I hesitate to rain on your happiness at giving these birds some more time on this Earth, but is it really a good idea to give birds with a contagious viral disease more time to spread it into the environment?
It's not contagious in that way, Enthetan, and not contagious to healthy, adult birds. It's also not that simple. I wish it were. The mother is healthy and normal, btw.
The nests are old, high up where nobody can reach them, and a lack of nests and high trees means they are re-used over & over again, and infected with the virus. They have found it is mainly the newborn babies that contract it in the nest, though old birds that are already sick and weak are susceptible.
But as I said, it's not that simple. It's extremely difficult to catch a cockatoo. I'm better at it than the environmental people I've had here in the past. I am trying, but the trust factor isn't there yet to get the babies close enough, mom isn't yet willing to let them go (on rare occasions, sometimes the wild ones actually do drop off sick, infected babies to me). The babies fly quite well - and I can't yet get within five feet of them without them flying off. From their behaviour, it's clear others have tried to catch them and failed, which makes it even harder.
I would much rather they were put down quietly and peacefully by a vet than die starving and in agony from internal problems from the disease or fall from the sky when they are too weak and lie there smashed and broken, suffering, waiting to die. That's what normally happens.
The flocks do not want them around and shoo them off, so there isn't much chance of even old, sick birds catching it. This isn't hearsay - I've spoken to the avian vets and also worked with aviaries that mixed hundreds of beak & feather diseased birds with regular birds and never once, in over 30 years, has a healthy bird gotten infected from a Beak & Feather bird in those aviaries.
It's not happiness, it breaks my heart. I know my responsibility and it's heavy on my heart. Strangely, I believe the mother knows she must eventually let them go to die with me, too. They are the only birds coming here now. It will take at least a week before I can get them to be close enough to me to catch. Hopefully by then, the mother will be willing to let them go so I can take them to be put down. They are parrots. They understand more than you think.
As I have segregated, cared for and eventually taken to be put down dozens of other wild birds infected with beak & feather disease over the last twelve years. They're sweet, they are babies, it tears me apart to do it. There's no joy in it, Enthetan, except to see the babies share their mother's love without the hunger for another day until the final day comes.
ADDED: Enthetan, I have a lot of experience at this and I'm very, very good. I'm no longer the tourist who moved to Australia 14 years ago. I've volunteered thousands of hours caring for these birds in the last 12 years, built and maintained dozens of aviaries and helped other aviaries for a very long time. I work together with all the vets, and I was trained by very experienced, knowledgeable people. I am an Australian wildlife carer and respected locally here for my skills and expertise with the wild parrots. I am doing my best. Hopefully I'll have the birds before I move out.
