Charlotte

How long has Charlie been plucking? I adopted a 28 year old B&G Macaw who just clipped, rather than pluck, her feathers for over 10 years. From showering her at least daily, allowing foraging opportunities and training her (commands and such), she is growing a few (8) feathers back on her tummy. Hopefully more feathers will grow back, but I was told that she would always be a naked bird due to how long she has plucked. Although, I highly doubt she will be a fully feathered bird, things are looking better for her. I'm assuming Charlie hasn't been plucking for more than a few months (hopefully) and as long as you work with him and continue to give him mental exercise there is a good chance you will see the plucking decrease or stop after the treatment ends. There is also the advantage that he's plucking out of discomfort, rather than boredom, so it should be easier (not saying easy!) to get him to stop the habit.

Thought I would give an update on Charlotte's beaking issue: The breeder I got her from made the perfect suggestion. Charlotte's beak actually has a blackish tint to it, but most importantly the main scratch has healed, as well as the other minor scratches have cleared up quite nicely! I have put some wooden perches back in her cage and she seems to have stopped excessively beaking them and now just doing it every now and then to feel the texture and to clean her beak off! I must say, I am glad I went from a guest to an actual member- thank you for caring and including me in this family immediately! {Love-0002011D}

Thank you Dave! You have reduced some of my worrying.

So my baby girl just regurgitated, and am curious to know how much do they usually regurgitate? Charlotte's was about the length of a pen lid and about as thick as a pen as well- it seemed quite excessive and so am wondering if that amount is normal or if she is more likely sick :< I know they will regurgitate for their "mate" but since this is the first time she has, I'm more worried that the amount was more than what is normal for CAGS. There really hasn't been much change in behavior other than she climbs more on the inside of her cage playing with her toys in there rather than climbing on the outside of her cage.

I, Charlotte own a college girl named Sam. She is clearly more happy about the photo than I am. Picture may be in the next post as I cannot seem to get the image attachment back on this one = technologically inept! <br><br>Post edited by: Charlotte, at: 2009/10/02 05:29

Charlotte does really well with new things. It doesn't matter if it's inside, on her cage, or outside. If she sees me going somewhere, she "has" to be there too, as well as if she sees me touching anything, she'll come, take it, and then run away with it and play with it (pens go missing all the time... :<). This has been wonderful for toys. The only problems she has with change is if I would put something in her cage that she has not seen me touch for more than 20 seconds- even then it's very few things (she gets scared of pinatas easily- when she sees me playing with it, she realizes it's ok and it's her favorite toy then). She's also nervous around strangers holding her, but is fine with them holding her if they come off of me, but if they try to get her off of a desk perch, it's a big no-no! I didn't allow her to dictate how my life would be ran (yes, my life does revolve around her for the most part)- I viewed the situation as if it was my child, would I allow my child to fear going in a car, seeing a new person, or seeing a toy: no- I would do the best I could to make sure that they knew everything would be ok and "mommy" wouldn't let anything bad happen to them, but I would not allow them to be so fearful and dictate what happens for multiple weeks, and so I tried that philosophy with Charlotte, and she knows if I give her something or put something in our area, she knows nothing bad is going to happen to her with only sometimes a little reassurance needed (baby girl- it's ok). This does sound a bit cruel, but now she is one investigative birdie- and if it was a child, there would be no way if I got a new lamp, that I would slowly let them see it to learn it's not something they need to be fearful of for more than a day. For new things I add to my place, I have Charlotte see it, see me touch it, then put her on me while I touch it, and by then she is on her way over and has to touch it as well. Then again, she has never been extremely fearful of anything though, so it may just have always been her personality!

