Little Marvin

[christina13]

This is gonna be long..sorry....

 

Ok, so we adopted a CAG about July 2009 from a coworker. He came with his hatch papers. I don't know alot about his past, I think my mom is trying to find out I'll post if we do, but I do know we are the 5th owners, and that he is about 5 yrs old now. His original name was Archie. His cage came with him.

 

From the way he acts, I've decided that he wasn't treated right, whether he was physically or near physically abused, or just ignored.

 

When we first got him we were told he knows some 'colorful' words, not all bad but also inappropriate. I have yet to hear them, but recently I may have heard two different ones. He says his brother's name 'Merrrlin and Merrr', and 'hello' like a little girl. He Loves cell phone sounds, I think I have even got him to beep and whistle when I say 'be a cellphone'. He also makes the sound of running water and what I call a spaceship. He'll even whistle while I'm in the same room looking at him. He does say 'No' and makes a nasty click sound before he bites or if he doesn't like something.

 

The people we got him from, their daughter would carry him around like a baby, everywhere. When we showed up she had him outside, fully flighted and everything, but he looked terrified. She apparently can get him out of the cage but I don't know about that...

 

 

Anyways, it's been 6 months and he's barely shown any progress of coming outside his house. I have looked in the bird room and seen him sticking his head out of the door and once or twice even hanging on the side of the door. Only once seen him on top the door, and never on the play gym on top the cage (except the 2 times I've put him there). There's been a few times where he got frightened and flew or fell out of his house. When he is out, he is horrified. All feathers glued to his body, long neck, wide eyes; he tries to fly off my hand and usually hits the walls/other objects. I've put him on the bed next to me and he runs to me and leans on me so hard. But if I try to pet him like if I go for his back, he cowers in fear it seems and makes a 'dinosaur' sound or clicks. He also makes a sound after awhile like that and I start to pet him, it sounds like growls but seems to be like a content sound.

 

At nights (odd enough), I can pet him through the cage bars and even pet him with my whole hand through the door and he'll make a sound like 'awwh' or 'wooh' and gets puffy and seems to enjoy it most the time. Not only at night, he will give me beaky kisses sometimes when I ask or he'll just stick his beak through the bars, he also tries to feed me (wtf?).

 

However, like if during the day when I'm talking or petting the other birds (especially his brother), every feather on his body will stand on end and he'll bend around and make this ungodly click sound, almost if he is jealous. Sometimes just out of the blue or if I stop talking to him he'll also do it.

 

Sometimes if I stop talking to him he seems to get bothered, annoyed, jealous, whatever, and he well rip, not pluck, his feathers. Always little pieces of feathers too. He seems to not straight up pluck, or at least alot, and I've seen that he has bald spots under both wings and it looks like under the top feathers that he has no down ones on his stomach/neck area. And he has pulled/plucked nearly all the feathers on his leg recently. I don't know if the other spots were there before we got him.

 

Random: He doesn't seem to like the other birds but will interact vocally with the other grey. I've tried to give him more toys, a shredded shirt to snuggle up to, a branch but he says 'No' and clicks and attacks or runs away. He seems to approve of the flavored cuttle bone I put in there. I can't get him to adjust to pellets, he likes his seed, but he loves fruit and veggies.

 

And the worst: sometimes he won't warn me and will bite. And he has drawn a lot of blood. And his beak needs cut Bad, and I don't know if it would be a good thing to cut his wings, I probably will though. He has had a few broken blood feathers after flying into things (he sucks at flying anyway). I wouldn't have a problem doing so, but he freaks out at the sight of a towel.

 

One last weird habit he has is that he will go into a corner where the bars are vertical and the sides are on his front and left (exactly those corners) and will push himself up against the bars so his stomach sticks out, and rests his head kind of sticking out tilted to the left in the horizontal bars. He seems to do it alot with the towel in sight. I really need a picture.

 

 

 

Umm so I really hope for advice please please? I'm so lost, and we were talking about giving him to someone who would have much more time for him but will try a little longer. I'll post pictures of this pathetic little thing sometime soon... and sorry it was so long.

