My Quaker is doing much better

[Sugarpie]

I posted a while back about my little green chicken who had suddenly begun mutilating the flesh of her legs and nearly died. She was very touch and go for a while. Was on antibiotics and pain meds. We had to make a "cone of shame" for her, which I am sad to say, she has to wear all the time now. She does manage to get around in it, it is very lightweight and it faces down, instead of up around her head, so she can eat and walk around in it, but she can't mutilate herself. We take her out every day when my husband gets home from work, and spend some time with her out of the cone. Even with us standing right next to her, she will immediately grab ahold of her leg and bite into it.....it is just crazy. My husband literally keeps his finger across her legs to form a barrier so she can't grab her legs. So he holds her and lets her preen herself and gives her cuddles and kisses. She used to be my bird, and she now HATES me, because I am the bad guy who has to put the cone back on her when we are ready to put her back up. So she is now my husbands new girlfriend, and hates me, lol, but I can't get mad at this old birdie after all she has been through. My husband's grandmother gave us Sugar 20 years ago, when we moved into our home that we still live in, and grandma is no longer with us, so this bird is very special to us. Have never had her DNA tested, but I'm pretty sure she is a boy lol, but husband still calls her a she.

 

[Sugarpie]

Another picture of Sugar. We have since made her a new cone, I used this as a template but made it out of very lightweight craft foam and it fits around her like this. It works, so she can move around. So this was her when she was still healing, she is much better now and has some low perches and can walk around and get to her food. She used to be a feather plucker, as you can tell from her pictures, she has no feathers on her belly and part of her wings, she has been like that for more than 15 years, unfortunately. She really is loved, even though she looks like a hot mess
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=b85ed43a83dd8eff0865baec0750e0f6&oe=5F2B8B70

 

[noodles123]

Glad to hear she is doing better!!! That is lovely that you guys have looked after her for so long-- very cool that she belonged to your husbands grandmother!

 

[Cagzo]

May he/she continue to improve.You are doing very well.

 

[LaManuka]

Wonderful to know Sugar is doing so well. And what a fashion statement that collar is! Sugar looks very Elizabethan wearing it

 

[Sugarpie]

LaManuka LOL Yes, Queen Sugar she shall be called now, in her Elizabethan collar
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=595647757996669&set=a.118341582393958&__cft__[0]=AZW5El6lP74_t3Xg8B0N8YVLUPTKFhQCNp3z1y-gt7-HS25CQI5Al_XUCR9684_DKB5pblKaYPSZvnKTxv5MK3_Ov_PVrn42gL5fiUVFdWTYPsmQCEfyAafmBUxB-7Et7hA&__tn__=EH-R

 

[Sugarpie]

I'm sorry......I am a dingus and don't know how to properly put this image on here, so I just copied the link. My kids constantly laugh at me and call me a boomer......which I am not, I am a gen x thank you, but they still call me a boomer. I will gladly take that title over theirs which is one millennial and one gen z lol!!!

 

[Sugarpie]

Sugar is doing better

Sugar is doing much better. You can get a glimpse of her peeking out from her little hidey tent that is her favorite thing to snuggle up to. You can see her blue cone, it is very lightweight and makes it easy for her to move around and still be able to get to her food. We take the cone off of her and take her out in the evening but she is a holy terror and will go right for her legs in a split second if we literally take our eyes away from her. But other than that, she is doing quite well, she is talking again, being a little meanie to me lol. She was very happy that for two nights in a row she had her favorite meal, which is spaghetti, the bird goes absolutely bananas over spaghetti, and since she has no feathers on her neck and belly, you get to see her crop stuffed with it, it's pretty hilarious.

 

[Sugarpie]

Re: Sugar is doing better

Ugh I don't even know how I managed to get this picture on here, much less how to turn it around the correct way, but here she is. I wanted to post a picture of her, maybe I will get the hang out of how to do this at some point.

 

[Rambosmother]

Sugar is just beautiful and you are an amazing bird momma taking such good care of her. I wish her a speedy recovery and that she will stop picking.

 

[noodles123]

Beautiful girl-- I must strongly advise that you remove that very shadowy hut...Those are huge contributors to hormones and behavioral issues (especially plucking)--you do not want any shadowy spaces, huts, boxes, tents, hammocks, drawers, hollows, tunnels, caves, bedding piles etc...
Hidey huts are VERY unsafe, not just because of hormones and behavior, but also because birds can get blockages from them and end up strangled or tangled/missing toes because of them.
They are one of the most dangerous things sold at pet stores.

Again--she is lovely! I hate to be the "jerk" to say it, but they are very problematic. Birds only have "beds" or "nests"when they are making babies...You won't find a single male or female in a nest unless he/she is a baby..

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[Sugarpie]

Beautiful girl-- I must strongly advise that you remove that very shadowy hut...Those are huge contributors to hormones and behavioral issues (especially plucking)--you do not want any shadowy spaces, huts, boxes, tents, hammocks, drawers, hollows, tunnels, caves, bedding piles etc...
Hidey huts are VERY unsafe, not just because of hormones and behavior, but also because birds can get blockages from them and end up strangled or tangled/missing toes because of them.
They are one of the most dangerous things sold at pet stores.

Again--she is lovely! I hate to be the "jerk" to say it, but they are very problematic. Birds only have "beds" or "nests"when they are making babies...You won't find a single male or female in a nest unless he/she is a baby..

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I had no idea about the hidden hut. She has had one her whole life. It is her favorite thing. I am home with her most of the time, and she is so old she just huddles near it when she sleeps, which is a lot since she is 21 years old. She is a pretty passive player these days, she doesn't even climb, she just sits near the cuddley thing and goes back and forth to her food. I think she may go bananas if I take it out!

 

[noodles123]

Obviously it's your call- I just know they can lead to hormonal issues and plucking (among other things) but if you are okay with how things are going and you think moving it is going to stress her to the brink, then obviously it's your call (at that age)