My sweet Savannah...a rehome success story.
Savannah has brought me to tears twice this month, mostly good tears. :) So I was inspired to share her story and how her life has changed dramatically in the last year. It has now been over 1 year since we adopted Savannah my Greenwing Macaw. I wanted to recap her story for those of you who may not know her complete background.
A woman walked into my candy shop in April of last year. She saw my African Grey Quincy hanging out and she began to tell me about her Greenwing Macaw named Sinbad. She walked away and looked around a bit and then came back and asked me if I could help her find a home for a parrot. I asked her what kind and she replied HER parrot. I've always wanted a macaw so I expressed interest in adopting her myself but needed to talk to my husband first.
As the owner and her family was visiting the store they told me how "Sinbad" didn't really talk much and they then jokingly asked me, after I expressed interest in "Sinbad", if I would trade Quincy for their macaw, as they noticed he was a really good talker. Of course I said absolutely not and I was quite upset that they were so willing to trade their bird for mine just because mine talked more.
So once I confirmed with Brad that he was up for a possible adoption we scheduled to go see "Sinbad" the following Tuesday on my day off. We arrived at their home to discover they had poor "Sinbad" in a laundry room all by herself with the door closed. :( My heart broke for this poor girl. They had Sinbad since she was a year old and she was now 19. Her cage was about 4 feet wide and less then 5 feet tall. How in the world would a greenwing macaw with a 3 foot wingspan stretch her wings out in there, especially when she was not let out of her cage!! They had her on a diet of black sunflower seeds. Why you may ask? There excuse was this: Because pellets were too messy and she would throw them all over the floor! They told me she ate fruits and veggies, but I haven't found much that she likes in that department, but we are working on it. They also had a box of fruit loops on her cage that were hers. We all give our fids things they shouldn't have once and awhile, but on a regular basis, NO! But I was hopeful things would be better then they looked. But I would soon find out, not so much.
I then sat down and asked her a million and one questions to learn as much as I could about "Sinbad". I was saddened by some of the answers. I asked her how often she let her out of her cage and her answer was "only when we have guest to show her off". I started to think they purchased this poor girl for an ornament. She seemed pleased to tell me that she would go in and pet her several times a day. I don't know how people can justify this is enough. How would you like to live in a laundry room by yourself!! I asked her if she was always in the laundry room and she told me yes but it used to be attached to the craft room. How is that really any better?? They did tell me that years ago they would put her outside in a cage to hang out. My feeling is things probably were better in the beginning and got progressively worse as their lives got busier. I felt like "Sinbad" was living in her own little boring prison for at least the last 5 or 10 years. But who really knows for how long. :(
She had never bit anyone which was a good thing. But no one handled her but the owner. Sinbad intimidated everyone when they came near her cage, so much so, when the owner needed to find her a home. Nobody wanted her. :(
After leaving that day Brad and I knew we had to "rescue" her from that situation.
As soon as I got home I ordered her a new cage that was 7 1/2 feet tall! There was no way she was going to stay in her old cage. I also decided I would change her name to Savannah. She laid an egg 9 years ago and that is when the discovered she was a girl. She needed something more befitting in my book!
Besides, Sinbad was just a bit cliché for me!
We picked her up exactly one week after our visit with her. As many of you know, things have went extremely well with our transition and Savannah bonded to me instantly after a few days of getting to know me! Savannah is the most sweetest well tempered parrots I have ever met. She is such a sweet heart and my heart broke to think she never got the attentions she so deserved.
Why the tears this month you ask? Well shortly after bringing her home, about 2 weeks to be exact, I started to suspect Savannah could not fly. We figured out that her muscles in her wings had atrophied from lack of movement. She could not even stretch her left wing out fully it was so bad. She fell about a month after I had her and I suspected she fell straight down even though I was not in the room. I asked her previous owner if she could fly, after that incident, and this is the answer I got from her. "Yes she did fly very well but many years ago she flew into a tree. I luckily got her back but ever since then I haven't allowed her to fly for fear I would lose her". So not coming out of her cage to flap and exercise on a regular basis and being condemned to a life of not letting her fly at all, has ultimately left this poor girl flightless! She fell again this past month and went straight down, so I am 100% sure this girl does not fly. I cried when she fell this past month because I knew that her life in "prison" had done this to her. She does flap her wings quite well now and she was able to extend both wings fully within a month of us bringing her home and we encourage her all the time. To the point Quincy tells her she is a "good girl" when she does so.
I will have Savannah's wings looked at extensively next time I take her to the vet. When I started to suspect she had wing issues, I had already taken her. And since this is not life threatening, we will wait to have her looked at during her next check up.
One of the "complaints" of her previous owners is that she did not talk much. Her vocabulary consisted of the following: Hello, Hi, How are you, Pretty Bird, Laughing, Barking Like The Dog, Give Me Kisses, Kissy noises and Cracker. Not all birds are guaranteed to talk, but my suspicion was Savannah was just not around people enough to hear talking to mimic it.
We have had her just a year and she has already added new words to her vocabulary: Step up, What, Up & Come Here to name a few. And she is working on a few others I can not make out yet. My second set of tears this month came from hearing her talk away at work just a couple of days ago. Generally she is a closet talker and talks in the bird room while in her cage. She very rarely talks in the store. Only if there is no customers. She was talking up a storm a couple of days ago while in the shop. Saying "Hi" & "Hello" as people came and went. She was working on her new words, too! It brought tears to my eyes knowing that this girl was so happy and was getting comfortable enough in her environment to start chatting away! I also was saddened once again to realize that it was never that Savannah was not a talker, it was again the result of the social neglect at her previous home.
Savannah has been such a wonderful addition to our family. I often tell my husband I hope that Savannah has at least another 20 years left in her, because I would just be devastated if I lost her anytime soon. She is the sweetest most loving parrot I have ever owned and I could not imagine life without her.
Sometimes I get so mad to think she had to spend so many years living the way she did. But I am also thankful that god brought her to us and she now has a better life. A much better life. Thankfully she never picked her feathers or had any other self destructive behavior from all this. Here are just a few of her accomplishments in the past year.
1) I had her stepping up on my arm in less then a month. She never would step up on her owners arm only a stick.
2) Her diet has improved tremendously. She happily eats nuts, chop, birdie corn muffins, pellets and some fruit.
3) She allows my kids and Brad (my husband) to pet her with supervision. No one handled her at all at her old home except the owner.
4) She got into a harness and has visited different places locally here in town with me and rides in my car in the passenger seat on a special perch I built just for her!
5) She now extends her wings fully & flaps away like a happy bird.
6) She has learned new words.
7) She now happily tells me when she is not happy, which tells me she is comfortable expressing herself now!
8) She will now play with toys on a regular basis. We are still working on this, but she has come along away.
9) She is showing more of her mischievous side!
10) And most of all, she has learned what it feels like to really be loved and cared for.
It just goes to show what a little tender loving care, time and patience can do! I feel this is truly a rehoming success story for both parties involved!
Here's to you my sweet Savannah girl!
Mommy loves you so much!
