Feather picking/overpreening in a quaker

[LaManuka]

Nope, not one bit!

But seriously if he does lose too many I will consult his doc to see if it’s best to go in for a refit. The use of the anaesthetic always concerns me but maybe I’m just paranoid.

I’d be interested to hear from ScottB about how Fergus is going with his implants. ScoMo didn’t fly much today coz unfortunately hubby and I were both at work. When he was out this morning and afternoon he flew a bit and quite well but today was more interested in head skritches and that was just fine by me

 

[Laurasea]

Update on our baby ScoMo? How are those landings going?

 

[LaManuka]

ScoMo says to say thank you Aunty Laurasea for asking! This morning he had a big bath and is now having a good old squawk and a preen. I’m not saying anything about his feather implants cos I don’t want to jinx it! He’s flying reasonably well although a little wobbly as he still has to master the concept of steering. He has a long way to go to equal Fang’s aerial prowess but he’s off to a flying start

 

[LaManuka]

Good afternoon Chaps & Chapettes, Airman “Goggle-Fogger” ScoMo here, just wanting to give you all an update from the NFI Flying Academy!

Flying school is progressing very well indeed, I haven’t had a crash landing in simply ages and I am leading that chapette who calls herself my mother on a merry chase around the house most days! I love landing high up on kitchen cabinets & picture frames just to see the look on her face! I’m not quite up to the standard of that veritable Spitfire, Squadron Leader Fang, but I certainly keep that chap on his toes too!

I’v found “mother” does have her uses though, she does give a chap plenty of fresh rations every day and although a chap doesn’t like to admit it, it’s awfully nice when she gives a chap a good head scratch!

Well everyone I must be going, there’s plenty more mischief for a young chap like me to get up to before lights out!

Toodle-ooo chaps & chapettes! Tally-ho! “Goggle-Fogger” signing off!

 

[Laurasea]

How's my nephew doing?? Might be time for a pic!!

 

[LaManuka]

ScoMo says to say “hi Aunty Laurasea thanks for asking!” He’s been a little live wire all morning, has had a big breakfast, lots of flying & landing in places he shouldn’t, playing “peekaboo” with me, he didn’t want a bath today so he got a light misting instead. He’s destroying some chew toys at present which I will let him do because I might get a rest from chasing him around!

We hope his penpal Neptune and the rest of your flock is doing well too

 

[LaManuka]

I take it back about not wanting a bath, he’s just thrown himself in his dish now!

 

[Laurasea]

I hear you Neptune had been bratty lately. I want to see a pictur! Do they insert the featheres or glue them to featheres already there? I'm still a bit confused on how it works!

 

[LaManuka]

Well how it works is they take some "donor" feathers from another quaker, they trim them and fix them onto a splint of wood that looks like a toothpick (its not actually a toothpick but it looks just like one!) in preparation for the transplant. Then they take the donor feather and glue the splint onto what's left of the clipped primary feather with a REALLY fast acting glue. The procedure dates back to the Middle Ages when falconry was all the rage, and is still done in the Middle East with sporting birds of prey. Mind you they usually only have to implant one or two feathers here or there, not 6 on each side like ScoMo. He's still only knocked 2 out, they kinda snapped off where the splint joined on to the donor feather so he now has 10 feathers and 2 splints where the feathers used to be. Since he doesn't crash land so much any more the remaining 10 should (hopefully!) last until he moults.

I didn't take any photos of the donor feathers, I didn't want to push my luck in the clinic and get in their way taking too many photos so the ones back on page 3 are the only ones I have of the procedure.

He's been stuck in his cage today while I've been at work so he's now making up for lost time before he goes to bed! I hope Neptune wises up and stops being bratty real soon!

 

[LaManuka]

I have just had to do a terrible thing. Feel free to flame me, shame me, damn me for all eternity and back again if you want to, but believe me nothing anyone can say could possibly make me feel worse than I already do. I do not say these things to try to gain sympathy because I do not deserve it.

I have had to rehome my poor little ScoMo.

My whole life as a bird person, whenever I lost one of my flock I would rush out and grab something/someone else asap in order to keep the other flock member company and to fill the void in my heart. And every single time up until now that has worked beautifully for me. I know that many people will say it’s best to wait because it may backfire and cause all sorts of emotional trauma, but it never has for me until now.

You all know I lost my baby GCC Baci in August. Even he was a rushed buy when I lost a beloved white cockatiel called Twinkle who was just the sweetest girlie you ever did see. I had him for about 4 and a half years and we were madly in love with each other from day one. Overbonded many people would suggest. As if it wasn’t bad enough to lose that “bird of my heart” as SilverSage might say, he died alone in a tiny cage at the vet hospital during the night. If I had had any idea that I was going to lose him I would have taken him home after treatment and nursed him through the night – the outcome could not possibly have been any worse and at least he would have been with me, holding him and telling him how much I loved him as he passed. But I was robbed of even that.

My usual knee-jerk reaction therefore was to run out and buy another bird, this time ScoMo the quaker. Too late did I realise that I have way too much emotional baggage over what happened to Baci that I need to work through first. I don’t know how long that is going to take, and meanwhile ScoMo and I grew more distant. I thought he had started to like head skritches but after seeming to enjoy them for maybe a week he didn’t want them so much anymore. Actually that would have been OK too, as long as I could give him a good life here, but then he started behaving quite aggressively towards poor old Fang, biting his toes and flying to attack him. That was something I could not bear to see, nor tolerate. My house is simply not big enough for it to be practical to have kept them separate and I don’t believe that would have been fair or workable for any household member here anyway. If I had the wherewithal to work with him to curb that behavior we might have been able to sort something out, but I am such an emotional basket case right now that I was just not capable of doing that for him. It’s not his fault and I feel like a total failure about it.

