Newbie in the flock.

[Boblet]

Hi. Retired Scot here. I moved to Turkey recently (I have lived here before), and found that there was an African Grey in a cage for sale, sitting out on the sidewalk/pavement across the road from my apartment. He didn't seem like he was being looked after properly, and had eye problems. Passing kids (and some adults) were teasing and tormenting him. From my home, I could hear his screams and whistles of protest. Having cared for birds before, I couldn't let this situation continue, so I bought him. He is now much happier, and is seeing a vet. I don't know the best forum to continue with this. Perhaps someone can suggest where I should post his progress? Thanks.

[Dragonlady2]

How awesome to be able to rescue him! Welcome to the forum. Would love to follow his/her progress and this is a good place to post. Are you able to post any pictures?

[Boblet]

I never met the bird's previous owner, as he was purchased through an intermediate friend because of language issues (my Turkish is limited and the seller had no English whatsoever), so it was difficult to get details of his previous life. His name is Jako (which is the generic Turkish name for an African Grey), and he came with a Cites document stating he was imported into Turkey from Jordan in 2015, with what looks like an origin in Mali in West Africa. The only information I was able to get from the previous owner was that he thought that he hadwas six years old, had cataracts, and that he was very "sick" when he originally bought him.

Before I bought him, I took a photo of him when his cage was in the street. He only had one perch (which was loose), no toys, a diet of pellets, and a pile of poo under him that suggested that his cage wasn't wasn't cleaned very often. His water dish had a layer of slimy bacteria, and had not been wiped for some time. I could see that his left eye was permanently closed, and he peered through his right eye through half-closed lids. His general feather condition seemed poor. He was extremely agressive if you approached his cage, and acted very defensively.

I must say at this point that I only have a tourist visa here, valid for 90 days. I have since applied for an extension, but because Turkey is currently hosting many refugees from Syria, Ukraine and Russia from the various conflicts nearby, getting an extension is not guaranteed, as the country is pretty overcrowded. Despite this uncertainty, I took the decision to buy Jako, as my first priority was to improve his conditions and lifestyle. I had to get him off the street, where he was being regularly taunted by people passing by. I noticed that he spent his nights alone in the shop where his owner worked during the day. The only company he had was not of the kindest, so it was little wonder that he snapped at any fingers that approached his cage. The door and top openings to his cage had been tightly wired shut, indicating he had been confined to his cage for some time.

On getting him home, and opening his cage, he immediately climbed out, but his lack of agility and confidence suggested this was a relatively new experience for him. He stretched his wings more than he flapped them. I could see that he did have some kind of limited vision, but looked like he could only see general movement, and not much detail, although it was difficult to tell. He enjoyed nuts and seeds, but wouldn't touch "wet" food, such as fruit or veggies. This was going to be a long haul. His poop seemed to become healthier looking, with the roughage and oils in the nuts. I put in a secondary perch (a different diameter from his original one, which I also secured) and put a couple of other different sized perches secured to the top of his cage, that he could access through the opening section. He clearly preferred to spend most of his time sitting on the top, as he preened himself vigorously, and made delightful gurgling noises. His feather condition began to improve virtually overnight, and he began to exercise his wings energetically. I noticed he went off his pellets almost completely, which I realise is a risk, as they must contain certain vitamins that he won't get from a hard seed/nut diet. I did start putting calcium and vitamin supplements in his water.

After a couple of days to settle down and get used to his new environment, I approached him slowly, wearing a padded motorcycle gauntlet. He tried to shred it, but eventually was persuaded to climb on to it. He seemed to enjoy riding around on my hand, but at first I was cautious not to let him climb off onto my arm, and certainly not up my shoulder! I built a free-standing "T" perch, and he could see enough (if the light was right) to climb down on it. He was content to spend time on it away from the cage.

Rather than subject him to an early trip to the vet which might traumatise him, I took some close-up photos of his eyes, which I could show on my mobile phone. Also, friends at home who had been following my story suggested that, rather than a case of cataracts, his eyes could be suffering from a bad dose of conjunctivitis, and may respond to antibiotics, rather than surgery and the risk of anaesthetics. The vet's initial thoughts were to try eye drops and see how his eyes respond. He wrote me out a note for the local chemist, and refused to take any money for the consultancy, asking me to come back in five days with a progress report. The eye drops cost 87 cents (almost the same in pence in UK sterling), so the treatment so far didn't exactly break the bank.

