A parrot who was so overweight she’d drop to the ground when she tried to fly has shed her excess weight and is now loving life in her new home.
Amazon green parrot Bud arrived at the RSPCA’s Mid Norfolk & North Suffolk branch in March 2020 when her owners could no longer take care of her.
The 22-year old bird was extremely overweight due to an obsession with crisps.
Chloe Shorten who works at the branch and now owns Bud, said: “Bud arrived just a few days before lockdown as she’d become too much for her owners and they could no longer take care of her. Parrots are incredibly intelligent birds and need quite specialist care – and we certainly had our hands full when she arrived.
“She was extremely overweight, weighing in at a hefty 620g – more than 200g heavier than she should have been. While it’s tricky to tell them from looking when a parrot is overweight you could tell when she tried to fly; she would literally drop to the floor. She has the hearing of a bat and cat detect a packet of crisps being opened from four miles away so it’s no surprise she was overweight.”
Bud quickly won over the hearts of Chloe and her husband, from Norfolk, wo had been fostering her once lockdown hit, so they decided to give her a home and put her onto a strict diet, which they also had to follow.
Chloe added: “Crisps were strictly banned from our house so she couldn’t get hold of any. But thankfully, she quickly lost the weight and she’s now much happier as a result. She’s loving life and can fly again; it’s great to see her soaring around the house.
“She’s such a funny character and she brightens out days, particularly during this difficult time as she loves to sing. She loves my husband and likes to serenade him with her rendition of the Adam’s Family theme tune.
“She’s also really chatty and will welcome you into the room with a loud ‘Hellooooooo’. She likes to confuse any delivery drivers or neighbours who come to the front door by shouting ‘BYE!’ half-way through the conversation; I’m sure they must think we have a really rude child or relative inside trying to get rid of them!
“She likes to make an appearance on video calls which always surprises people and she also sometimes wolf-whistles at people so that can take some explaining when I’m on a work call! She’s learned how to laugh and often chuckles when my husband bangs his head or if someone says something funny; it’s amazing how she can react as if on cue!”
Bud lives with the couple, their three dogs and three cats – but the whole family knows who rules the roost!
“Parrots aren’t for the faint-hearted,” Chloe added. “They’re a lot of work and live for a long time so it’s incredibly important that people do their research before taking one on. They are, however, great fun and incredibly rewarding. We feel very lucky that we can give her a forever home and we’ll hopefully have many more years with her and her hilarious antics!”
