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Rhea, 'the naked birdie': a featherless lovebird in Boston is winning hearts and inspiring knitters.
Back in June 2016, Isabella Eisenmann was scrolling through her Facebook feed and noticed a post from a local veterinary clinic. “It was about this birdie, Rhea, who needed a new home,” says Isabella. “I immediately sent the link to Marcos, my boyfriend, and told him I needed Rhea in my life.”
Rhea had suffered from psittacine beak and feather disease, resulting in permanent feather loss. She’s contagious to other birds but not to humans or other animals.
Isabella registered her interest and soon received a phone call with the great news that Rhea was hers. “Excitement is an understatement of what I felt,” she said. When the day arrived when she could collect Rhea from the vets, Isabella didn’t know what to expect. “As soon as Rhea saw me, she jumped right onto me. It was magical,” said Isabella.
Rhea wasn’t the most social bird initially. “She was a bit aggressive and scared and wouldn’t let me pet her,” says Isabella. “The vet said to give her time and to let her get used to me and to her new home.”
With a little effort it took about a week. “I did things to help her feel more comfortable. She loves spray millet so I gave her a lot of it,” says Isabella. “When I was home I let her explore outside her cage.”
There was one minor problem, however. “Lovebirds are territorial and she sees Marcos as a competitor,” says Isabella. “They have a love-hate relationship. It has gotten better, but she still tries to bite him. She’s an overprotective little lady.”
Not having any feathers means Rhea gets chilled easily if temperature drops. Fortunately, a solution was at hand. The first person to contact me about making Rhea a sweater was Suzanne Freeman of Sock Buddies. She sent me the sweater that started #RheasSweaterCollection – people loved the idea.”
This was September 2016. “Rhea has since received sweaters and letters from all over the world,” says Isabella. “People have contacted us from Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, England, Turkey, Singapore, Japan and the US, to name a few.”
“Not having any feathers means Rhea gets chilled easily if temperatures drop. Fortunately, she has received mini sweaters om all over the world!”
WanttohelpRheastaywarm?Knitheraminisweaterand senditto: Isabella Eisenmann,150HuntingtonAveSCL,BostonMA02115,UnitedStates.Her measurements are girth: approx 12cm (4.5-5in), neck to tail: 5cm (2in).