Elvenking

It's okay...the frustration doesn't last for long. It is just really hard when you see so much progress...and you know how hard it is for those feathers to grow...to see feathers then on the floor. It is just going to take longer than I had imagined.

Yeah...I really want to get him a little outdoor play area to frolic in. Thank you for enjoying my little friend as well. I really have to post more videos of him....he is a pretty sweet little dude.

Behavior-wise and health wise...Isaac checks out well except for the feathers. I am under the impression that Sunlight deficiency is probably one of the key contributors to this issue. So all I can do is try to understand the repair that needs to be done there and give him all he needs to get there. I am not so sure that my sickness took him down with me or not. I have been quite fine since two weeks after I had my appendicitis. I tested quite high in a Wellness exam and appear to be in tip-top shape at the moment. So I am doing fine and thanks for asking. Isaac is actually one of the things in my life that can raise my spirits right out of the gutter. I just have to look at my boy and spend some time with him, and most everything else fades away for those moments. I love my bird like most folks love their wives. He is the one I say 'Hi' too when I get home, talk to about my day, and say goodnight and good morning to...etc.... He is my life companion. I am not suffering from any depression or waves of emotion that last for unreasonable amounts of time. I honestly believe that whatever Isaac is going through is of a physical nature and can be remedied with sunlight, baths, and good nutrition. He hasn't touched the feathers directly on his back or on his left wing...so whatever it is...seems better in those areas now...and that is where the Avian lamp was shinning on for the first few weeks. So I repositioned the lamp directly overhead about 10 days ago...hoping I see a similar miracle. I am also trying to get him out in the real sunlight as well. I love that bird.

I can assure you that Isaac is more loved than many human children of this world. I give my life to Isaac in so many ways and quite joyfully. I would do most anything for him. In return. that bird gives me so much joy and love back. I guess some cannot identify with fleeting fits of frustration. That is okay....but I can tell you, that I am not perfect and they happen with me. Please give me instructions on how to never feel upset again and I will stop. If I had it my way...nothing would ever upset me with anything again. Why would I want it to. While irrational thoughts may not survive very long, I thought I would share to the world, my very first thoughts when seeing those feathers pulled out again. Life is very complex, and while it is easy to place black and white templates on situations and identify what is wrong and what is right...it is not always easy to live within them and embrace the 'correct' perspective immediately every time. Sorry if I made it seem like I was going to scold Isaac or anything...but he would never know anything was wrong. I pick him up...love him and talk about how beautiful he is every time no matter what. It is freaking daffy just how much love Isaac gets. I don't just mean selfish love of cuddling and loving him, I mean to make sure he has what he needs to be a happy and healthy bird. Do try not to worry about him too much. If you simply saw how we interact, any worry would dissolve pretty fast. He is pretty much like a miniature flying version of me. He is super weird, makes a lot of funny noises, and is playful as a toddler....and he is gentle too....until you think about trying to take a toy away. Yes...yes....much like his daddy.

Now just hold on and don't worry. Isaac would never know I thought these things. He gets the same love 24/7 as if he can do no wrong. I know the reality of the situation.

Yeah, it is okay...I just have to mount up for more patience when I least expect it sometimes. I see him get such momentum in the right direction and get excited. I just have to calm down and wait for him. Keep giving him all the good things I can give him. The little guy was so sweet last night. He was sitting on the back of my chair while I was at my desk...then I felt this little claw on my shoulder followed by him rubbing his head on my shoulder. He'll get the time and love he needs to get all his plumage back...I'm sure.

Just ordered Feather-In ....on the way.

Yeah...I wrote this the minute I saw he had feathers in his bowl. He is acting like a perfectly healthy bird...which is the most frustrating part. He is playful...super loving...never seen a grey more loving...he eats with me...we are buddies big time. He is getting baths, sunshine....I haven't gotten feather in yet because I wanted to step things up slowly. I will get some on order today though. I have no concept of a time table around this stuff. If someone told me a year....I'd be patient for a year...I haven't any idea what it all means.

