FRANKIE AND TRISCUIT - LOVE THEM LOVEBIRDS!

Frankie the Lovebird

Agapornis roseicollis 

And his best friend, Triscuit 

Frankie is one of TGF’s long time residents who came to us in July 1998 from an animal abandonment case in Marble, CO.

 Julie received a call – the landlord wanted to know if we could come get the birds, cats and dogs that a tenant left outside when evicted from their rental in the high and narrow valley outside of Aspen, in a hamlet of a town called Marble. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble,_Colorado. The evening before, snow had fallen on the birds who had been left outside. 

Julie and a staff member responded to the call, and when they arrived on site, found four baby lovebirds, eyes still closed, four parent birds, three baby cockatiels, a Pionus, and a Green cheek conure. Two basset hounds and several kittens were yowling with hunger. 

Animal control showed up to claim the kittens and dogs, and released the birds to TGF. The birds were transported and set up in a separate quarantine room at Julie’s house…parents separated from babies due to the intensive care required to stabilize the young lovebirds and cockatiels. The parents - the Pionus and Green cheek - were quarantined at our first aviary location. 

Handfeeding underway, the youngsters soon caught up to normal size from their early malnutrition. The seven youngsters began to feather and eventually learned to fly. Taking ideas promoted by Phoebe Green Linden, the ‘tiels and lovebirds had their custom designed boxes, with snuggly towels, cozy toys, and small dishes of food and water to encourage them to learn to eat on their own as they grew. 

All seven birds eventually fledged, and would routinely follow Julie when she’d take them on a flyabout around the house - they followed her like the Pied Piper! With inspiration from Phoebe, Julie would transfer the chicks to a wicker basket during handfeedings. They quickly learned that the basket meant food – and they were ready to relocate to the basket the minute they saw the handfeeding syringe or basket. It was simply a matter of increasing the distance of the basket from the babies as they continued to fledge and they would readily fly from location to location. 

Six of the youngsters were adopted out, but not Frankie. As a youngster playing with a grapevine toy, a small piece of cotton thread from a cotton swatch tied on to the wreath toy wrapped around his foot one evening. By early the next morning, it was evident there was a problem – his leg was swollen and the toe discolored. Immediate veterinary care was provided, with a small part of the foot amputated to save the remainder of the leg. It was too late, and more of the leg tissue continued to become necrotic over the next couple of days. Our vet decided that major amputation of the leg and thigh was needed to save Frankie’s life. It did – and he’s been here with us since then, full of activity, curiosity and energy - and he has remained fully flighted for his entire life. His best buddy is Triscuit, a lutino mutation lovebird male who was in need of a friend. They have been inseparable for over a decade. Their cage is now next to Onesy and Squirt, two disabled, female lovebirds that arrived at TGF from separate relinquishments. All four lovebirds go outside into their flight cage on good weather days and enjoy the sun and fresh air. 

These little ones are indeed small, but mighty - and their lives are vastly enriched by their sponsors and supporters who know that when it comes to a lovebird, size is no obstacle. Thank you for caring for these bright and cheerful little parrots.

Click here to make a donation - and show some love to these special lovebirds!