SouthWest Exotic Avian Rescue - SWEAR

FOUND RINGNECK!
89128 zip, 10/18/2024. Must be able to identify/prove ownership The bird is being cared for by SouthWest Exotic Avian Rescue. Call us if you think this might be your bird.
702-937-1005

Send a message to learn more

Hand (or claw) up if you need your nails trimmed!
Grooming schedule is available for booking on November 9 & 23 in Henderson.
https://calendly.com/swearlv/swear-bird-grooming-event-november24

This is the story of a little grey bird, that was larger than life.
Fair warning, you may need a few tissues, but this is the truth of rescue. Heartbreaking, yet beautiful in a way words can't describe, but hearts recognize immediately.
I sincerely hope everyone gets a chance at a love like this.

~Simon's Story~

Simon the Congo African Grey was a mature bird when I first met him. He had quite the story, but I'll stick to the parts I know for sure.
He came into our organization, got a clean bill of health(slightly wonky beak that needed regular maintenance, but that was it), and moved into a foster home.
As often happens with greys, a family was interested & visited with him repeatedly, and finally they took him home, foster to adopt.
Simon quickly decided that the man of the house was HIS man, and a friendship blossomed.
He was officially adopted into the family. Simon became a travel companion, going on family camping trips. A shop buddy, working on projects in the garage & learning to do the riff from "Smoke on the Water". He learned to meow like a cat, and bark like a dog, and entertained his family like every grey does.
Eventually, life happened. Things changed & Simon's chosen person didn't have much time for him. Simon started to get very frustrated, and let a few family members know about it.
They decided that it would be best for all if Simon returned to SWEAR to find someone who could spend more time with him.
So, Simon came back to us.
He did not understand, and most certainly did not agree. In fact, you could say Simon held a grudge.
He wanted nothing to do with anyone. A friendly bird that had never had an issue with coming out of his cage, now did NOT want to come out. He bit the bars if you got too close. He doubled in size with proximity(grey owners know the MAD-POOF they can do!)and let everyone know he needed space.
He did seem to be interested in men more than women, but seemed to be waiting for his human to come back. A few months went by, and he figured out that this was not going to happen. And I figured out ways to engage with him, without getting bit & upsetting him. He started to talk a little, and started to dance a bit. A few bars of music whistled out once in a while.
One day a family came to meet birds and Simon approached the front of the cage.
What was this?!
A man, of course. A big tall guy, like his other dad had walked in. He bit the snot out of him. 😂
But this man was not deterred. The family asked to foster him, and see if he could come out of his shell. And so Simon went to a foster home to remember how not be an angry bird.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Simon at first had to use a perching tool to help him come out of the cage without nipping people. Then, once he started to realize these people were interested in HIS feelings, and HIS happiness, the magic started to happen! His foster mom sat on the floor by his house every night & talked to him, and sang songs with him.
His foster dad won his heart. They called me to tell me that Dan could get Simon to step up from inside the cage consistently with no aggression anymore. I was beyond thrilled, so happy he was remembering what it was to be adored.
Whether he was dancing to music, chasing his ball, or cuddling with his dad...he was back & happier than ever.
The family knew Simon had chosen them, and could never leave.
He was home.
To see this bird who had so much anger in him at one point, puddle into his dad's chest & snuggle in would have melted the coldest of hearts. It's everything rescuers hope for. The connection that brings trust back. That brings love & life back into the eyes.
We made arrangements to finalize Simon's adoption, and then the worst happened. I got the call that something was wrong, Simon seemed to be having trouble breathing, and had fallen from a perch. They rushed him to my house late that evening while I rushed and got the ICU ready. When they came in we immediately got oxygen going, as Simon was struggling to breathe. I did a quick evaluation & could feel that something was very wrong with his heartbeats. Slow & almost sloppy feeling I knew. Simon's time was almost up, and i told his foster family that it would be soon. Simon Face Timed with the eldest who had just left for college, while in the comfort of his Dad's arms. Dan held him, and spoke words of love, and thankfulness for Simon choosing him & his family to love & to open up to & be the wonderful, goofy, so smart & happy bird that he was meant to be.
It took about 20 min, and Simon finally breathed his last, in the arms of his chosen human.
As difficult as it was, to have seen an almost six & a half foot man cradling a whopping one pound bird in his arms, speaking words of love and intense gratitude was a truly magical & humbling experience.
Simon was SO loved. And he was surrounded by that love when he breathed his last. He knew. He knew he was loved. He knew his worth. He was so brave, opening up and deciding to trust a human, yet again. And that human did not let him down.