Isaac gets as much attention as I can possibly give him. When I am home....he is out and about taking advantage of the full space of my home. He flys and flys very well. He can stop in mid air and change his direction...he can fly straight up vertically....he is pretty adept. I do have to work at least 8 hours a day so he is home with some music or TV on for him to listen to. There is nothing I can do about that. I keep his toys in circulation. He always seems to be in high spirits and flying around doing his thing. One thing that I did when he started breaking feathers off was got him an Avian lamp. I placed this light at an angle towards the area he sits in. Well...feathers started coming back after a while....and they were coming back on the area that was most directly toward the light...so now I moved the light directly over head a few days back. I figured maybe the feathers were coming back on his left side because the light was shinning mostly on his left side. He goes days without messing with the feathers...then last night I see that he has spent some time removing about 6 or 7 feathers from around the front of his neck. Sucks the wind right out of my sails.

Things seem to go good, then I wake up to a food bowl with feathers in it. The dork picked off feathers around the front of his neck again. How do I not resent him while he does such a senseless act to himself. He is happy...acts completely normal....and just has no desire to keep himself up. How is that smart? Now I have to work through this all over again and accept the fact that he just doesn't want to look like a bird.

Well here is what I am thinking. I am now thinking about upgrading his cage.....then I could take his current cage....and set it up on my balcony. Then I would have an outside and an inside cage for his playing pleasure. We will get around to trying all these things....my boy is worth it. I wanna see his pretty feathers all back again. He is such a beautiful boy.

So...Isaac has been getting used to getting spayed with a spray bottle. I got one that you can adjust for fine mist and such and I dial it in so it isn't hitting him too hard or messy. He does show some efforts to avoid getting sprayed...and he will lunge toward the sprayer sometimes.....but I can get in there and get his tummy soaked good along with the wings too. He must not be too upset by it though, cause he starts singing and making his sounds shortly after. So he will keep getting those. He also gets an Avian lamp for sun nutrients. I can try to see if he would like to hang out in his travel cage for a little bit in the sunlight Not sure how many would be too much...but I have been getting him wet every other day lately...especially since it has been warm around here. First you can see the rough spots still.....his right wing...and his tummy are the ones that are taking a bit longer. You can see some of his feathers on the right wing have been 'V'ed out kind of in spots. Good gawd please STOP that! LOL The rest of him is coming in great. I would settle for feathers all over his back and just a rough tummy at this point. However I do want to see him make a full recovery. Would love to be able to show pictures of him to other people again that aren't backdated.

I'll get some Aloe Juice and check out the Feather In stuff too. He will get feathers back soon enough. His left side looks really nice. I'll post pics later.

The way he is doing it...it is like areas are of particular trouble to him. What good things can I do for his skin? I just found that I can avoid major mutilation if I mist him while he is in his cage. He doesn't look like he is having the greatest time with it at first here....but he let me do it without trying to hurt himself in the cage. Bathing him has had its challenges so he gets them fairly infrequently, but this I can do.

Well....it seems Isaac does not want to progress much more. His back was looking good...but he still cannot leave his right wing alone as well as his tummy. Sad.

Wow...this really took off. It's all okay though. The thing to remember is that each one of us has a very unique relationship with our little companions. Take Isaac for example. He loves cups. Man...I cannot describe to you how nuts this little guy goes over the same pink cup (well getting pretty tattered now). He stands it up, knocks it down, stands on top of it...stands on the side of it....spins it....flips it in the air....slides it across the surfaces of various things to hear the noise and copy it himself....he sticks his head in it and "HOOT"s....He flys with it...drops it in flight....flys up to the glass table and spins around on it flapping his wings wildly. Does anyone else's bird do that??? Probably not....but maybe. Likewise, the way we care for our friends.....all in a positive direction...but different as well. I appreciate all the suggestions. This kind of thing takes a while to figure out. Maybe Isaac is back on his way to get feathers back....we'll see. I am hopeful. Other than that...Issac is no bird to pity...he is a super happy parrot...that I can promise. As for my health....I am certainly fine. No need to worry about me.

