Sulking Parrots and BLUFFING??

[Tweets]

hey guys..
I haven't been online in a while.. unfortunately, work has been so chaotic, that I dont get time to surf my favourite bird forums much anymore..

O well..

Couple of questions for you all:

Whats up with my bird sulking??? I spend as much time with her as possible (about an hour before work - and about 2-3 hours i the evening when I get home from work), on weekends, we are together ALL the time and she goes everywhere with me.. But the last couple days (especially last night and today) she has been puting her head down and walking away from me and refuses to come to me
I am giving her space right now - have added some new toys to her tree gym a few minutes ago, so she is playing with that now I think..
How can I get her to stop all this sulking? Is she just being moody ??

She doesn't even look at me when I call her.. I dont think I have upset her in any way..

Also, I have heard people talking about bluffing - what exactly is it??

Can you believe she is STILL plucking her feathers out?? I cant begin to tell you how frustrating this is for me..
The vet has told me to get stuff called Eco Fear to put in her water.. Apparently it works on some birds - others not.. another vet told me to get Bitter Beak as it makes their feathers taste bad, though I have heard horro stories about that, that birds pluck the feathers out even MORE to get rid of the nasty stuff on them!!

The last time she was taken to the vet, he said that it was mating season (I highly doubt that btw, as it is just gone winter here).. he put it down to hormones..

In all, Sky seems to be a really happy baby.. Just the plucking problem.. She has a pretty good diet as well.. I give her AviPet mixed with Jungles oats and raisons.. Another bowl with apples and fruit.. I have also started puting some plumage oil stuff in her food and water to (hopefully) help with growing some feathers

Any other thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!

What are your thoughts on clicker training?


Sorry about all the questions.. like I said, haven't managed to come online for a while.. hehe

Hugs to all my favourite friends and their birds )

[Tweets]

here is a pic of sky

[doremon]

Hi Tweets,

I can understand how worried you are looking at the photos of Sky with her feathers gone....

How old is she now? Reason why I asked is because I thought bluffing stage only starts off when they are young. You can find out more about bluffing stage by searching for the word 'Bluffing' as there are quite a lot of questions ask about that.

Regards
Doremon

[Tweets]

Sky is around 1 year 7 months..
The feather picking has nothing to do with bluffing.. believe me.. the feather picking is real.. I just asked about bluffing because I've heard many people talking about it

[ringneck]

Wow! I am sorry that your little girl has resorted to plucking her feathers! I have not seen a ringneck do this in a while.

My advice would be to listen to the vet and follow through with his suggestions. I know of a group that deals with feather plucking. They have many great ideas and could help stop this plucking. Has the vet suggested a collar to help her stop this plucking?

I know how hard this can be for both you and the ringneck! My sympathy is with you! Just take this day by day until you find a method that helps stop sky from plucking her feathers.

Also, bluffing is a stage after ringnecks wean. It’s when they try to test their limits and they get nippy.

Hope this helps.

P.S. Was this your parrot’s first home? Did you know its history? Do you smoke? Use scented candles? Air fresheners? This might cause feather plucking. I’ll try to find the yahoo group for you!

[Tweets]

Hi ringneck, the reply is much appreciated..
my dad and grandfather smoke, although they do not smoke in the section of the house that Sky is in.. She very rarely comes to that side of the house with me.. I will, however, make a concerted effort not to go down there with her again..

I have done as the vets have suggested.. but in 4 months, nothing has improved.. only gotten worse. My sisters boyfriend remebered that her feathers started improving somewhat when i started giving her baths, but now that it is winter, im too afraid of bathing her at night when I get home from work as she may get sick.. On Sunday night, I showered with her (and she fell asleep on my arm again while I rubbed her feathers down) - I left the heater on in my room so that when shower time was done, I took her to get dry by the heater.. She also slept in my room.. do you think this is ok??

At the end of the day, Sky seems to be a really happy bird.. chirps and talks and squaks all day long eats alot..

so, my course of action will be as follows:

bath her regularly (do you suggest once or twice a week??) - should I bath her even though its winter?
I will also get someone to mist her twice a day during the day..
I am going to stop letting her eat some of the junk food I eat..
mmm, if all else fails, I am going to take her for an allergies test - I have heard that when a bird has allergies (she has been sneezing somewhat btw, which I did tell the vet about) they pick at their legs alot (she has virtually no feathers there) and squaks when a feather is pulled out..
mmmm..

Any other thoughts from your side as to what else I should do?

loooking foward to your thought

Sami and Sky

[Tweets]

I woke up this morning and had a thought..
Perhaps I should get a collar put on Sky..
In my opinion, its a horrible thing to do.. Maybe this plucking thing has become a habit and she needs to stop, but cant???
I dont know.. What do you guys think??

