[ollieandme]

hi everyone, i haven't been on since ever, in fact you might not remember me but i'm hoping you'll be able to help me out with this.
to start, i have to go back in time. for about 10 months i have heard a parrot calling in our neighbourhood\backyard. and about 1 month and 1\2 ago the parrot finally showed itself: it's a grey indian ringneck, female, and obviously escaped for sometime. i started putting some seed on the back fence to help it find food since it's winter and it comes fairly regularly. she lets me get as close as a metre to her, but no more. and she calls and chirps when i talk to her. she's absolutely gorgeous!

well today i was putting food out because she was sitting in the nearby tree, but when she started eating, i was shocked to see half her face. only 2 weeks ago it was perfectly beautiful, but now half is disfigured. i can't see an eye and i don't honestly know what is feathers and what is skin and what is gunk and unfortunately i can't get any closer to see!

here's photos:
the good side

and the bad side

so far i'm thinking it's either parasitical or something eating away at her face, or she's been maimed by a cat or something like that. what do you guys think? is there any hope for her? i feel that since she can obviously only see out of one eye, her survival and flying etc. will be extremely limited! i don't suppose there's anything i can do...

 

[katew]

Can you put food inside a cage if you have a spare? Put the food on the far side from the door. Prop door with a stick and tie it to a very long piece of string. Test contraption first.
I have caught a few escapees this way. Put orange or mixed fruit out. Irn love it. Then take to vet and explain its a wild bird, you shouldn't get clobbered with vet bills. They should contact animal rescue for you.

 

[ollieandme]

sadly i don't have a spare cage apart from a tiny budgie one which she won't fit in i guess i'm just going to have to wait and see. i'm putting out plenty of food and she's hung round in the backyard most of the day which is abnormal so she's obviously not feeling her best!

 

[catalinadee]

You could try the tiny budgie cage, it could work! At least she wouldn't be able to get out of it too quickly! Poor thing. I'd say it could have been a raptor or a cat. If you can catch her I'd hand her in to an avian vet and see if they can find the owner. Poor thing!

 

[CaptainHowdy]

If you don't have a cage do you have a cat carrier, a box, anything you could use to make a box just to get her inside in?

 

[4thebirds]

Oh my goodness. That is awful. Can you pick up a cheap cage or dog crate? I think she could live if she is given attention. My heart goes out to her. Keep us updated.

 

[ollieandme]

yes i'm think cat! we don't have raptors except in the country where i live
you guys probably disagree, but i almost feel bad to try and catch her. she's been free for almost a year and survived and i feel like she might just die from a heart attack if i actually caught her... it's so tricky! i don't want to interfere too much with her but her face looks terrible!

 

[CaptainHowdy]

yes i'm think cat! we don't have raptors except in the country where i live
you guys probably disagree, but i almost feel bad to try and catch her. she's been free for almost a year and survived and i feel like she might just die from a heart attack if i actually caught her... it's so tricky! i don't want to interfere too much with her but her face looks terrible!

She will likely die from infection if you do not intervene.

 

[4thebirds]

yes i'm think cat! we don't have raptors except in the country where i live
you guys probably disagree, but i almost feel bad to try and catch her. she's been free for almost a year and survived and i feel like she might just die from a heart attack if i actually caught her... it's so tricky! i don't want to interfere too much with her but her face looks terrible!

How do you know shes been free for a year?

 

[ollieandme]

we've heard her in the neighbourhood and in our backyard calling for the best part of a year.
i've decided to just keep an eye on her: i'm leaving food out and listening and spotting her to see how she's doing. she's been flying and calling a lot more today which is positive, since yesterday she didn't do much.

 

[Flapping Mama]

If the face is damaged because of a cat attack she needs antibiotics, otherwise she may die. Poor little thing, it would be so kind if you could help her.

 

[KTyne]

Sasha, if you're afraid of scaring her to death or something don't be. Just think of scientists that capture birds, whales, etc to tag and release. Animals are a lot more resilient than you think.
That looks like a really bad injury, and like was already said if it's from a Cat then the bird could die just from the bacteria alone, let alone the trauma to it's face.

 

[ollieandme]

thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement i've talked about it with my mum, and we're not adverse to catching her but i doubt it's achievable. at the moment i'm working on building more of a relationship with her as she eats etc. and i might try a cage with food in it... i'm definitely keeping a close eye on her! turns out she loves orange and mandarin in her food bowl i'm also putting out water with bird probiotics and multivitamins - it won't cure her, but it won't harm her.

 

[catalinadee]

Your best bet is to try that small cage you have. If she gets in it, even a few times while you're not there, the next time she's in there you can run on over and shut her in there. Have you posted elsewhere that there have been sightings? Even though she's been out for a long time, somebody could still be missing her I would try to alert people anyway. Oh, ringnecks are real pigs when it comes to their food so no doubt she does like orange and mandarin haha! Put a few seedless green grapes out there and you'll have a friend for life :lol:

 

[CaptainHowdy]

If she likes those foods she is highly likely to go into a cage or box for them.

 

[sjohns20680]

She was obviously someone's pet bird at one time. She may enjoy the comforts that would afford her again. She is a lone bird in the wild. It's not like another breed of bird is going to except her into their flock.. People are her flock. If you don't want to get involved than a least call someone that will. She will surely die a long painful death if she is not attended to. Even if her injury didn't exist, it is not good for a cage bird that is not indigenous to that area to be out there all alone. It's not natural and it must be very lonely for her. Help her or call someone that can. Do you have wildlife rehabilitates in your area? Maybe they would be the best bet to recruit to capture her.

 

[Sparrow]

I agree with Sherry. Please, if you are not willing or able to help her, please contact someone who will. Every day passed is one more day wasted that she could have received life saving meds and care. Who can say if she's left where she is that whatever did that to her the first time might not doing it again? She deserves a safe place to rest and recover with proper medical care and treatment. Please reconsider and help save her from more suffering.

 

[ollieandme]

thanks for the suggestions. i'm working towards trying to catch her! i've hung a food bowl on the fence in the past, but i'm going to see if i can get her to eat it from a bowl on our outside table: if she does that, then i can put it in a cage on our outside table.
i haven't posted about her on a lost site, but i have scoured all parrot lost ads etc. and haven't found anything yet.
i'll keep you updated don't worry, we're doing our best!