Houseguest

[constance]

I don't have any updates as regards my neighbor, Miss B, actually. She's still in the hospital, and has called a couple of times in the past week, but I've been at my parents' when she calls, and phone reception isn't great at my parents' house. And she doesn't offer much information in her messages. Just that she's still in hospital, and can I make sure her Sweetie (yes, that's the parrot's name) is fed and watered. So I haven't managed to talk to her yet -- but at least she's not back in that absolutely unlivable house.

I've been calling my local council on aging at least twice a day since Tuesday, to no avail. I don't know exactly which two minutes per week they're open, but I haven't managed to reach them yet. Not even a voicemail system! The phone just rings and rings, and no one ever picks up, and every time this happens, I get a little more pissed off on behalf of the local aging. They don't even have voicemail! What kind of advocacy group sets themselves up so it's impossible to get hold of them? My mother's back home now, though, and has promised to talk to a couple of friends who do volunteer work to see what our options are.

In the meantime, I do have a bird update. I've been checking on Sweetie every couple of days, making sure she's got what she needs, knowing that she shouldn't be in the house at all, and last night I broke and decided that this morning I was going in to bring her home with me; I couldn't stomach the idea of going in every couple of days indefinitely, and I couldn't stomach the idea of allowing anything to continue on in that house when it was within my power to make sure it didn't. So I went in, first thing this morning. It took me ten minutes to get the cage from the hall to the door because the path and door weren't big enough to fit it through. Then I left her on my porch and went to borrow an ornamental cage from my mother, just to have something to put her in while I cleaned out the cage, which was about two inches deep in dried-out, bug-infested muck. I sprayed it down for about twenty minutes with a high-pressure hose, wanted to bleach it but didn't, since I expect birds react at least as well to bleach as everything else does, and left it to dry while I went to get some fresh birdseed. It was all-purpose birdseed, and I'm sure there's something better to be had, but I'll look into that soon -- does anyone have any advice on the care and feeding of parrots? She's eating, at least. Loves the sunflower seeds, tosses the dried corn straight onto the floor.

She was pretty freaked out when I moved her out of the house, and then from her dirty cage to the ornamental one, and then again when I moved her back again -- I was kind of freaked out, too, though, and I'm glad I thought to wear leather gardening gloves while handling her -- but for the most part she's pretty sweet, and seems to calm quickly. I cut up some little cubes of apple for her at lunchtime, and she took them from my hand, very politely. Here she is, in her clean and dry and I-hope-to-God-completely-bug-free cage, which is set up in my dining room so the other pets can't get too close (don't know how healthy she is, have my suspicions as to how likely they are to see her as a gourmet lunch).



And here's Rachel holding vigil. She and Leory have been taking turns, for most of the day.

Comments

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

I wish you were right here so I could hug your head. How wonderful of you to go over there and airlift Sweetie outta there! More problematic even than the mess of her house was the absence of her person. Parrots are such social creatures, and she was probably pining something fierce for some interaction.

It sounds like you're doing all the right stuff with her, too. I left a message for my dad; he's got several parrots and knows all the care-and-feeding stuff. Anything in particular you want me to ask him? I know he makes his flock a nice fruit salad every day, but I don't know what sort of seed/pellets are best for this type of bird.

The news on your Council for Aging just sucks. Nice that they're so accessible, huh? I hope your mom is able to unearth some other options. And wow- they're keeping Miss B. an awfully long time, aren't they? I hope she gets better soon.

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

Pee Ess- she's a sun conure, isn't she? I love the picture of Rachel's vigil. The bird! She must be supervised! Also GIP. :D

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I wish I were there too! This is actually one of those (many) occasions when I wish we lived next door to each other. I would have sneaked over to your house straight away and asked you, as a bird-owner, for advice, and really, now that I know your dad keeps parrots...

Actually, I do have a couple of questions you can ask your dad when you talk to him. First: Is there any health condition I need to worry about, if she hasn't been cared for properly, as I suspect she hasn't? Diseases, conditions? Should I take her to a vet? Second: She seems to be rocking back and forth on her feet quiet a bit. Should I worry about this? Ditto chewing the bars on her cage. Three: Is there a special diet I should be feeding her -- I have the aforementioned bird feed and I'll give her some fruit every day as well, but is there anything else? And fourth: I read somewhere that you should give them branches instead of dowels to perch on, because their feet can become deformed with a uniformly-sized perch. Is that true?

That was more than a couple of questions, wasn't it? :/ I had one more, even -- what kind of parrot is she? -- but I think you answered that one for me. She does look like a sun conure, from what I can tell. Thank you! :D And nice icon!

