Extremely Stressed Grey

[Julklsy]

So I am new to this site. I decided after my 4th vet visit this week to get some online help with our problem. Hope this isnt too long.

 

I have had Ashford since he was 8months old. He is now 14yrs and has been a very happy healthy grey up until now. Never had behavioral problems, he LOVED people, taking showers, talking, and playing in the kitchen sink. 3 weeks ago this all changed. In the midst of moving back into my parents home while buying my first house he had a very traumatic event.

 

As we were moving the couch out of my apartment Ashford managed to navigate the 5 doors and 3 stairwells out of my building and escape into the sky (He was locked up to my knowledge, I later learned he has mastered the new lock on his cage).

 

We managed to locate him in a tree a block away, and as we went to get a ladder the unthinkable happened. A Red Tail Hawk swooped down at him. This hawk was giant. The Wild Life rescue guy who came out later that day said it was one of the biggest he had ever seen, at least a 7ft wing span. The hawk spooked Ash of course and he took off flying. Mid flight the hawk grabbed him, and flew him two blocks away to a tall pine tree.

 

We jumped fences to get to him, but the tree they were in was a good 50ft and they were at the top. We thought at the time that the hawk was killing Ashford. It was the most heart wrenching thing I have ever endured.

 

Somehow Ashford had escaped the Hawks grasped and was protected in a knot of branches the hawk could not get too. With so many people from local businesses gathering and family arriving the hawk flew to a nearby tree. In the end, after a day of attempted rescues, and Ash flying to 3 different trees with the hawk in pursuit, we lost track of him in the dark.

 

Ashford spent the night in a tree somewhere. We assumed, along with his vet, that he would not survive the night. But the next morning at Sunrise we found him in the same area ALIVE. After switching trees one more time and several ladders, my brother in law climbed about 45ft to where he was and using M&M's coaxed him over (He does not eat chocolate...EVER...but he loves the wrapper sound and knows they are great since he can't have!)

 

Ashford came away with a few superficial scratches. After a workup at the Vet and a hefty bill we went home....our new temp home. I wish we could have retured to our old apartment for some time, but it was not possible.

 

Ashford's diet has not changed. Non-Colored Organic Pellets, fresh veggies, apples, and the occasional Skittle. He has over preened his feathers. He does not have any bald or open sore spots, but he just looks very rugged. He bites me and me only. He never wants to snuggle or talk to me. He converses with my family and never bites them. He will NOT let me pick him up, it is always a battle. He sits in his cage and makes his high pitched whistle at all hours, whether covered or not. He used to LOVE showers! Now he wants nothing to do with them.

 

The vet gave him a clean bill of health. She said he needs more homemade chewable toys and distractions, which we have been doing. Hiding his treats in toys so he works for them and he loves it. But he still over preens. I am just so worried about him.

 

I have never used a spray bottle for bathing because he has always been a water maniac. I keep reading about putting aloe into the water? I would like some info on this. Also any home made toys any of you put together for your grey would be great.

 

I am very sorry this was so long, but I wanted you to know what he has been through. Any suggestions are welcome. The vet has said not to change his diet because at this point change is not welcome. She believes the over-preening is from stress. I can tell he is stressed. I just am at my wits end on how to help him. I just want my boy back.

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

u need 2 find the carcasss of a red tail hawk and show it 2 ur grey and this will lede him to beleve that his nightmare is over. u must find a dead hawk ASAP or risk losing ur bird 4ever.

[Julklsy]

Are you serious? If you are that would be next to impossible seeing as how we are unders 15inches of snow at the moment. Plus Hawks are protected, so if I saw a dead one I would stay away as to not be accused of anything! I did show him a picture of a Red Tailed Hawk on my computer though and he just kept kissing it.

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

what ur bird needs now more than anything is closure. U know wat u have to do. search for a carcass. Get it over with and end ur birds suffering. u must man up and b their for ur bird during this very difficult X in his his life. It wont b easy but for the sake of ur bird just get it over with. u need 2 consider putting some xtra miles on ur vehicle in order to go the distance to find this much needed carcass of a hawk. give him the closure he needs so he can move on with his life. isnt it wat u wud want 2 jave done 4 u if u were in his feathers? :dry:

[Julklsy]

First off do NOT assume I dont care for my bird. I LOVE MY BIRD. I ended up with 12 stitches in my hand trying to rescue my bird. I "manned" up when I jump fences and climbed trees. I "manned" up when I called WHOEVER I had to just to rescue him. I "manned" up when the Humanes Society told me they would not help, and to go home or they would call the police.

 

I just have never heard of anything like this before. My vet never made any reference to doing such a thing. She has worked with Greys for over 30yrs before coming here. I will call and ask her on Monday about this.

 

Secondly I live in Nebraska. There are Hawks everywhere. I see Hawks on a daily basis. But finding a carcass of such a bird would be very difficult. They are protected by law and they are one of the biggest predators here. So just finding a Hawk Carcass laying in over a foot of snow is like finding a needle in a haystack. We are in a blizzard.....BUT I will ask my vet about it.

