Chaka the Yellow-crowned/Yellow-naped Amazon

[LisaB]

Meet Chaka. He is my adopted Yellow-crowned/Yellow-naped Amazon. He's around 20 years old and is recovering from bruised kidneys and most likely years of poor nutrition and boredom.

I volunteer for a rescue that started up last August--Metro Denver Parrot Rescue, affectionately known as MDPR. Our team is made up of an amazing group of people who all met through another organization. While the place we met was not all we thought it would be, it did serve to bring together a group of talented, hard-working people with good hearts and a common vision. Several months ago we came in contact with another great rescue--Colorado Parrot Rescue, run by the wonderful Bob Arnold. It was through him that I met Chaka.

Chaka came to Bob from an older couple who meant well, but did not really provide Chaka with the life he deserves. And they were not Chaka's first owners--he had been passed through a few people before the call came into Bob that yet another family needed to pass him on. The day that Bob arrived to pick him up, Chaka was on a perch in front of an open second floor window. When Bob entered the room, it startled Chaka and he fell off his perch, out the window and onto the driveway two floors below. He was unable to fly due to the picking and shredding of his feathers.

Bob immediately took him to Dr. Jerry LaBonde and it was determined that Chaka had bruised kidneys. He almost died. Bob nursed him back to health, feeding him his medicine through spoons of cream of wheat and a bit of ice cream. Toweling this traumatized bird was not an option. He'd been through enough already.

I believe Bob would have kept Chaka except that he is getting older and worried that Chaka could possibly be faced with another rehoming in the next few years. Now, anyone that knows Bob Arnold knows that he is healthier than a lot of teenagers out there! However, Bob was convinced that Chaka needed to either go to a sanctuary or to a home where he would be given time to heal. I am flattered and grateful that he decided that our family should be the ones to take Chaka home.

Chaka is still getting to know our family. We move slowly with him. We give him healthy things to eat. We bought him a crap load of new toys (I have a rather embarrassing addiction to parrot toys). He lets me pet his head. He likes the way my 11 year-old sings. He thinks our dog is an idiot. He's growing his feathers back and my avian vet will watch him closely. By this time next year he will be a big, beautiful boy. And he will never, never be dumped on people he doesn't know again. If he outlives me, he will go with my daugher, Erin. We love him.

And did I mention that he smells like Heaven?

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum. It was a wonderful story with a happy ending, thank you for sharing it with us but why do you say he is a Yellow Crown/Yellow Nape mix? He looks like a Yellow Nape to me (see his black beak?)

[cml]

Welcome to the forums, it sounds like Chaka will find a very loving home with you and that you will make wonderful parronts!

[GreenWing]

Hi to Chaka and to you! I love Amazons, they really do smell like tropical flowers, it's so strange! Amazons are wonderful parrots and I am so happy you found Chaka

[LisaB]

Welcome to the forum. It was a wonderful story with a happy ending, thank you for sharing it with us but why do you say he is a Yellow Crown/Yellow Nape mix? He looks like a Yellow Nape to me (see his black beak?)

Thank you! Yellow-napes don't typically have the amount of yellow on the crown that Chaka does. In that respect he seems to be a Yellow-crown. However, Yellow-crowns don't have the black beak or all the yellow feathers on the neck. Honestly, he does not have a band and he's been through several people, so who knows? Bob thinks he's a hybrid, but maybe not. He's a Chaka!

[Pajarita]

No, actually, it's common for Yellow Napes to have yellow on the crown (see the pictures here:http://www.avianweb.com/yellownapedamazon.html) . And there are Yellow Napes that hardly have any yellow on the nape and, sometimes, none at all. The 'yellow' distribution is individual, some having a larger 'spot' on the nape than others although everybody seems to agree that it grows larger as they get older (I have 3 Yellow Napes and 1 Yellow Crown).

[LisaB]

Really? Well, maybe he is a Yellow-nape! I've worked with Amazons and I'm familiar with them, but I'm no expert, that's for sure! He's the first Amazon I've brought home, so I still have a lot to learn. He has some white on his beak, more toward the base. Is that common as well? It would be nice to know more of his history, but there just isn't a lot. He's very sweet with me, though he's wary of the rest of the family. He hasn't shown any aggression; he's just hesitant to step up for anyone else and he won't let anyone else touch him. Of course, that could change. He is in a completely new situation and he knew me from Bob's. So, of course he is more comfortable with me...for now. Who knows who he'll like best 3 months from now. LOL!

[LisaB]

About a week ago I noticed that Chaka was eating less and not looking well at all. Concerned, I called my avian vet, who is also a very good friend. She came by the house, examined him and took blood. When she called me she was extremely concerned. She said that she could tell just by looking at the blood that he had pretty significant liver issues going on. She sent everything off for testing, grabbed the medication he would need, grabbed a large syringe and came back to my house. She gave him subcutaneous fluids and we gave him his first dose of antibiotics, liver medication, pain medication and a very concentrated solution of Milk Thistle (also for his liver). So, twice a day I give him medicine and pray that he'll be ok. He deserves to have a good life and I'm determined to get him well and give him just that.

Well, it's been a week, he's gained 11 grams, he looks immensely better and he's chewing wood and strutting around like an Amazon should. He's definitely not out of the woods, but I'm amazed at how much better he is already. Last week at this time I thought I might lose him. Now, I'm daring to hope.

Oh, and all the blood work is back. The liver values are very high, but hopefully we can fix that. He does not have any hideous diseases and he doesn't have Avian Gastric Yeast. However...

Chaka is a girl.

Good Lord. My big handsome green boy is a hen. She's staring at me right now, as if to say, "Well, clearly I'm a female. You humans are all a bunch of morons."

[Wolf]

Liver issues, I think, have a tendency to be or become chronic and the best way, perhaps the only way to effectively treat it long term is through diet. Pajarita is your best bet for advice in this matter. I wish you and Chaka all the best in this endeavor.

Who didn't know that parrots think that we are idiots? After all we constantly speak gibberish that no self respecting bird could possibly understand and we keep doing all kinds of stupid things to them. It proves just how caring they are as they take pity on us and try to make us happy despite of our obvious handicaps.

[LisaB]

LOL! Ain't that the truth. Thanks for the tip! I'll reach out to Pajarita later today. I have another bird with liver issues as well. She is a little Black-capped Caique named Bernadette. She was previously owned by a woman who had terrible alcohol problems and we think the woman either was giving Bernie alcohol, or didn't realize she was getting into it. We did a test: we put a glass of Sprite on the table and a glass of Vodka and Sprite. She went straight for the Vodka, didn't even glance at the Sprite. I don't know if she can see the alcohol, or smell it, but she knows the difference! Now, whenever we have beer, wine or drinks, she has to be in her cage. Otherwise, if you try to keep her away from the booze, she'll bite the crap out of you. It's very sad and I was furious when I first realized her problem. Now, we have her blood checked eveyr 6-8 weeks, add Milk Thistle and Dandelion extract to her water and feed her well. We joke that she's our mean little alcoholic bird because if we don't keep a sense of humor, we may be tempted to hunt down her former owner and strangle her. I have to remind myself that the woman has problems and is suffering as well. Last I heard she was homeless. Bernie's liver values have come down, but are still high and we struggle to keep weight on her, though she eats like a pig. We've had her tested for everything else under the sun, just to be sure nothing else is going on. Here's a picture of my daughter pushing Bernie and our other Caique, Rocky, around a store. Bernie's in front.