KatB

Hello, raehamilton-- I'm so sorry to hear about Angie's plucking. Have you run across the following thread yet? http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/53405-grey-owner-that-is-lost.html#53620 There's lots of advice from members about ways to handle severe plucking. I'm a great believer in looking to the diet, as well. Have you tried the flax seed oil and red palm oil (or crushed walnuts) combination?

Hello, Vicki76. It sounds like Dennis just isn't ready to trust you yet. Is there anyone else that he seems to accept, or does he treat everyone this way? I found the key to gaining my bird's trust was simply to ask permission first. Sounds silly, I guess, but I'll ask if he wants to "be nice" -- which means a head scratch. If he does, he'll duck his head for my to scratch. If he doesn't, he won't. If he doesn't, I know I deserve the bite I get if I try to force him! Also, I'll ask him if he wants to step up before putting my hand too close to him. If he wants to step up, he'll lift his foot. If he doesn't, he won't. It sounds like Dennis was well trained before he came to you, so I'm sure he knows certain terms. He probably has a different term for head scratches, but if you pay attention to his body language and respect his space you'll avoid a lot of bites and he'll eventually come to trust you. As for clipping his flight feathers, different folks have different opinions. Personally, I think the bird's safety is the deciding factor. On the other hand, if he's 6 years old and has always been allowed to fly, and if he just flies into walls when he's startled, maybe you could start by keeping him in an area where he isn't likely to be startled?

And speaking of cold, it's COLD here in eastern Virginia this morning. I know it sounds wimpy next to Talon's 7 degrees and LisaM's -7, but we just aren't used to below freezing temps and we're at "24F feels like 15" right now. Yesterday's snow melted a bit in the afternoon sun and has frozen hard, so I expect the traffic reporters will have a busy morning. At least today is a holiday for many in this area, so rush hour traffic shouldn't be quite as heavy.

You're so right, FairY. I had the pleasure of spending a couple of winter weeks in Iceland a few years ago, back to back with a couple of weeks in northern Maine. Temperature-wise, Iceland was much colder but Maine felt much colder.

Wow! Thanks, I'll do that right away. I haven't used my gas fireplace yet this year, but I do enjoy it on cold days.

Aw, thanks for the karma BMusteee! And thanks for the encouragement. When I think about where we started -- with me getting bitten HARD almost every day -- and where we are now -- he lets me cuddle him and touch him almost everywhere, even under the wings sometimes -- I realize we've come and long way fast. We have lots of time ahead of us for the rest.

Thanks, Abdullah!

Well, the promised winter storm has hit, and I've lost power. It's been almost 2 hours and the house is beginning to chill. What's the risk to my birdie if I light my gas fireplace? It's lined with ceramic, but it's in the same room with Oliver. Temps outside are 35 at the moment. I have a generator and an alternative to the gas fireplace would be a space heater I've used in the past (and verified non-teflon), but heaters take a lot of wattage and to use the generator for heat will pretty much put us in the dark...

Oliver is a bit of a "special needs" bird. I'm told he was speaking a bit when he was just over a year and went to live in his previous home. That was a very bad environment, though, and he became a plucker and stopped talking. Since he came to me almost 4 months ago he hasn't said any words, although he does make encouraging noises, doesn't pluck any longer and seems to like me. He'll be 2 years old in March. I still have hope that it will come with time and lots of patience. Though I'll love him just as much if he never speaks again, I will feel he's emotionally healed if he starts to talk again.

I've been saying "Your sooooo pretty!!!" to Oliver every day for months now, and he just isn't getting it!

Leave no witnesses, that's my motto! {Emotions-00020060}

Such a coincidence that I ran upon this thread! I was just thinking today "Wonder if a grey's words have ever been used as clues to solve a crime..."

Good morning, all-- It's 9:15 Saturday morning here in eastern Virginia. I hope everyone's weekend is off to a great start. It's a 3-day weekend for me, yippee! It's cold here and "They" are calling for snow to begin this afternoon. I've come to question "Their" predictions since moving to this state, though. Promises, promises!

Oliver tries to bathe in his water bowl, also, but it's only big enough to dunk his head in. I've tried putting a pyrex dish of cold water at the bottom of Oliver's cage. I think he would use it, except it's at the bottom of his cage and he doesn't EVER go to the bottom of his cage. If I put him in on the bottom, he scrambles up as fast as he can. Does anyone else's bird have this phobia about the cage bottom?

