Heartbreak and Healing – A journey

Kuzco has a very heartbreaking story. He is a Yellow Naped Amazon who is 35 years old, as determined by the leg band that was on his leg.

He was first placed with a Dog and Cat Rescue because his owner had been placed in hospice, and the next of kin was dealing with severe legal issues and was headed for incarceration. I can’t reveal any more details other than the owner was extremely sick and was fighting for her own life. The Rescue knew that I take in large birds and contacted me. I agreed to take ownership and asked if the bird could stay with the foster until I was able to purchase another cage and at least run a zoonosis panel, based on the information I was given regarding the living conditions the bird came from.

Quarantine and Testing

A few weeks after we sent in the samples to run the lab work, we received our answers. This bird had a severe zoonotic disease that could be easily transferred to humans and other birds. We had the Rescue contact the previous owner’s doctors to see if they could treat her for this potential disease. The foster started the medication we knew might help and did a two-week trial. At the end of two weeks, our rescue scheduled a vet visit for full lab work and a repeat of the panel that identified the zoonotic disease.

The lab work came back with the disease still present but improving. The fecal test revealed another contagious disease, and the lab markers showed that the poor bird was very sick. So, in January, we started a second antibiotic and continued the first one for another four weeks.

Additional observations

We noticed that one foot was a bit deformed; the poor bird was unable to properly grasp perches and could not balance on one leg. Additionally, he is unable to crack open a nut harder than a peanut or sunflower seed. He also uses his beak to grasp the side of the bird cage to help support his weight.

The vet did not find any broken bones but noticed that Kuzco cannot fly. The vet recommended removing the leg band as it might be causing some of the weakness or deformity in the foot.

We did make sure his nails were properly trimmed and his beak was smooth. His feather condition was not as bad as I thought it might be, but he was all puffed up like a balloon for a few weeks.

Improvement and healing

After a few more weeks on a proper diet and medication, he looked much more thin, less balloon-like, his feather condition took on a shine, and he became a bit more chatty. Luckily, he only has a few feathers missing, so we feel that once we can pull him from quarantine and place him with the flock, he will do well. Hopefully, they will pull less of their feathers as he is currently our only male. (Based on DNA sexing we do on all birds, as we are not in the business of breeding).

Vocal Warning

We were warned that he would scream MOM and GET THE PHONE, we were made aware he sings an opera-scale and that he does talk. As his health improves, we do hear quite a few words and sounds from him. If I am out of the room for too long, he does scream MOM very loudly. I was also warned that he says curse words, but luckily, we really have not been subjected to that.

Caution and Precautions

Due to the zoonotic diseases, we must take extra precautions with cleaning and feeding. We are also limited in physical touch so that we don’t risk exposure to the other birds. Hopefully, once all zoonotic diseases are gone, I can start working more with touch and then work on the foot that appears to be malformed. He is balancing better and has walked across a wide perch without cage support. So, I see progress already just with the diet changes. 

Not a bathtub kinda guy

He is not a fan of the bathtub or human contact but he does get a regular soak bath and when we take him out and towel wrap him to dry we pet his head and talk softly to him. We do use a light mister with a medicated solution in between baths just to keep his dander down. 

Regular recheck vet visits

We will continue to run lab work until he is clear of the zoonotic diseases then he will just have yearly lab work and wellness exams until his health changes and bi-annual exams or labs are needed.

I already have a home and co-owner lined up once he is fully healed and cleared. He seems to favor a man’s voice, particularly this man every time he calls us or monitors the security video and talks through the video camera to Kuzco, so he will be co-owned by our CFO.