What is Joey doing?

[chickabee]

Today Joey doesn't want to come out and he seems to not want attention at all. Joey has been doing a new thing too " he sits on his perch and starts flapping his wings fast and hard" Joey has been doing this several times today and has even lost his grip and fell. Joey also goes to the corner of his cage climbs and starts scratching with one foot. I thought it was his way of saying let me out but was wrong. I tried step up several times and he goes to bite so I have the door open for him to decide. Joey keeps doing both these actions and hasn't wanted to even attempt to come out. Is this a normal actions for them? :confused: Joey lets us scratch, talk, touch and takes nuts but don't try to get him to step up today.

[birdhouse]

Some days we all just want some space. Joey's still a youngster, but he's also a rehomed fid who you haven't had for very long. On the surface, at least, this isn't anything alarming.

 

They do sometimes get a little too rowdy & fall during flight exercises. You'd obviously want to watch to make sure he doesn't hurt himself & adapt his cage if you can think of a better arrangement. Make sure he has perches w/a secure grip & set some up w/enough space to accommodate his wing span.

 

Other than that, make sure that he doesn't show any signs of illness. Check his droppings. Make sure he's eating & drinking. *Casually* peek at the area he's scratching to see if maybe there's any feathers out of place or any pin feathers itching him.

 

Humidity is also a thing this time of year. The air gets dry from heating the house in all this cold weather. That could possibly get him scratching, too. So be sure he's bathing & if he'll let you, you could give him a bath w/some pure, organic aloe juice in the water.

 

If everything else seems alright, just give him a bit of time to get back to normal. Offer him normal amounts of attention. But don't be surprised in the least if he's not interested. Whistle & talk to him. Basically be there w/o forcing anything.

 

Letting him know he's got some say in his new flock will help him settle in. If you go w/the flow, this should probably pass w/in a day or two. It can be a normal part of the process & it may continue to happen occasionally. Especially while Joey continues to adjust to losing his last home. The more relaxed & accepting everyone is, the more it will help Joey transition.

Edited January 1, 2014 by birdhouse

[chickabee]

Thanks for your help Today Joey just came out for the first time and is sitting on the chair showing my hubby all the sounds he can make. He also keeps spreading his wings, flapping them as if he might take off but holds on with his feet. I have gave him a mist shower and he wasn't sure about that but did sit and try to enjoy. it's hard to say wither a feather is bother him since he is getting new and loosing some too. My hubby says he looks better then a week ago but still a long ways to go. His cage we got him is about 5 feet tall and about 4 feet wide by 3 feet deep plus play center on top so he has lots of room. Looks like the scratching is just maybe a way he amuses himself since he keeps doing it. He has toys that he'll play with too but likes the corner to climb and takes one foot to scratch with his foot. The scratching isn't on him it's on the cage corner. Where can I buy pure organic aloe?

[birdhouse]

I'm sorry I misunderstood about the scratching. I think I got in the (wrong) zone from your other posts & w/everyone who has been talking about their fids' seasonal feather issues. But well, at least you may have accidentally gotten some useful bathing info, anyway.

 

So nice that Joey didn't hate the misting because sooo many greys seem to be water phobic. It will be greyt for you both if he can get a bath a couple of times a week & even enjoy it! This should help w/his feathers lots more than that other scary stuff you were asking about, I think.

 

I don't know what else you guys have in CN. But I get my juice at Walmart (in the US) because it's the cheapest I've found here. So this is their Canadian link

 

http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/aloe-vera-juice-946ml/6000091056560

 

Also good that Joey got over his antisocial spell pretty quickly. Greys in general aren't known to be all that cuddly to short hand it. They don't all want to be handled just any old time we feel like. If we can accept that most greys pretty much need things to be on their terms & time schedule, it's much easier to build a happier relationship.

 

And that's even more true w/a rehomed fid who just got whisked away from everything they knew. It's traumatic & they need time to adjust. Also, many came from less than great homes where they developed trust issues long even before that. So they really usually need to be given even more time.

 

Actually, in the scheme of things, Joey is doing fabulously! Don't worry if his version of fabulous turns out to be very different from your Quakers'. Quaker's are party animals. lol Greys are a breed apart in more ways than one. Given some time, I think you'll be in for a few surprises as Joey opens up & settles into your flock.

[Inara]

Thanks for your help Today Joey just came out for the first time and is sitting on the chair showing my hubby all the sounds he can make. He also keeps spreading his wings, flapping them as if he might take off but holds on with his feet. I have gave him a mist shower and he wasn't sure about that but did sit and try to enjoy. it's hard to say wither a feather is bother him since he is getting new and loosing some too. My hubby says he looks better then a week ago but still a long ways to go. His cage we got him is about 5 feet tall and about 4 feet wide by 3 feet deep plus play center on top so he has lots of room. Looks like the scratching is just maybe a way he amuses himself since he keeps doing it. He has toys that he'll play with too but likes the corner to climb and takes one foot to scratch with his foot. The scratching isn't on him it's on the cage corner. Where can I buy pure organic aloe?

 

Sounds like things are going really well with your Joey! It is great that he is feeling safe enough to exercise (hanging on and flapping his wings) and that he is showing you all the noises he knows. I've read that young greys will go to a corner and scratch when they are a bit nervous (Inara's former people said that she used to do this all the time. She's only done it twice here and that was on her 2nd day with us, and once when I moved her cage). I have also read that this behavior mimics what young birds do within a nest as a cleaning instinct to scratch debris out of the nest.

 

Most of my own experience has been with a much older Grey before Inara came to live with us, so she and I are learning together about age 2+ Looking forward to pictures and more updates on your sweet Joey.