Im looking at every POSSIBLE option..
even if the collar is just put on for a month - im sure we will see a remarkable improvement..
**shrug**

opinions welcome!

[ringneck]

Hello Tweets,

I would defiantly keep the bird away from the smokers. If possible, have them go outside.

Also, about the giving her a bath. I would go twice a week with warm water. This may sound funny, but my ringneck loves to take a shower. I set him on the towel rack and he hops right on my finger. He’ll open up his wings and just let the warm water wash him. If my ringneck could, he would take a bath everyday. I only let him do it twice a week because I don’t want to damage his feathers.

If it’s cold, just make sure the heater is on. Another member here named Misty_Anikin uses a hair dryer to dry her bird. He enjoys the warm air. After my ringneck is done taking a shower, I’ll take a paper towel and wrap it around him. This soaks up most of the water and he dries much faster.

My female ringneck, my breeding pair, started losing her feathers on her head. I thought about why this might happen but could not pin point an answer either. I started giving her a bath 2 times a week and her feathers returned. So don’t give up hope!

You might want to get into clicker training as well. That might stimulate your bird mentally. Just to add extra stimulation.

I don’t think you need a collar just yet. If all else fails, then I would go w/ it. Just be sure she is not mutilating herself!

Thanks for the update and keep us updated!

Best wishes,

I.C.

P.S. here is the yahoo group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pickinparrots/

[Tweets]

mmmm, its kinda difficult to tell my dad what to do in his own house.. hahaha!
I've been too scared to bath my baby this week.. so, what Im going to do is this: in the week, I will bath her once at night, lets say on a Wednesday, then I will bath her during the day on Saturdays.. by bathing her, I mean, she showers with me


Im not sure what the whole clicker training is about, but am looking into it this weekend.

Im definately trying not to give up.. but I am losing hope..
Quick question: how long did it take for your birdies feathers to start growing back?

[Tweets]

I took Sky to the vet on Saturday - she was booked in for Monday for a skin biopsy. She has been there since Monday - today is Wednesday - I am only picking her up in about 30min..

The doc says that the results will be in on Friday - Aside from that, she now has a collar on her neck. We think this is a hbit that has now formed. We will have to take further action if necessary when the test results come back.

I am really excited to see her now now.. very nervous though.. I hope she isnt upset with me for leaving her there for a few days.
It was for the best though.

I spent the whole weekend crying - I was so scared something was going to happen to her

Anyways, just thought i'd let you all know

p.s. the doc says that when the feathers start coming out, I have to preen her and take the sheaths off.. ooi.. wish me luck!

[ringneck]

Hang in there! I know it can be hard to part with your feathered buddy. It’s amazing how we can get so attached to these magnificent creatures! I know I am.

Please keep us updated! I would love to hear what the vet had to say and how your ringneck is adapting to the collar.

Best Wishes,

Imran Chaudhry

[Tweets]

got my baby back yesterday..
Doc says she is adjusting ok to the collar.. I feel like I have done something cruel She keeps scratching at it and trying to bite it off etc. Doc says she will have it on for minimum 4 months.
tests from skin biopsy are coming back tomorrow. From there we wil see if we need to take further action.
I feel so sorry for her. she cant hold her food like she always does - when she walks, her feet touch the stupid plastic thing, so its really difficult for her to climb onto things..

Do you think she wil adjust? do you think she will ever be her normal self?
I am really worried that when the collar comes off that she will start plucking again

Has anyone else had a collar put on their bird? Can anyone give me any info about this?

[ringneck]

Hello Tweets!

I am happy to hear from you again!

I think your female ringneck should pull though. I don’t know if this is the cure; however, it’s a good start!

Please let me know the results of the skin tests! Very anxious to hear about the results! Have you joined the feather plucking group I gave you?

Hang in there! Again, my sympathy is with you!

Best wishes,

Imran Chaudhry

[Tweets]

well, we have good news and we have not so good news..

the good news is that her skin tests came back and there is absolutely nothing wrong with her skin!
the not so good news is that this is clearly a bad habit that has formed and now - with the help of the collar- we are trying to break that habit..

The doc says that for birds that have been picking for 6-8 weeks, they have a very good recovery rate.. birds picking for as long as mine.. not such a good recovery rate, but the doc said we should try anyways,,

the very very last resort is to put her on anti depressant type stuff.. the doc is not happy doing that..

Sky is eating well at home.. still batteling to move around properly with the collar on.. she is starting to talk more, so I guess she is doing ok..


Thank you for your conern.. means alot to both of us..

**hugs**