MokonaRu

Thanks kitty and dan for the encouragement! This has to be quick because I am at work. But we did take him to the vet a week after we had him and he does get regular baths. I haven't been able to find any aloe juice anywhere (have checked grocery and pharmacy stores). Vet said it was a behavioral issue with his plucking, did a gram stain and that was it. He let a bunch of feathers around his neck and shoulders grow in and didn't pluck at all (just chewed the tips off some). He looked like a little porcupine, it was so cute! Thank you dan about the advice on the Red palm oil and stuff. I will search out these remedies hopefully during the semester break coming up (I'm in grad school). I know I need to be patient and it's okay if he looks scruffy, because he has a great attitude. Also thanks kitty for the advice to search previous posts. I have done that and learned a lot, but wasn't so sure about proper bedtime procedures, hehe. I'll post some pictures hopefully soon, as I am really lazy when it comes to that sort of thing. Good days to everyone! Lu

Continuing the story! Well we brought him home (Tampa FL 8/11/08) to a huge cage with tons of toys. I would say he is quite happy here, after reading luvmygreys's post on parrot body language, and a few other books on my own. The first night he had no problem letting me scratch his head. He took forever to start playing with his toys but now he tears them up. Also living in FL we got tons of political campaign mailers made of really thick cardstock he absolutely loves to shred (take that Charlie Crist!) He also got a new name, Niko Bellic. He doesn't say very much, even though I think he is 12 (the ring on his leg says "96" on it) but he whistles quite a bit and we have taught him the themes to Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (gotta raise him right). He says a few phrases (good morning, good boy/girl, whatcha doin, what) but mostly makes noises. So, either he isn't the talkative type or he was not in a situation where he could pick up lots of words when he was young. If it's the first case then it really isn't an issue; if the second, then hopefully I am providing him with a good enough home to stimulate some learning (or acquisition) of language. As for the plucking, I would say it has decreased in proportion to the increase in toy destruction. It hasn't completely stopped and I'm not expecting a miracle; he still has bad days where all he does is try to pluck and other days where he plays with all his toys. I have however noticed that there are some scenarios where he seems nervous and starts plucking. I was hoping some advice from those more experienced could help me go in the right direction. The pluck-inducing scenarios are: -sometimes when someone (bf or I) is holding him -when he's bored -when he goes to sleep at night in his sleep cage I'm not sure what the best approaches are but what I have been doing thus far is: to move my hand a brief second to make him focus on his balance and roll treats up in paper and put in dixie cups for something to do. I've started working on training him to step up using positive reinforcement as he gets skittish and runs back inside his cage when you try to have him step up. It's this last scenario that is causing me the most doubt. Is it better to take him upstairs quickly and be done with it or sit with him until he settles down? As soon as I put him in his sleep cage he starts getting antsy and overpreens which leads to plucking. There is white fuzz all over the cage as he pulls it from his lower torso area. He climbs all over the cage and doesn't go to sleep right away. I don't want him to be scared when he goes to sleep; so should I worry about this? As of now we have been making bedtime kinda quick (bed at 8-8:30, hear him making contact calls around 6:30 am), but what should I do? Any advice would be appreciated. Niko eats fruits and vegetables with zupreem pellets (won't eat Harrison's right now) and aside from the nervousness and plucking from time to time seems like any other normal happy bird. Perplexing to say the least. Thanks to all who read my way long intro and also thanks for any input. Lu

Hello! I joined a while ago but haven't gotten around to post anything until now! After doing extensive research on parrots in general and AGs in particular, I had decided to get an AG. I thought it would be nice to have an animal companion for a long number of years to grow older with me (I'm in my 20s now). I also researched importing a bird to my intended country of residence (from USA to Japan) to see if it was allowed and therefore wouldn't have to give up my bird to continue my career (I can bring him). Well I adopted a bird that deserved a chance at a good home. The bird that I found was a plucker, had no tail and only one wing with flight feathers on it, and his chest, legs, and back were all picked through so that only the white fuzz was left. He was in a smallish, dirty cage with one perch and one tiny, chewed up toy. Needless to say I got him outta there pronto. I don't have any experience with parrots but I've had a canary since I was 12 (he's still alive too!) and knew I could provide a better home than the one he had. He had been in this home for 6 months. Prior to that he was in a situation that no bird should ever be in; even LESS feathers, being poked with a stick, and generally harassed and terrorized. I honestly don't know much about this home, but it was a bad situation all around, so the previous owner rescued him from that and did the best he could. They had two other birds and a nice big tree out on the patio, but this AG was more timid than the bigger parrots (think they were amazons). Now I will admit I almost walked away. This bird was a plucker and I knew that it was a difficult thing to get a bird to stop doing, and I wasn't sure I could handle it for the sake of the bird. I didn't want to make it worse. But we (my boyfriend and I) hung out for a bit and watched him interact with the owner, and he really seemed like a nice bird. He was affectionate and had this piercing look. He liked to get his head scratched. He made cool noises. In my heart I couldn't let him stay like that, and I thought he had potential. Sorry for the long post! Will break it up into two separate posts!