Bubble & Squeak (Squeak now deceased)
£5,000.00
34.73%
Funded
£1,736.50
Raised
15
Sponsors
Sponsor Bubble & Squeak (Squeak now deceased)
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- Underweight and plucked
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- Looking Nervous
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- Looking alert and healthier
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- Entering the aviary
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- First Flight in the aviary
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- Poised to fly
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- Stretching Wings
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- Enjoying aviary life
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- Bereaved & alone in the aviary
About Bubble & Squeak (Squeak now deceased)
Bubble & Squeak turned out to be a recipe for heartbreak - so Birdline have cooked up a plan to give them a safe and secure home they both deserve and we need your help to make it happen...
5th May 2020
Bubble & Squeak are a bonded pair of African Greys who came into Birdline in January of 2020 having survived tragic circumstances which left them emotionally and physically scarred. It was touch and go whether they would survive, but now that they are feeling a little better it is time to share their story and ask for YOUR help to give them a safe and secure home to live out the rest of their days.
In 2018 Bubble and Squeak laid a clutch of eggs and were proudly and carefully parenting their offspring, when a dog attacked and killed their chicks. This was shortly followed by their owner becoming seriously ill and no longer able to care for them. Sadly, Bubble & Squeak were unwanted by the owner’s immediate family members and instead of receiving the love and comfort they so desperately needed to help with their grief, they were cast aside. In 2019 the pair were rehomed by a young teenager and her grandparents, however they quickly realised that Bubble & Squeak would need greater care than first anticipated and handed the birds over to Birdline Parrot Rescue.
Previously, the pair were housed in a very small cage, and due to not being cleaned out regularly, and no access to have a bath, they became very dusty and are now suffering with breathing issues. Due to their poor diet, and particularly not having been provided with fruit or vegetables for a long period of time they are both very underweight and undernourished. When they were collected from Birdline their health was in a critical state and the inevitable handling during the move nearly scared the pair to death.
Bubble, the female, has suffered more so than Squeak. She was extremely malnourished, presenting a prominent keel bone (breastbone) as well as being calcium deficient which resulted in her having seizures – the longest being over 10 minutes. Bubble was initially nebulised four times a day due to her breathing issues, but this has now reduced to twice a day. Both birds pluck their feathers as a consequence of their poor diet, health, stress and grief.
This sweet pair are currently under the watchful eye of our avian expert and housed with one of our safe houses, who is nursing them back to health. Their safe house mum has spent many nights sleeping on the sofa next to their cage as she was afraid they wouldn’t make it through till morning. To start with the pair had to stay in a small cage, as Bubble was at risk of falling and hurting herself but as they have put on weight and got stronger, they have been able to move into a larger cage. Birdline has lent Bubble & Squeak a “hospital cage” whilst they recover, and bought them toys, perches and an Avian Lamp to assist the absorption of much needed calcium. They are both receiving vitamin and calcium additives in their water and are being fed pellets, fresh fruit and vegetables every day, which they love!!
Bubble & Squeak are both really active now and love to swing and play with their toys. Squeak is still quite nervous, but he will say ‘Hello’ and whistle. However, they do not wish to be handled and now the warmer weather is coming, they would love to go outside into an aviary, so they can safely play, exercise and fly, without being disturbed by humans. Squeak in particular is still very shy and scared of humans.
Why Bubble & Squeak need your help?
Bubble and Squeak have complex medical needs and will continue to need further medical attention in the future as they continue to recover and regain their health. Because of the risk of moving them, both to their mental and physical health, their safe house has agreed to keep them. We therefore need to acquire a lovely safe secure aviary for them, along with perches, ropes, swings and toys to fill it. To give Bubble & Squeak the enriched life they’ve been deprived of for so long we need your support.
Please help us to raise £5000 to cover
- Aviary for Bubble, Squeak and some of Birdline’s other special needs birds – £3500
- Toys, perches, ropes and equipment – £500
- Vet Bills – £1200
How you can help Bubble & Squeak?
- Share Bubble & Squeak’s story on social media.
- Donate equipment, toys or food to Birdline.
- If you can afford to, please give to the Bubble & Squeak fund – if everyone on Birdline’s social media channels just gave £1 we’d have enough to purchase their aviary.
In return, we promise to keep you updated with their progress by posting updates on Birdline’s website and social media channels. In addition, every person that donates will get a shout out across our socials (if you wish to be named).
Bubble, Squeak and the Birdline team thank you for your support.
UPDATE – 23rd June 2020
Bubble and Squeak are now well enough to spread their wings after nearly a 5 month journey recovering back to health and we have been able to move them into a temporary summer aviary, which has been donated to Birdline, whilst we continue work to fund an all-weather aviary.
We caught them in action inspecting their new space for the first time. Bubble was the first out to have a look about, swiftly followed by Squeak and what an amazing sight it was – both birds flew. How fantastic!
Birdline would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your support of the Bubble and Squeak campaign. Due very much to everyone who donated, Bubble and Squeak can feel the lovely spring sun on their wings for the first time in a long time. Your generosity, particularly at this difficult time is so very much appreciated.
