partridge found in NYC -- help needed

[judie]

Ahhh... But Lucky really is lucky, LokotaLoft. If my neighbors had found him... Yum, yum, yum!

[judie]

I looked for Sevin Dust today at the only place in town that's likely to carry such as that. They have a large gardening section. They had no Sevin Dust.

I went to Petland Discounts and looked at the mite sprays. The warnings were very scary; I just couldn't buy that stuff.

When I picked him up, a few mites crawled onto my hands, so I gave him another bath. Don't worry... I'm not going to bathe him every day. Hopefully, that will be his last bath.

After he dried, I applied some food-grade D. Earth with a brush. I didn't see any mites while I was doing that, but he sure has some evidence of mite bites on his poor skin.

He's still eating like a piggy and he has a perpetual murderous look on his face. Seriously, this bird has a mean scowl. Fortunately, his beak isn't meant for ripping, or I suspect that I wouldn't have any hands left. His little pecks really don't hurt at all.

I haven't found a home for him, yet.

[judie]

I'm happy to report that Lucky appears to be mite free. I held him for quite a while today and didn't see any.

Jennifer put me in touch with someone who said they'd take Lucky in on a temporary basis. DH and I discussed it and decided that it would be less stressful for Lucky if we keep him until we find a "forever home" for him.

No, I'm not considering keeping him forever. I just don't want to shuttle him around more than necessary.

[maryjane]

I'm sorry I missed this thread, I was the lucky (no pun intended ) owner of many chukar partridges for years. They are such funny, wonderful birds, much like chickens. They do best in groups of two or more, regardless of sex, so hopefully you can find him a home with some other ones. You should see them in a flock of six or eight, they slink around together casting very suspicious glances about, at each other and everything else, while furtively muttering Chuuuck, chuuuck, chuuuck? at each other. It's really just hilarious.

We have a lot of them in our Chinatown here in SF too, and that's where mine used to come from--or rather, from the shelters there when they escaped the meat markets. I fed mine chicken mash as well as some greens, so sounds like you're doing great food-wise.

They love a good dust bath too, though the Dawn baths won't hurt him. Chinchilla dust is something they like but it's messy. If you have some dried rosemary, that helps deter pests such as fleas and mites and works quickly. If no one has mentioned it, you can try the regular bird mite spray from any pet store, about five bucks a bottle. I believe Kaytee makes it but any brand would do for mites. The diatomaceous earth is what I use on my pigeons outdoors but it is dusty for household use, and also only good while dry. Good luck and I hope you find him a great home soon! I know he's happy in the meantime being spoiled at your house.

[judie]

MaryJane, thank you for your post.

One of my buddies from StarlingTalk is going to send me some Sevin Dust. I thought I had gotten rid of the mites, but one ran across my hand when I picked him up this morning. There are certainly less, but I have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bird mites.

I would dearly like to find a home for him that has other partridges. The fact that he's alone makes me sad; I can't imagine how lonely he must be.

So far, nobody has indicated that they can give him a forever home.

Rosemary! Who knew?! I don't have any, but that's easy enough to get.

BTW, I enjoyed looking at the pigeons, dove and dogs in your photo album.

[maryjane]

Originally Posted by judie

MaryJane, thank you for your post.

One of my buddies from StarlingTalk is going to send me some Sevin Dust. I thought I had gotten rid of the mites, but one ran across my hand when I picked him up this morning. There are certainly less, but I have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bird mites.

I would dearly like to find a home for him that has other partridges. The fact that he's alone makes me sad; I can't imagine how lonely he must be.

So far, nobody has indicated that they can give him a forever home.

Rosemary! Who knew?! I don't have any, but that's easy enough to get.

BTW, I enjoyed looking at the pigeons, dove and dogs in your photo album.

Thank you! Please don't worry about him being single. Several times I had just one, or just one in quarantine, and they don't seem to mind it much at all. They're darling birds but they're not the crunchiest cookie in the batch. I think the whole flock thing is so attractive to them because they're so suspicious and like to be surrounded by other equally wary creatures. As long as they have good food and a warm place, they always seemed perfectly content alone until they went out with the other birds. So I'm sure your guy is just fine for a bit, don't worry about him being unhappy.

[mr squeaks]

They're darling birds but they're not the crunchiest cookie in the batch!

Never heard that analogy before, MJ!! HYSTERICAL! Must remember!!

Lucky is a beauty and a cutie, Judie! I DO SO HOPE you find a good home for him! So far, sounds like you are doing everything beautifully! Darn, are you sure you can't keep him?

Also, hope you get rid of those pesky mites!

Will be watching for updates...

Love, Hugs and Scritches

Shi

[judie]

I woke up around 3:00 this a.m. and was shocked to find Lucky in the kitchen. I think that he was looking for a knife so he could make a preemptive strike.

He's a naughty, naughty bird.

I don't have a clue how he managed to get out of the little "access door" on the top of the carry cage he's living in. DH swore he couldn't get out of there, and I would have bet good money that he was right. Lucky is like a bowling ball with feathers. I can't imagine him jumping or climbing up to get out of that little door. It's kind of like picturing an elephant hopping.

[maryjane]

Originally Posted by judie

I woke up around 3:00 this a.m. and was shocked to find Lucky in the kitchen. I think that he was looking for a knife so he could make a preemptive strike.

He's a naughty, naughty bird.