One of the hardest things in rescue(of which there are a few), at least for me, is to have a bird pass in foster. It feels almost like they didn't get a chance to belong to someone. While they belong to us, all with SWEAR who do everything that we do for them, it's not the same. So, when Kristina told me a few days after the passing of our wonderful boy Simon, that they wanted to finalize his adoption anyway, postmortem, I immediately started crying.
I'm crying now, typing these words.
Because...my God. Someone GETS IT. He belonged. He mattered. He owned their hearts as much as they owned his.
These moments, are the ones that give us the strength to continue. Families that HAVE to show the world that a little senior grey bird with a crooked beak & a wonky wing, MATTERED.
He adopted them, HIS choice. Simon gave them his trust and his heart. In return, they gave him their hearts, and their family name.

In recognition of the amazing love that Simon and his chosen family shared, we are celebrating his life and his belated adoption. Though Simon had already shown his feelings in the matter, and his chosen family shown theirs, it's official.
Congratulations on your adoption Simon Shinn.
We miss you. We love you.
Thank you for teaching me so much.
Thank you for being the awesome bird you were.

As with every bird in the rescue that passes, we had a necropsy done by one of our vets.
Simon's cause of death was heart disease. His dang heart was too big, wouldn't you know it. Otherwise, as our vet said "He was perfect in every other way"...
We could not agree more.

My hope is that many will not see this as a sad story, but one of love. By the Shinns taking a chance on an an angry older bird, they got to be part of an amazing transformation and the most important part of Simon's life. The part where he learned to love again, and be happy in that love.
Im blessed to be able to share this story with everyone, and hope you all go hug your birds & whisper your love to them.
Here is a picture of Simon's chosen human Dan, and Simon. Both now officially "Shinns".

Cute video of Simon in the comments too. You can hear it in their voices, he soooo owned all of them in the best way!❤️

😍Congratulations to the Shinn family, for allowing Kiddu to finalize his adoption of them!
Seriously though, Kiddu adores his family, and has even picked out his very own human! Liam is the chosen one, but Kiddu does his level best to keep the rest of the family entertained with his daily antics as well!
Absolutely thrilled for the family & for our special grey boy Kiddu too!

We have availability for grooming tomorrow in Henderson with Skye. Don't let those beaks and nails get wicked sharp!

SWEAR Bird Grooming Event October 12 & 26 - SWEAR Parrot Rescue Reserve a grooming appointment for your feathered family member! Space is always limited so grab your spot today! PLEASE RESERVE the NEXT AVAILABLE time slot to make the best use of our volunteers' time at this event. If there is a large time gap between appointments you will be asked to change your

Transformation Thursday: Stitch

Meet Stitch. Stich is a young ringneck newer to SWEAR. Our volunteers assisted Stitch's previous owner with his chronic plucking and behavior. Life happened and Stitch came into the care of SWEAR. We noticed he had black feathers, misshapen feathers, and knew his plucking behavior history and collar wearing. His labs, vet exam, and disease tests are normal!

Stitch started on milk thistle, VetOmega, and diet change. His new diet included pellets free or dyes or only natural dyes, fresh foods with vegetable focus, limited fruits (focusing on offering berries or ones with antioxodants), and sprouts. A high quality seed mix is offered in small amounts. He got lots and LOTS of toys and foraging enrichment to curb his plucking behaviors. Many toys are donated!!! So, what did we see?

💚 Stitch is collar FREE since October 1 with no noticeable signs of plucking!
💚 New feather growth is becoming more colorful and properly shaped!
💚 Beak color is turning a beautiful shade of orange!
💚 Look at this tail! Stitch never allowed his tail to grow before and....wow it's so long!

