Newly adopted GC Conure

[SavannahD]

I brought Gizmo home a few days ago. He belonged to my best friend who tragically lost her battle with cancer late Friday night/Saturday morning. Gizmo has been in my apartment for almost a week now. He has taken to obsessively picking at my fingers and the skin around my fingernails. I used to be able to hold him and pet him pretty well, now he obsessively pecks at me until I set him down. This morning i saw that he has dried white droppings dried on his tail feathers. He has always taken great care of his feathers. One of the tail feathers on the bottom of his tail near his vent is broken also. I can still hold him and pet him, but it doesn't take long for him to start aggressively pecking my fingers. He doesn't bite hard enough to draw blood, but it's hard enough to hurt a bit but usually doesn't leave a mark. As I'm typing this, gizmo just sat in his hanging (drinking) water dish and dunked himself in the water and now he's chirping at me. He eats a pellet/seed mix and I'm trying to introduce spinach to his diet. He likes to shred it, but doesn't really seem to eat it. I am monitoring his feathers and making sure he is appearing healthy. Should I be worried about the dried white droppings in his feathers? This is the first time it's happened that I am aware of. There does not appear to be any discoloration of the feathers near his vent, just some white droppings. The droppings in his cage currently appear normal, but I have not seen him produce a dropping yet this morning. He is also rubbing his beak on his perch and cage much more frequently. Could his odd behaviour be due to the new surroundings? He has his cage and all the bowls, toys, etc. from my friends house. I just want to make sure he is okay. He is currently eating a pellet/seed mix. He has a few different hanging toys in his cage and 2 separate water dishes. What do I need to add to his diet to keep him happy and healthy? Should I continue to monitor his behaviour or does this sound like a problem I need to take him to a vet for? I'm a little worried about him!

 

[EllenD]

Welcome to the community...And I'm so sorry for your loss...And we all thank you for taking-in your friend's Green Cheek and making him a member of your own family. Parrots are unlike any other type of pet, they are extremely intelligent (that of a 3-4 year-old child), they have excellent memories, they use logic and reasoning skills, and they are extremely emotional, social Flock-Animals who bond very closely with their owners. So while this type of transition and huge life-change is never easy for a parrot or the people who adopt them and take them in to their families and their homes, the fact that Gizmo already knew you well before you brought him into your home and your life is a huge deal, and will no-doubt make this huge life-change much easier for him than it would be if he were to be adopted by a total stranger. So thank you so much for giving him a loving home, the parrot community is much appreciative.

Keep in-mind that Gizmo is going to be out-of-sorts for a while, not only has he suddenly lost his mate forever (and doesn't know why), but he's also in a totally new home/environment. Parrots are extremely territorial, so it's a good thing that you brought all of his things to your house. Keeping him in his own cage with all of his own toys, dishes, etc. will help his transition quite a bit. As far as him "rubbing his beak" on his cage, toys, perches, etc., usually this is a territorial action, like an "ownership" kind of thing. It's also thought that after they dip their beaks into their Preen-Gland and get Preen-Oil on their beaks, they rub it on things or on people who they are claiming as their own, by rubbing their own "odor" (called their "Cologne" by Avian Scientists) onto the possessions and the people who they are trying to either attract, or that they are marking as their own (the Gland at the base of their tail on their lower-back, which excretes "Preen-Oil" that they dip their beaks in and then rub all over their feathers when they preen themselves)... This is called "The Cologne Theory" and is not anything to worry about, he's most-likely rubbing his beak/Preen-Oil on his cage, perches, toys, etc. because they are his territory, and his territory is now in a new home/environment, and he wants to make it known what belongs to him. This is totally normal and not an issue. Just as an FYI (I don't know how much Parrot experience you have) they also rub their beaks on things right after they eat to get the food/water off of their beaks. This is why it's good to always buy at least one Cement-Perch and put it inside of their cage, because it will keep both his toenails and his beak trimmed and prevent the need for you to take him to an Avian Vet just for toenail trims or to have his beak filed with a HAND-FILE (NEVER allow a Vet to use a power rotary-tool on his beak, only hand-files to round the tips if necessary, but the Cement perch addition, if he doesn't already have one, will help cut this down tremendously)...