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

Turns out Daddy was in the midst of driving up the coast for business, so he only responded to the brief e-mail I sent him, rather than the more detailed phone message. So far, though, he says any "parrot diet" seed mix would be fine, in addition to the fruit you're already giving her, plus maybe some fresh or thawed frozen veggies. I know they love to fling peas- protect your table! :D

As for the perches, I remember reading that they just need a few different sizes of perches in the cage to keep their feet healthy. These can be branches, different-thickness dowels, or those nubbly, pumice-y perches that actually rub down their toenails a bit.

As to the other questions, I'll pepper Daddy with 'em tonight, since he'll be making a visit.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Hahahahaha, thank you so much! She seems to have stopped the rocking and bar-chewing, I think -- possibly they were nervous reactions?

I am going to the grocery this afternoon to stock up on fresh veggies. I should have them in the house, anyway, shoudn't I? Oops.

[thalia]

It's great that you were able to bring Sweetie home; I'm sure she'll be much happier in a clean cage with people around.

I have a friend who owns a Quaker parakeet and feeds him vegetables, mostly, but I don't know any details. She used to keep the bird completely separate from her cats, but now that she only has one cat, she's found that they can coexist semi-peacefully, with just a minimum of stalking. I wouldn't push your luck, though. [g]

Good luck! I really admire you for jumping in and helping.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I must confess that I'd be much happier in a clean cage, too, and I'd even suffer the strangers if it meant I didn't have to be crawling with roaches. And I'm not even social, as I hear parrots are! So yes, I feel sure you're right about that.

My internet access has been limited for the weekend, but I did read a bit more about diet. Apparently vegetables are a good idea as well! Thank you. I foresee more produce in my life, in the near future. :O

Thanks for the luck, too. I'll need it, I think, even on a temporary basis. Up to this point, my experience with birds has been pretty much limited to watching them through windows.

[ainsley.livejournal.com]

You know you're an amazing person, right?

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Nah, I just have this thing about putting my money where my mouth is, you know. *blushes*

[ainsley.livejournal.com]

Which, y'know, makes you a better person than I am.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Honestly? I find that posting about stuff like this makes it harder for me to avoid stepping in. I expect if I didn't have y'all to prod me, I'd be much more avoidant.

[ainsley.livejournal.com]

I am always happy to prod in whatever way is most likely to produce the desired outcome.

I still avoid frequently even with LJ. Because I suck. (Though less and less each year!)

[tofty.livejournal.com]

This goes ditto for me! :O

[xanthophyllippa.livejournal.com]

That's a beautiful bird. Looking at it makes me think that if the council on aging doesn't get back to you, maybe calling the local animal control would help? On the one hand, it might mean that Sweetie would get taken away from Miss B., which could be detrimental to her emotional health given that she seems to be already on shaky ground. But on the other, the animal control people might be able to get in touch with a community resource more quickly than you can. I don't know what kind of town/city you live in, though, and if it's a huge, impersonal place, that might be the wrong way to go about it if there's any chance the control officers wouldn't be sympathetic.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I'm really trying to avoid animal control. I don't live in a particularly huge or impersonal place now, but my experience with AC is from just such a place, where resources are stretched far too thinly and everyone is overworked and overburdened and far too many animals end up euthanized. I'd like that not to be the end for Sweetie; even if I end up having to find another home for her, I'll probably go through a rescue/adoption agency. There seem to be plenty of them.

I'm putting most of my eggs in the volunteer basket at the moment, since I'm not having much luck on my own. Several of my mother's friends do volunteer work through churches and other groups, so they'll quite likely have a couple of suggestions, at least.

I've been wondering about Miss B, in the hospital. I hope that she's not as ill as a full week in the hospital implies. I'm wondering if the hospital aren't Up To Something on their own account. Making arrangements, I mean.

[coco-palmolive.livejournal.com]

Hello! This is a weird point at which to barge into the conversation, but yes, I suspect that the hospital is trying to find a solution as well. Obviously, they don't know what the situation is at Miss B's house, but they can probably tell that she can't really take care of herself any more. Say what you will about insurance companies and cost driving treatment, hospitals are surprisingly adept at gaming the system so that they can get people the help they need.

How did Miss B. get to the hospital in the first place? Any idea?

And I'd also just like to echo everyone here who is really impressed with your commitment to this project. Thank you for rescuing Sweetie. You are doing a terrific job. Thanks for making those calls; I'm sorry you're not getting more results for the time you've put in, but I'm glad your mom + friends are on the job now.

I mean, I really want to thank you personally, I really want you to know how above and beyond you've gone, and how special that is. My own mom spent a year spinning out of control without anyone ever stepping in. All my family ever managed to do was wring our hands from afar until it reached a crisis point. I kept thinking: didn't her friends notice? Didn't her neighbors? Why didn't anyone ever intervene? Knowing how impossible that is, but I wondered anyway. And here you are, intervening on behalf of Miss B.