THIS is why we stress the importance of proper parrot nutrition and enrichment activities!! Foods matter. Ingredients matter. Quality matters. Toys matter. Enrichment opportunities matter. Stich has a great glow up after roughly 2 months in a foster home. We can't wait to see him continue on his journey!

This little ringneck is now safe with SouthWest Exotic Avian Rescue - SWEAR & receiving medical care.
Yesterday the family that originally posted about the bird coming to their wild bird feeder called & asked for help. A neighborhood 🐈 cat had caught the parrot, and they were able to rescue her from the cat.
She had been injured, and needed help asap. Cat scratches & bites are horribly toxic to birds, because of the bacteria in their mouths & claws.
💫Alex to the rescue!💫
He was able to rush over & pick her up & then zoom over to see Dr. Munoz at Lone Mountain Animal Hospital to get her immediate treatment.
There was a bite, and a lot of soft tissue damage to one leg, a break was suspected, and x-rays were done.
No broken bones, thank goodness! Heavy duty antibiotics, analgesic & anti-inflammatory meds and rest for 10 days, she should be OK.

This is why we ask that people please, PLEASE be so very careful when your birds are flighted, to ensure their safety with every precaution.
They don't know that cats or dogs are dangerous to them. They look for easy food, easy water & put themselves in danger doing so.
For those that "let their birds go", I have some choice words for you, but this is a family page so I won't. They have been raised by people and don't know how to be a wild bird. You have just sentenced them to death.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
When a local rescue takes your found pet & gets them medical care, housing/enrichment etc, don't just say thanks & drive off. Please ask what they spent to care for your pet, and reimburse them!
We are not funded by the city/state.
We recently helped a found quaker who we had in our care for over a month. Disease testing was done(the bird had been outside with wild birds & of course we had no history of its past), blood work & check up done. We housed & cared for him for weeks & when the family was found he was returned. When informed of all that was done for him, they thanked us profusely, and drove off.
$450 isnt much in the scheme of life, but it all chips away at the bottom line of a rescue who has been hit hard over the past years, like every rescue.
Please help us to be able to keep helping birds.
(Rant over)

Adoption Announcement!

A very sweet but shy Quaker(who I may have been snuggling when no one is around😜😍)named "Ross" has found his family! A few happy tears & snuggles happened today, and it was wonderful!

Congratulations to the Martinez family & to Ross!
Thank you for your patience, and for opening your heart & home to this wonderful little gem!
May you have many years together! ❤️

Before & After photos …🥰
Meet ‘Fergus’ an older Red Lored Amazon who was randomly handed to an animal control officer and ended up at TAF. We are so glad they called us to help because he was a bit of a mess! Stinky, dirty, sadly obese. Little did we know what a sweet old soul was under all those messy feathers.
He refused food for nearly a week, (maybe used to only eating human food?)he refused everything we offered. We were really worried there for a bit but he has finally adjusted and now is hoping to find a good fit in a permanent home with someone who can skritch his neck on demand (& he is very demanding of neck skritchees!)

🦜FRIDAY FEATHERED FEATURE: HONDA

Honda is a very special lovebird. Honda was found and brought to SWEAR. He was so hungry and thirsty and was trying to eat out if a chicken coup when he was found. Honda went into a foster home and has blossomed from a scared bird into a member of a family. Honda loves to sing and chirp for attention. While he is still timid of hands, he is working to step-up. Honda enjoys being around all members of the foster family, including kids. He enjoys playing with toys and being in the sunshine (by a window). Honda needs a family that will continue to involve him in daily routines and work on his training.
If you think Honda may be right for your family please visit www.swearlv.org and complete an application.

🦜Pop-Up Toy Sale is coming!!!🦜

Mark you calendars NOW because you want to come! SWEAR pop-up toy sale next month with special guests Creations By JT Bird Toys and 4 the Birds Premium Exotic Bird Food. Fresh and freeze dried chop will be available. Toys, perches, food, swings, supplies, and more all in one location.

