Andy's Chronicle

03-05-2007, 05:56 AM

My wife Rose Ann attends a Bird Fare 2 times a year in Stillwater, Mn.
3 years ago I came home from work to find my wife very excited, Look what came home with me she said, There was Andy a 14 year old male Blue Front Amazon (Chaco).
What a awesome bird, Andy was flying free and loving it, he went to the tree, then to visit Buddy our Pied Tiel, then back to the tree, I stood in AWE.
Then Andy's history began to unfold, Andy was a breeder, his mate passed on and he refused all others, so the breeder sold him to a different breeder and that person also had no luck in mating him, somewhere in all this mess Andys left Claw was injured (conflicting stories), now he can't use part of his claw.
Rose Ann began to do some digging into Andy's past, the first owner was called and reported all was okay with Andy when he was sold, the second owner told a sad story of Andy's mate passing away needlessly.
Neither owner could tell us anything about Andy's injured Claw.
Andy was taken in for a vet check up, he was at the time and still is in great health other than his injured Claw, they vet said (now) his claw can't be fixed, but at the time of injury it could have.
Andy did go through mild sinus infection and was treated with antibiotics.
Andy is a "don't touch me bird", he came with a heavy TOWEL, that is used to catch him when needed.
I hate this towel and so does Andy, the wife swears that LOVE will bring Andy around, in the mean time I have trained Andy to go back into his cage on his own, (no Towel), I do show him the towel when saying IN, and he goes in, soon I will no longer need the towel to encourage him.
I firmly believe Andy thinks (Tanks) our green Quaker is one of his babies, Andy protects Tanks, he will Bomb the wife when she enters to Bird Room to get Tanks.
Andy enjoys making his rounds and visiting all our birds, we keep a close eye on him and can see he is so very kind to all our birds, he loves his out of cage time each day.
Andy came with a Cockatiels cage, very sad, well my wife took care of this right away, Andy has a very nice cage and all new toys, he is 17 years old now, When he needs something, he tells us, and by all means he gets what he wants.
Andy's Diet is mainly fresh fruits, apples, oranges, grapes, he loves bananas, and he gets walnuts now and then, he also is provided a seed mix for the larger birds, his food has to be chopped up as Andy can't hold his bounty and perch at the same time, he has theraputic perches that help a great deal when eating, he can hold some of the larger nuts fairly well and perch at the same time, Andy has adapted well into our family, we allow Andy...to be Andy.

03-05-2007, 07:27 AM

Arty, he is so pretty. If I were to choose a bird for myself, it would definitely be an Amazon. I am so drawn to them.

I loved reading his story. The love shines through when I read how you adapted to his needs and personality. These rescues and rehomes are just so darn special!

You mention about Andy not being able to hold food well because of his old injury. It got me to thinking...my two here also don't hold food in their talons to eat. More so Kady, who very rarely does it. I wonder if it might be an age/arthritis issue. They sat for a very long time on a single perch in a cage. I also notice he is not sure footed or confident in moving about. Do you notice anything past Andy not holding food, where you feel his foot injury might be hampering any ability?

03-05-2007, 08:00 AM

According to Andys Vet, the one claw, was broken, it could have been reset, she said this injury happened awhile ago, as I mentioned Andy was bounced around alittle, "less than normal" however something happened during this time and nobody will own up to it and or explain what happened, Andy crawls around okay, but he simply can't hold onto his perch and his bounty at the same time, We have 3 theraputic perches for Andy to use, one is placed right in front of his eating dishes, he manages okay, but far from normal.
I do my best not to point the finger, this won't solve the issue, we do our best to check into all birds that come unto our care, sadly some birds have been into so many different homes even there names are unknown.
Andy has had no human contact, he was a "Breeding Machine", strictly a money maker, when he could no longer earn his keep, he was discarded then when that breeder couldn't make money off Andy, he was offered to the public.
But I have to say, the breeders tried hard to keep him working for them before they decided to sell him to the general public.
Rescue & Breeders collide often, I do my best to control my words Karen, but sometimes AURGH....In the breeding world there is a profit to be made, if not there wouldn't be such a world, In rescue it is all LOSS, there are NO profits, I am over 3,000 in debt, I try to catch up, but more rescues come in and or the phone rings and out the door I go...
Soon I will be working seven days a week to get caught up, and even then it will take me 2-3 years to break even, and this also will depend on there needs.
Sometimes I drive over 100 miles oneway for a rescue, then the Meds, its a crazy world, but I never say NO, and my wife?, well her heart means well, she will see a bird being passed by, if that bird is still there at the end of the (show-event) she will buy that bird and bring the little one home, then its always (provide the best) for the new family member.
Andy is simply wonderful, we are blessed to be able to care for him, Just being able to watch ANDY fly and be ANDY, is worth every cent invested.