On the plus side however, I have been able to find ScoMo a wonderful new home. He has been taken in by a farming family just outside Toowoomba, about a 2 hour drive from here. The young man in the family is bird crazy, breeds GCCs and has a free flight aviary but was very keen to have a quaker as a house pet for himself. He seemed quite taken with ScoMo the moment we arrived, and both my husband and I were very impressed with the way they interacted together and how knowledgeable he is. We sincerely believe his new family will be much better equipped to give him a better life, otherwise we would never have left him there. As rotten and utterly disgusted with myself as I feel right now, I am at least confident that he went to the right home this time. Maybe I was just the conduit to get him from here to there….?

Anyway there it is, what’s left of my blackened, shriveled soul laid bare.I may not actually be the worst human being on the face of the planet but I certainly feel like it. It’s just hubby and me and Fang in the house now and it’s kinda quiet. Maybe one day I’ll try again, though I don’t know if I can go through this kind of heartbreak anymore. One thing I can promise is I will not be rushing into any more rash decisions like this because I cannot put any other bird, or my husband, not even myself through anything like this again. If the forum would like to use me as the “poster child” for how not to bring a new bird into a home please feel free! If this experience can save another bird from rehoming and another parront from this kind of torment it might (almost!) be worth it.

 

[Amsterdam]

Good to hear on the update!

 

[ChristaNL]

Well... I am going to put my foot down here and absolutely forbid you to feel bad about putting a birds needs first!
(Hugs and support for this very difficult decission you just made!)

I know a bit about all you have been going through and are at this moment still dealing with - that is a LOT!
Facing two birds that will not play nice on top of everything else is a very understandable breakingpoint.
And Fang needs you too.

You tooks ScoMo from a far from ideal situation (look what those flaming !d!ots did to his wings) you gave him the abilty to fly again! and now you've done it and found someone who is nuts about him and it was even mutual from the first moment they met!

I am daft sometimes, but someone really has to explain to me (use very short and simple words plze) how this is a bad thing?

It is never easy to face ones (temporary) inabilities, and you did that with great courage and even shared it with us (and I know facing reactions is hard sometimes) -
so

thank you for sharing this
thank you for being brave
thank you for protecting Fang
thank you for finding ScoMo a great new house
thank you for finding that man a perfect bird

and plze stop feeling bad about this, you did the best you could, with a great outcome for all birds involved - a shining example of parronting done well (afaik) under difficult circumstances.

 

[Laurasea]

Lamanuka, I'm sorry you have been so overwhelmed. You've made the best decisions you can for you and you family. I do wish you could have taken more time to decide about Scomo. But I trust your judgement that this was best for Fang and your family. As I think about this I agree you were the wings that took him to where he was ment to be!! What you did for his mental health by providing flight at this critical time in his development is priceless!!!! That is something not everyone would do, and you did! At a pivotal moment in his life. You are brave like CristaNL was wise enough to see! It takes truthful honest person to share both the success and less than perfect moments of bird keeping. That honesty will help others I know it. I hope when you are ready to share your heart with another feathered freind you will not let this moment or any missed placed guilt hold you back. Big hugs to you!

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Hi all, my name is Noah and I am Scomo's new parent
He has came along a very nice, handsome Quaker, that got given the best start in life by LaManuka
He loves scratches and snuggles, dancing, chewing and doing other crazy Quaker things
He has his own part of my large aviary, which will hopefully be accompanied by a lady friend for him by the end of the year
Thanks
Noah Till

 

[LaManuka]

No Noah, thank YOU!

Thank you for giving ScoMo the best home and life that a little bird could possibly hope for. He has grown into such a handsome young man and 99.99 percent of that is because of you Noah. I can’t wait until his Aunty Laurasea catches up with the great news, she is going to be beside herself!

It’s just so great to have ScoMo back in our extended online flock along with you and all your other feathered babies, our happy community just got a whole lot happier thanks to you!

 

[Noahs_Birds]

You are so very much welcome
What a beautiful little man he has grown up to be
I am very happy and I feel very welcomed to be here on the forum, thank you to all from myself and Scomo, and to all make sure to keep and eye out for the mischief man himself
Thanks
Noah Till

 

[Laurasea]

No Noah, thank YOU!

Thank you for giving ScoMo the best home and life that a little bird could possibly hope for. He has grown into such a handsome young man and 99.99 percent of that is because of you Noah. I can’t wait until his Aunty Laurasea catches up with the great news, she is going to be beside herself!

It’s just so great to have ScoMo back in our extended online flock along with you and all your other feathered babies, our happy community just got a whole lot happier thanks to you!

I am besides myself!!! I'm so happy to ha e updates and to see this very special birdie!!!! Yippie!!!! He is so grown up!!!!!!!!
Here is Neptune grown up pictures

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Ah, yes, Scomo's 'Brother from another mother', what a beautiful Quaker Neptune has grown up to be
Yes, Scomo has come a long way, but it has been all worth it to see him in all his glory
Thanks
Noah Till

 

[Laurasea]

Thank you Noah! I have him extra protein this molt ( walnuts, boiled eggs, boiled chicken), and I've been bragging on his feathers ever since
It's so good to see Scomo living a great life, with a great guy!!

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Thankyou all from myself and Scomo, and best wishes to all your feathered Baby's!