***Typically when a bird has droppings on the feathers around their Vents, their Tail-Feathers, etc., this is one of the most-definitive signs/symptoms that they are sick, usually with some kind of Gastrointestinal Infection, either Bacterial, Fungal (yeast), or both. I don't know if your friend took Gizmo for a complete Wellness-Exam with either an Avian Specialist Vet or a Certified Avian Vet (CAV) only (no General Vets at all, and no Exotics Vets unless they are also CAV's or Avian Specialists as well), but it's a really good idea for you to start doing so, and now would be a good time to do so, since he does have some droppings sticking around his Vent area. That being said, when you combine the droppings around his Vent area with a broken tail-feather on the underside of his tail with the fact that you just moved him from your friend's house to your house in a vehicle (I'm assuming) and probably while he was still inside of his cage, it's quite possible that he broke the tail-feather during the move and also got the droppings stuck to feathers during the trip as well. *****This of course would not apply if you know for certain that the tail-feather was not broken right after you brought him to your home and must have happened since he's already been inside of your home (since you've had him at your house for a week now)...OR If you have been seeing droppings stuck anywhere around his Vent or his tail-feathers on multiple days or at multiple times and this isn't just a one-time thing (whether just Feces, just the white Urates, or both, doesn't matter)...Again, typically whenever a bird has droppings stuck around their Vent, on their tail-feathers, or anywhere else on their bottom underside, it's an indication that they are sick, and since you just brought him into your home and since he's going through a huge life-transition, and since I'm sure that your friend had not been able to take him for a Wellness-Exam in the recent past, it's a good idea that you locate either a CAV or an Avian Specialist Vet and make an appointment for him ASAP for a complete Wellness-Exam, which should include #1) Complete Fecal-Testing consisting of BOTH a Gram-Stain and Microscopy, which they do on-the-spot in-house using their own Microscope, and also a Culture & Sensitivity, where they send a Fecal-sample out to the lab they use and the culture is allowed to grow-out on a plate over a few days, and you usually get the results back in 3-4 days; and #2) Routine, "Baseline" Blood-Work, in which they do a simple blood-draw from one of the two Jugular Veins in his neck and then run all of the most-common, routine blood-tests that will give them "Baseline" levels that future blood-work can be compared to if he ever becomes sick in the future; this routine, "baseline" blood-work includes all of the basic blood-tests that we as humans have done during a yearly physical, such as a CBC, Nutritional and Metabolic Panels, and very important are both Liver and Kidney Panels, as pet/captive Parrots have a huge tendency to develop Fatty Liver Disease due to inactivity and a diet that is high in Fat and Sugars. There is an excellent, worldwide CAV/Avian Specialist Search-Tool which the link to is all over the forum here, and that lists ONLY CAV's and Avian Specialists and that's it. I see you're in Florida, and we have many members who also live in Florida, so if you let us simply know the town/city in Florida you live in, I'm sure that many members can make CAV/Avian Specialist Vet recommendations to you...Something that you learn very quickly is that a good Avian Vet is hard to find, and unfortunately that most Exotics Vets do more harm than good to Birds and also Reptiles. So it's extremely vital to find an experienced CAV or Avian Specialist Vet, because Avian Medicine is unlike any other, it's extremely specialized, and birds can easily die due to an Exotics Vet who doesn't know what they are doing.

As far as why he's biting at your fingers, I don't think he's actually "biting" you; Green Cheek Conures are notoriously "nippy" to begin with, mine definitely is, but I'm going to assume that he is also very stressed right now, doesn't know what's going on, where his mate is, when she's coming back, why his cage and other territory is in a new house, etc. So I'm not at all surprised that he's acting differently towards you than he did when say you were over at your friend's house playing with him, holding him, etc.

***What room of your home do you have his cage located in? I ask this because even though he knows you very well, he's not "bonded" to you as of now, and you are going to have to approach this entire situation in the same way you would if you brought home a new parrot that you just met. Yes, it's different because you have known him for some time, but the entire situation is now totally different, the dynamic between you two has drastically and dramatically changed, and this is no longer you just playing, holding, petting, visiting your friend's parrot, who he is bonded-closely with. Now YOU are going to be taking the place of your friend, and hopefully Gizmo will first give you his trust (you have to earn his trust first), and after you earn his trust then hopefully he will bond just as closely with you as he was to your friend. So it's very important that you treat this like you're starting-over with him, and that you take things slowly with him... You want to make sure that his cage is located in the "main room" of your home, or the room where you and the others who live with you (his new "flock") spend most of your time whenever you're at home. Being that he's a social Flock-Animal, even if you're not directly paying attention to him he still wants to be around you/near you and the others, so he can see you, and this is going to help to earn his trust and strengthen the bond between him and everyone who lives in his new home. Try to spend as much time as you can with him each day, and try to give him as much out--of-cage time every day as you can. But just having his main-cage in the same room as you whenever you're watching TV, reading, on the computer, gaming, eating meals, etc. will help quite a bit.

 

[Squeekmouse]

Welcome to you and Gizmo! I second everything Ellen said... she's amazing. I can't think of anything I could possibly add to that, except to offer my condolences on your loss and wish you well. Taking Gizmo to a CAV is definitely a good idea.

