nearest grey rescue

[shaun]

does anyone know where the nearest parrot rescue is in lincolnshire as i'm at my wits end now

 

i have a baby grey he is 19 weeks old , i have tried all sorts from changing his diet , new toys , perches etc and yet he seems to still bite his feathers off he has already chewed his tail off and has no red feather left at all and chewed his wings now he can not hardly fly just drops to floor now , but he constantly still bites his feathers i thought it might just be his baby feathers or has they say molting but i can not be there 24/7 telling him NO to stop biting his feather so i think its time to let him go to a rescue who can sort his problem out so looking for rescue in lincolnshire

[Dave007]

I can only say that putting your bird into a shelter won't correct any chewing or plucking problems that your bird has. More than likely, the problem will get worse. Molting doesn't happen until a bird is at least 8 to 10 mts old. As far as chewing/plucking goes, there is no verbal command that can be given to stop it. He's only been with you a short time and the problem may have started when the bird was being fed a poor type of baby food or the weaning was prematurely stopped. Both of these things can lead to plucking.

But your only solution may be to either give him to a person who has lots of time and some experience dealing with this or to a decent shelter.

I'm in the US so I can't recommend any place though. Lets hope that your bird can get through this cricis. I'd just like to say that many other birds go through the exact same thing and one of the basic fundamentals when this problem is going on is to not allow the bird out of his cage until he's capable of moving around easily. It takes quite a while for the problem to ease up and one important thing is that the bird be living in a home for quite a while. At 12 wks of age up until now, you've only had the bird for 5 weeks and the bird could be very unsettled. Many times, it takes longer for a baby bird to get settled in to a new home after leaving the safety of it's brothers and sisters.

 

PS--one other thing I should have said is that every time a bird that has that problem bounces off the floor, it's an immediate set back. He bounces off the floor which is unnatural for a bird, gets frightened, feels shock, may be stunned and because of all those things, he'll revert to plucking. He shouldn't be allowed to be in a situation where he will bounce off the floor. A cage is a good place for the bird to calm down and get used to many things. 5 or 6 wks isn't time enough for that to happen. Parrots take quite a while to make different changes in their habits.

 

Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/04 21:53<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/04 22:39

[shaun]

he never did this till about 2 weeks ago and he seems to chew his nails aswell to be honest i dont want him to be there bold as the egg he came from , i have tried all sorts from changing his food , to more and diffrent toys etc but nothing has changed the toys he has no intrest in at all none of them intrest him i even tried baby toys ,but nothing keeps him from biting his feathers and to be honest he looks a fool

[danmcq]

Shaun - Please try to see him as the sweet baby he still is. He is just 19 weeks old. He loves you unconditionally. :-(

 

That is not an issue he can not overcome with yoyur help.

 

I wish I lived over there, I would take him in a heartbeat.

 

I am positive someone that lives close to you will be commenting here on the forum.

[Eckobird]

It kinda makes me really upset that you are giving up on your baby already!! I know you haven't had him that long if he is only 19 weeks old!! It takes ALOT of time and patience to care for a grey especially if it has a plucking problem. Giving him away to a rescue is only going to make it worse but if you can't handle it and aren't willing to help this poor baby than I guess thats the only thing you can do!!

[shaun]

i have tried all sorts and running out of ideas as i said i can not be with him 24/7 so he can be with me all the time its not as if the house is empty when i'm out has my patner and kids are home but he doesnt seem to be any diffrent so what can i do

[Debandbella]

If i can i will post you a link to a wonderful lady who will help you all she can, she has devoted her life to neglected parrots that come to her for all sorts of reasons, some have very severe problems and what she doesnt know isnt worth knowing. She lives down south of the country so probably not too far from you, geography is not my strongets point. If i cant find a link i will see if she minds me passing her number on to you. She doesnt have the time to come onto the forum very often so it may be a few days before i can get back to you. Can i suggest you spray him with diluted cider vinegar and also several sprays a day can discourage plucking, im assuming all physical things have been ruled out?

[Luvparrots]

I'm sorry to hear that you have giving up so easily on your sweet baby. But if you can't cope with him it probably the best to give him a chance to find a loving home before his problem becomes a habit. Good luck to your sweet grey.

[Georgiesmum]

Poor baby... He's still so young and hasn't been given a chance atal I'd love to take him but I'm no where near you

[Debandbella]

Have sent you a pm.