I pay a lot of lip service to ethics and community and our obligation to other people but I really fail at direct action. So to watch you doing this is inspiring.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I expect that most people really do kind of want, as you said to me once, someone else to take care of things. I'm no exception, truly -- if there were anyone else of Miss B's who could handle these things, I'd be on the phone harassing them right now, but I don't think there is.

You know, though, your mom was on my mind this week. You all did step up, once you realized that things were going more badly than you'd suspected -- we tend to take people at face value when they say they're doing fine, don't we? At least, I know I do -- but I've been thinking how awful things could have gotten if you hadn't stepped in when you did. And even though I'm more sorry than I can say that you're going through all this at all, I'm glad you did it.

So I guess we are providing each other this neat little circle of inspiration in action. Funny how that works out sometimes.

Love and kisses to you, my darling.

Also.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

hospitals are surprisingly adept at gaming the system so that they can get people the help they need.

I really hope so. When she collapsed (she'd only taken a half-dose of insulin; I'm not sure why), she called 911, so paramedics came to pick her up. If she was feeling weak enough when she called, they'd have seen the house, and so maybe they're the ones who set things in motion, if indeed things have been set in motion. *fingers crossed*

Re: Also.

[coco-palmolive.livejournal.com]

That is exactly why I asked -- I was wondering if someone had seen the house when she went to the hospital. I'm betting they did, and I'm betting they're dawdling over her treatment because they're trying to arrange the care she needs. I really hope so, anyway.

Your pets and Sweetie, oh my. I am glad for the French doors. Though I suspect she can stick up for herself in a fight. Parrots are the badasses of the the domestic bird world, in my experience.

Re: Also.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Parrots are the badasses of the the domestic bird world, in my experience.

I have almost no experience beyond what I've managed to get this week, but I have to agree with this. If I hadn't been wearing leather gloves this morning, I might very well have been nursing some serious wounds tonight. Parrots are strong, man, and those bills and claws are sharp.

[gmth.livejournal.com]

Wow, she's gorgeous. I think it's great you went and rescued her. I hope you're able to get hold of the agency on aging soon. I was just thinking about you this morning and wondering how things were going.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

She is lovely, isn't she! Also very charming and playful; there's this one game she plays where she climbs to the top of the cage and sliiiiiides down the bars that I find particularly delightful. If things have stalled out for the moment on the Miss B front -- and they definitely seem to've done that -- then at least we both have something to entertain us in the meantime.

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

I don't know a lot about parrots, but L had one. He says they need a lot of attention for their mental and emotional well being. Also, have you bathed her? They like a gentle shower. L's Pepper used to get in the shower with them or stand in the sink while they sprayed her with the sprayer.

See if you can find a rescue place that will give you advice on how to care for her?

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I've kind of looked around on the internet, and see that there are a couple of sun conure forums that might be able to offer advice, and I've also got laurelwood's father to mine for information. And yeah, every single thing I've read talks about how much attention parrots need. I can't keep her in the house proper on account of the cat and dog, but the dining room does have French doors, and I've been going in every few minutes to say hello and chat with her and feed her a seed or a bit of pear or something.

A shower, really? :O I'm not sure we know each other well enough for that! But I'll keep it in mind for when we're more comfortable with each other, definitely. Because I expect that she probably does desperately need washing up.

Thank you, and be sure and thank L from me, too! *beams at you*

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

He says you can use a spray bottle if you have one. They like to fluff their wings and tail in the falling water. It helps keep mites off them, too.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Okay, I do have a spray bottle, so I'll give that a try. Thanks so much! I would never have thought of doing this on my own.

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Glad I could help.

[somniesperus.livejournal.com]

I know you are the last person to be doing this in the name of praise or accolades, but all the same, please do not run away when I give you a really tight almost-platonic hug and kiss for your sheer wonderfulness. And what a beautiful bird!

All you have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to you.

True fact: every time I hear Gandalf's voice saying that, I get tears in my eyes.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I am not so wonderful as all that, but who am I to turn down not-quite-platonic hugs and kisses? Especially when offered by you? :*

You know, it's funny you should say that about that line. I was watching the films last night, and I thought of a top-five list I wanted to make: Top Five Moments in the LOTR Films that Still Make Me Weepy and/or Give Me Chills Even after Hundreds of Viewings. That's one of them for me, as well. There are more than five, really, but I might be able to whittle down a little.

[tinderblast.livejournal.com]

You should make a 'lol vigil' macro of that photo. It's hilarious.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

It made me giggle every single time I walked by the doors yesterday!

[amelia-eve.livejournal.com]

Two sweeties in one house! (That is, the birdie and you.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

*ruffles feathers importantly* :D

[octoberstory.livejournal.com]

You are my Sweetie.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

*shares birdseed with you*