jwl Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Hello all! I hope I can get some advice. I am loosing or lost my friend. It is quite a long story and I apologize for that but I really need help. We live in the tropics. Our house is open and Gracie cage is also open. She had the run of the place for the most part. When we got her she was 8 months old and had her wings clipped. She found that she still could fly quite well though. After she flew away from the house we decided to take her to a Vet and have her wings clipped again. This vet I think did a terrible job of clipping. Gracie is not the most grace full parrot for sure. She would on occasion while playing she would break a feather. It was no long and she had broken all the long feathers that she had on one side. That is when the trouble started. She fell off her cage and hurt her wing on that side. She squawked for a while and you could see she had hurt her self. She would not let me pick her up or have anything to do with me for a while. She is very active so it was not too long and it happened again (about a week). Again she would run away from me and would not let me come close to her. Each time this happened, when she would calm down and given a little time I would check her wing carefully. She never showed any problem and acted normal. The next day she was fine. We played like we always do first thing in the morning. She would give kisses and hang upside down on my finger. Play dead bird in my hand. Give and get attention. Once again things were fine for a week or two and it happened for the third time. Now she will not have anything to do with me at all. I cannot get close to her without her squawking and running away. When I do get close to her she shakes. My wife who she only kind of likes now is who can pick her up and handle her. When I was first making friends with her I would be able to pet her and handle her easier after dark with the light turned down low. So I tried that tonight. I waited until it was dark. I went to her day cage and she responded nice and went to my hand. I was so happy. We sat in the dim light for a couple of hours. I gave her attention and talked to her. Wow my baby is back. That lasted until I took her into the house to put her in her night cage. She started to freak out again. It was like she just realized who had her. She stayed on my arm and was not very happy about it. She would not let me touch her without showing me that she would be more that happy to bite if I pushed too far. My theory is that somehow she has associated the pain when she hurts her wing with me. Probably because I go to her to pick her up and see if she is ok. Does anyone have ideas how to handle this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusCAG Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I'm sorry, I wish I had something objective or helpful to contribute, but my only thought is to ask if the vet was a man? Maybe if he handled her badly and gave her such a bad clip, now that she's had a few falls she's associating her pain with men?? Either way, I'm just sorry to hear about Gracie's troubles right now, and I hope that you can figure everything out together soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Thank you for the thought. It has been a while now that she was clipped so I don't think that is it. I thought that maybe if new feathers are starting to grow back out that her wing is sensitive. Still I do not know why she thinks it is me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malikah Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I'm sorry but I think she has picked your wife as her favorite. It might not even have anything to do with her getting hurt, they usually choose one person as a favorite at a certain age. When she gets older she may change who is her favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Thank you for the thought and that might be that she has chosen my wife. However she is truly scared of me. She seems to only put up with my wife to get what she wants. I was hoping someone might have in site to advise me on what to do. I have decided to start over and try to gain her trust. It looks like it might be a long road ahead and I am fear one that ends without her trusting me again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 It sounds like the approach to the night cage set her off, is there a special treat you could offer or maybe your wife could be the one to tuck her in. Just a thought you might try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambert58 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 It seems that something certainly caused her a significant level of stress. As long as you're sure that she's healthy and there isn't and underlying pain issue with her wings (it's very important that you rule that out straight away), I can only recommend that you start from square one again with her. Be gentle, go slow. As many folks here can attest (me included), when a fid goes through any trauma it's a long trip back to "normal." Lots of love and patience. Try not to be frustrated, I know it's tough. Best wishes and please keep us updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 It is not just the night cage. She goes away from me no matter where. With the exception of last night when it was dark. Once she figured out it was me then she acted afraid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Thank you all for your support. It is difficult to loose a such a close friend. The way she move around and plays I have ruled out underlying pain. It seems only when she does something silly and hits that wing. I agree going back to square one. This is the only option that I can think of. It seems that something certainly caused her a significant level of stress. As long as you're sure that she's healthy and there isn't and underlying pain issue with her wings (it's very important that you rule that out straight away), I can only recommend that you start from square one again with her. Be gentle, go slow. As many folks here can attest (me included), when a fid goes through any trauma it's a long trip back to "normal." Lots of love and patience. Try not to be frustrated, I know it's tough. Best wishes and please keep us updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morana Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Well, talking about a fresh start, maybe it would to be wise to let your wife take over your responsibility about the bird for a while. If she really has associated the pain with you, it would be ok to back off a bit. Let your wife play with the birdie and every time you come near Gracie offer her a treat, or let your wife offer her a treat so, that way, you would reprogram her negative impression she might have regarding you. At first, spend little time with her and if goes well, then you have an answer to your concern and graduatelly you can begin visiting her more often (don't forget the treats, or new toys, or whatever she likes best whenever you are visiting..). That's the best I can think of. Hope you have success. And making sure (with a vet) about her wings would be prudent before acting on anything else. PS: caution, It may take a while so just be patience. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I have to agree with everyone who's suggested getting Gracie's wing checked out. Birds hide their symptoms extremely well. She may be the only one who knows she's having a problem. But she may be afraid you're going to check her out & cause more pain because of the other episodes. You were only doing what you were supposed to do, but she doesn't know that. Unfortunately, whether or not her wing's injured, apparently your relationship is. So, I think you've got the right idea about starting over. I think it's often easier to gain their trust than to re-gain it. But you have the advantage of knowing more things about Gracie than you knew in the beginning. And even though it seems likely that her current attitude towards you is trauma related, that doesn't rule out the possibility that she's going through a phase where you just don't get to be her current favorite. So, maybe the first goal is just making Gracie comfortable with you. Then, see where things go in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdnut Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Poor Gracie. These Greys are heavy-bodied birds and can be quite prone to injury when heavily clipped. Such severe clipping led her to break the remaining feathers on one side, and now she is even worse off. I wonder if part of Gracie's anxiety is fear of falling and hurting herself, which she has associated with you, probably because of your presence at the time it happened. I agree that the best you can do is start over to make friends with her. But I think these scary and painful experiences are going to continue to happen as long as her wings are in such a state. Would it be possible to provide a more enclosed area for Gracie's play area, allow her wing feathers to grow in, and groom her with a less severe clip, if necessary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 That is some good ideas thank you. My wife has been taking the lead anyway. For the first time today she took food from me. So there is some progress. Little by little. Well, talking about a fresh start, maybe it would to be wise to let your wife take over your responsibility about the bird for a while. If she really has associated the pain with you, it would be ok to back off a bit. Let your wife play with the birdie and every time you come near Gracie offer her a treat, or let your wife offer her a treat so, that way, you would reprogram her negative impression she might have regarding you. At first, spend little time with her and if goes well, then you have an answer to your concern and graduatelly you can begin visiting her more often (don't forget the treats, or new toys, or whatever she likes best whenever you are visiting..). That's the best I can think of. Hope you have success. And making sure (with a vet) about her wings would be prudent before acting on anything else.PS: caution, It may take a while so just be patience. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 We have restricted her to her cage most of the time now. That also is difficult for her but I think she is getting use to it. I was wondering how long does it take for the wing feathers to grow back. Poor Gracie. These Greys are heavy-bodied birds and can be quite prone to injury when heavily clipped. Such severe clipping led her to break the remaining feathers on one side, and now she is even worse off. I wonder if part of Gracie's anxiety is fear of falling and hurting herself, which she has associated with you, probably because of your presence at the time it happened. I agree that the best you can do is start over to make friends with her. But I think these scary and painful experiences are going to continue to happen as long as her wings are in such a state. Would it be possible to provide a more enclosed area for Gracie's play area, allow her wing feathers to grow in, and groom her with a less severe clip, if necessary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 trying to find another Vet has been a problem. I want to take her to a Bird Vet but hoping to find another one than the one that did the clipping. Anyway I do agree that is something I need to do. Thank you. I have to agree with everyone who's suggested getting Gracie's wing checked out. Birds hide their symptoms extremely well. She may be the only one who knows she's having a problem. But she may be afraid you're going to check her out & cause more pain because of the other episodes. You were only doing what you were supposed to do, but she doesn't know that. Unfortunately, whether or not her wing's injured, apparently your relationship is. So, I think you've got the right idea about starting over. I think it's often easier to gain their trust than to re-gain it. But you have the advantage of knowing more things about Gracie than you knew in the beginning. And even though it seems likely that her current attitude towards you is trauma related, that doesn't rule out the possibility that she's going through a phase where you just don't get to be her current favorite. So, maybe the first goal is just making Gracie comfortable with you. Then, see where things go in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdnut Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I would hate for Gracie to continue to be restricted to her cage. i was thinking of a larger, room-sized play area. Unfortunately, I think it may take a year or more for her wing feathers to grow back in fully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morana Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 It can take a long time for her feathers to grow back. It would be horrible for Gracie if you would keep her in the cage for the whole period. Does she absolutely needs to be clipped, or let me refraze, can you provide her a room where is no risk for her to fly away somewhere, and where she can be free most of the day? PS: why did you restrict her to her cage? not to hurt herself or to wait until her feathers grow back? And I don't think she'll get used to the cage. As no one could get used to the prison.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I would hate for Gracie to continue to be restricted to her cage. But until Gracie gets a clean bill of health, it may be better. If she's hiding an injury, she could make it worse. She could also do additional damage to herself if she crashed, again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morana Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I meant what I said but, of course, if everything else- medically is all right :-) Tnx birdhouse :-) I forgot to mention that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I think it would be wise to get her checked out by an avian vet before you undertake any drastic change in her routine, just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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