For the birds - couple rescues abused and unwanted pet birds

PetRescue note - If you're interested in either adopting or supporting a similar group in Australia, try the Parrot Rescue Centre.

Louie, a yellow-naped Amazon parrot, was kicked by his previous owner so many times that his feathers will never be normal.

He looks plump, but that's because he has a pocket of air between his skin and his feathers. His new owners, Charlie and Sue Miller, have to remove this pocket of air with a hypodermic needle several times a week. Louie is frequently scared, skittish and tends to bite. Despite Louie's physical and behavioral issues, he's learned to trust the Millers and is slowly recovering. Louie is one of the Miller's 14 pet birds, and is one of hundreds of pet birds they have rescued.

The Millers operate Mountain Spirits Bird Rescue out of their Towanda home. They remove abused, neglected or unwanted birds from their previous homes, care for them and find new places for them to live.

"Some of the situations we've found birds in are just awful," Charlie Miller says. "We've found birds with their feet cut off and their wings butchered. We found one bird whose owner cut his top and lower beak to make it even; he thought it looked better that way. The bird was almost starved to death; he couldn't eat. At another place, we found three large birds stuck together in a dark closet, with no space to move and their food dishes on the floor; it was the filthiest thing I've ever seen."

These three birds, a scarlet macaw, a green-wing macaw and a Bavarian military macaw, are now the Miller's own pets. They also have four Amazon parrots, one jenday conure, two canaries and four cockatiels. All but one of these birds was rescued.

"These birds were all mistreated; they'd have too hard a time learning to trust other people, so they're our permanent pets," Miller says. Miller says he and his wife, together with another pet bird rescue organization (My House of Wings in Nanticoke, Pa.), rescued about 270 birds between 2003 and 2004. They've traveled across New York state and into New Jersey to rescue pet birds.

"Sometimes we'd go to rescue one and come back with 12!" he says.

Miller says they hear about birds in need of rescue from a variety of sources. With abuse cases, he usually gets calls from humane societies and other rescue organizations. In cases where people no longer want their birds, he often hears by word of mouth, from bird clubs and organizations and occasionally from advertisements in newspapers. Miller says a couple of times he's answered ads in which people were giving birds away.

"This is always a red flag. I've called people to see if I can help; I always try to educate them on how they might solve a problem they're having with a bird. If they really don't want the bird anymore, then we'll go pick it up, but sometimes there are ways to help the owner first," Miller says.

The couple also spends time traveling with some of their own birds ? to seminars and educational forums ? to educate people about how to care for pet birds.

"You know, we've rescued a lot of abused birds, but most of the birds we rescue come from middle- to upper-class homes. People see a bird in a pet store and don't know what they're getting into. Birds are so much work. People don't know they're going to be loud and scream and throw their food across their beautiful shiny floor ... and then they get rid of them," Miller says.

Finding the right home

Waverly resident Carol Luther adopted a bird from the Millers last June. Mai Tai, a 9-year-old severe macaw, is now a full-fledged member of her family.

Luther, her husband and their two daughters already had a cockatiel and two parakeets in their home, but were considering buying a larger bird. When they went to the Millers' home, Mai Tai took a liking to their youngest daughter, Rachel (who was 10 years old at the time).

"Mai Tai was shy with most people and rarely wanted to come out of her cage, but as soon as Rachel walked over, Mai Tai came right out to visit her," Luther says.

After a couple of visits, the bond between Mai Tai and Rachel was solidified. The Millers had rescued Mai Tai from a previous home, and whatever had taken place in that home had caused the bird to pluck her own feathers out. Feather-plucking is a common reaction in birds to stress or abuse. Often, birds that begin this habit are never cured.

"Mai Tai wore a little sweater made out of a tube sock, to prevent her from plucking and to allow her feathers to grow back. By the end of July, we took her sweater off because she wasn't plucking anymore. She has full feathers now," Luther says.

Luther says the whole family adores the macaw, and that the feeling is mutual, although Mai Tai still loves Rachel most of all.

"Mai Tai is friendly with all of us. She loves to sit and watch TV with my husband at night. But Rachel can turn the bird upside down in her hand, she can wrap her up in a towel, she can move that bird just about any way she wants to," Luther says.

Many bird experts say that companion birds pick their people; it's not the other way around. Sometimes birds will bond with their owner's friend or sibling or neighbor. Miller says he never adopts out a bird he's rescued until he knows the bird likes its prospective owner.

"When you live with a bird, you get to know their body language, their reactions. You can tell when they're happy or afraid or nervous. I never let a bird leave here unless I know for sure that he likes that person," Miller says.

Out of all the birds Miller has found new homes for, only one has ever been returned to him. And in that case, Miller says, the new owner didn't follow Miller's advice.

"He didn't listen to us. He let the bird sit on his shoulder (which can make pet birds aggressive), and he never stopped the bird from biting other people; he thought this was funny. But then the bird started biting his ear, and he didn't think it was so funny anymore," Miller says.

The Millers have 13 cages inside their home (the two canaries share a cage) and several cages outside, which the birds can enjoy during warmer weather. They converted an extra bedroom into a playroom for their pets, which is complete with cages, T-stands and a television. They have swings of various sizes hanging by the fireplace and assorted bird paraphernalia around the house.

Miller says he'd do anything for their birds: "You have to live with birds to understand how amazing they are. They're so intelligent; their personalities are all unique. You have to love 2- to 3-year-old children, though, because that's about what (the birds') mentality is!"

Reference: www.stargazettenews.com

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