Isaac Is Taking Out Tummy Feathers

[Elvenking]

The way I do it, is I set the spray nozzle to a fine to medium mist level by turning the nozzle from a full stream to adjust the setting just right. Then I start spraying him through the cage bars. He will climb around the cage at first, sometimes even flap to the bottom and I just keep pumping as I follow him as he climbs back up. After he gives up and remains fairly still in one spot, I then just keep gently misting him from the bottom up until his breast is totally soaked. As the mist hits the breast, there is also an over spray due to how wide the cone of water droplets are dispersed. These end up soaking his head and back midway down as well. Then when he is fully drenched on the bottom, I start spraying from the top and get his back and wings totally soaked. While he is sitting still in utter defeat, I open the cage door at stick my arm in just far enough to gain a better spraying point that overcomes some limitations when doing so through the bars. You'll figure all this out as you go. The most important thing, is to just start misting him.

 

Hehhehehe...yes...I am not afraid to say that he can be quite intimidating. In normal contact...he has a decent range of beak pressures he uses to get messages across. Light ones are friendly contact or possible beginnings of warnings to move away from contact. Medium ones are if ya don't get it...and if you still just don't get it...he may clamp pretty good....which can surprise you pretty good. When he feels scared or violated though....he does something completely different. If he gets part of your hand with this....hoowwwllleeeeee shizznit does it hurt...might get that beak tip to the bone. This doesn't happen too often though...usually if I find something offends him that much...I will defer to other action.

 

I could try to point it away from him and let the mist fall....I'll figure something clever out. Maybe if it doesn't spray or look so much like a gun. He just hears that hissing of the spray and sees something that looks like an eye spraying things at him.

 

I'll grab some aloe juice for him tomorrow and get that bulb ordered tonight. I checked the bird store here and they didn't have em.

 

Otherwise, I am not outwardly stressing about it so much as trying to work the problem and get him as comfy as he needs to be for this tough little time. He seems perfectly happy and continues to be his cute self. I still tell him how beautiful he is even though he is looking like a grey cotton ball on his tummy. I will also see that he actually preens sometimes without chopping feathers...so I am hopeful that this passes and we can get him a new set soon. Keep hopes high for my lil boyeee. I love him and he is such a wonderful friend.

[Acappella]

I have a mister that is meant for humans in the summer to spray right in our faces to cool us down. The mist is soo fine you hardly feel it when it hits you - actually, it more floats down on you. This is the only spray that Dorian will truly accept. Another good thing about it is you pump up an internal pressure, then push a button to release it. The only bad thing is the water capacity is really small so you have to keep re-filling it. When I found out this would work with Dorian I bought a bunch of them, like 15. We've tired out one so far, so I should be good for a while. Lol

[Inara]

I hope your are right about him lightening up on this. Woke up to a decent pile of feathers in his cage this morning. He is working a little on the outside forward parts of his wing.

 

I'm wondering if this is happening mostly at night then, or is it pretty consistent during the day also? If mostly at night, perhaps there is something going on that is keeping him up or a bit sleepless? Are there xmas lights out one of the windows, etc? Just a thought.

 

I do basically the same type of misting routine as described by others, although I just use filtered water and I keep a large extra water dish in Inara's cage with filtered water in it on the opposite side of her food and other water dish. She uses it for bathing, which is wonderful as prior to coming to live with us she did not bathe herself. Now she really goes to town when she does it, and oddly it's usually once a week on a Sunday -- who the heck knows why. We live in a very arid climate so I lightly mist her every day and I soak her every other day. She is not fond of the hissing noise of the mister so I sing to her while I'm doing it, and often I will do it at about the time I'm vacuuming. I'll leave the vacuum running and that seems to help disguise the hissing sound of the mister. I, too, use a hand held bottle with a pump action that will spray a very fine mist. Once I'm done, I make sure to say, "All done! That felt good! Give a shake!" She will then fluff up and shake, then I take her out and hold her on my hand while she flaps like crazy. She then demands, "Want a cookie," as this has always been followed by a treat.

 

She loves it once it's over, and tolerates it really well while it is going on, but so far she has not asked for "rain." I also make sure that the nozzle nor my hand is within beak range! LOL

 

You and your sweet Isaac will get this all figured out. Bless his heart, some little bee is under that bonnet and it's nice to know that he seems to stay his cheerful self!

[Elvenking]

Here is another interesting tid bit. I just remembered...he has been LOVING my underwear drawer lately. When I slide it open on my dresser.....he comes flying over to play in it. It does appear to be some kind of nesting behavior now that I think of it. He gets a little 'weird' around that drawer and it's pretty soft in there I guess.

