My husband just found a cockatiel walking down the street. Now what?

He (my husband) is out working, and he spotted a bird walking toward a busy road. Friendly little bird, too--it came right up to him and got in the truck. It looks as though it might have been attacked by something. One of its eyes looks puffy and it's missing a few feathers, but otherwise it seems okay.

So, good fellow that he is, dh canvassed the neighborhood for any kind of word on where this little guy might have come from. No one knows where it came from, but someone was good enough to supply him with a makeshift cage and a water dish.

Is there someplace other than the city animal shelter that I should call? I don't know the first thing about birds and networking.

There are bird people there. Good luck and I hope the bird will be ok.

edit: I'd call a vet first. The bird may need some immediate medical attention.

edit: I see that the bird has water and a cage.

edit 2: Put a found pet ad in the local paper. They are usually free.

I will call a vet--I remembered that I have a friend who has rescued a few birds, and am waiting for a call-back from her about other resources.

Thanks very much!

I lost my deaf kitty for a week last year and I placed lost pet notices with those places.
I found my baby one week later! :)

That he's friendly probably indicates he's been lovingly cared for.

Someone is probably heartsick with worry.

A first step to find the owner might be by calling local vets.

I worry that someone is out looking for the little guy, and the animal shelter is waaay across town.

Well, time to make some more calls, I guess.

Thank you!

Kudos to your husband, the hero.

Your local animal shelter may have some leads on rescue organizations specific to birds.
Check craigslist.

So far we're hitting a voicemail wall!

I did remember to check craigslist--it's incredible (and pretty depressing) to see how many listings there are every day.

Thanks again!

... sometimes bird owners are pretty irresponsible.

I'm listening to what is most certainly a canary in a tree outside my back yard right now. We frequently see parakeets in trees too.

It's a crying shame.

Not the bird but your wonderful husband. I have no idea what to do with a stray bird but bless Mr. Tofunut for helping the little thing.

He's an amazing person. He's helped corral at least a dozen stray or runaway dogs that he somehow runs across during the course of his days (he's a dog trainer) but a bird?!?

Thanks for your kindness.

They might be able to make some suggestions or point me in the right direction for where to put up flyers.

Thank you finding that!

many of them are absolutely useless in dealing with a bird, it's as good as putting the bird down

i keep them and put out my own ad, although since tiels are strong flyers, it is unlikely you will find the bird's original home, i've never found an original owner in all the ones i've adopted or helped others adopt over the years -- i think in australia they may fly hundreds if not thousands of miles, even a captive raised bird may retain some of that ability

i get the bird any needed vet care, take out my own ad (it's usually free to put in an ad for a FOUND pet), and then go on from there

puffy eye is a little worrying, it could be a scratch from a predator, if it is scratched by a cat even if the scratch appears minor it is unlikely the bird will survive (cats have some bacteria on their claws and/or teeth that kills most birds)

i used to be the bird lady of my neighborhood and office, don't you know of anyone like that? ask around

animal shelters, it just makes me shudder, they are not set up to care well for birds in most circumstances

i currently have enough room for a quarantine section at my house and would be willing to take in the bird but the chances that you are close to my area (southeast louisiana) are probably pretty small unfortunately

there is usually a bird lady in any given circle tho

good luck

Little bird didn't fly from anywhere--he walked. His wings are clipped. He may have just scooted out a window or something. Can they walk very far?

Keeping it here long-term probably isn't an option---the pooch is already fascinated with the bird (he's with them in the truck).

One of the neighbors that dh spoke to is putting up posters and we're going to try to talk with some of the area vets. I'm getting the impression that cockatiels aren't an animal that people place a high value on, though. Sad.

Thanks very much for your input.

edit: while I have your attention, is it safe for birds to be out when it's in the mid-50s? I always thought that southern birds were susceptible to colder temps.

no corn flake crumbs and hot oil?

She is willing to swing by and check out his eye and will probably take him. She strongly recommended that we avoid the city shelter (and it turns out that my husband wasn't in the city when he found the bird anyway) and contact vets instead. The city apparently does a poor job with sheltering birds.

She's pretty well-connected about birds. If we can't find the owner, she'll do her best to re-home him.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions!

to a vet. Also, my local bird store has a lost and found board, you could try to call there also.

I had no idea.

I'll ask our bird lady friend about local bird lost & founds.

Thanks!

suggested it, since the bands (metal ring around the foot with id info.) can get tangled in cages, etc., and cause broken legs. Birds don't do so well with broken feet/legs, because they stand 24/7.

