Leaderboard

I took Alfie to a professional photographer a few weeks back. I wasn't really sure how Alfie would react so I took a portable perch that he's familiar with. He settled in really quickly and was soon posing away for the camera! He was even happy to step on the arm of a stool that the photographer had. I'm really happy with the results and am trying to pick which one to have printed to go on the wall.

I absolutely LOVE these! What wonderful keepsakes to have of your beloved Alfie.

Great pictures! I think Alfie's a "ham" I'd have a really had time deciding which one to hang too. I'd probably do a collage of several of them.

I have taken to making her a few shredding toys, and I do hide treats in cupcake wrappers. I plan to buy a few of those puzzle toys that hide treats to help keep her mind busy while she hangs with me. I will look into the preening toys and see if that gives her any relief.

I'm afraid I don't have any experience with a plucker either. Alfie over-preens himself sometimes so the paler feathers underneath his wings usually look a little tatty. But thankfully he's never developed into a plucker. I only know what I've read and learned from others. It can be a hard thing to break and can start/be caused by a number of things. Illness, boredom, stress, nutrition. You might find that with the new home and good food/lots of attention etc that she starts to improve and lets her feathers grow back in. But it can also take a minor event to send her right back to the plucking habit. A night fright, something spooking her during the day, changes in the household etc. I know it can be really frustrating to watch them start plucking again- especially after a period of improvement. It's important not to let your bird pick up on your disappointment or frustration if they pluck, as this can easily exacerbate the situation. Greys are very empathetic and can pick up on how you're feeling. Preening and shredding toys may help. And foraging toys too. Keeping her mind busy might help if the plucking isn't illness related. Greys in the wild spend hours foraging for food whereas when they live with us they get it served up on a silver platter (well... near enough!). So if you know what some of her favourite treats are, you could hide some in pieces of paper so she has to work for them. You can get foraging toys too which she has to work out how to open to get the treat. I have a wooden box filled with crinkly paper and lots of different foots toys that Alfie likes to dig around in. I sometimes put a piece of walnut in there for him to find when he's throwing all the toys around.

Yeah both wings dropped with a clucking kind of noise is normally when they're getting a little over excited and lovey dovey- usually followed up by regurgitation as I see you've found out! Oof yeah, sounds like she came from a rough situation. Glad she's settling in well with you though. It won't take long before you can't remember life without her!