Jackie - Blue Crown Conure - Thectocercus Acuticaudatus
Jackie joined us in early 2018. We were initially told that Jackie was a 9 year old female who was rescued from the previous owners because they just weren't good bird people - whatever that means. After giving Jackie a few weeks to settle in, we scheduled a vet appointment for a checkup. Blood work determined that Jackie had severe kidney disease, and was male, not female. The vet believed he was significantly older than we were told. Most likely he was in his 20's. Kidney disease is what happens when birds have a lifelong diet of inappropriate food. High fat human food is terrible for birds, and Jackie acts like he's eaten a lot of it over the years. Birds are not capable of properly digesting human food and kidney damage is the result. Kidneys filter toxins, but when they don't work properly, those toxins build up in the skin and cause itching. Birds pluck to relieve the itching, but like humans biting their fingernails, plucking can become habitual. Even with medication and a strict change in diet, Jackie still continues to occasionally pluck. It wasn't something new and had been going on long enough that the feather follicles are so damaged that many of them they will never grow back. Even with the plucked chest, back and tips of the shoulders, Jackie can still fly. He's not graceful, and he will sometimes crash land, but he doesn't let that stop him. Of the three birds we have as pets, he has the best personality. He's happy to sit on my shoulder while I work or move around the house, and he always has a kiss for me if I ask.
Jackie left us on November 7th of 2023. I'm going to miss this old man. He was one of the sweetest birds we've ever had.
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