There was a Cockatiel stolen from the local bird store boarding room, the reward was $500.00 for a $100.00 bird. The point to that statement is that someones bird was worth way more than it's replacement. It sounds like your husband found a sweet bird, who was very much loved and taken care of (a neglected bird will usually bite and not let a stranger pick it up!).

By the way, I forgot did you notify the PD? I found a dog and called the PD to see if anyone had called and the owners did, and picked the big guy up here. My dad's parakeet got out and they also called the PD, and the bird just fly up to someone who called the PD, and there was another reunion.

If you think the PD doesn't want to be bothered, I have not had that response, they loved being involved in something that was not negative and crime related !

And great idea to call the PD--dh is on the phone calling them right now.

Yeah, this is a really, really nice bird. He met me and less than ten minutes later snuggled up in my hair and went to sleep.

He's exhausted and very, very hungry. Poor little guy is crashed out in a borrowed cage at our place. A friend is taking to the vet in the morning--it looks like his eye might be a real problem.

Thanks for the suggestions--it helps to talk with people who have some experience with birds!

I have no bird lady friend. I'm not sure how often that kind of know-how is useful, but in case it is...

She came by with a cage he can sleep in and checked out his color and general health. (Said bird lady worked at an avian vet's office and loves birds a lot.)

We're the "dog people" that friends call when there's a dog issue. :blush:

keeping my fingers crossed for a happy ending

i'm not surprised to hear your town's shelter is not good for birds, most are quite clueless about so-called exotics, altho how a cockatiel could be exotic this time of century, who knows

it is possible for a pet bird to have good quality of life with vision in only one eye, but i can understand your concern about the eye and possible puncture, if it is not a puncture but an infection, it is possible for vet care to restore some vision, i have twice had birds with eye infections, one of them a female cockatiel, both made a full recovery and lived many years afterwards

Bird is at the vet's office now. It looks like the eye might be saved and we're getting meds for the infection.

We're going to keep the bird here for a bit to be sure it's healthy enough to be around other birds (we couldn't afford the blood cultures) and if we don't find the bird's people, we'll re-home then. It's sad--we're getting attached already, but the dog will not be able to handle living what he perceives as prey.

I hope the little guy starts feeling better soon. He was very cranky this morning and complained a lot about going in the cage for the trip to the vet.

Thanks again for your help.

saying you found the bird, and many newspapers will publish free "found pet" ads.

Good luck, and I hope the little guy finds his people! They're probably frantic with worry.

I hope we find his people, too. He's clearly had a rough couple of days, but he doesn't seem stressed at all and his color is good. And, oh my God, he's eating up a storm!

Thanks for the good wishes.

doing what you can. :)

I've had a crash course in cockatiel care today!

In that case some notices posted in the area it was found might be worthwhile.

We've called the local animal control and PD, too. Little bird is going to the vet in the morning, and he seems to be pretty content for the night with us.

Poor guy.

Thanks for your response!

sorry, i am tired, and on my way to bed. but there are a few of them out there. it is the sweet, tame ones that get away, because they are out of the cage the most.
keep looking. someone loves him.

I've seen so many sites today, all full of lost birds. It's a little disheartening.

It's starting to look like his wings aren't all that clipped after all, though--as his energy has returned, he's flown a little from place to place. He can't go far, and he mostly flies down. I think he's just really, really tired and hungry.

We'll keep looking. Someone loves this little guy, I'm sure of it. He's incredibly sweet.

...so please listen to others advice on this thread. I just wanted to thank you for taking care of the little guy...:hug:

We're trying. He's warm and safe and fed. Soooo sleepy.

He'll go to the vet tomorrow--His puffy eye is open now, and it doesn't look good. It may have been punctured. Poor guy.

Dang, I hope he's chipped. I'd love to find his people.

Thanks again.

any word?

any word?

There's no word on his people yet, but we're still hopeful.

He's okay--his eye isn't good, but he's going to keep it. We're not sure yet if he'll have any use of it. He's getting antibiotics and he seems to be generally pretty healthy otherwise. He is very, very tired. I left him sleep in the bedroom until a few minutes ago, when I opened up the cage and brought him into the living room with me. Incredibly, he's asleep again.

Thanks for asking!

www.cockatielcottage.net has cockatiel information

Cockatiel Cottage lost and found ads.
http://pub27.bravenet.com/classified/show.php?usernum=2278338150&cpv=1

Yahoo Group - BirdSafe