| SCC Dilemma - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Lorraine Campbell |
For those of you that have cockatoos.....I desperately need your opinion. I
know this is about a wild bird so should be in the "other" forum....but I
consider all of these guys my little pals
I have been feeding a flock of about 20 cockatoos that come to my patio each
morning and afternoon for the last 4 months. It is obvious that at least
some of these birds have PBFD to some extent. There are a few with beak
abnormalities and a couple with feather problems....but each and every one
of them have a zest for life you would not believe. They are alive and
vital to the fullest extent of the words.
The worst off is "Baldy" who is well.....virtually bald.....a few wing and
tail feathers is all he/she has. I have been worried about Baldy from the
start since our winter is just starting to get cold, and I was concerned
about the effect the cold weather would have on him/her A couple of months
ago I mentioned Baldy to my general vet.....as well as my avian vet.....and
I contacted our national wildlife service as well as a number of wild bird
rehabbers, naively thinking that some kind soul would swoop in and save the
day and Baldy would live happily ever after in some nice warm place. They
were all of the opinion that Baldy definitely and most of his/her flock
should be exterminated and definitely would be, given the opportunity. I
was told that if I caught Baldy to help him/her I was legally bound to turn
him/her over to a rehabber no matter the consequences.
This broke my heart...because I have fallen in love with these little
characters and their own individual little personalities and especially
Baldy.
Herein is my dilemm, we have had 4 straight days of rain.....each day I have
been watching Baldy and each day it got harder and harder for him/her to
keep up with the flock. He/she just could not fly very fast or high with
the few feathers he has being soaking wet. Last night he/she didnt even try
to leave my property....they roost in trees about 3 kilometers from my
house. He got himself into one of the trees in my backyard instead and
stayed there.
Tonight he/she couldnt even get himself/herself into one of trees it was
getting darker and darker and he/she was just running around trying to find
a place....so I did the unthinkable....I went and caught him/her. Baldy is
now out of the constant heavy rain which is set to continue for the next
week at least. I could not stand the thought of Baldy being taken by a
predator during the night....and there are many here.
It seems to me that the only two things that prevent Baldy from leading a
"normal" life with his/her flock is the rain and I would presume.....the
cold. We didn't have rain for months....and he/she was fine, it was
summer....and he/she was fine. But now winter and rain....not so fine.
He/she is definitely not grateful for being caught and is quite peeved about
the whole thing.....but is now in a very large cage on my patio with seeds
and water and I hope will settle down.
Do I keep him/her? Do I set him/her free and let nature take its course even
though it might take a very long and pitiful time? Do I hand him over to the
rightful authorities knowing the outcome?
I just don't know what to do. I just don't want Baldy to suffer.
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| Pete 'n' Trish |
Howdy where are you in oz?? I have a flock of corellas I am feeding in north
Sydney. One of these birds was almost the same as your baldy. He cant fly
but I think Johnny cash was a petshop bird. I walked up to him and just
picked him up, he just walked over to the edge of the swimming pool and
waited for someone. I put him in a huge cage and he is still there. I called
it johnny as he spent the day walking the line on a landscaping log. He is
scared of the dark and really gentle. I have aquired Sally another rescue
corella. I am to afraid to take johnny to th evet in case they just want it
put down. This bird has the loveliest gentle nature. Good luck with baldy.
I figure as I am a registered nurse I can be a carerer, and johnny has the
run of our home, his home now. And if the rehabbers dont know my address
they cant "rescue" him . trish in Sydney :)
"Lorraine Campbell" <innaminute@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:u2twe.9375$oJ.2083@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> For those of you that have cockatoos.....I desperately need your opinion.
> I
> know this is about a wild bird so should be in the "other" forum....but I
> consider all of these guys my little pals
>
> I have been feeding a flock of about 20 cockatoos that come to my patio
> each
> morning and afternoon for the last 4 months. It is obvious that at least
> some of these birds have PBFD to some extent. There are a few with beak
> abnormalities and a couple with feather problems....but each and every one
> of them have a zest for life you would not believe. They are alive and
> vital to the fullest extent of the words.
>
> The worst off is "Baldy" who is well.....virtually bald.....a few wing and
> tail feathers is all he/she has. I have been worried about Baldy from the
> start since our winter is just starting to get cold, and I was concerned
> about the effect the cold weather would have on him/her A couple of
> months
> ago I mentioned Baldy to my general vet.....as well as my avian
> vet.....and
> I contacted our national wildlife service as well as a number of wild bird
> rehabbers, naively thinking that some kind soul would swoop in and save
> the
> day and Baldy would live happily ever after in some nice warm place. They
> were all of the opinion that Baldy definitely and most of his/her flock
> should be exterminated and definitely would be, given the opportunity. I
> was told that if I caught Baldy to help him/her I was legally bound to
> turn
> him/her over to a rehabber no matter the consequences.
>
> This broke my heart...because I have fallen in love with these little
> characters and their own individual little personalities and especially
> Baldy.
>
> Herein is my dilemm, we have had 4 straight days of rain.....each day I
> have
> been watching Baldy and each day it got harder and harder for him/her to
> keep up with the flock. He/she just could not fly very fast or high with
> the few feathers he has being soaking wet. Last night he/she didnt even
> try
> to leave my property....they roost in trees about 3 kilometers from my
> house. He got himself into one of the trees in my backyard instead and
> stayed there.
>
> Tonight he/she couldnt even get himself/herself into one of trees it was
> getting darker and darker and he/she was just running around trying to
> find
> a place....so I did the unthinkable....I went and caught him/her. Baldy
> is
> now out of the constant heavy rain which is set to continue for the next
> week at least. I could not stand the thought of Baldy being taken by a
> predator during the night....and there are many here.
>
> It seems to me that the only two things that prevent Baldy from leading a
> "normal" life with his/her flock is the rain and I would presume.....the
> cold. We didn't have rain for months....and he/she was fine, it was
> summer....and he/she was fine. But now winter and rain....not so fine.
>
> He/she is definitely not grateful for being caught and is quite peeved
> about
> the whole thing.....but is now in a very large cage on my patio with seeds
> and water and I hope will settle down.
>
> Do I keep him/her? Do I set him/her free and let nature take its course
> even
> though it might take a very long and pitiful time? Do I hand him over to
> the
> rightful authorities knowing the outcome?
>
> I just don't know what to do. I just don't want Baldy to suffer.
>
>
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