I have been powerless to describe the thoughts I have had about Isaac and his little feather deal. Back in December when it started, I was crying on the phone to the vet worried sick when I saw him breaking them off. First a little spot on his chest...then onto the wings. I can't tell you the worry that came over me when I could not explain why he would do this. Everything else appears just like normal....he's happy...flying around being cute....being a pain in my ass. Yep...normal bird. When he finally looked like a little mangled poof ball just before he lost the very last bit of feathers....it was a tearful sight. I wanted to help him. It is still not really understood why. I did end up getting nasty appendicitis and sent to the hospital for a few days. I came back to Isaac as soon as I could....thinking about him lots. The part I will also be honest about is the fact that I did have feelings of resentment....a part of me hated the fact that he was doing this to himself. I mean...after all....I devote a huge chunk of my life to his...making sure he has everything that he needs...loving him up. I hated myself for having these thoughts...but I couldn't help but have a part of me that felt betrayed. It's totally irrational considering my love for Isaac. But there the thoughts were...I couldn't help them. Of course I wasn't taking these too seriously or thinking them for too long. Thoughts like these are more of a impulse reaction rather than well-formed conscious thought. More trying to move on and just be there for my little friend. I quickly moved into a position of....okay...well I will love him just the same even if they never come back. Then they start coming back....ha! It is pretty exciting to see them come back. He is still doing great for the most part. There are a few he has mangled as he did before. But the vast majority of them are filling in on his back now. There is still that weird evil part of me that gets that feeling when I see it still. Stop breakin' em off man...c'mon. It is strange how I would react that way and I wonder if others can relate. I know it is something he can't help...or doesn't understand.....for a quick moment....I am a bit annoyed by it. However love is a wonderful thing...it really is. I think you take thoughts like them and snuff them out for those you really love. And you never let on to ever having them. I think it is quite a beautiful mark when you can stuff something like that down for another person...or Grey So I wanted to share that because I think that the whole story presents something interesting. Anyway...here is the lil dood. I only got 3 pics this week...more next week. His tummy feathers are still sort of fluffy....not how they are gonna go yet. But he is not intentionally trying to break em off in great numbers....just a few. His back is filling in...one wing has a couple tweaked ones....but overall still on the upswing. Watch him go....and root for feathers!

Isaac certainly knows I love him. I am quite animated with him and I don't let on my worry at all. I block it out good most of the time...but I can't say I don't get concerned and want to start askin' questions. I'll hold Isaac high in the air and say, "Look at the beeeaaauuuuutiful boooyyyeeeee". I think my daughter gets jealous to be honest. I'll keep cool about it. I tell him he is beautiful...and then he does the wolf whistle. So he knows.

I see this morning a couple tummy feathers in his dish. Not sure what this means. He still looks good all around..but I did see a couple feathers from his tummy for sure. Does anyone have any advice on this? Has anyone ever watched a grey get their feathers back before??

He is pretty photogenic..hehehhe. You'd be surprised at how well he just sits there and poses.

Yeah...even when he had all his feathers...you can always spot a few tattered ones in the bunch...so I wasn't too worried. I can tell it is not intentional. I still wake up to a cage floor without feather pieces. Just the regular bits of down here and there for normal preening. He is such a sweetheart for sure. I love the way he still comes to me and rubs his head on the side of my face affectionately. Sometimes, when I have my head close to his...he just presses his beak to my lips cause he knows I am gonna kiss him anyway. LOL. I am the only person in my apartment as far as living there, but with Isaac, I am certainly not alone. I talk to him constantly, and he pays attention. He eats with me....loves my baked chicken. Loves rice! He sits on my knee and watches TV (or preens) with me. He makes these cute little baby bird chirp sounds when I tell him, "I love you lil boyeeee"...even when I whisper to him when I put him to bed under his cover. Continuously bringing a smile to my face....as well as the frustrated ones of course when he is proving that he still can do a bit of what HE wants. After all, it is fun to piss me off I suppose. LOL. I get animated! HA! What a life it is with him for sure.

Week 4 Okay all...here we go with week 4. I saw 3 or 4 of his tummy feathers looked a little tattered, but it seems to be accidental if anything. Maybe the influx of feathers slowed down, but he's still goin strong. His back is filling in a bit better but not a huge of a jump as the last two weeks. Maybe it's getting harder to tell. He's a good boy.

Yeah...I was prepared to see him without feathers indefinitely, I wasn't sure if it was a new habit or what. Seeing them come back is quite a wonderful thing. I am pretty sure when I see him all back together, I'll probably tear up pretty good. We go through everything together...LOL. We'll see how long it takes for them all to come back.

I know...it's a shame they are so rare. I have only seen maybe 4 videos of wild greys, and one of them is really sad. This one was really sweet though!

Ohhh my. I simply love videos like this of them in the wild. My jaw was just to the floor the whole time. I think that is just so incredibly beautiful watching them like that. I think if it went on for 8 more hours...there I would still be watching them. They are so civil with each other too. All of them just enjoying the tree and the palm nuts. Simply awesomely beautiful. Thanks for sharing that.