Abused Plucker

[Ophee]

First, I'm glad to have found this forum! A little information on my Grey Weasel (She pops at the appropriate spot when you sing Pop Goes the Weasel)

She is 7 and her diet consists of Zupreme's fruit pellets, fresh fruit, fresh veggies and mixed nuts. She is a rather picky eater and I've had some trouble getting her to eat anything but the pellets which I know are not enough but unfortunately that type of food was all the previous owner fed her and she's reluctant to eat much else with the exception of a few treats I allow her such as chicken (I was rather shocked the first time she snagged a piece from me!) specially prepared for her without seasonings or salt.

 

It was about 8 months ago I took on Weasel who was formerly abused by the previous owners wife and daughters. She HATES women, when my girlfriend gets anywhere near her (or any female for that matter) she narrows her eyes to mere slits and hunkers down. She will also do this if I hug or in any way make physical contact with my lady. This behavior has only gotten worse with time as she has pretty much decided I'm her mate (nibbling, cooing, attempts to feed me etc.). We have tried working with her but after a few nasty bites (She will even actively pursue my lady if I put her on the floor) we have settled at a point where she is willing to be hand fed by my lady but that is as far as we can seem to get. Any suggestions on how to approach this problem? The plucking isn't as aggressive as it was when I got her, she was bare skin from the neck down, but she still won't let more than a few feathers and down grow on her belly. I haven't witnessed any plucking in my presence nor has my lady but every now and again I find a feather that has a "notch" where she pulled on it but only wound up getting part of the feather so I assume she is still plucking though I think part of it is also that some of those feathers will simply never regrow as she essentially killed them with repeated plucking. She receives a good amount of attention and spends a lot of her time sitting on me and playing with me so I'm at a bit of a loss on how to discourage the plucking that continues no matter how minor it may be. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Dave007]

To start off and put one thing aside, if your adult bird was abused and has also been a serious plucker before you had him, more than likely that plucking is partially chronic and there'll be less times of plucking and more times of plucking. The chances of changing that behavior by changing your circumstances has already been done. Because of the bird's present age, permanent feelings and attitudes about your woman and the females she's dealt with in the past, abusive things from the past, it'll be very difficult to change your adult bird into one that will accept your lady very well. A little, yes. A lot, no-- but things can get better but in your special situation it's gonna take much more time. Your bird can be truly classified as a *one person bird* because of past situations. He obviously takes to you. His behavior with her is totally different. Greys are naturally jealous and in your situation with you and your woman hugging and kissing, it sets the bird off big time probably when you're not yet actually touching each other.. I know you wanna the bird to be a family bird but because of the past history here and the age of your bird, it's gonna take a long time and it will take even longer if your lady doesn't live there. Constant verbal communication with her and the bird can help calm the bird down, but trust?? That'a a way down the road right now.

The *one bird* connection is very well known where greys are concerned. People are often told to never let that type of situation start off when they first get a young bird. That's easier to accomplish with a young bird.

You simply have to take it real slow knowing in the back of your mind that your bird isn't female friendly. The good part here is that your bird is taking food from her. Everything will happen in baby steps.

The diet you mention doesn't sound bad at all especially if she's eating veggies and the other items you name off.

 

As far as plucked areas and general feather condition, you should bathe or mist the bird frequently so that the skin becomes softer and less dry and itchier. You can also purchase a product called ALOE VERA JUICE from Walmart or a pharmacy and spray her with that. Most people here use it and there's an article on this board about it. It's inexpensive--$9 a gallon.

 

It's best to keep asking questions about different things concerning your bird's attitude and behavior and progress. Many people here can chip in and give suggestions. Many people here own birds that have more serious issues going on in the household.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/29 06:52

[Ophee]

Thank you for the input, one more question, Weasel will sometimes make a loud "rasping" sound that lasts for about 5-6 seconds, seemingly at random though never when I'm holding her. My first thought was that she wanted attention but usually she will use the phrase "come on" when she wants to be picked up. Come on is the phrase I trained her to step onto my hand with. Any ideas on what this loud rasp is attempting to communicate? Oh and in case sex has any bearing, she IS female determined via DNA sexing.

[Dave007]

"""""Any ideas on what this loud rasp is attempting to communicate? Oh and in case sex has any bearing, she IS female determined via DNA sexing. """"""

 

What the bird is trying to communicate is impossible to say. The important thing here is that you know it has to do with communication between you and her. She's probably been doing that for a long time in the past. The first thing that a person may think is that the bird is ill because of the rasping but you already said that it instantly stops when you immediately respond to her. A bird who is ill and the illness is causing rasping, well that rasping would last much longer than 5/7/8 seconds. The bird if sick wouldn't be active and would be extremely quiet and would stay fluffed up in a corner all the time, especially if it resortory or digestive problems going on. More than Parrots do strange things and make strange noises to communicate. Much too many to list. They do it physically, verbally. Some are extremely annoying when they yell or squawk for attention. At least that's what some people say.

[sandra902]

hey ophee welcome to the boards and THANK YOU for rescuing your little lady!

 

my merlin is also a rescued plucker and he has come a long long way since he first came home to us in oct 07.

 

he MUCH prefers Big Daddy but merl and i have been working out our agreements every day. i accept that my relationship with merl will be very different from Big Daddy's and that is fine.

 

for example, he likes to Really Bite mamma whereas he loves to gently mouth Daddy's finger and to preen his beard. so, no opportunity to bite mamma.

 

but we hve lots of little games that we play together and each day gets a little sweeter. he is such a colorful little fellow with such an opinion that it has been a joy and a wonder to watch him blossom and to gain such confidence.

 

his plucking is greatly diminished but we accept that he may well pluck his entire life.

 

i guess what it is really about it his quality of life. and i had to learn the hard way that Parrot Time is close to the eternal. it certainly is not 'train your parrot in 6 easy steps' when you have a troubled little soul.

 

but the rewards of watching them reach each little milestone makes the rescuing well worth it. do keep a journal, it will really help you remember the progress you are making when you might be discouraged.

 

keep up the good work and thank you again for rescuing.

 

-s