I don't have a clue how he managed to get out of the little "access door" on the top of the carry cage he's living in. DH swore he couldn't get out of there, and I would have bet good money that he was right. Lucky is like a bowling ball with feathers. I can't imagine him jumping or climbing up to get out of that little door. It's kind of like picturing an elephant hopping.

ROFL Oh my goodness, I haven't had a laugh like that in I don't know when. That's so funny, that just kills me. I unearthed some pics of my chukars when they lived in the quarantine spare bedroom. I will scan them with the printer and get them on here. This thread is really making me miss them, next I'll be down at the shelter rounding up a bunch. As for the Sevin dust, I think it works in 24 hours but it's been awhile since I've used it so am not sure. Others will know though for sure.

[mr squeaks]

Lucky sounds like quite the character!! Maybe you should change his name to Houdini??

Hope those nasty bugs are all gone. Don't know who will appreciate that more, you or Lucky!

Can't wait to hear of further adventures!!

Sending Love, Hugs and Scritches (bug free)

Shi

[judie]

Originally Posted by maryjane

ROFL Oh my goodness, I haven't had a laugh like that in I don't know when. That's so funny, that just kills me. I unearthed some pics of my chukars when they lived in the quarantine spare bedroom. I will scan them with the printer and get them on here. This thread is really making me miss them, next I'll be down at the shelter rounding up a bunch. As for the Sevin dust, I think it works in 24 hours but it's been awhile since I've used it so am not sure. Others will know though for sure.

maryjane, I'm glad Lucky's Great Escape amused you so much.

Oh, goody... I'm looking forward to seeing the pics of your prior chukars.

I'm happy to report that I didn't see any mites when I handled him yesterday or today. He is soft and clean and very handsome.

Originally Posted by mr squeaks

Lucky sounds like quite the character!! Maybe you should change his name to Houdini??

Hope those nasty bugs are all gone. Don't know who will appreciate that more, you or Lucky!

Can't wait to hear of further adventures!!

Sending Love, Hugs and Scritches (bug free)

Shi

Shi, Lucky had a misadventure today...

I got him out of his cage, and he managed to fly a couple of feet. He crashed into a pile of magazines. When I picked him up, I saw that one of his toenails was completely gone and blood was gushing from the toe.

I don't know how he managed to do that. I don't think that the little crash landing was responsible. Perhaps he got it caught in something in his cage... I simply don't know.

I screamed to DH, who was taking a shower that we had an emergency. He jumped out of the shower. I told him to pour some cornstarch into a saucer and to give me a paper towel.

I held Lucky on my lap, packed corn starch onto the toe and kept pressure on it. He was really ticked off; he was probably in tremendous pain. He kept pecking at me very aggressively. After about 10 minutes, the bleeding stopped. I cleaned it with a little alcohol and put some Bacitracin on it.

He's eating now, which I think is a good sign.

I did notice that there is a strange hole on his cere between his nostrils. It doesn't seem to be deep. What is that? What do I need to do for him?

Unless someone tells me by tomorrow morning that they want to give Lucky a life of luxury with room to roam and a girl partridge to call his own, we're going to shop for a new cage for him tomorrow.

Last call... Anyone need a partridge? Come on! You know you want one!

[mr squeaks]

I'm so sorry to hear about Lucky's misadventures!!

Sure glad to hear that he seems to be OK...

Oh Oh, I have a feelin' you are now the proud owner of a Partridge...Guess next up, with a new cage, is a Pear Tree??

Looks like Partridges are pretty hard to home...

We sure wish him ALL the BEST and look forward to hearing more about him. He's unique as I don't think we have anyone else posting about Partridges...we can learn a lot!

Love, Hugs and Scritches

Shi and Mr. Squeaks/Dom/Gimie/WoeBeGone

[wolfwood]

Maybe one of the other birds helped him and then - ever so innocently - went back to their own cage. Do you have cats? That's ABSOLUTELY the kind of thing a cat would (and does) do. Anytime my dogs are doing something the "shouldn't" be doing - - - I check for the cat presence. Odds are REAL good there will be a cat in the shadows ... laughing!!!

[TerriB]

Sounds like you have a wonderful variety of birds!

If you are still looking for a mite powder, you should be able to use any flea powder safe for cats and kittens. I shake a little bit into the bedding, as well as under the bird's wings and tail (warm areas that mites love).

[judie]

Originally Posted by TerriB

Sounds like you have a wonderful variety of birds!

If you are still looking for a mite powder, you should be able to use any flea powder safe for cats and kittens. I shake a little bit into the bedding, as well as under the bird's wings and tail (warm areas that mites love).

Yes, I have quite a flock. Last year, we lost our Sun Conure and our Nanday Conure. Both were 19 years old, and I adored them. But we still have quite a variety.

Originally Posted by wolfwood

Maybe one of the other birds helped him and then - ever so innocently - went back to their own cage. Do you have cats? That's ABSOLUTELY the kind of thing a cat would (and does) do. Anytime my dogs are doing something the "shouldn't" be doing - - - I check for the cat presence. Odds are REAL good there will be a cat in the shadows ... laughing!!!

It's quite possible that it was a coordinated Great Escape, wolfwood. No, we have no cats. I'm allergic, but I do love them. We used to have a budgie who was an escape artist. She would open the door to her cage and climb out. If you said, "Kiki, you bad bird..." she would run back in the house and act like she never left. Alas, she has been gone quite a few years. Maybe her ghost helped Lucky. She was an evil, nasty, mean, biting budgie (the only one I was ever afraid to handle). This sounds like something her ghost would do!