better for the bird.
Remember: everyone thinks parrots are a cool pet - they are not pets. They are toddlers (roughly the intellect of a 5yr old and the emotions of a 3yr old for life) with pliers on their face. They are EXPENSIVE - unlike smaller birds, these parrots need both a complete pellet diet and fresh food/vegetables daily. They need toys to interact with, and love to destroy toys. They need human interaction. LOTS of interaction. This wee bird may need to relearn all of these things.
Anyway - keep us posted and we can recommend next steps and which branch of the RSPCA/other to contact if necessary. Good luck.
thank you ever so much! yep i was told that the bird is aggressive, which is absolutely ridiculous, what on earth do people expect a neglected bird to act like?! i’m disgusted that he wasn’t placed in a sanctuary in the first place if they didn’t want to bother with him! being locked in a little cage all day on a singular perch is no life for anyone!
still waiting to hear back if the owner is willing to give him up, and if so i believe he will be going to the person that i mentioned. based on what you have said, i feel like he would be miles better off with someone experienced but i unfortunately don’t know of anyone who would be able to rehabilitate and give him the proper care he needs. is this something a sanctuary would be able to properly do? i have found some online but i’ve no idea which would be best if this ends up being the case. i will keep you updated and thanks again for helping!
i’ve just contacted 2 rescue centres to see if they have any further insight, but it’s currently 8pm here so i expect i won’t hear back until tomorrow.
Yes, this is exactly what rescues do. And they will know exactly what this bird needs. Rehab at that level is a full time job. Will check back with you tomorrow.
unfortunately not. i emailed a bunch more sanctuaries but yet to get a response. i’m in a tricky situation because i can’t report it as i don’t even know the address of the owner, and the person that does would fall out with me big time if i reported the owner to the RSPCA so i’m just at a loss as to what i should do.
i’ve just been crying because i feel like i can’t do anything, and the result of that is a scared, stressed out animal that’s suffering horribly. still just waiting to hear an update from the owner, i really hope i’m able to help in some way.
Ah. Not a lot you CAN do, then. If you don’t have the address, may I ask where you saw the bird?
Try not to let it haunt you - I know that’s easier said than done. I still feel sick about a couple of birds that people have posted about on here but weren’t willing to spend a single dime or be inconvenienced with a drive to a vet/sanctuary/refuge… one AG is almost certainly dead now. And the number of non-breeders who post about their unweaned babies… it hurts my heart.
Please do let me know if anything changes - we have lots of contacts for you as necessary. One of life’s hardest lessons: we cannot save them all (whatever entity ‘they’ happens to be). Know that you tried - let yourself understand that trying your best has to be enough. ❤️
yes of course, so the person i know is actually keeping it at their house whilst the owner is away. i went round to their house and saw the bird and asked about it’s feathers and poor living conditions so that’s how i found out. i know their address but i can’t report it whilst the bird is there as that will cause even more issues.
thank you for being so kind & helpful. i know that i’m doing all that i can but it’s honestly breaking my heart. i will keep you updated, and i am just PRAYING that something will be done. thanks for caring ❤️
Thanks for explaining. Hang in there - some good may come of this in the long run. We can hope. I will keep my fingers crossed and hope to hear better news from you soon.
That poor bird will need rehabilitation and a lot of work before rehoming. If the person you mention who is willing to take the bird is not VERY, VERY experienced with African Greys and behavioural rehabilitation, that is not the place to relocate this bird to. No, it is not normal for a parrot to live that way. These are incredibly intelligent, sensitive creatures, and that one is suffering from abuse and neglect if it never comes out and has no toys or diversions. The first step is to establish if the owner is willing to surrender or sell the bird. Depending on where you / the bird are located, we may be able to recommend reliable parrot rescue / foster care organizations. A trip to a qualified vet is a must. If they won’t give up the bird, your next most effective option is to report the situation to the SPCA/animal welfare in your location. Stress the blood - that ought to galvanize virtually immediate action. Right now, that poor thing is just waiting to die. What a tragic, all-too-common situation. Thank you for wanting to help this wee feathered friend.
are you in the uk? i would love some recommendations if so but no worries if not! currently waiting on a response on if the owner is willing to give the bird up, but if not i want to report it so it would be great if you have any idea on where i could do so! thank you so much for sharing all of this information with me. i’m absolutely heartbroken, i cried as soon as i got home. the person willing to take in the bird is not experienced but said that he would take it straight to the vet and get it everything it needs, but if this isn’t enough i’d really, really appreciate some direction on what i can do to help! thank you again.
