Recently rescued neglecte IRN.
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 9:09 am
Hello. We recently rescued a Indian ring neck from out neighbor. We have 2 Parrotlets that we really adore and spoil. we originally had just one and kept it in a 18"x18" cage by 24" tall. We changed to a huge cage for them and gave the 18"x18" to the neighbors for they had a Indian ring neck in a tiny 12x12x12 cage. We gave them toys and a ladder for the cage as well. 6 months later I am asked to help try to get the escaped Indian ring neck. I asked how it escaped and was told that the cage was no good anymore and they threw it out and was changing the bird over to a dog crate. I finally got the bird and it is in not the best shape. feathers missing from he shoulders of the wings and the armpits of the wing. She said she was giving up on the bird and was getting rid of it. needless to say we took it in. She said the cage was infested with roaches as well as he house. It was a filthy mess that was not cleaned in many months. She thought the bird had mites. but I cannot find any trace on it. We have the bird in a separate room from the other birds until find out what is going on with the bird. They got the bird around 10 months ago they do not know the age or gender. It is a Lutino with no ring as of yet. It does talk. I think that because of the situation and living conditions it was in all of this could be stress related. Living in a 2 bedroom apartment with 4 adults 1 whom is pregnant and a child. people coming in at all hours constant yelling and fighting almost 24/7 has really taken a toll on the bird. We spoil our birds with fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Plenty of interaction with them. I am concerned about the feather loss on the wings. We keep an eye on it and see o signs of plucking. i may have been doing so before we rescued it. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
these stories always make me so sad. People start out with good intentions and then something just goes south. (No pun intended lol) to start I'm glad you separated the bird. Mites are very hard to see with the naked eye so it very well still may be a factor. The bird may have started picking, but with proper care and diet the feathers will come back on her next molt. I'm saying she just to make it easy right now 
don't be surprised if with proper diet she has a huge out of season molt. This will be fine. But please get her to a vet immediately to have her tested for mites and PBFD and Polyomavirus and keep your birds away from her, in another room, and out of any down draft from her. I doubt she has any of the serious diseases, but it's better to be safe. Don't stop handling her though. Just make sure you wash and disinfect your hands afterwards. She may be skittish for awhile. Toys may scare her. Hands will definitely scare her. She needs a lot of patience. Please don't clip her wings right now though. With all that she's been through, if you take away her last defense it may cause many more problems including chronic biting. It may also make the feather picking worse. Give her time in a quiet place to settle in. Offer her as many different fruits and veggies as you can. Also offer her a high quality pelleted diet in case it takes her a while to catch on to eating the fresh foods. Sit near her cage often and let her observe you doing normal things like reading or surfing the Internet. Even just taking a nap. You could also start reading up on foraging and training and taming. She's been through a lot, but she still needs to have boundaries set along the way. And foraging will give her something to do to keep her mind off of feather picking. It's also the most natural way for a bird to eat. I'm sure ill think of a dozen other things, but that's a good start I think