Annie1966

I took on a male Eclectus almost a year ago for a parrot refuge and he was so plucked it was unbelievable. He has grown all his wing and back feathers back and is looking brilliant now, although he still has a go at plusking his chest. I was advised to get another Eclectus to keep him company, but the refuge had every other type of parrot except Eccies. I am trying very hard to get him a friend of his own kind who he can communicate with and hopefully he will stop plucking. I also have him on Deeside water which has helped a lot in his feathers growing back.

Hi Pugwash & Baxtersmom & Lyric thanks for the warm welcome and no doubt I will be around a fair bit, although at the moment waiting for my pc to get a format as it got a virus, so on the lap top at the moment. Charlie is ok and shouting at me because I won't give him any of my cup of tea lol he can shout all he likes. Take care all and speak soon

HI Alex Welcome to the forum and hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I am new here myself and still working my way through the forum finding my way around. As everyone has already said and without duplicating it, just make sure you read as much as you can and be 100% certain that you want a grey as they need 24/7 care and if they get used to you being around and then suddenly your routine alters and you find yourself spending lots of time away from the bird there is a possibility it can get stressed. Also remember that they have the brain of a young child (and yes they end up having huge vocabularies) however they are still like little kids and you will find they need lots of attention and your time. Good luck for when you get your grey and I hope you have lots of fun and laughter together

Hi all Charlie is doing great and enjoys his freedom of being out of the cage. He shouts me first thing to let him out then when he is let out he gives me a kiss and will sit on his cage for most of the day. He only goes back in every now and then and comes out when he is ready to. He is then put in his cage of a night till the next morning. His feathers are coming along great as he is no longer locked up on his cage like he was with his original owner. The other part I have to keep an eye on is his chest as that is the part he plucks when he gets stressed, and as soon as it looks like he is getting his feathers back he will pluck his chest again. I hope it won't be long till he stops this, he is much happier all round and was very moisy last night, which kept me awake for quite a while. He seems to have settled in great. Right I have to go feed all these animals and check on them all and will try and pop back later on. Have a great day and take care all.

I agree it is getting tough for quite a lot of people and believe me it's no easy task watching people part with their beloved pets, and that is why I give them the option of me staying in contact with them and sending them regular updates and photos via email or mail. If they live locally I have even offered to let them drop by andsee how they are doing, this makes it a bit easier on them.

Thanks for the warm welcome to you both. I hope he is blossoming in my care, I am just letting him have as much freedom as possible by keeping him out of his cage. He is let out first thing in a morning and the door to his cage is left open if he chooses to feed or stay in there. He is only locked up of a night time. I not only take in parrots/birds I also take in unwanted animals & pets with some of the local rescue centres, and recently with the way the credit crunch is you will not believe how many rescue centres are full to bursting point. That is were I step in as I try to avoid them being thrown out on the street or going to a shelter with the possibility of being destroyed. If I can rehome them then I will but only after making sure they are suitable, more often then not I keep them.

Hi all just dropped in to fill in my profile and thought I would introduce myself. My name is Ann and I foster birds from a parrot refuge (the same refuge as Mandiskem) and have a 2 year old ekkie called Charlie, he is a plucker. The reason he plucks is because he rarely was let out of his cage by the previous owners. When he was picked up from the house he was rescued from he hardly had any feathers. Since I have had Charlie he only goes in his cage of a night time and is getting his feathers back and starting to look really smart. There are pics of him on my profile.