 

Post edited by: christina13, at: 2010/01/03 08:57<br><br>Post edited by: christina13, at: 2010/01/03 21:13

[danmcq]

Wow, what a good description of your new greys past and present.

 

From the sounds of it, he may have been pretty much "caged" the last 5 years. That is a lot of homes to have gone through in such a relatively short beginning of his very long life to come.

 

It sounds as though you have a bird room, if I am reading this correctly. If so, how much out of cage and one on one time does each of the birds get?

 

From the jealously aspect. He perhaps has not shared a home with other birds before and resents them as you indicate. Greys are not normally social with other birds, other than Greys and sometimes not with them either.

 

Introducing anything new to a grey is sometimes a challenge even with a grey that is well adjusted, socialized and still in it's original home. It seems "Archie" has not had a good past with owners that knew anything about parrots and the care they require.

 

At 5 years old he is either fully mature now or very close to it. He could have some hormones going on right now, it is molting season with prickly pins and then add another new home, many birds and you've got a very challenging environment for him to learn the "flock" dynamics and sort out how he fits in to all this.

 

To get him settled in is going to take a lot more one on one time with him, than with the other birds. He needs to be "Out" with you guys where you are in the house or at least his cage moved out there where he can start feeling like he is a loved member of the flock.

 

He will learn somethings on "Bird Alley" by observance and seeing how they interact with each other, you and play with toys. But, the most important thing you need to establish is trust, a relationship and get him to feeling secure in your home and flock.

 

From the size and number of your existing flock. I am sure you and family already know most of this about parrots and are doing the best you can with the time you have to devote to him.

 

One thing on the ripping out of feathers as you describe. That is obviously from jealousy and frustration, not a plucking habit. That is the first thing you need to analyze and determine what you can change in his life right now, so it does not become a plucking habit that is very hard to break once established.

 

I would not recommend clipping the wings. Just keep him in smaller bird safe rooms where he can learn flight control when you have him out of the cage. His beak can be trimmed naturally by him with good wood chew blocks etc. that are made of a soft enough wood like pine for him to tear apart with his beak. Almonds in the shell will also keep him busy and his beak in good repair.

 

One note on your comment about possibly finding another home for him. It may be true that you don't have the amount of time this grey needs to learn to establish trust with you and flock. If this is true, then the next home should be one with someone experienced with greys, does not already have a fairly large flock and has all the time necessary each day to bring out the real underlying Grey that is presently locked away in fear and distrust in this pour soul.

 

I commend you for taking in a grey in need and trying your best to bring him around. Only you and family can make the critical decisions needed to get "Archie" to the Grey he was meant to be. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2010/01/03 14:17

[judygram]

Yes Christina it is a long story but to be of help to you we need as much information as possible so thanks for giving us the facts. You do seem to have quite a dilema with Marvin but yes it would be of great help if you can find out more about his past and how he was treated.

 

Six months seems like a long time but not long enough for Marvin to come to trust you, I am afraid it will take longer since he has mistrust issues.

 

I am afraid I have no advice for you as this is beyond my scope of experience but I know someone who does and I am sure he will be along soon with some helpful advice and suggestions for you to help with your situation with Marvin.

[Dave007]

Pre owned Parrots rate high on the difficulty chain. The reason for this is the rating which it's been given by bird experts and scientists which is 'a wild species that will always remain a wild species' and I totally agree with that and because of that, special problems arise and can be more visible with older, mature greys or other species.

Adopting a pre-owned parrot is a different thing and with it comes some difficulties and situations although the new informed owner is able to understand what they're actually seeing in that parrot. Usually, those people already own or have owned other parrots and are able to ease the pressure that the pre-owned parrot is going through.

These parrots have usually lived in either one or a few homes in the past. With each home, the parrot develops habits that pertain to what's going on there. Parrots don't forget things very easily and when that parrot moves on to that next home he/she takes those habits with him/her. It's frequently referred to as 'baggage' which involves many aspects of the parrot's personality and habits and ways of thinking. The ideal adoption of a pre-owned parrot is getting one that has no 'baggage', but that's impossible. What they do see is an obvious amount of previous 'baggage' and they become disillusioned and many times, the parrot will soon be off to it's next home. It happens frequently and a person who is familiar with parrots has a better chance of putting up with problems.

