VFR_Mayday

This is so true. If I buy it for him, doesn't want it. As soon as he can't have it, it's destroyed haha.

Oh absolutely. His stand area is nett d in outside so he can't go anywhere and nothing can get in he's been startled a few times but he can't do anything. One side is in and one side is not so he's like a helicopter with no tail rotor. Just spins in a circle. We are going to probably trim first 3 flights and see what he can do with that. His ungrateful falling really upsets him. And he hits pretty hard. I have no idea why mi pictures are sideways but here's another!

Just a little picture update. Still doing fine. No more falls. He has a couple flight feathers now on both sides so he can glide if necessary. Whoever clipped him before did a horrid job. They butchered his flights. I'm going to retain a mild clip so he can't generate life but can still fall with style. He was about as aerodynamic as a potato.

Thanks you guys. It really is the most frustrating thing in the world. I already have anxiety so when he would pick and barber It would really frustrate me. It's the worst. I would blame myself and dwell on it for a long time. One thing I noticed is that when he fell I would be so upset and frustrated with him that he almost seemed to read my emotions. Like he knew I was upset with him. One day he jumped and I thought it's ok. I'll love you the way you are, he snapped out of it in record time. So strange. He has fallen a few times in the past couple weeks since I discovered the root of the evil, and when I approach it relaxed and calm he gets over it in a matter of minutes instead of days. It seems that when he jumps his brain goes into "be afraid of everything" mode. Including me. Thank you guys so much for the support and kind words. Having people that know exactly where I am really helps. you guys are amazing! Will post more stuff later but I tend to write a book each time I get on here. Hehe sorry

Thanks. The focus now is keeping it this way. It seems something simple or upsetting could start it all over. But I have a few safeguard in place to prevent further trauma. Poor guy. But he is one happy bird now. OH!! now he lets me spray him with no issue and the other day in the rain we went outside under our awning and he was running and playing in the wet grass bathing himself! It was hilariously adorable. Probably 20 minutes of straight laughter.

Hey guys. Long time no talky. So let's see. Where I left off was I though gut I had solved may days plucking problem. Turns out I hadn't. He continued to snap his feathers and I was at wits end. I continued with the pluck no more and kept my routine the same. One day I came home and mayday heard the sound of my motorcycle. He came to his cage top as fast as he could and I stuck my hand out and he jumped. I juggled to catch him, caught him and he jumped again. Same thing he bounced around in my arms and eventually hit the ground with a thud. I immediately picked him up and tried to console him. He was mad. I sat with him and tried to pet him but he wasn't having it. He screamed and dodged my every move. If he was on my shoulder he would beep really loud then turn around and snap a nice new feather out of fear. For the next week nothing changed. He was angry because he thought it was my fault. I basically had to snap him out of it by forcing him to be pet. Once he realized I meant no harm he relaxed and all was good. Then it dawned on me. He was plucking because he was scared and frustrated. When the plucking was at its worst was when he had taken a fall shortly before. It wasn't that he wasn't loved or fed the right things or was bored or didn't get enough attention. He was scared. I think this stems from his previous owner abusing him when he was bad or bit Or something. Instead of picking him up off he cage I turn my shoulder into him and let him get up at his pace. No more falls no more picking WHATSOEVER and no more fear. His personality has come out as he is relaxed and now knows he will be safe. He whistles and mumbles, hangs upside down in his cage and can't take his eye off me anywhere I go. Every night he comes down off his cage and sits in my lap and goes to sleep or wants to be pet. I have kept up with pluck no more, and lots of toys and attention. I am not crediting pluck no more with the victory but I do believe it has helped him remain much calmer. And here is his pic where we are today. We're almost there!!!! Thanks for the support guys! Will post when he makes a full feather recovery! Ps. I also tried a sock buddy a couple months ago and that set us back a few weeks because he pulled every feather he could get to and did nothing to help the trust issue.

Last night we loaded up on veg and fruits. Healthier stuff than I eat. He wouldn't eat anything. Just threw it. However when I eat dinner he always wants what I have. So I pretended to eat it and he still wouldn't. Not until he saw me actually eating it and then Wanted some did he take it. The trick was actually taking bites out of it. Now he eats whatever I eat so I cracked that mystery. If only it worked with pellets like that. But I'm not gonna eat those haha.

I've always been a pellet guy. My conure and ring neck are on them and have been since weening. The information out there leans towards seeds being inferior and lacking nutrients. So substituting with missing link or featheriffic isn't necessary? It would all make sense. He wasn't eating, therefore not getting nutrients, lacking nutrients, started picking due to nutrient deficiency. That's one of the main causes in pluckers. It's not from boredom that's for sure. He's with me 24/7 almost. I'm on an organic seed mix from one of the local bird shops here and most of their pet birds are on them so I know it's good stuff. Supreme parrot w/ fruit mix. He's still not picking. Fingers crossed

So mayday doesn't pluck but rather bites his feathers off. I have a vet visit later this week but I was thinking what could have caused the relapse of thinking. He has been switched to roudy bush pellets but lately I haven't seen him eat anything. He never really was too keen on them. For the past two weeks I have been substituting seed in there and now everything has changed. He's singing again, happy, NO plucking, biting. He's actually preening again too. When I thought about it right as we made the transition to pellets, about a week after he started biting his feathers. If this is what solves it then I'm sold. I will of course keep the mix 80/20 but I'm going to have to substitute with some vitamins now. But should I try to ween off again if he's happy with only seed? Obviously if he starts picking again then I'm going to make the full pellet switch as it might just be pure coincidence. Anyone else on a seed majority diet? The change in his personality is amazing. Maybe this will solve it. Maybe he'll just be naked forever. Who knows. Would love to hear your guys thoughts.

