Need to fix ASAP how?

[Jadewolf32]

I swear when someone said these guys are like kids they was not lying! Shadow has a new habit that is causing me concern... OK he has a great, strong, brand new cage, the bar spacing is 1/2 in, thank god because if it was any bigger we would really be in a mess. Anyways I have noticed that his white patches always have a tint of pink, more so when I first take him out of his cage, so i thought he was blushing, well a few days ago it was just one side and it was getting worse, so I started watching what he is doing, ( he isnt sick, nose is fine, did all the research for any illness.)

 

He is grabbing onto the bars that go back and forth with his beak pressing his face at enough of a angle where it is rubbing it almost raw while he chicken scratches. Now he is out of his cage A LOT but he can not be 24 -7, so this is his new thing to get my attention (since the screaming is not working as well ) I figured it out yesterday, I came home from running around and not 2 seconds he started his screaming, I ignored it, he stopped, I praised him, told him mommy will get you out after I let the dogs out, I turned to do just that, and he went to his normal chicken scratching, (he does this in all diferent locations when he is in his cage, and its not just when Im around, my husband and daughter have noticed it as well, and they are not allowed to let him out due to not watching him, ( the dogs, the doggy door, wires, you get the idea and I am home 90 % of the time so it is not a major stuck in his cage issue ) I have tried to devert his attention by talking to him,ignoring him while he is doing it and getting him out the MOMENT he stops, but THAT is making it worse because it seems that he is pressing his face harder agaist the bars,so if I look at him he will keep doing it for a few then stop or if I walk away I can hear him still doing it. The one side of his face looks like he was in a boxing match and lost. It is very red, getting close to raw which could cause infection or maybe he could damage his eyes. At times its both sides, he holds head on and other times he rotates which side..I have cut a piece of hard plastic and zip tied it to the one spot where he does it the most, but it just moved him to another location, he doesn't do it from just the pearches, he will go to the bottom of his cage as well. He is hardly in his cage, but there are times for his safty he has to be, SO HOW DO I STOP THIS WITHOUT HIM TRAINING ME TO LET HIM OUT?

[Dave007]

This is a situation in which an act caused by nature has turned into a attention getter. You're worried about your bird's white patch area which is now pinkish from irritation that the bird did volunteerily. No bird intentionally inflicts pain on it self. As bad as an area might look, a bird will eventually stop something as soon as it feels discomfort. Many times it takes a long time to do this but if this act was being done because nature was the only thing making the bird do this, it would stop quicker then if the act was being done to get attention. He definitely has your attention when you look at him and he stops and watches to see what your reaction is. If you walk away, he starts again to get a reaction. Everything you've done to distract him hasn't distracted him. He's succeeded in getting your attention and that's why he temporarily stops because he can't do 2 things at one time.

 

""""I came home from running around and not 2 seconds he started his screaming, I ignored it, he stopped, I praised him, told him mommy will get you out after I let the dogs out, I turned to do just that, and he went to his normal chicken scratching,""""

 

Well, he saw you and did exactly what was needed to get your attention and he succeeded and the more he does this and succeeds, the longer it will take for him to stop.

Basically, you have to leave him alone until he realizes that all the scratching, screeching won't get him anywhere and this process will take a long time but will be longer for you because you're seeing what you think are painful injuries and it's hard on you. You have to be patient. Everything he does stops when he has your attention. Some birds want to be out of their cages much more than others. Whether you're going to allow this is up to you but if anything that you won't allow to happen that he loves he will do whatever it takes to get his way.

Injuries-------It's recommended that greys should be given heavy duty cowbells to play with and vent their frustrations out on the bell. Almost all greys get extremely violent with the bells to the point where the bell slams into their face causes pinkish tones and temporary discomfort. This doesn't stop the grey. It simply gets the grey to be more aggressive with the bell. Many people get scared and write in about it. Some take the bell away until being told that it's natural. They give the bell and the extreme smasking occurs again. A true Rocky Balboa face is seen.

 

I wouldn't say anything about the cage but because you said that the cage being the size it is now is the best. This has to do with bars of the cages. It's a rough diagram.

Each dot represents a bar. Each horozontal line represents a space. You say it has 1/2in opening

 

this is 1/2in ._____.

this is 3/4in .________.

 

1/2in with more vertical bars

._____._____._____._____._____._____.

 

 

3/4 in with more vertical bars

 

.________.________.________.________.

 

 

 

Any bird rubbing itself on bars that are 1/2in apart will mark up it's face more so than one that's rubbing itself on bars that are 3/4in apart because there's less bars and more empty space.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/10/30 21:45

[Debbieknd]

Thank you to the both of you

That was very interesting

[Anmlhggr]

Agreed. I'm not very sure on this, but I do hope you find a solution!