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

may b ur the kind of guy that wud give ur bird prozac instead of having him truly well and in the land of the living. fine go to ur vet that will give u a convenent fix. :evil:

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

i guess i just read u wrong.

[Julklsy]

I had no idea I would come onto this site asking for help and leave crying. You angered me in telling me to man up for my bird. I have several times. I have just NEVER heard of showing a carcass to a bird. Maybe you just dont understand that it is really impossible to go outside TODAY. This doesnt mean I wont.

 

Why you have to be rude is beyond me. I am confused why me questioning something I have never heard of being done is so hostle?

 

I will just leave the forum and go to the other sites where Ash and I were welcomed and given several different things to try.

 

Sorry my confusion lead to this.

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

wat if i give u karma? will u stay then?

[judygram]

I am sorry to hear of your troubles with Ashford but you are very lucky to have gotten him back alive after the incident with the hawk, very lucky indeed. He has been thru a very traumatic experience and that would change even us so give him plenty of time to try to get over this horrific event in his life.

 

You do not need to worry about finding a hawk carcass as that is not going to do anything but create further stress for Ashford, you would need the one that actually captured him but like you said they are protected and you cannot kill him for revenge even though you might want to and Jamal I am shocked that you would even suggest that the hawk has to be found and killed, revenge never heals.

 

Three weeks is nothing to a grey, he will need lots more time and patience on your part but he will turn around eventually, he may not ever be the same as he once was but he will return to more of his normal self as time goes by.

 

You have done the right thing in coming here and asking for advice, we have some very knowledgeable members who may be able to shed some light on how to help him come around after this experience he has had so hang in there and welcome to our family.

[Julklsy]

Sorry I got so upset. Ash is and will always be my bestest friend. I went from thinking he was being eaten alive, to trying to figure out how to bring his stress level down. I def am glad I am at this point and not the other. I just have been so upset for him. Perhaps I need to calm down and look at the positive....he is here next to me biting my arm. Positive for the win. Hopefuly it can calm him as well.

[judygram]

Don't be sorry about being upset as you have every reason to be, Jamal should be ashamed of himself to suggest such a thing.

 

""""wat if i give u karma? will u stay then?""""

 

Jamal, if I take away your karma will you leave?

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

yes, gladly

[katana600]

Since all this happened during a move, and you don't have a choice to get him back to everything familiar, I am just wondering if you covered three sides of his cage for the time being to cut down on the overstimulation that comes with a move to the unfamiliar, if that would give him a little bit of seclusion and security for the time being. Once he sees that you are still here with him and he is safe in his new place, you will see your boy coming back a little at a time. You have a lot of experience with him and I am so sorry that you have endured such a horrible experience. I am very thankful that you still have your boy and will find better days ahead for your whole family. Take care, welcome to our forum. There are a thousand good kind people here plus one misguided, sad little misfit, but family is family and we still try to find the charity to love him too.<br><br>Post edited by: katana600, at: 2009/12/26 16:14

[Julklsy]

I never thought of that! Will def be covering 3 sides today! Thanks for the advice!

[ramsabi]

Mods, I am sorry to say this but something needs to be done for Jamal. Posting is fine, calling himself 'Top African Grey Expert" is also fine. But the few posts here are really infuriating and Jamal is going to scare people off this forum if such replies continue.

 

Jamal, you may be very well-meaning but please change your tone and language and please do not post completely misguiding solutions that you seem to dream up out of thin air.

 

judygram wrote:

Don't be sorry about being upset as you have every reason to be, Jamal should be ashamed of himself to suggest such a thing.

 

""""wat if i give u karma? will u stay then?""""

 

Jamal, if I take away your karma will you leave?

<br><br>Post edited by: ramsabi, at: 2009/12/26 16:37

[Debandbella]

Dont know if i should post in this thread or not but my opinion is Ash needs tlc, peace and quiet and a lot of time to rest to get over his ordeal, hes been through the worst nightmare they can have, hes lucky, he survived it, many wouldnt. Do you have any "guardian angel"? Its not prozac, just a natural remedy to settle them after an ordeal.

[ramsabi]

Ashford is such a lovely name.

 

 

I have hardly ever heard of animals seeking "revenge" though there could be a few cases and especially not parrots. Even if you were to, by some unimaginaeable coincidence, find the hawk that attacked Ashford and bring back the carcass as a proud trophy for Ashford to tear to bits, it is absolutely not going to help. Not a thousand carcasses of Red Tailed Hawks will help !!!!

 

Before this incident, were you the one Ashford bonded to and trusted the most? It is possible that he could be feeling that you did not protect him.

 

I would suggest that you read as much as you can about reducing stress in Greys. Also if there are things that you can do to show him that you are the same person whom Ashford can trust, that will also help.