The amount of 'baggage' that the parrot stores away when living in that home depends on how long the parrot has lived there. Part of that newly obtained 'baggage' are the personalities of all the different owners and the methods used to make the parrot conform at each home. Again I say, parrots don't forget and they have the natural ability to store away more and more situations.

Some of these past owners should have never taken on the adoption of a pre-owned parrot and some of these same people should have never taken on the task of owning any parrot. This doesn't really pertain to you though simply because you're familiar with parrots.

Another thing that exists is how long ago you adopted. With a pre owned parrot it takes loads and loads of time for that parrot to adapt whether it's just with a new family or a new family that has other birds.

Believe me, I have loads of experience in that area as well as friends of mine.

Feather pulling is common when a bird is excited or feels very uncomfortable with new environments and new people and new animals. Some pick/pluck or bite or get terrified or become very shy or just the opposite. The bird will eventually show it's personality and also it's added on personality that's developing in his new surroundings.

Coming outside of his house? What better place is there in order to feel safe while learning new habits, surroundings. Length of time? Remember he's an adult that's been shuffled around for a long time and has learned how to be very leery of things.

Doesn't like other birds? Very common for adult greys that meet up with each other. Sometimes that'll change or won't change.

 

""""" he well rip, not pluck, his feathers. Always little pieces of feathers too. He seems to not straight up pluck, or at least a lot, and I've seen that he has bald spots under both wings and it looks like under the top feathers that he has no down ones on his stomach/neck area. And he has pulled/plucked nearly all the feathers on his leg recently. I don't know if the other spots were there before we got him.""""

 

Those are many are many of the things that preowned adult birds can do. Actually, there's many more things it can do.

I agree about the wings. I'm not a fan of clipping especially with a bird that's learned the importance of flying.

Another home? You can get opinions, the pros and cons here but in the end that's a decision only you can make. It has to do with your tolerance level.

 

PS--I can tell you that I've dealt with adult birds that were big problem birds and so have friends and others I know. It's a long process but it can be done.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/03 18:25

[pearllyn]

Sorry to hear this little lad has had such a rough time. I really hope he finds some peace soon. Don't give up on him.

[Luvparrots]

Karma to you Christina for taking in an older and needy grey. I have re-homed an older eclectus and as Dave says the road is long. He is very set in his ways and it is a battle to keep him from plucking. I know you can help your grey, he is very lucky to have you.<br><br>Post edited by: luvparrots, at: 2010/01/03 22:30

[christina13]

Thanks everybody for the advice. I was talking with my mom and she thinks we should just keep him since he does seem to like me compared how he is around the rest of our family.

 

One thing I forgot to mention was that he seems to be a bit clumsy when it comes to climbing around his cage. I intend to buy him a ladder and another perch maybe that will help? I feel that this clumsiness might be a reason why he won't come out often like how the cage door moves.

 

My picture is this little birdy .

[judygram]

Since you mention that he is a bit clumsy Christina has Marvin been to see an avian vet in the last year? It might not be a bad idea to have him checked out to be sure he is healthy for it seems he may have had an old injury causing some of his troubles (clumsiness).

[christina13]

I would like to as I've been thinking about it anyways. I just have to convince my mom (and get him out of the cage somehow). Maybe once she reads this she'll consider it.

 

Should we get his beak trimmed?<br><br>Post edited by: christina13, at: 2010/01/03 22:46

[judygram]

christina13 wrote:

Should we get his beak trimmed?

 

Only an avian vet can make that assumption, if his beak needs trimming then he will do that, never attempt to do that yourself as they have a blood supply in their beak. He might just need some concrete perches to rub his beak on, most do this and it keeps the beak in good shape.

[danmcq]

As has already been recommended and Judy pointed out again, an avian vet visit, check etc. should be done to ensure all is well with him

 

If it is, the get good wood chew toys and give almonds in the shell, as I previously mentioned.

 

It sounds like you are going to do a GreYt job of taking care of him. :-)

[christina13]

Ok MUCH thanks to everyone .

[judygram]

Be sure to let us know if he does visit an avian vet and keep us informed for we take a personal interest in each other's greys.