Profile:

This little bundle of mischief is Sam, believed to be a Yellow - Headed/ Yellow Naped Amazon cross. Sam came to us from southern Louisanna with a history of self-mutilation and extreme aggression toward female humans. Sam has been through a number of homes over the course of his life, so his age and much of his history is uncertain. Sam will remain in a collar for the rest of his life due to repeated ahbitual self-mutilation. He has also displayed a pattern of extremely unpredictible and aggressive behavior and is considered too dangerous to be placed in an adoptive home. For that reason, he will remain a permanent resident at PARS. 

Status:

Permanent Resident

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This lovely lady is Savannah. We were told at the time of surrender that she was approximately 5 - 6 years old and that the damage to her plummage was done by over-preening from her mate. We had doubts about that from the start, but after a year or more of working with her it started to become apparent that the damage had been going on for much longer then that. It was discovered by one of our volunteers, during a recent physical exam, that Savannah is also developing cataracts in boths eyes. A reexamination by our vet put the age estimate at more like 30 - 40 years old. Savannah is really a "sweet ole gal" and loves nothing more then to spend the day hanging out with her buddy, Ruby, so the decision has been made that Savannah will remain here at PARS in sanctuary.

Profile:

This guy is Toby, a 2 year old male Blue & Gold Macaw. Toby is one of our birds that I acquired as a freshly weaned and fledged chick. Toby is what is frequently referred to as a "Bolivian Giant", weighing in at 1425 grams and rivaling most Greenwing Macaws for size. He is none the less, a little sweetheart and my pride and joy.

Status:

Permanent Resident

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This little rascal munching on my blinds is Captain, a 7 year old male Congo African Grey. Captain is one of the few birds that we actually acquired as our own and was originally to be my bird. Captain had ideas of his own though (as Greys often do) and bonded almost immediately to my wife Vickie. He will allow me to handle him for utility functions such as moving him to his playstand or back to his cage, but when it comes to interaction he makes it clear that he is definitely a "mama's boy".

Status:

Permanent Resident

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This beautiful gal is Ruby, a Scarlet Macaw. Ruby came to us as a cage-bound and extremely aggressive bird that could be handled by no one. With the passing of time and much work, she has bonded to me and will allow me to handle her in most any way necessary, but not without the occasional bite.  Anyone else that tries to handle her will almost certainly get a taste of that awesome beak. She has proven to be a one-person bird and seems to be quite content and happy living in our home with us and the rest of the flock, so that is where she will remain.

Status:

Permanent Resident

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This is Rocky, a 7 year old male Congo African Grey and one of the smartest birds I have ever encountered.  As you can see, he is in perfect health and plummage and is generally a happy and well-adjusted bird with a strong preference for male humans. He comes to us from a loving home where his presense was causing serious medical problems for another bird, so he was reluctantly placed with us on the advise of the former owner's avian vet. Rocky will remain with us for life as a permanent member of the PARS flock by arrangement of the former owner.

Status:

Permanent Resident

Profile:

This little guy is Chubby the Quaker Parrot. Chubby suffers from Quaker Mutilation Syndrome and came to us from north Florida with a severely mutilated chest and a secondary infection in the open wounds. The photo at left is after 10 days in the hospital and a month of daily medical care here at PARS. As you can see, he has improved immensely and is well on his way to full recovery. Chubby is a gentle and loving soul that likes nothing more then to sit quitely on the shoulder of his favorite person. It is uncertain as to if or when the collar can be removed since the plucking and mutilation have become habit.  The problem with Chubby that makes him generally unsuitable for adoption it that he can be fine one day and you could find yourself facing a $200 - $300 vet bill the next day. This cycle has repeated itself to the point that we doubt we would ever find an adopter willing to accept this as a lifetime financial responsibility and insure the Chubby always gets the medical attention that he will need. We're just not going to take that chance.

Status:

Permanent Resident

Profile:

This curious fellow is JoJo, a Military Macaw. He comes to us from the Atlanta area with a history of abuse, isolation and neglect. On arrival, he was suffering numerous symptoms of malnutrition from years of being given an inadequate diet. Despite his rough start in life, he has remained a gentle an loving bird with the right person. He does have a strong preference for male humans and is openly aggressive to females, but we are working on that.

Status:

Permanent Resident

Profile:

This beautiful lady is TuTu, an approximately 5 year old Scarlet Macaw. TuTu suffers with recurring incidents of self-mutilation of her feet. She is currently undergoing testing to determine the source that drives her to do this. Until an answer is found to her problem, a protective collar and relatively restrictive cage are necessary to protect her from herself.

Status:

Permanent Resident

Profile:

This little guy is Herbie, a Chestnut Fronted (Severe) Macaw. Due to the circumstances under which Herbie came to us, I can't say much about his history but I can say that he is hardly a year old yet has had 4 extended visits to the hospital due to his previous environment.

Status:

Permanent Resident

Profile:

This is Kato, a Congo African Grey Parrot. I think I'll just let the picture speak for itself. Kato will remain with us for life. We feel he has been through enought and we are simply not going to take the chance of anyone doing this to him again.

Status:

Permanent Resident

Profile:

This beautiful little lady is Tessa, a 9 month old female Blue-Throated Macaw. Tessa is a permanent resident at PARS and may one day help to revitalize the gene pool of her critically endangered species in the wild.

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Profile:

This distinguished looking little guy is Rocky, a Double Yellow-Headed Amazon approximately 21 years of age and believed to be male. About the time you think you have seen every medical related problem there is to see, along comes a bird like Rocky. At some point in his past, Rocky mutilated himself along both sides of his body and the undersides of both wings. These are frequent target areas in mutilation cases. However, what is unusual about Rocky's condition is that he can not move wings now because they have literally grown to his body. The open wounds on the underside of his wings healed to the open wounds on the his side.  Rocky is currently undergoing medical evaluation for surgery to free his wings and perhaps even fly again. Watch for a special announce shortly regarding his treatment plan and progress.

Status:  UPDATE !

Aug. 2008 - Shortly after the Feb 07 update, our vet was finally able to stretch the wings sufficiently to get comprehensive xrays. Unfortunately, it was discovered that Rocky's wings had been pinioned in the barbaric fashion normally done by poachers at the time of capture. This, of coursce, dashed any hopes of Rocky ever being able to fly. However, he is today able to stretch and flap his wings in almost normal fashion. Rocky seems to be quite comfortable and happy here at PARS, so to ensure that he never again suffers as he has in the past, it has been decided that he will remain here in sanctuary.