bjm1982

Thanks for the pointers. I'll keep Goose off my head from now on. I'm glad nobody has had too many problems with theirs on their shoulders. That's my favorite place for him to be.

Thanks for all the advice. I would consider Goose an exceptionally gentle CAG, and I love having him on my shoulder whenever he stays there and doesn't go straight to the top of my head. (As I mentioned, it feels good when he's up there, but I miss the face-to-face cuddling.) He definitely stays on my shoulder longest when I'm eating. ("I want some!") I guess I'm not so worried about the shoulder, but maybe the head. And since my head is his preference, how can I keep him from climbing up there? Slippery shower cap or something?

First, I want to apologize for being gone so long and to thank all the contributors whose advice has helped my CAG, Goose, to grow back all of his lovely neck and tail feathers! (The tail is still growing in length, but all of the feathers seem to have been established for quite some time now, and I am one happy mommy ) I wonder what your opinions are on allowing a CAG to rest on your shoulder and/or your head. Even when I raise my arm straight up, Goose has always climbed DOWN to reach my shoulder. From there, he often grabs my hair to climb atop my head. (I must admit, his talons feel awfully good on my scalp. ) However, I'm concerned that allowing him to do this might convince him that he's dominant. If this is the case, how can I break him of this habit?

Thanks to everyone for all of the helpful advice. My hubby isn't far from a Whole Foods store, so he's gonna check if they have Red Palm Oil so we don't have to wait for shipping from a site online. I've been so relieved by the posts about Goose's feathers that I just now realized nobody has commented on rope size. Any thoughts?

Wow! Thanks for the pointers, danmcq. I'll definitely give that a try. I had no idea.

Thanks! I hope you never have any trouble with your new TAG. Is that him/her in your profile pic? I tried to snap some pics of Goose, but he's all over me tonight (This is one of his Daddy's nights away from home.) and I couldn't get any good ones. I'll try again tomorrow when his Daddy is here to be his perch.

judygram wrote: So are you saying that it's a reasonably safe assumption that the presence of any feathers at all - even if they are currently chewed or resemble down - indicates that he hasn't done any permanent damage? <needs a hopeful emoticon> I'll add some when I get home.

nims wrote: Oops! :blush: I thought I had mentioned that he's about a year old now. Where can I get aloe vera appropriate for this use? (I'm assuming it's not the same gel I would apply after a sunburn.) Thanks for the encouragement

Hello, fellow avian lovers! I'm so glad I found this place. I'm still learning my way around, but all the folks here seem very friendly, and I'm pretty sure someone here is probably qualified to answer just about any question that doesn't require veterinary examination. (And perhaps tell me when I should definitely consult an avian vet.) My hubby & I were adopted by our CAG, Goose, when s/he was about 3 months old. (For the sake of convenience, I'll refer to Goose as a male.) We hand fed him for a couple months until he started eating Zupreem pellets. (I offer him pretty much anything and everything I eat, but the only foods he seems to eat in any quantity worth mentioning are spaghetti & scrambled eggs. He seems more interested in spaghetti than any fruit. ) We introduced him to the shower early on, and while he wasn't crazy about the idea in the beginning, he now calmly accepts his shower every other morning. My questions regard plucking. For the past few months, Goose has looked like he's wearing a fur scarf. His neck is nothing but soft, fluffy down all the way around. I assumed it was molting until I noticed a couple of broken tail feathers about a month ago. I tried sock buddies, but I couldn't keep up with the loose threads at the rate he was destroying them. (He actually pulled out a patch of feathers around his neck where the ankle of the sock was, exposing bare skin. :ohmy: They have now grown back as the same soft, fluffy down.:unsure: ) I've discovered the hard way that I need to provide him with MANY MANY more chew toys...and toys of all sorts, actually...than what he has been accustomed to. I honestly believe the source of his bad habit has been a lack of stimulation and sufficient material to chew. I feel like such a bad mommy:( , but I've been researching how to make toys myself and am determined Goose will never be bored again. Two questions: What size rope do you all recommend (particularly for constructing a climbing net)? Will chewed feathers (including tail feathers) grow back in their normal form? I'm worried that I may have to take Goose to an avian vet to have his broken tail feathers removed. I can post pics later if anyone needs to see the extent of the damage.<br><br>Post edited by: bjm1982, at: 2008/09/11 22:24