I know exactly what you mean!{Emotions-000200BE}

Congratulations on Fawkes' new feathers! It's so rewarding when things work out...

Wow, that's great! I'm dreaming of the day when Oliver speaks. I can only imagine how excited you are!

Yay!!!! I don't know you or Max, but for some reason your post made me very happy. I feel like you're on the right path :laugh:

Sundarg, Clicker training is a method for training animals through positive reinforcement. I don't think you absolutely have to have a clicker (you know, the little box with a metal tab that makes a clicking sound when you press it). You can click with your tongue, or use any other kind of cue, as long as you're consistent. You start by teaching the animal that when they hear the sound, a treat is coming so for the first several training sessions you're just clicking and handing out treats. Once you get that association down, you start making the sound when the animal does something you want him to do then immediately give the treat. The idea is that you can click at the exact moment the good behavior is happening, so he'll know what he did right. It's difficult to deliver a treat at the exact moment, so that's why you first need to get the sound associated with the treat. It's the treat he's after, but the sound tells him he did something that will get him the treat. I know I'm rambling, but once you join the bird-click site you'll be able to get lots of good info on the technique.

Thanks, Joe. I definitely think a separate bedroom for Oliver is my next project.

ICERAT4 wrote: I love that Joe, I've been thinking lately about getting a separate sleep cage for Oliver and putting it in a room I can close off at night. What size cage is good for a sleeper cage? I don't have a lot of space in the room I'll need to put it in.

Matt, no wonder you are so concerned! My grey started plucking a bit a couple of months ago, when there was a lot of tension in my house (my granddaughter was abducted during a nasty custody battle and things were pretty tense around here for a while). I think his issue was that he was just not getting the attention he had become accustomed to. Also, I was a new grey owner and didn't know all the should-dos and must-dos. When he started plucking I did several things at once. I don't know if any one of those things or just the combination of all helped him, but he did stop plucking. Here's what I did: I installed a flourescent light above his cage with a 92 CRI, 5500K bulb, put it on a timer to imitate sunrise and sunset and to give him the full spectrum lighting he needs (he sees ultraviolet light, but needs the full spectrum light to produce it). Also it helps convert vitamin D3 for calcium absorption, though there are differing opinions as to whether supplemental lighting is necessary. Then I started putting a couple of drops of flaxseed oil and ground walnuts in his breakfast every morning to help his skin condition. I made sure I gave him an aloe-juice shower at least 3 times a week, without fail. I learned that he must be with his flock or he feels abandoned, so now when I am home I take him from room to room with me. He's in the bathroom when I'm taking a shower, in the kitchen when I'm preparing meals, in the office when I'm on the computer. I started leaving the television on for him when I left for work (on a children's educational channel, of course ) to give him the illusion of company when he's alone. I make sure he always has plenty of shredding toys in his cage. Recently I've been reading about the benefits of foraging so at the suggestion of some of the forum members I've started hiding non-perishable treats in little 3-ounce paper dixie cups (not the plastic ones!), folding the tops over to form mini- pinatas, and placing them at various spots in his cage. That has the double benefit of giving him something to shred and foraging exercise. I hope you find the right combination for Max. Please keep us updated on your progress. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of him with all his feathers grown back in!

I have a 20W CRI 92, 5500K flourescent fixure above Oliver's cage on a timer operating from 8am until 6pm. When he came to me he was in a bad place emotionally and every day he seems to take new steps toward being well-adjusted, I don't know if the light has anything to do with his emotional balance or not. It's just one of many things that changed for him after he came to my house. I think it makes a difference, but that's just conjecture. It could be that he would have "brightened" up without it. Personally, I like the way it spotlights his cage.

A couple of other things I've heard about that can lead to plucking, which you may already be aware of: Dry skin, of course. Bathe 2 or 3 times a week with aloe; feed EFAs daily such as a couple of drops of flaxseed oil; walnuts; red palm oil. Make sure he gets his full 10 hours sleep each night. Make sure he always has something other than his feathers to shred.

Aww, what handsome boys! It's so amazing to see the photos of the fuzzy little hatchlings turning into the mature regal greys. Congratulations, you did a fantastic job!