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Ringer, an 17 year old Hyacinth Macaw, one of the worlds most endangered species, came to us from a zoo.
Ringer was originally a pet, but was given up to the zoo at 5 years of age. Because of his close bonding to people, he did not adjust well to zoo life, and a breeding environment. After living at the zoo for 2 years, he began to pluck out his feathers. The next 2 years were spent on various sorts of treatments, i.e. introducing him to several females in the hopes he would breed, testing for diseases, and the use of drug therapy. Nothing worked. After spending $7500 on him in 1994 alone, the zoo decided he needed a new environment. They checked us out thoroughly and Ringer came to us in January of 1995. He was small, featherless and his skin was brown from a heat lamp, which was his major source of heat and light. He was deathly afraid of towels and nets. After about three months, with a change of diet, sunlight, and a lot of love, Ringer began to improve. He is much larger now and very healthy, though he will remain featherless for the rest of his life due to permanent follicle damage. During the last 6 years with us his emotional condition has continued to improve and he has become that of a sweet and playful bird, one of the stars of the aviary. Ringer is no longer afraid of towels (but still doesn't like nets, no bird does). His skin has lost its "tanned" look and has regained its normal yellow color. |