In the meantime, Jako had started to sing, whistle and speak. He was becoming very confident, and he would tolerate me passing near him. Occasionally though, an unexplained movement might spook him, and he responded with a loud click of his beak, which I interpreted as him warning me not to get too close. He was turning into an excellent companion, who was clearly very happy to have some company and attention, as well as a change of diet. He regarded toys as threats, as he couldn't really see what they were, and it was obvious that he was feeling his way around his cage. Any slight alteration to the interna layout and he became confused. He did relish chewing up cardboard, with which I lined the floor of his cage, and he also liked chewing the ends of his new perches.

I didn't like the thought of having to administer eye drops twice a day, as I felt handling him against his will might compromise the trust that I had spent some effort in building up. However, in the event, it was easier than I thought. Once on the glove, I set him down on the seat of a chair, where he would get wrapped gently in a towel, doubled over. He didn't struggle (much) and seemed to accept being turned on his side. The fine powder on his feathers and face seemed to be liquid-repellent, but with some diligence, I managed to get some of the drops to flow into his eyes. He closed his eyes at first, making this difficult, but responded to gentle speech, and eventually both eyes were glistening with newly applied drops. Once the towel was removed, he regained his dignity, and was quite happy to be returned to the sanctity of his cage top.

After five days' treatment, I can't honestly see any major difference in the color of his eyes, as they are still dark. Yesterday, we had warm sunshine, so I took the opportunity to take him outside for some direct UV light. The brigher light showed his iris under the dark cloud to be a dark orange color, in his left eye. As this is the one that seemed permanently closed, I view this as some sort of progress. The other eye remains much the same. He is now strong enough (and we have a mild spell of weather) that I will take him to the vet later today. He will travel in a cat-carrying case, with a towel round it to keep the draughts out. I don't drive, but it is a short walk. I shall post how we get on. I am having difficulty in uploading photos, but will try again.

[Boblet]

I also forgot to mention that his left nostril seems to have been badly damaged at some point. I only hope this is not the result of a fight with a sibling or a cat, and that his eyes were damaged at the same time. Although the previous owner suggested the bird was seven years old, my own impression is that he is much older than that. If he has indeed come from the African Republic of Mali, then he could quite easily have been wild caught, and of indeterminate age. I sent a video of him to a friend, who suggested that he was displaying, which indicated that he may have had a mate at some time. All very mysterious. I will see if these photos upload in this post

[Dragonlady2]

Wow…what an excellent write up. The pictures are amazing. Definitely looks like he has had an injury on the one side of his face. He does sound like he was wild caught and you have made amazing progress with him. Will he eat any fruit? You could grind up his pellets and sprinkle some on it. He may also like a little porridge with mashed fruit and ground pellets. You could try feeding him off a spoon.

That he accepts towelling will be useful for future vet visits.

What is your plan for him? Will you try and keep him? With a cites designation, can he leave the country?

Thank you for sharing. Hopefully he is on his way to a happier life. Please keep up with posting about his progress.

[Boblet]

Thanks for your positive comments. I fixed a perch in a cat carrier, and he seemed quite happy once he was in there. I have had much worse travellers. The vet didn't even need to take him out the carrier. He shined his special eye torch in and made his observations. He suggested right away that he didn't have cataracts, but corneal ulcers, and prescribed more eye drops to be given at the same time as the existing ones. He reckoned they occurred as a result of some trauma - perhaps the same time as he sustained his facial injury. I googled corneal ulcers in birds and their treatment. It seems a bit of a minefield, with many different opinions, causes and remedies. Sometimes Brother Google raises more questions than he answers. For now, I will stick with the eye drops and see where they take us.

As mentioned, he ignores fruit and vegetables. He is a picky eater, and shakes his beak in obvious disgust if I try him with new food that he doesn't like. I am going to have to be inventive. I already tried a spoon. Any unusual object that he doesn't recognise is treated like a threat. It must be remembered that for now, he inhabits a strange, dark world. I am hopeful that as his sight improves, then so will his sense of adventure.

I am not able to plan anything until I find out if I can stay in the country, or I have to leave. I should know that next week Either way, he sticks with me. His CITES certificate should act as his passport, and allow International travel if I need to go somewhere else. Lets hope I get my visa extended, which would make life a lot easier for both of us.

[Dragonlady2]

He will be in good hands if he gets to stay with you. I’m off to look up corneal ulcers.

[Dragonlady2]

How is Jako? Are you seeing any improvement in the eyes? Has he become a little less selective about his food choices?