u/InferiorCabbage

I've posted about Garfield here before, and he's doing very good! For those that don't know, he has some sort of deformity that prevents him from fully extending his wings, walking properly, or gripping things with his feet. He does a little shuffle-walk and sometimes a little scoot(!) to get around and with cage adaptations is able to get where he needs to go. He's been really happy lately.

One thing I've been concerned about, though, is that he can't right himself if he falls on his back. We haven't had issues with this yet since he's typically either with me or in his cage, but he doesn't have great balance. I'm concerned that he might tip over or fall off of something (he doesn't have access to anything high enough to injure him, just a couple low platforms), land or roll on his back, and get stuck like that.

Does anyone have any suggestions for ways I could begin teaching him how to roll himself over? Physical therapy we could do? I've done PT with him before. Before anyone asks, I do plan on talking to my avian vet, we just haven't had the opportunity yet.

Thank you from me and Garfield!

Baby turkey I found on a walk a few years ago. There was no sign of any adult turkeys in the area, even after I waited for a while. He was either orphaned or an abandoned pet. I gave him to a neighbor who had some pet poultry and they found him a good home with a person who had some turkeys he could hang out with!

My brother took these pictures of me and Garfield the other day. I've never met a bird that enjoys cuddles more than Garfield!

He was correct, by the way.

He was actually just clearing his crop.

He got blueberries (his favorite food), a little bit of millet, and some new toys!

1. The Corruption

2. The Slaughter

3. The Lonely

4. The Desolation

5. The Extinction

6. The End

7. The Flesh (Monster Pig!!)

8. The Dark

I made a post the other day showing off some Tomodachi Life Miis of a few of the Fears that I made. I finished the rest of them today. I know that some of them look a little goofy but I had trouble coming up with visual representations for all of them. I'm really happy with the way The Corruption turned out.

People seemed interested in Garfield, so here's his story!

I volunteer with a local foster-based (meaning no central location, just run out of volunteer homes) parrot rescue. Shortly after I joined, someone abandoned a baby cockatiel in a box at our table during an event. It was busy so no one saw who left the box. That baby was Garfield. He was starving and cold but ended up doing well with a volunteer who had experience raising baby birds. In fact, said volunteer gave Garfield his name because of the amount he ate when she first got him home. We suspect that whoever abandoned him was trying to hand-raise some babies but didn't want him when they noticed that he wasn't "perfect".

Garfield was adopted by a very nice family when he was a little older and healthier. They kept him for a couple years but then surrendered him back to the rescue. They did their best but I think they weren't totally sure what to do with him. Additionally they had a few healthy tiels that they kept despite giving up Garfield so they may have just been in over their heads.

I started fostering Garfield at that point and it only took me a couple days to start thinking about keeping him. I found out later that the adoption team never even listed him on our website because they knew I'd fall in love with him, lmao! I have experience working with disabled birds and as a disabled person myself I feel a certain kinship with them, if that makes sense.

Garfield has a deformity of both feet. He can't grip or close his toes, and shuffles instead of walking, climbing, or jumping. He also can't fully extend his wings. I've done pretty extensive physical therapy with him and he can now go up and down ramps, balance on low perches, walk on uneven surfaces, stand up straight, and even flap his wings a little. He also demands cuddles constantly, sings "If You're Happy And You Know It", and loves looking out windows!

He's my baby and I love him!!!