[Summerc25]

where is Lincolnshire? England? I am in the US. I wish I could get this bird. I pray there is a member here near Lincolnshire that might be able to give this baby a home!<br><br>Post edited by: Summerc25, at: 2010/01/09 15:58

[shaun]

the bird has now gone to a bird sancery i tried all i can with him and they asked what i had done to cure it

 

changed toys

changed food

changed diet

etc

etc

 

but he still carried on with the feather plucking

 

so hopefully they can help him out

[Jayd]

MY FIDS.....MY HOME...... ALWAYS.....

[Jayd]

:(Shaun, 3 things you didn't mention: Time, Patience and Love..... Jay{Feel-bad-0002006A}

[Debandbella]

Did he go to the lady whos email address i pmd you? Shes the right one to help him, ive known of birds in a far worse state get to her and she manages to bring them all back to health and helps them readjust to life.

[JillyBeanz]

Debbie - I hope the bird did go to this lady you mentioned. Then it can receive the time, patience and love that Jay mentions.

 

Karma to you for your attempts to help x

[Joolesgreyuk]

What an incredibly sad story. I hope this bird and this lady found each other

[Summerc25]

Shaun I hope you really think things through if you ever consider buying another parrot. Just changing toys etc, is not going to 'cure' a bird. I know you cannot spend every waking moment with one, I don't spend every waking moment with mine. I have to work. However, there are lots of members here who have birds that pluck and they cope with it. These birds were never really intended to be pets but to live in flocks. Different things can cause them a great deal of stress. My bird has never been a plucker but he has a little bit of a twitch which the vet said is probably just a nervous habit. I truly believe his previous owner loved him but she had small children and I have no doubt that they made him a nervous wreck. You only gave this bird 5 weeks to settle in and now you have given him off to a "sanctuary" well I hope it was a good one. There are some who truly love the birds and want to help them. There are also horror stories about some of them who really do not care about the birds. As a matter of fact, my bird's previous owner made me sign a contract with her agreeing never to give him to a bird sanctuary. If I ever decided I don't want him, which I won't, then she will refund my money and drive 12 hrs back from where she moved to pick him up.

 

I hope that little guy gets a good home where they will be patient and understanding and not just dispose of him when he doesn't fit their expectations.

 

I am sorry if I sound rude, but this whole thread just really upset me. This is what I was talking about in my other rant thread. People go and buy parrots because they are cute and fun without spending time researching about it first.

 

I am ashamed to say this but my brother had a grey before I ever had one. He ended up moving across the country and he felt he could not take the bird with him. I was afraid of his bird because that bird only loved him and hated everyone else in the family. I wanted to take him, but I knew I would not be able to give him as good a home as an experienced parrot person. I knew I needed to start out with a calmer bird that was not so aggressive. He sold the bird before he moved. Thanks to this forum I was able to get in touch with the new owner and know that he is ok now and has a MUCH better home. Love my brother but he had no business ever buying that bird either and I was VERY angry with him for selling him. The poor thing screamed and ripped his feathers out while the new owner drove him home. I felt very guilty for not taking him until I knew he got a great home with someone who had a lot of experience with parrots. He has since stopped biting and stopped plucking. People do not realize how very attached these birds become to their humans. Because I saw my brothers bird, I do. A while before he ended up selling the bird, my sister kept his bird for him for a year because he was having some personal issues, she did not want the bird but she was trying to keep him from having to get rid of it. That bird called his name for a solid year and never let my sister touch him or pet him at all without making her bleed. She wanted to keep him too, even though he bit her all the time and didn't like her at all lol but she knew he would have a better life with someone that had experience with parrots. I think knowing about all of that with my brothers bird is why I feel so strongly about people getting a bird and keeping it. I still feel bad that I didn't take his bird and keep him but I feel better now since I know he has a good home.

 

 

My point with all of that is that maybe your bird was ripping his feathers out because he missed the person that hand raised him.

[Debandbella]

Thanks Jilly, i really hope hes got there, i shall pm June and ask if she was contacted. Sanctuaries arent always what they sound but i think anywhere was probably better for this poor guy than where he was.

Summer, youve said what a lot of us are thinking.

[Debandbella]

This poor guy hasnt gone to June, hes not even contacted her, she just sent me a message to say she hopes he hasnt gone to National Parrot Sanctuary as he has no chance there. Poor bird, i hope hes gonna be ok.

[Joolesgreyuk]

Unfortunately sometimes it seems "cool" for a young single guy to have a grey in the same way it is for him to have a pit bull or a doberman type dog, it makes him feel like a big man in the world. They seldom think of the work involved or potential problems and when they arise they just toss the poor animal/bird aside like an old car. I'm sorry if I sound harsh and I know on this forum alone there are many caring male grey owners, some of them probably single and I don't mean to generalise but our Shaun seems to me like one of these guys.

 

I can't help but wonder where this poor grey has gone