GBG - The First Few Days

[rbpittman]

General Beauregard Grey (Beau) has acclimated quite nicely to his new home. He is currently standing on my desk chewing on my pen. He is not completely weened from forumula so a nightly feeding is required. I am not using a syringe (sp) for this, instead a spooon from which he quickly laps up the forumla. We both become quite messy doing this, but then we enjoy a nice warm wash cloth to get cleaned up.

 

Beau did pluck one more wing feather on his first night, but did not pluck any last night. For this I am grateful. With the stress of the new digs and all I'm sure it had something to do with the plucking, however, and please comment if you have an opinion on this, I believe he may be plucking out of hunger.

 

Beau will not eat while in his cage so my being near by is imperative. When I put him in his cage last night - before feeding him - he immediately positioned himself to get at his wing. I took him out immediately and put him on my shoulder to go fix his forumula. After eating he went back inside his cage with no problems.

 

This morning when I fed him - and I feed them all and then take LP to school - he started on his wing again. I immediately took him out, hand fed him the banana's, strawberries, green beans and a few pellets. When I put him back in his cage to take LP, he was fine. I made sure that when it was lunch time I hand fed him pellets and zuchinni. Most of the time he was sitting on the desk, eating out of my hand, but he is now going to the large bowl I have placed for him on the desk.

 

I know this sounds like a simplistic reasoning for his plucking his wing, but with the crop burn he suffered, I wonder if he was getting enough to eat and if this is something that can be corrected with time, patience and teaching him it's ok to eat while in his cage.

 

Other than this minor plucking, Beau has settled in very well. He flys (sorta) to Dixie's swing, jumps over to the other window swings and is beginning to make a few baby sounds. He seems to really enjoy climbing up and down the numerous ladders in my office. He interacts with me and LP very well and is quick to come to us. While in the shop he didn't want to leave his playtop (on his cage). All in all I'm very proud of the progress of two days. I did weigh Beau this morning and his weight is 402 grams, up from 398 on Monday.<br><br>Post edited by: rbpittman, at: 2009/10/07 22:38

[Luvparrots]

I love the name General Beauregard Grey! Thanks for the great update on Beau, Robin. I hope that with your love and patience Beau will overcome his plucking problem.

[Tycos_mom]

Has He completly healed from his crop burn if he still has a hole he may very well be hungry because his food may be leaking out the hole in his crop if he's gaining weight thats a good sign somm bird do revert a little when the go to there new homes maybe you should give him a morning feeding of formula also he may require a little extra tlc until he settles in.I'm glad to hear he seems to like you and is coming to you readily he sounds like a very nice Grey and I love his name by the way

[kittykittykitty]

BGB seems to be adapting very well, very quickly. I think he is the most fortunate of parrots to have you as his person.

[she]

If you are concerned he is hungry a small morning feed may help untill he is happy to eat in his cage.One word of warning,try and not let him think having a go at his wing means you will come to him and lift him out of his cage, just make sure he is happy and full before he goes in.On the whole it sounds like he is doing very well in his new home and you are doing a great job.

[judygram]

Robin, more pictures please of General Beauregard Grey and glad to hear he is settling in very well.

[danmcq]

Your doing a wonderful job Robin!!

 

When the crop burn occurred, did they take GBR to see a vet? Is it visibly discolored or do you see any food coming out of the crop onto the feathers outside?

 

Crop burns are VERY painful to the parrot and most times they will only take a little food at a time, rather than the amount a normal bird would. Thus many small feedings are required.

 

Did they send you home from the store with any antibiotics or the like to help ensure the burn does not become infected?

 

The feather plucking could be directly related to the pain from the burn.

 

Jane made an excellent point regarding not wanting to relate being taken out of the cage each time feather plucking is threatened. You know how smart these Greys are. :-)

[rbpittman]

Beau was very fortunate - he was transported to the vet as soon as it was discovered that he had plucked. Then he went on a course of 7 days antibiotic injections and then stayed at the bird shop an additional 7 days before coming home to me. The burn was not extensive enough to come through the crop. Since he had plucked his chest and crop completely it was very easy to watch for signs of burning through.