[chickabee]

I went to out Walmart and then our pet store looking for aloe juice and neither place sells it. Walmart told me they are down sizing on their pet supplies too. I was able to look closer at Joey today as he let me touch him more but am kinda worried. He came to me with his feathers in pretty bad shape so not sure if I should worry but I noticed today that he isn't letting certain feathers come in. On both wings along the ridge he keeps pulling out the new down feathers and both wings have small bald spots now. He has also done a small patch on his belly He is always grooming unless we can get him busy to forget. The only food he will eat from me or tastes is cantaloupe and nuts, everything else I offer he won't even try. I have seen some on the bottom of his cage but never really worried as I thought maybe its normal to loose a few as they grow back but now that I see bald spots it does. I don't want him to get in the habit of plucking so is their anything I can do to help this? My 2 Quakers came from a bad home and I too recued them but they were wanting to try everything I offered, took baths almost daily in their dish and needed love. The thing that took time was trust and still show signs of being unsure with us. They are a bonded pair that were neglected and used to breed without human love or attention so it has been a long road to get them to the place they are today. Today they talk, step up and ask for attention. They also call to me when I leave the room so I have a whistle that we use to let them know I am close by. Joey is hard to compare to them as he is already so different and has his own needs, wants and issues. I only want the best for all my little ones and worry I know so little to make it right. Thanks for all your help, support and understanding

[birdhouse]

Ask the people at the pharmacy because the aloe juice should be w/the pharmaceuticals. If they're anything like they are down here, they won't know where it is either & you'll have to ask them to check their inventory list.

 

They should be willing to order it in for you if they don't have it. Middle of the page in the above link says Mississauga has it in stock, but I don't know if that's anywhere near you. Walmart Item # 4008135 (bottom of the page).

 

You made ref to a vet visit somewhere. So I'm guessing Joey's gotten a clean bill of health. In which case, the feather thing is likely stress from the move &/or dry air issues. Either way, bathing him w/the aloe juice will give him some relief. Humidifying the air around him could help too.

 

You might also give him a little more space. He may have had that antisocial episode because things are moving a little faster than he's comfortable with at this point. It is very early days & he's come very far very fast. It might be catching up to him.

 

Maybe you can get some ideas if you read thru this thread. Dee chronicled a couple of years of her fid's progress. Although Gil was apparently a whole lot more messed up than Joey, you should really get a sense of how greys think & find some ideas about how to help Joey settle more comfortably.

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?192443-Gilbert-is-home

 

When you said he'll only eat cantaloupe & nuts, did you mean that literally, or is that in addition to Joey's staple diet? And are you feeding him the same staple diet as the other people?

[chickabee]

Thanks for the help I will go see if they will order some aloe in for me. I will get everyone to back down on the attention to see that Joey gets to relax. Yes, we took Joey to the vet before we brought him home and the vet did give him a shot to help him relax but said he was fine other wise. The vet said he needs a better diet as pellets shouldn't be all he eats and that with time he will be all he should be. I also have a follow up appointment in 6 weeks. What I mean about Joey eating other foods is besides his pellets. The pervious owner never feed him anything else so I am trying to introduce Joey to more foods. I have tried most veggies, fruit and eggs but he won't even try to taste them to see if he'll like them. I Just read the thread and keep reading all I can to learn. Growing up my mom had budgies, finches, lovebirds , cockatiels, dove but never a parrot so they were all seed fed. I think that's where my love for feather friends started but I also have a small dog I rescued as well and a cat my kids bought me 16 years ago for mothers day. Haha

[birdhouse]

Ok, good. I was a little worried for a second. Changes in diet also take time. Some of them will fling everything offered across the room for months. So Joey's making fine progress there, too. He'll get more adventurous eventually if you keep offering him different things. There's also a bunch of threads on GF about introducing fids to a better diet to help give you ideas.

 

Also, while nuts are good for them, they're filling & fattening, too. So normally you'd want to limit how many you feed him.

 

You're likely to find that much of your past experience w/birds was very different from how things work w/a parrot. Joey has to make his own decisions in his own time. Sometimes, that's going to take a long time. It's always going to take longer if he feels like he's being pushed.

 

A month or two is no time in Grey Time. Joey's barely been home for a couple of weeks. So just fly casual! lol Relax & enjoy your new fid & all the amazing things he's going to do. ...whenever he decides to do ...no matter how long it may take.

Edited January 3, 2014 by birdhouse

[chickabee]

You are so right one Joey needing time and doing it on his time. Today I got up and made all my feathered friends egg with broccoli it was a big hit with Rexley, Molly but Joey wouldn't try it. I left it for a few hours in his dish without any other food besides water. Then I took it out mixed a few of the pellets in and placed it back for him, he ate the pellets fast. About an hour later I went to take it out and he screamed so I walked away and went about my day. Much later I seen him eating and he did eat the egg and broccoli not all but a good try at it. I will try again tomorrow and see if he'll try it. You are also right about my past experience with birds as they are like night and day but just as I loved them being young I love them now. Where I live now I also look after wild birds as I have feeders all over my yard. I even feed a squirrel and have deer in my yard almost daily. I rescued Rexley, Molly and Joey knowing they needed a safe loving home with time and patience. I also knew they all had a hard start in life and may take months or years to overcome their fears. Joey is doing good for the short time he has been with us, Rexley has good days and bad days but loves to be involved with distance, Molly is and has taking the most time to trust and she is always scared but once alone she warms up. All of them have issues but are showing great improvement and how sweet they are. I am so happy to be able to give them a safe loving home even though I do have much to learn.