Whilst we have not reached our target of £5000 which will provide a large aviary with indoor space for the winter, the money raised has provided a strong basis for our funding of this project. However, we still need more, so if you can, please do donate to help build Bubble and Squeak’s forever home.
UPDATE – 1oth July 2020
Over the past weeks and months, the neglected African Grey parrots Bubble and Squeak have stolen the hearts and minds of their safehouse mum, Birdline’s volunteers and members. Therefore, it came as a devastating blow to discover that Squeak sadly passed away in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Below is a message from Squeak’s Safehouse mum.
Squeak will be hugely missed here. I am still in shock and utterly devastated. He came so far and his life has been cut far too short through previous human error. The whole flock can sense the loss here. It is simply not fair.
Although Squeak was never hand tame, he was such a cheeky character and would always growl at me when cleaning his indoor cage. Over time we gained a mutual respect and he didn’t feel as threatened by my presence. He began to understand that anything I did was positive and he would whistle at me and say ‘Oh Hello’. He had this walk with a bounce to it. At feed time he would ‘bounce walk’ from one end of the aviary to the other. Usually, he would lead the way and Bubble would follow, but he would let Bubble eat first.
I didn’t mind not being able to handle him as I was blessed with the huge pleasure of listening and watching them interact, play, preen, love and cuddle each other. They would whistle most of the day and it was fantastic to sit outside and just watch them playing, swinging, bobbing and sunning themselves in their new aviary. I would whistle to them and they had their own whistle back to me, they would also do this to each other. Squeak loved his new found freedom in the aviary. He loved to fly and deserved more time than he got.
Bubble is obviously heartbroken at the loss of her chosen life partner. She had some time to grieve for Squeak and understands that he is no longer here.
She has such a huge loss to cope with yet again in her life. I feel so deeply sorry for her. We have decided that it is in her best interest to come back in the house for the time being, so she can have some extra support, extra walnut treats (which are her favourite) and not be on her own at the moment. In time, we hope she will accept a new friend, so she has the company she needs. If and when she is ready, we will move her back into the aviary, so she can live out her remaining years in peace and quiet, with the sun to warm her feathers, and light breeze to ruffle them.
The other birds, have been rallying around, here you can see her interacting with her neighbour for comfort. He sat with Bubble whilst preparations were made for her to come back inside. I am amazed at the support the other birds have shown Bubble, they clearly know and understand what has happened too. I hope they will be of comfort to her through her grieving process.
Unfortunately, the only positive we have in this situation is that we did rescue Bubble and Squeak from a bad situation and an awful past. In the short time he has been with Birdline he was given the chance to have treatment, gain weight with fresh fruit, veg, pellets, treats, toy’s as well as experience a bigger environment, feel the sun on his back, experience freedom and fly!
Squeak is not the first, nor will he be the last bird that we take in that has been subject to a poor diet and below basic living conditions leading to a premature passing. This amazing boy deserved so much more.
UPDATE – February 2021
How Is Bubbles getting on after losing Squeak?
After losing Squeak, Bubbles came back into the house so she wasn’t alone out in the aviary. If you remember, some of the other birds seemed to understand and offered her support during this difficult time of Squeak’s passing. We were all devastated for her. As Bubbles is an aviary bird, who isn’t hand tame, we felt it would be best to try to bond her with another grey with similar needs, to give her companionship.
However, this was not Bubble's plan - as she had already set her eyes on another bird who was being safehoused in the same home. Both Jess and Bubbles would seek each other out, climb on each other’s cages, play, pop and whistle together. Jess, has known to take a dislike to other birds in the past, so it was with the utmost caution that the safehouse let them interact. Initially, letting them out individually but after time we decided to assess how they would be out together and they got on like a house on fire!
It would seem the two have chosen each other!
Jess is semi tame and she has been helping Bubbles relax around humans - she will now come over for a treat and hold her Foster mum’s finger in her beak. Their relationship is still young, they still have their own spaces/cages but come out daily. They feed each other, whistle, have a good nose about when they swap cages and pinch each other’s food. They have a good flap and love to play about.
We are pleased to say that Jess has now been officially fostered so that Bubbles can keep her new friend and we are excited to watch their relationship grow in the years to come. We will keep everyone updated with any news as we continue to raise funds for Bubbles and Jess to live their lives happily inside an aviary where they will still both get human interaction.
Thanks to everyone who has kindly donated to their funds.
Donors
With thanks to everyone who has supported the Bubble and Squeak campaign, including
- Claire Longworth
- Stephanie Watson
- Jean B
- Danny and Emma Pederick
- Trudie McDonald
- Michelle Widger
- David Morphew
- Ros Bolton
- Alisun
- Sarah Rigby
- Jem
- Nick (Quark) Vincent
- E Lawrence
- Jon S.
- Matt McArdle
Thank you so much for agreeing to sponsor me! I just need a few details from you.
Thank you so much for your interest in fostering me!
I just need a few details from you.
Love, Bubble & Squeak (Squeak now deceased) x
Thank you so much for your kind donation.
Thanks for your application, the Rehoming Team will be in contact as soon as possible. To find out more about the rehoming process, and next steps, please click here. NB. Please only apply for one bird at a time, any additional applications will be withdrawn.