 

When eating, Beau will eat well, and I've made some modifications that he seems to like. I took some large dog crock type bowls and placed them in the bottom of the cage, with food (pellets in one, fruits and veggies in another) and he was eating out of these on my desk. I placed them in the bottom of the cage last night with green beans and fruit that wouldn't mold to quickly along with his pellets and this morning I caught him eating from the crocks. He can stand on these bowls and not tip them over.

 

I have made sure to distract him when he goes for his wing, but not taking him out of the cage when he does so. I didn't want that to be the trigger of take him out. We made it through the night with no additional plucking - two nights in a row now!

 

I'm considering making an appointment with the vet to see if anything else could or should be done for him. I'm watching him very closely and most of his attention to wings seem to be general preening now - I'm very thankful for this. I'm not sure if I should wait since he hasn't plucked any more so I can have a better grasp on his behaviors or if I should just make the appointment and go now.

 

Beau is very snuggly and has started making some baby bird sounds, a few low grumbles, and is playing during the day in and out of the cage. At the shop he didn't want to be in the cage at all and would go for his wing. I'm trying to temper the in and out of cage time so that he learns to eat and play in the cage as well as out and not go for his wing. For his safety he cannot be out of the cage all the time as I'm not home all of the time. He is starting to come out of his shell some with personality and wants to be with me whenever I'm around, to the point of gladly leaving his cage to sit with me, either in my lap, on my arm or playing on my desk. At this moment he's fighting with one of his toys and is very pleased with himself for having won that fight.<br><br>Post edited by: rbpittman, at: 2009/10/08 18:06

[danmcq]

Oh it's wonderful to hear how well GBR was taken care of before you received him.

 

You're doing a wonderful job and quite well at that!! :-)

 

Thanks for the details on how he was treated for the crop burn. :-)

[rbpittman]

With advice from our resident expert Dr. Dave, he suggested 100% aloe vera gel on the wing. Will be rushing out to get that now and apply as directed upon return. Will keep everyone updated on the progres.

[rbpittman]

Aloe Vera Gel - 100% - the miracle of all miracles. I have been giving all of the birds a fine misting with a water/aloe juice solution to help with their skin and have had wonderful results. Much less powerdery dander from Sterling (U2) and Dixie's seems to enjoy the misting much more lately. I had not thought of using the gel itself for Beau and didn't want to mist him yet since he just came home on Monday. Figured there was enough stress in the homecoming. At first he wasn't keen on the application, he was being held and I was pulling out his wing to apply. After getting just the smallest amount on one particular spot - it was bare - and while repositioning and getting more gell on my fingers, he seemed to immediately calm down. The remainder of the application was very simple. I probably applied it more liberally than an expert would have done, but the gel absorbed into Beau's skin and feathers very quickly, as I was informed it would do. The remainder of the afternoon and evening with Beau was very uneventful, which is a good thing. He ate from his crock's in the bottom of his cage without requiring an evening feeding. While his crop wasn't as full as with the formula, he ate until he was full and proceeded to play with toys, going back to his bowl once more. When I offered his favorite - green beans - he ignored them. The entire time he was in his cage his door was open, but he didn't seem interested in coming out. When he did come out it was after offering my hand to step up and he was ready for cuddling and love. Not at any time while in his cage did he position himself to go for his wing. When bedtime came around he seemed very content, quietly settling on his perch and what I call snugging his body down a little to sleep for the night, his collar slightly ruffled. I dimmed the lights and turned down the tv and stayed in my office an hour longer than usual, watching Beau calmly going to sleep, head tucked and content.

 

Dr. Dave - thank you again for such great help and advice. I have applied some of the gel to the chest and crop of Beau as well and seem to have a completely different baby! Eating, playing, sleeping and content. Thank you again.