[Elvenking]

I'm wondering if this is happening mostly at night then, or is it pretty consistent during the day also? If mostly at night, perhaps there is something going on that is keeping him up or a bit sleepless? Are there xmas lights out one of the windows, etc? Just a thought.

 

He seems to just get an itch to do it at some time...like....right now...getting some big ones and I can hear them snapping at times. Really sucks. All day...nothing. Then another wave tonight. Seems to come in waves for him. I am not sure if I should distract him or let him be.

[murfchck]

LOL, at the underwear drawer. Gabby's was a box and i do remember right before the egg laying episode, she plucked her tummy/ woowoo area till it was a hacked mess. Took several weeks before she was back to normal. As far as misting, I do not have one bird that likes it at all. Bubba likes to get in the tub and play around in it but he doesn't bath. We put a a table stand in the tub and found a shower head that sprays a mist and they all get their baths that way now. However that isn't always the easiest so we also have two misting bottles, on is a pump and the other is the spray, i distract them with one and spray with the other, then when they turn their attention to the one distarcting them, i can get them with the other! It is tuff trying new ways to out smart these guys, so every now and then when the grays come to the kitchen counter near the sink, my faucet sprayer will accidentially go off in their direction, hummm, wonder how that happens?? lol

[Timbersmom]

I just wanted to mention that with the cool mist humidifiers you need to use a bacteria killer every time you fill. You may know this and if so pardon me, but didn't want to take a chance. It is cheap and lasts a long time but is important. I got a 32 ounce bottle when I ordered this one and it will last a long, long time. I'm thinking it was a bit more than $3.

 

I also have the zoomed stand lamp. I must say the new design is much, much better than the old. My old one finally broke totally, the new one is holding up well.

[katana600]

Stephen, I just found a time to get online in the car on an airport run. I have a stress plucker and this does not at all sound like what Isaac is doing. He has no reason to be stressed, he lives in paradise. With what you described and his extra lovin' advances and the attempt to get in the dresser drawer, it sounds a lot like Isaac is reaching maturity and wanting to build a nice soft nest. Twelve hours of daylight and equal dark may help if its seasonal. After the long dark days of winter, spring babies could be on his mind. If you think about brood pairs, they are often in a state of ruffled feathers. If you are patient and loving and don't pay much attention to his barbering, it will go away soon. The emotional pull on humans is the perception that plumage is related to happiness or abuse and sometimes it's just a natural phase for a season, for a reason.

[Elvenking]

What an intense few days to wrap up the year here. Over the last couple of days, I had my appendix rupture requiring surgery...if ya didn't know...that is some level 9 pain right there and had me writhing. Thankfully I was an out patient within a day and was able to be back at home comforting my boy during his hard time. He seems to be making it thorough. He is still picking some feathers adjacent to his tummy....but he doesn't seems as fond of breaking too much lately. Hopefully he is not feeling as intense. I';ll keep reporting on the lil guy.

[Inara]

Wow!! That is some kind of major pain and you're very fortunate that you were released so soon. This may sound odd, but I'm wondering if Isaac may have been sensing on some level that you were becoming seriously ill, causing him to be out of sorts. It will be interesting to see if he settles down now that your (potentially life threatening) situation has been corrected.

 

Wishing you a speedy recovery!!

[Luvparrots]

Well perhaps Issac could sense that something was up with your health. Glad to hear that you are going fine now. Be safe and secure and have a nice New Year's eve.

[birdhouse]

So, a little more drama. Wow, just what you didn't need. So sorry to hear this! But glad at least you came thru it so well, all things considered.

[danmcq]

Wow Stephen what a way to bring in the new year. It's good to hear everything worked out okay for you. A ruptured appendix can be very serious. As others have already said it's very possible that Isaac could have possibly sensed the underlying illness. I hope this New Year's Day find you and Isaac in better shape. Take care of yourself my friend.

[katana600]

So sorry to hear you have had a bit of trauma but glad it has been addressed and you are back home again. Hopefully Isaac will pass through this phase soon. Glad it's a holday so you get a little extra recuperation time home with your sweet boy.

[birdhouse]

Wondering how things are going. Hope you're both doing better.

[chezron]

I haven't read the whole thread, but i will tell you what WORKED for Brutus. He has never mistreated another feather since I started taking him outside into the sunlight at least 15 minutes a day. And i feed him a cooked chicken drumstick bone once a week. This was suggested by my vet and IT WORKS! Please try it.

It has nothing to do with dryness, and EVERYTHING to do with Vitamin D, the sun, and its role in assimilation of calcium. I have written about this in the past, and spraying with aloe just masks the problem, just putting a bandaid on an existing problem. Sunlight is AWESOME! Please try it!