Ok. So here's an update as to what I've noticed. First off. My wife is no longer intimidated. Or at least acting intimidated. Mayday doesn't seem to care about anything she does. She was petting him a couple days ago and goes oh my gosh he's letting me pet him...well duh. He doesn't really mind anything lol. So now they are getting along swimmingly. He hasn't plucked at all. The only thing he was doing was biting feathers. Random feathers. As if his itchiness was driving him to the point of just reacting and biting feathers. I have never witnessed an actual pluck which leads me to believe he is just confused. Yesterday he got a complete soaking with 100% aloe juice. I mean complete complete soaking. I haven't seen him itch since. He figured out how to growl and this could be heard for hours as he was drying off. No biting, no anger or hard feelings. Just growling. I didn't l ow how to take that. Now everyone is friends again. The growl continued into last night. As he was perched on my chest as he does every night, he was eyes closed and still growling. But was happy as could be. Getting scratched and cuddling up as usual but I swear that growl is the initial formation of words. It's more of s purr to me. I know it could be a warning or sign of contentment but there's no secondary's of annoyance. He just learned to do it. Today it's business as usual. No growl, no purr, like nothing happened. And feathering up like a mad man. Hopefully it stays this way. He looks much better when not parading around in his birthday suit. Thanks for all the help guys! Will attach pictures later.

There is no hard feelings after the shower. Right back to kisses and needing to be with me. But it is very early in our relationship and the last thing I want to do is make him fearful of me this early on. So things that need to be done will be done. But only after I think long and hard about how it could upset our bond. So things may have to wait till down the road and he knows that nothing will hurt him. I can do anything and he won't be mad. However, my wife is somehow intimidated by him and he reads this perfectly so if I ask her to put him away she says she will get bit and it happens every time. Only with her.well he doesn't bite but he nips. She is very experienced with birds but for some reason Greys have always intimidated her. We're working on this daily haha thanks for the help guys. We'll figure this out one way or the other.

It sure feels like it. It feels like I'm doing something wrong. But he gets nothing but love and affection. I have tried all techniques with the spray bottle. Overhead, under, around the corner, let him fight the spray bottle till he thinks he's won. The good thing here is that it's the bottle. Not me. He tried to bite the bottle and got my finger. As soon as this happened he went submissive and stopped fighting immediately and said no. Like he knows he got my finger. So I put him on my shoulder and we both took a bath until both were soaked. Since o wrote my initial post I haven't witnessed anymore plucking or snapping feathers so my guess is he just got confused or tired of an old feather and got rid of it. He is in a heavy molt though as I notice more and more feathers coming off when he shakes from no coaxing of his own. And still, from when I got him first to now, he is probably 80% more feathered. So here's to hoping that he's just molting and doesn't know what exactly to do. His itching has also slowed significantly since incorporating pure aloe into his spray bottle.

Hi guys. A little update on mayday. As some of you know when I got him he was a plucked mess. Almost no feathers except for his wings. Everything was going well and he hadn't plucked a single feather since I got him. As his feathers come back in I've been noticing quite a few random feathers and down feathers everywhere. I understand that's normal. But the other day he was just sitting besides me and looks over at me and snaps a feather off. I'm pretty sure it was an old one but it shocked me none the less. I didn't make a big deal about it. His chest was about 70% feathered and now it's about 50%. This is still progress but everyday he looks worse Han the day before. I'm sure some of it is just my imagination but my question is: is it normal for them to pluck or snap feathers while they are molting? It seems we're undoing all the progress that has been made this far. I don't want him to go back to plucking and I'm trying to stay ahead of the problem. He is terribly terribly itchy and he's so afraid of the spray bottle most likely from his previous owner I'm afraid to spray him and have him hate me. Anyone else go through this?

Thanks guys. My lucky little ringneck is now 14 months old and doesn't say a word. But he's a funny guy. Runs around the floor chasing his cat toys. Mayday is attached to me all the time. If I leave the room it's a smoke alarm till I come back. The water drop is his favorite. Anytime eye contact is made or he sees me with millet or something. When we are outside I hear him going, whistles, water drops, laser guns and some sort of evil laugh that I just heard for the first time 5 minutes ago. I still continue with teaching words even if he doesn't repeat them. Like I tell him to say please and thank you when getting treats and what not. Good morning and good night, outside and shower time. So we'll see what he picks up. I didn't get him specifically for talking, I got him because like we all know when you find the right bird something just tells you on the inside that he's the bird for you. He's s funny guy. Every night he has to crawl down and assume his spot on my shoulder on the couch and get groomed until bedtime. He's got lots of pins since he pulled almost all his feathers out but it's surprising how fast they came back in. I'm not sure what the previous owners did but he is a model citizen in my household. But I don't lock them up except for nighttime and when we leave so I figure he's in one of the best homes he could be. Thanks for the responses guys!

Hi guys, I know that greys usually begin speaking anywhere from 8 months to 18 months. My question to the experts is how does this progression usually go? Mayday, my 11-13 month old grey came to us and didn't say anything besides what sounds like "up", which makes sense. He was able to pick up the water drop sound I was working on getting him to imitate and another one that sounds like woooooooaaahhhh. He also cat calls that I think he picked up from the previous owner. Anytime eye contact is made with him he does the water drop. So basically, once they start mimicking sounds are words soon to follow? Or can it be a big time difference between noises to actual speaking time. Just curious. Thanks guys - blair