African Grey Congo parrot needed to be urgently rehomed

[campfreddy]

I am looking for a new home for our African Grey Congo parrot, Perry.  Please read all the details below before replying as this is a special case.

Perry came to us a year a go by flying into my garage, lost, battered and missing many feathers.  I took him to a vet to see if he was microchipped (he wasn't) and left postings on loads of websites to try and find the owner – we couldn't and no one replied so we kept him.  We have been told that he is approx 5 years old and bred in the UK though we don't know the sex of the bird - we call him 'he'. He gets on with both men and women but gets nervous initially around new people but settles easily.  He is happy and all his feathers have grown back now.

However, a year on, I urgently need to rehouse the parrot because my housemate has been taken to hospital with pneumonia which they think is caused by psittacosis – though they are not sure at this stage.

Because of this, I need to urgently remove the parrot from inside the home, take faeces samples for three days (as per vet's advice) which I then need to get tested for psittacosis and would then treat the parrot.  PLEASE NOTE: the parrot is not currently showing any symptoms of the disease so he may just be a carrier.

The problem I have is that the only place I can keep the parrot outside the house is in a cage in the garage which has no door the rear and has been used as a hiding place for the local fox – for this reason, I am not happy to leave the parrot here as I think it will be frightened or eaten (despite being in a cage) during the night.

Is anyone able to take the parrot and keep it in isolation and treat the disease if he has it.  He is a lovely bird, doesn't talk but sings away happily.  He is not hand reared and doesn't step up but does take food given by hand and I think can be trained as he is well behaved.  I have a large cage, food, toys etc which can go with him.  He is very loved in the family and we'd be sad to see him go but we have to put the health of my housemate first.

Can anyone who has had lots of experience with African Greys help – is anyone prepared to take him on?  My only option at the moment is to take him to the vet next week and put him down which I would like to avoid if I can.
Advice and suggestions would be very welcome.  I'm based in North London.

Thanks
Claire

[autumnmoon]

Sorry I can't help Claire as I am in Canada....but I am betting you will find help here. Sit tight, as someone will come along with ideas soon. So sorry this has happened. Is it possible someone is over-reacting?? Can you have the bird tested?

[carol]

oh no id love love to take him but as iv got 2 id be to scared if he had the disease and gave it to my to, this is Good potential for someone who hasn't got a ag but has the love for one xx

[jules]

WHAT A SAD SAD SITUATION CLAIRE. HOW LONG IS YOUR FRIEND IN HOSPITAL FOR? YOU ALSO NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR SELF TOO AS YOU COULD HAVE IT. I REALLY THINK THOUGH THAT PUTTING PERRY IN ANOTHER ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO QUARRANTINE HIM UNTIL YOU KNOW FOR SURE. I WISH I COULD HELP BUT I TOO DONT HAVE ROOMS BIG  ENOUGH TO KEEP HIM IN. I REALLY AM SORRY. 

[alicat]

id not even contemplate rehoming or putting to sleep when you dont  know if it was the bird whos passed this on. from what youv wrote am i right in thinking this is because your housemate has been diagnosed with pneumonia, not chlamidia? id be waiting to get a chlamidia result on your friend before you do anything.
doctors always think the worst, id get the tests done and get him treated if needbe..
put it this way, if he hass the disease hes already exposed both you and your housemate to it anyway.  if he doesnt you could have ended his life or gave him away for nothing.

reading up on it , i read that you need to disinfect the room and the cage, then do the three day test, it didnt say anything about moving the parrot to another house. was it a doctor who gave you that info or a vet?
dont let medical professionals bully you into parting with or treating your bird unfairly. my sister who is a gp was horrified when i started keeping parrots, her words were you can catch diseases from those things! hmph!

[feika]

DON'T RUSH, please, whatever you decide take your time, as Alison said, what has been done (or not done) has already been done so don't hurry. Disinfect the cage and the room, put the bird in quarantine to some other room, and if you don't have any spare room, you may put the cage in the garage about 4-5 feet above the ground so that the fox(es) wouldn't reach their. If it's a big cage, you can put him in a smaller one, drill a couple of screws in the garage wall and hang the cage, also you must put a sheet or something on the cage so that he may be sound asleep as well as hidden from the fox's eyes.
I hope Perry gets a clean bill of health after the test reports.

[sweeetnlowww]

campfreddy...don't diss the bird...wait...maybe in your heart you like Perry too ........we can help when ?'s arrive...they are like children...reading your post i personally think you have already grown attached anyways...i say give it a shot with you.

[billysprout]

As far as im aware this birdie has gone to a new home. Hes on another forum as well.