Mother Nature, as we all know, is full of wonders that we have to appreciate. We think that regardless of whether they are favorable or not, they make life more interesting. The main character of this tale, Blondie, an endearing lovebird from Venezuela, is one of those pleasant surprises.
Blondie is a charming bird who draws admiration for his playfulness and inquisitive mind as well as – and perhaps even more so – for the fact that he is nearly bald. The lovebird contracted the uncommon psittacine beak and feather disease (PBF), an immune system-attacking virus, which caused him to lose almost all of his feathers and his ability to fly. Due to his devoted human, Bella Escobar, who looks after him, Blondie still seems full of life and cheer.
Blondie was a present from a friend of Bella’s dad who used to breed birds, Bella told us. When the lovebird first arrived at their house, he was about three weeks old. The family named the bird Blondie because of his feathers when they had him. They were indeed very brilliant and yellow, according to Bella. “At first, we thought about naming him Cody, but my mom suggested naming him Blondie and I really think it suits him a lot (even though he no longer has feathers.”
Blondie is now six years old. A lovebird typically lives for ten years. However, Bella claims that when a bird has a significant PBF condition, it reduces the amount of time it lives since its beak becomes so weak that results to unable to eat effectively.
Blondie used to love to soar around, according to Bella. “I recall that a lamp in our home was his favorite spot. He would chase us while flying because he is quite lively. He is a very inquisitive bird as well, and he enjoys flying to new places to explore.
The bird lost even more feathers as the days went by, nearly being bald and unable to fly.
Bella’s vets advised her that stress was probably the blame. But the girl later discovered that Blondie had PBF illness, which affects its feathers and beak.
“We went to the vet with Blondie, they did an exam to see if he had any parasites but it turned negative. The vets told us that it was probably stress. We didn’t believe it, though, it didn’t make any sense, because how could Blondie take the feathers off of his head? I started to do some research, and that’s when I found out that he had PBF disease. This disease affects the beak and the feathers and can be transmitted from bird to bird. We suspect that the mother had the disease and it got passed to Blondie. This disease does not have a cure, but there are some cases where birds recovered their feathers. Unfortunately, that is not so common.”
Bella needs to take a few safety measures due to Blondie’s condition. Bella needs to apply coconut oil to the bird’s exposed skin to keep it soft. Blondie is quite cold because he lacks feathers, but Bella gave him a plushie where he can sleep and remain warm. He also has a heating pad in his cage that keeps him warm when he sleeps.
Blondie lost a feather, which made her drowsy and uninterested. He had no desire to do anything. The bird’s family wanted to help him, so they took him to many locations he had never been to. As well as, gave him toys and other amusements. Thankfully, it was successful. Blondie is more joyful than ever.
Bella mentioned how much she enjoys living with Blondie.
He’s grouchy, yet the owner claims he has charm. “He’s stubborn, really funny, curious, and very loud. Whether you’re cooking, studying, etc. he will always be next to you trying to see what you’re doing and play with whatever he has in front of him. When I bring friends over, they always seem to be excited about Blondie and frightened at the same time. Some people say that he looks like a dinosaur.
Blondie hates new people coming to our house, he’s very grumpy like I said before. He doesn’t do well with first impressions so when people come over, they get repelled by Blondie because he’s ready to attack them.”
“Living and taking care of an animal with special needs can be difficult, but working along with your animal to know them fully, what they like and what they don’t like is key to understanding them and their behavior. Blondie is amazing, and I’m really proud of him.”