I'm from an area where there are very few bird breeders anyways, and trying to find one that breeds African Greys is pretty impossible. I searched online for months (about 3-4 months) before I came across a breeder I felt I could trust. First, they gave me numerous people I could contact to verify that they were legitimate and raised healthy birds. Second, they raise the birds in their home and allow people to stop by ***without notification*** to either look and birds to see if they want to buy or play and interact with them- this has produced very socialized birds (from my own experience (1 CAG) as well as the people I contacted. Third, they keep in contact with their customers during the first month to make sure the transition goes well and if you have questions, they always have responded with advice. They even gave me their personal cell phone number, even before I received my grey and made the main payment. It has worked out wonderfully for me. Although, I didn't choose her (Charlotte), they asked me about my personality and what I wanted in my bird, and based on my personality and what I said I would like my bird's personality to be, they picked her out. I've had her for about 8 months now, and was having a behavioral issue with her (excessive beak rubbing that was causing damamge). This is the first issue I've had with Charlotte. I emailed the breeder asking for help, and she responded within 12 hours giving advice (which has been great advice) and told me if I had any more questions or issues to contact her (again giving me her cell phone number) and to let her know how her advice worked. Since the breeder lives in Georgia, and I live in Iowa, she did have to be flown here. I was *SO* nervous when the guy was bringing the cage towards me so I could sign the papers and get her. Even from where I live, the closest airport is about 1 1/2 hours away- so I was excited and wanted to take her out and get a better look at her, but kept her in the travel cage until we got home. The car ride home, she was quiet and so I used a very soft voice and talked to her the entire ride home. Once home, I opened it up, and she was very nervous and very timid for the first day (not even a full day), but even then she would come to me and step up onto my hand. We've been great friends ever since, and I am very thankful I did choose a breeder who is interested in the welfare of the birds even after they have been bought and have been in their new home for awhile as well as knowledgeable. I really couldn't have asked more from the breeder, and I think that is what has made my experience go very well- the breeder. I know I am lucky, but I think how much research I put into finding a good breeder is the main thing that helped.

I tend to keep a similar color and texture of better food near- I like the kiddie Fruit Roll-Ups, but make real ones. Although the color is a tad different, sometime I'll use more fruit juices to change the color to look more like the kids and attempt to "trick" her- tends to fail most of the time. For most non-nutritious foods, I have resorted to leaving the room without her and eating quickly, otherwise Charlotte will fly to my shoulder and stick her beak right in front of my mouth so if I get any food, she also does!

Thank you guys so much for your replies. I am attempting to borrow a friends camera to take a photo of it. I did receive great advice today after getting in contact with the breeder I bought her from. Her advise was to change all perches to soft material (such as rope) for awhile to try to get her to stop the extent of the behavior as although beaking is normal, she just seemed to really get into that behavior where it's now destructive, and by changing those for a little while may reduce it. So, I am going to take her advise, but if I am able to get a camera to upload a photo anytime soon so that way you all can see what I mean, I will. Again, I thank all of you for your advice.

Hey, everyone. I have a CAG, Charlotte who is 1 year old. I've had her since March. I cannot believe how amazing these animals are and what they can all do (last night played ball (rolling it back and forth) with her for 20 minutes). I have a question as to how to diminish a behavior. Charlotte seems to excessively scratch her beak to the point where now in the middle of it, there is a small area that is pink. When I first got her and took her to the vet for a check-up, she had quite a few scratches on her beak. However, 1 month ago, the pink tint started to appear. I have taken her to the vet to see if there was anything wrong. She came back with a clean bill of health. He told me to give her more attention- unfortunately he did not ask me how much I give her (small area- only vet specialized in birds for over 2 hours). Currently I give her about 4-5 hours of direct attention (petting; playing ball; teaching her colors, items, etc; and so on) along with indirect attention (her sitting on my shoulder; going around the house with me; playign with a toy on my desk; and so on) for about 4 hours a day. I am a college student, but the longest I am away from Charlotte is a maximum of 6 hours a day. Most days, it is only 3-4 hours as one of the professors I work with allows me to bring her up to the college and work with me. What can I do to diminish this excessive beak scratching behavior? I know beak scratching is a normal thing, but the extent to what hers is (pinkish spot in the very middle of her beak) scaring me, and with the vet not giving me very great advice, I am at a loss. If more info is needed: she eats Harrisons bird food supplemented with fresh fruits and veggies, has lots of toys that are rotated at least weekly, showers every other day (her choice: is offered every day), cage cleaned every day with thorough cleaning 2 times a week and water and food dishes cleaned 3 times a day, has a large cage (5 ft X 3 ft X 4ft), is intellectually stimulated (knows colors, food items, how to take apart many objects, etc), if there is any other information I can give that one needs to try and help me reduce this, please let me know. She is my "baby girl" and I would hate to have anything go wrong with her that I can prevent or at least reduce. Thank you all, and while I have just registered, I have been a snooper/creeper on this site for awhile, and the advice you give each other is amazing.