 

 

It will take time and patience but I am sure he will come round.

[Julklsy]

We did discuss using a medication at his last vet visit. That was last Monday. She wanted me to try a few things such as the TLC and peace & quiet like you said. We have another vet appointment after the first of the year so I am sure it will be discussed again.

 

She did say that if things got worse to call. I will give it til Monday and call again.

 

And I didn't think about it until this morning, but I need to be calm myself. He can def read me in my opinion.

 

I wish I could say I came up with his name! I am the one he was bonded with. We've lived out of the nest for 4yrs now just the two of us. So that bond deepened even more. He has just always been such a social butterfly when it comes to my family and especially the kids in the family.

 

I agree that he may be a tad upset with me. Maybe with time and patience on both our parts we will connect back to the level we were at!<br><br>Post edited by: Julklsy, at: 2009/12/26 16:42

[Debandbella]

That may be the reason its you hes biting. If he picks up on your stress and you were his most trusted friend before his ordeal he may not feel as safe with you due to you being stressed if you understand what i mean? Try and chill out and only approach him when your calm and he can relax in your presence.

[ramsabi]

I get blamed by Rishi for anything that upsets and annoys him. My wife gets a little cuddly with me, I get bitten hard. My tiels sit on my shoulder, I get the treatment. When Rishi falls off his perch, I get the bites.

 

I am not a bird psychologist but if I can go by behaviour, Rishi thinks it is my duty to prevent all events that annoy or anger him, and if any such event happens, even Acts of God, I get blamed for it !!

 

What has happened with Ashford is extreme trauma and it is going to take time to heal. I am sure all it needs is time and incremental efforts on your part to regain the trust.

[Talon]

I AM APPALLED AT WHAT YOU WROTE JAMAL.....I AM LOCKING THIS THREAD UNTIL I CAN RE READ IT AGAIN IN IT'S ENTIRETY.

 

HOW DARE YOU TREAT JULKSLY THAT WAY. I CRIED WHEN I READ HIS POST AT THE GYM THIS AM. CRIED FOR THE TRAUMA HIS GREY WENT THROUGH, AND CRIED AT HOW FIERCEFUL HIS LOVE FOR THAT BIRD ID AND THE EXTREMES HE WENT TO TO RESCUE AND SAVE HIS VERY MUCH LOVED BIRD!!

[Dave007]

Hi Julklsy

First and foremost, welcome to the board. I'm sorry and many others are sorry that your entry onto the board was extremely negative. We have a policy here--no one should be treated that way but since this isn't a perfect world, there are those times when negativity/ cruelty is hiding in the woodwork. It doesn't take much to draw that type of person out to show him/her self.

 

Jamal is such a person. Basically, he's a half wit that makes not only stupid remarks but also negative remarks and constantly misleads many many people with advice that's ridiculous.

 

My biggest worry with him is that the idiotic things he says are sometimes aimed at first time owners of birds. I'm afraid that they'll actually believe his rubbish. Why does he do this? I really can't answer that question. I can only guess. Maybe he was an abused child. Maybe he was unwanted. Maybe, he couldn't mix in with normal playmates which has definitely escalated in his not mixing with other adults especially here.

 

Why is he still here? Well, the administraters here are very flexible. They're not too quick with the ban button. That's a sign of maturity and kindness. They give people chance after chance to straighten up.

 

Just remember that just about every board has a half wit/ jerk/cruel person hanging around.

 

The administrator here can't be chasing and checking every post 24/7. That's why they put a number of moderators here on different places to weed out the idiotic and sometimes cruel things that a person says to others.

 

I don't know if you're ever gonna read this but if you do, I hope you don't leave because of what an obvious moron says.

 

I can guarantee you that others here aren't that way. This is a productive bord in which many good things happen to loads of people here.

 

 

In your original thread starter, I can guarantee you that most others here felt your sadness and pain. You're not the first person here that's gone through your experience. Why do they feel your pain? Because many have gone through your problem but didn't get as good results as you did. They lost their birds permantly. You got yours back.

 

Just remember that you don't need to come here just to ask questions. Many people here post many times just to have a shoulder to cry on and walk away feeling good.

[Talon]

Thank you Dave for taking the time to reply and do it with such class. Yes, the admin like to give members a chance to straighten up. We have been very patient with Jamal and have given him numerous chances to be a contributing respectful member. He has chosen a different path, one that we do not tolerate. He is no longer welcome here. We will watch carefully for any sneaking in.....and that will not be tolerated either.

 

THIS THREAD WILL REMAIN LOCKED AND PLEASE JULKLSY, ON BEHALF OF OUR ADMIN TEAM, ACCEPT OUR APOLOGIZES FOR SUCH AN UNACCEPTABLE EXPERIENCE HERE AS A NEW MEMBER

 

I HOPE YOU WILL STAY AND SHARE WITH US YOUR EXPERIENCES AND JOIN OUR FAMILY! B)

 

Penny