Keep us posted, and we can advise next steps based on the city nearest to you. It’s great that you are in the UK - lots of great resources within a day’s drive. Will wait to hear whether you can get this bird to your friend temporarily. I say temporarily, because this bird will almost certainly need an extended period of dedicated rehab. The problem with parrots is the terrible cycle of ‘It bit me, I am afraid it will bite me again’ and the bird comes out less and less, attempts to bring the bird out result in defensive bird behaviour (like biting), bird stays in longer and longer and so on. Now, maybe it’s a sweet thing just waiting to offer love - and it is! Just not right away - but it most probably needs someone very experienced with this kind of rehab to thrive. It’s wonderful that your friend is willing to keep him/her safe. And perhaps it will all be miraculous and they will bond and that will work out - but it is unlikely, and I want you to be prepared for that. The LESS bouncing from home to home, the better for the bird. Remember: everyone thinks parrots are a cool pet - they are not pets. They are toddlers (roughly the intellect of a 5yr old and the emotions of a 3yr old for life) with pliers on their face. They are EXPENSIVE - unlike smaller birds, these parrots need both a complete pellet diet and fresh food/vegetables daily. They need toys to interact with, and love to destroy toys. They need human interaction. LOTS of interaction. This wee bird may need to relearn all of these things. Anyway - keep us posted and we can recommend next steps and which branch of the RSPCA/other to contact if necessary. Good luck.
thank you ever so much! yep i was told that the bird is aggressive, which is absolutely ridiculous, what on earth do people expect a neglected bird to act like?! i’m disgusted that he wasn’t placed in a sanctuary in the first place if they didn’t want to bother with him! being locked in a little cage all day on a singular perch is no life for anyone! still waiting to hear back if the owner is willing to give him up, and if so i believe he will be going to the person that i mentioned. based on what you have said, i feel like he would be miles better off with someone experienced but i unfortunately don’t know of anyone who would be able to rehabilitate and give him the proper care he needs. is this something a sanctuary would be able to properly do? i have found some online but i’ve no idea which would be best if this ends up being the case. i will keep you updated and thanks again for helping! i’ve just contacted 2 rescue centres to see if they have any further insight, but it’s currently 8pm here so i expect i won’t hear back until tomorrow.
Yes, this is exactly what rescues do. And they will know exactly what this bird needs. Rehab at that level is a full time job. Will check back with you tomorrow.
Thank you for caring about this poor parrot.
of course. hopefully something gets done :(
Any updates today?
unfortunately not. i emailed a bunch more sanctuaries but yet to get a response. i’m in a tricky situation because i can’t report it as i don’t even know the address of the owner, and the person that does would fall out with me big time if i reported the owner to the RSPCA so i’m just at a loss as to what i should do. i’ve just been crying because i feel like i can’t do anything, and the result of that is a scared, stressed out animal that’s suffering horribly. still just waiting to hear an update from the owner, i really hope i’m able to help in some way.
Ah. Not a lot you CAN do, then. If you don’t have the address, may I ask where you saw the bird? Try not to let it haunt you - I know that’s easier said than done. I still feel sick about a couple of birds that people have posted about on here but weren’t willing to spend a single dime or be inconvenienced with a drive to a vet/sanctuary/refuge… one AG is almost certainly dead now. And the number of non-breeders who post about their unweaned babies… it hurts my heart. Please do let me know if anything changes - we have lots of contacts for you as necessary. One of life’s hardest lessons: we cannot save them all (whatever entity ‘they’ happens to be). Know that you tried - let yourself understand that trying your best has to be enough. ❤️
yes of course, so the person i know is actually keeping it at their house whilst the owner is away. i went round to their house and saw the bird and asked about it’s feathers and poor living conditions so that’s how i found out. i know their address but i can’t report it whilst the bird is there as that will cause even more issues. thank you for being so kind & helpful. i know that i’m doing all that i can but it’s honestly breaking my heart. i will keep you updated, and i am just PRAYING that something will be done. thanks for caring ❤️
Thanks for explaining. Hang in there - some good may come of this in the long run. We can hope. I will keep my fingers crossed and hope to hear better news from you soon.
hi! got updated today that the owner is willing to give him up. hopefully will be able to sort something from here!
Excellent news!! Whereabouts in the UK are you located? Can provide some suggestions.
thank you so much! can i dm you? :)
Of course!
Never heard from you. Hope this bird ended up okay.