When: Saturday, November 16
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Where: 8850 Steven Chase Court, Las Vegas 89149

Parrot nails and beak looking a bit frightful? Sticking your hand in the cage is spooky? Schedule grooming for this weekend! Click the link to make your appointment.

https://calendly.com/swearlv/swear-bird-grooming-event-october2024

(Photo of Kim's parrots in costume...not for adoption even though they are adorable)

As a "THANK YOU" from SouthWest Exotic Avian Rescue - SWEAR to Exotic Avian Sanctuary of Tennessee, we reached out to Jungle Toys and had Mike send some of our birds favorite toys to Tennessee!
Just so happened to be perfect timing, as we were there to pick up our birds(and gained one very lucky little Quaker too), and EAST needed up taking in 40 birds from a case in a neighboring state that had asked for their help.

As we said, the timing was perfect(almost....one box arrived, the other is soon to follow!)and many of the large birds got brand new toys in their houses at EAST!
💚THANK YOU MIKE & JUNGLE TOYS💚
We know how much the birds of SWEAR absolutely love your toys, and are so happy the birds of EAST will get some quality busy beak time too!
Enjoy some pictures of the new birds of EAST enjoying their Jungle Toys!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/nZ26WDvAe3aHK4UR/?mibextid=qi2Omg

Welcome to SWEAR - BIXBY!!

SWEAR works in partnership with The Animal Foundation, accepting parrots. Today, we received this beautiful blue crown conure. The only history we know is that this sweet baby is the result of a confiscation case. These birds spend 10 days at The Animal Foundation and if not claimed by the owner are many times asked to join SWEAR. Birds like this enter our care with no housing, no toys, no food, no anything. Here is where you & your donations come to work!

Bixby immediately received much needed grooming and a bath. What a difference! Bixby came to life with kisses, chirps, whistles, and the best cuddles. We set him up in a foster home with a cage and donated toys from our wonderful friends at Super Bird Creations. Bixby will have a medical evaluation tomorrow & begin on a healthy diet. Donations helped pay for a cage & food for Bixby! THANK YOU!!
Bixby will be available for foster-to-adopt once medically cleared. In the meantime, Bixby is settling in to a foster family and busy playing with toys. Thank you for all your shares and support! Look for more Bixby to come. 💚💙

Feathered Friday Feaure: Papa

Papa is a rambunctious, young rainbow lorikeet. He loves whistling at you and constantly saying "hi bird" to get your attention. Did I mention he gives the absolute best kisses?? Papa loves toys, rollings around, and hopping like a wind up toy. In his foster home, Papa likes eating meals together, hanging out on a stand (floor, shoulder, couch), and being part of everyday. He is good with other birds, dogs, and kids, too!

💚Lorikeets are messy and require a specialized diet. Papa eats fruit and nectar only (no pellets) with his favorite fruits red apples and Asian pears.

💙Lorikeets have a LOT of energy! Papa needs to be engaged in toys he can destroy and have the ability to go meet people in public. He's is a great ambassador bird.

🩷If you think Papa may be the right bird for you and you live in the Las Vegas area, fill out an application at www.swearlv.org

Happy National Pet Bird Day!

Tell us about your pet bird(s)! We'd love to hear about them!

Hey you! Yes...you, fellow flock member. Has your human scheduled you for grooming?? Tell them to get you an appointment in September, October, & November by clicking this link👇

https://calendly.com/swearlv

Oh, and be sure the give them a pistachio or blueberry as a reward!

🏚➡️🏠Extreme Makeover: Cage Edition

SWEAR's recent intakes are of parrots entering rescue with improper housing or no housing. We strongly believe in offering each parrot a proper-sized cage, perches, and toys (I like picking out toys). On today's episode, we have a recent small parrot surrender. This bird resided in a finch cage on dowel perches. The bird had quarantine in a larger cage but we knew this cage would not suffice for long-term housing. So, today, we upgraded to a spacious cage with new perches and toys!

Your donations made this makeover possible! So thank you 😊 💓 for helping us to give this parrot the enrichment it desperately needed. Interested in helping give more parrots an extreme cage makeover? Check out the parrots' Amazon wishlist here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1DMXZ4U37FFXJ...

Henlo! Honda wants you to know yes, he is lovely and yes, he is groomed by SWEAR.
Parrot grooming is this Saturday in Henderson with Skye. She will also be back on September 21. You can schedule your appointment by clicking the link

https://calendly.com/swearlv/swear-bird-grooming-event-september2024