missing her mum

[dawsum]

can anyone give me sdvice, everytime i leave my african grey, yumyum, she pulls out all her feathers, then she grows them beutifully again, but history repeats itself everytime i go for 3 weeks or so. it takes soooo long for her to grow them back that i hate going away, is there anything i can do for her.....

[danmcq]

Wow, talk about missing you! My best advice would be to have someone that yumyum likes when visiting take care of her when you leave for that long. It still does not mean she won't pluck, but it would certain help the separation anxiety the poor girl is experiencing in your absence.

[dawsum]

thanks, but ive tried that, everyone else is left in the house (all the family), its just me she misses...

[Greywings]

What happens if you talk to her over the phone? Do you have any videos she might enjoy? Some special treats she can only get from her caregiver?

[Luvparrots]

I talk to my grey, she and I are very close. I tell her when I am leaving the room or going to the store or whatever. She seems to understand. I believe our greys understand a lot of what we say and do. So talk to Yumyum and tell her what is going on and that you will be back.

[Dave007]

Your bird may need to be in the company of other birds. Vets and bird sitters will take the bird and put it around other birds, each caged sparately. The sitter needs to be checked out for cleanliness and living arrangements. You would need to supply food that your bird likes and some require that you use your own cage. Being in the company of other parrots serves as a distraction.

Plucking isn't uncommon when it has to do with stress. The bird knows that a member of the family isn't there and feels alone. Greys are very well known to pluck their feathers when all sorts of stresses and other problems exist.

Some vets also give bird sitting services.

[dawsum]

the thing is, she is out of her cage all day and can go back and forth any time she wants . she has all her toys and also the house is always full of family and other pets, so she cant be lonley . for this reason i dont think she needs a sitter. its just me... maybe i should make a video and play it a few times a day... she likes the TV... thanks anyway

[Guest]

I like what luvparrots said. I really believe that if you sincerely talk to yumyum and tell her you must go, and that you will be back, and to please not pluck herself, and be sincere when you tell her you're going and will be back, that that would help. Also, just because there are family and other pets around doesn't mean she isn't lonely. Could you possibly encourage another family member to interact closely with her? I am not saying you do this, but many people enjoy that their bird/cat/dog/whatever likes "only them" and will keep that exclusivity going because it increases their own ego - to the detriment of the pet when and if the owner has to go away (or dies).

[Karcar]

I tell my greys when I'm going to work. I work on-call so I work all different hours and days but I tell them every morning or what ever time I go that I'm going to work and they all say, bye bye, see you later, ask if they are going to go and I tell them no, so they tell the dogs they have to stay home too. They are all yelling "See ya later" as I go out the door and you couldn't convince me they don't know what's going on. Give it a try.