Hello everyone.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Anna. I am not deaf but I was born with my own disability - blind in both eyes. Thanks to surgery, I have recovered some sight in one eye and have adapted very well. I have spent the majority of my adult life as a professional artist and have also devoted my life to the rescue of homeless parrots of all species. for a number of years now I have been the director of a rescue group called Macaw & Cockatoo Rescue of New Mexico. It is a difficult calling but it makes me feel good to make a difference in the lives of parrots and people.
Anyone who knows much about me knows that I will go way out of my way to make sure the birds under my care find the right homes for their specific needs. Hopefully, that tenacity will not get me into trouble with this post! I am not looking to sell something or promote my organization! I am simply looking for a home for a very special bird who has been under our care for almost two years now.
Jack is a 16 year old blue and gold macaw parrot. Jack is healthy after a thorough exam at our vets office and has a lifespan of about 60 years if he continues to enjoy good health. His last family cared about him but did not understand parrots very well and how to best care for them. Jack was given up at the age of 14 after his people had inadvertently trained their bird to scream relentlessly for attention. Jack, who was once the center of attention, found himself slipping out of center stage when his person got married and had a child. Jack's fears about being left in the dust were only reinforced and so the bird would scream every time he felt threatened or jealous.
After a long evaluation and over a year of rehabilitation, Jack does not scream as much as he used to, but he still screams a lot more than an average parrot of his species. Jack usually does best with single women. He does worst with children. If there is nothing to feel jealous over, there is also nothing to scream over. He tolerates men once he gets to know them. Sadly, it has been extremely difficult for our organization to find the right person for Jack. He has already been adopted once and returned because his volume can be so frazzling, even for very determind people.
Sometimes bird people tease that the best parrot people in the world must be deaf - which got me to thinking about our situation with Jack. Maybe the best person for Jack really ought to be deaf! Because macaws can make sounds that are incredibly loud (about 115-125 decibles) a completely deaf person would still be able to tell when Jack was screaming because they would be able to feel his sound waves - but maybe it would be less irritating to them than to someone who can hear the full force of Jacks 100+ decible noises. For those who don't know much about the decible scale, most large parrots can make noises that are almost as loud as or equal to that of a 747 jet airplane engine. We used to babysit a little girl who was completely deaf and she could tell when the birds were screaming. At first she was a little afraid but eventually seemed thrilled that she could actually kind of "hear" something at our house. The biggest hang up for Jack is that any non-deaf family members would also have to put up with Jack's noises, so it might be best for Jack to go home with a single person. Also - macaws are not for the faint of heart and they have big beaks which can scare a lot of people. Macaw people are pretty fearless and that seems to have a very positive affect on the birds - turning them into big playful puppies. At the moment, Jack is rather cranky because he has so many other people and birds around to feel jealous over. In a quiet, simple environment, he is much happier (and quieter) and once he trusts, will even allow someone to roll him over and rock him like a baby. He gives tongue kisses (parrots have dry mouths) and loves to explore. He knows some words but most of them are sad and not worth hearing anyway ("shut up jack," "bad bird," and "uh-oh," but here at the rescue he has also learned how to say "wanna go buh-bye!")
As mentioned before, we are not looking to sell anything, we are just desperately seeking the right solution for Jack - who has a really nice personality and deserves to be part of a special family. It is not hard for us to tolerate Jack's noises because we often work with birds with screaming issues but it is difficult for us to see that Jack is so unhappy here. A sanctuary facility is out of the question for jack because he does not like to interact with other large birds - the jealousy issue again. Parrots are hard to keep - more like children than pets - but the love they show in return is remarkable.
If anyone here might be interested in providing Jack with a special home, please send an e-mail to Info@ABQParrots.org. Location is not important as long as you live in the United States. Adopting outside of the United States is far too complicated and very expensive.
Thank you so much for letting me post this here!
-Anna
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Anna. I am not deaf but I was born with my own disability - blind in both eyes. Thanks to surgery, I have recovered some sight in one eye and have adapted very well. I have spent the majority of my adult life as a professional artist and have also devoted my life to the rescue of homeless parrots of all species. for a number of years now I have been the director of a rescue group called Macaw & Cockatoo Rescue of New Mexico. It is a difficult calling but it makes me feel good to make a difference in the lives of parrots and people.
Anyone who knows much about me knows that I will go way out of my way to make sure the birds under my care find the right homes for their specific needs. Hopefully, that tenacity will not get me into trouble with this post! I am not looking to sell something or promote my organization! I am simply looking for a home for a very special bird who has been under our care for almost two years now.
Jack is a 16 year old blue and gold macaw parrot. Jack is healthy after a thorough exam at our vets office and has a lifespan of about 60 years if he continues to enjoy good health. His last family cared about him but did not understand parrots very well and how to best care for them. Jack was given up at the age of 14 after his people had inadvertently trained their bird to scream relentlessly for attention. Jack, who was once the center of attention, found himself slipping out of center stage when his person got married and had a child. Jack's fears about being left in the dust were only reinforced and so the bird would scream every time he felt threatened or jealous.
After a long evaluation and over a year of rehabilitation, Jack does not scream as much as he used to, but he still screams a lot more than an average parrot of his species. Jack usually does best with single women. He does worst with children. If there is nothing to feel jealous over, there is also nothing to scream over. He tolerates men once he gets to know them. Sadly, it has been extremely difficult for our organization to find the right person for Jack. He has already been adopted once and returned because his volume can be so frazzling, even for very determind people.
Sometimes bird people tease that the best parrot people in the world must be deaf - which got me to thinking about our situation with Jack. Maybe the best person for Jack really ought to be deaf! Because macaws can make sounds that are incredibly loud (about 115-125 decibles) a completely deaf person would still be able to tell when Jack was screaming because they would be able to feel his sound waves - but maybe it would be less irritating to them than to someone who can hear the full force of Jacks 100+ decible noises. For those who don't know much about the decible scale, most large parrots can make noises that are almost as loud as or equal to that of a 747 jet airplane engine. We used to babysit a little girl who was completely deaf and she could tell when the birds were screaming. At first she was a little afraid but eventually seemed thrilled that she could actually kind of "hear" something at our house. The biggest hang up for Jack is that any non-deaf family members would also have to put up with Jack's noises, so it might be best for Jack to go home with a single person. Also - macaws are not for the faint of heart and they have big beaks which can scare a lot of people. Macaw people are pretty fearless and that seems to have a very positive affect on the birds - turning them into big playful puppies. At the moment, Jack is rather cranky because he has so many other people and birds around to feel jealous over. In a quiet, simple environment, he is much happier (and quieter) and once he trusts, will even allow someone to roll him over and rock him like a baby. He gives tongue kisses (parrots have dry mouths) and loves to explore. He knows some words but most of them are sad and not worth hearing anyway ("shut up jack," "bad bird," and "uh-oh," but here at the rescue he has also learned how to say "wanna go buh-bye!")
As mentioned before, we are not looking to sell anything, we are just desperately seeking the right solution for Jack - who has a really nice personality and deserves to be part of a special family. It is not hard for us to tolerate Jack's noises because we often work with birds with screaming issues but it is difficult for us to see that Jack is so unhappy here. A sanctuary facility is out of the question for jack because he does not like to interact with other large birds - the jealousy issue again. Parrots are hard to keep - more like children than pets - but the love they show in return is remarkable.
If anyone here might be interested in providing Jack with a special home, please send an e-mail to Info@ABQParrots.org. Location is not important as long as you live in the United States. Adopting outside of the United States is far too complicated and very expensive.
Thank you so much for letting me post this here!
-Anna