 

[SavannahD]

Thank you very much for taking your time to respond. After he dunked himself in his water dish, it all washed off. I will be monitoring him over the next few days while I try and get his vet info from her parents if they have it. I am located in brevard county. He has a little metal cuff on his right foot. I dont know if i can do anything with the number on it. I didnt exactly have a chance to get anything other than his cage/bowls/chew toy as my friend was in the ICU when i brought him home. I bonded with him quite a bit at her house for about a week before she went to the hospital. I held him and sat with her so he could see her. Unfortunately her cancer had spread into her brain and she was struggling to hold a conversation at this point. I talked with her as I was holding him, he fell asleep in my hand. After that he always wanted me. If anyone else was holding him and I walked into the room, he would fly over and land on my shoulder. He is eating and drinking well and seems good otherwise. As soon as I have his vet papers if her parents have it, I'll take him to his established vet. If they don't have his vet contact, do you know any good avian vets in Brevard County? Thank you very much for your time! oh, also I think I was mistaken on the broken feather, it was bent this morning but it looks like he straightened it back out!

 

[Orin2017]

You can’t go wrong by going to an avian vet, as Ellen pointed out, even if it is for no other reason than being in the right place for a blood feather coming out.

That said, when my conure is out of her cage, and on a flat surface not a perch, she always backs up a few inches and poops, then often times she will turn around and look at her poop and turn back around again, facing forward with her tail pointing back in the direction of the poop, and sometimes when this happens she will expose the tip of the tail feathers to the poop. I’ve had to wipe off the very tip of her tail feathers before the poop dries. Otherwise I would also be looking at dried white poop on the tip of her tail feathers (and only the tip, not the vent). My conure is also a preener and this tail tip dipping happens despite being an OCD feather cleaner. Just a thought about the broken feather. When I leave my conure’s eyesight for even a second while she is out of her cage, for instance when I am just trying to grab something and come right back, she will frequently attempt to fly to me. In the process of doing so, she often ends up with a sideways feather that needs to come out, because she hasn’t yet learned to land smoothly without colliding. When this happens, or when she is pinning a lot during molt, she doesn’t like to be touched because she is hurting. So she’ll make little warning screeches when I try to pet her. As Ellen theorized, maybe your conure broke a feather during transport. That theory explains 1) the broken feather and 2) not wanting to be touched.

My conure also regularly uses her large water bowl as a bird bath, by standing on top of her bowl and circling around it, while dipping her head in the water to create a splash that she can use to wet her whole body. That is absolutely normal for my conure and from what I have read it is normal conure behavior to give themselves bird bathes. Also, regarding obsessively picking at your finger nails, my conure did that to me too in the beginning. I think she thought she was doing me a favor by trimming my nails. She also bites off any freckle or imperfection she sees on my skin, including skin tags, whatever protrudes from otherwise flat skin, and whatever constitutes a color nuance on my skin, even on my tattoos. She does this to my wife as well. While it can be annoying, I try to remember that it is my conure’s custom to “preen” me too. Her intentions are good. She will also individually preen my hairs, which is quite a job since I am as hairy as a gorilla.




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[Squeekmouse]

Looks like this one is in your neighborhood:

Indian Harbour Beach:
Manuel J Pepen DVM and Bruce S Levine DVM, ABVP Avian, Exotic Companion Animal, & Canine/Feline.
Aloha Pet and Bird Hospital - alohavet.com
968 E. Eau Gallie Blvd., Indian Harbour Beach, Fl 32937 - Tel. 321-777-6444

 

[fiddlejen]

My Sun Conure loves preening my fingers, and especially tries really hard to help me un-wrap those pinfeathers at the end of my fingers. Is that possibly like what your birdie is doing?

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. EllenD and others have given you great info ( as they usually do). I am sorry about your best friends passing, but what a lovely way to remeber them. Patience is the key to behavioural issues, however a vet visit is the best thing for physical issues about poops and so forth.

 

[SavannahD]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond! I have started to set him on the back of the chair in my dining area that's adjacent to the room I'm typically in when he's out when he bites too hard on my fingers. After 2 "time-outs" he seems to have learned not to be too rough, and he stopped chasing after my fingers when I'd pull them away. As for the broken feather, I was mistaken. it was bent up pretty bad so I thought it was broken but it looks like gizmo has sorted it out. I will check out Aloha if Gizmo doesn't already have a vet established. So far his little bird bum is still clean. I'll be checking him every morning and at night when I get home from work to make sure it was just a one time thing!

 

[Allee]

Sorry I’m late to this welcome party, a warm welcome to you and Gizmo. Deepest condolences for the loss of your best friend, thank you for offering Gizmo a home, that’s a lovely way to honor her memory. I hope your little guy’s issues will turn out to be a one time event but I would watch him very closely and maybe schedule a vet visit for a well check just to be safe.

 

[Flboy]

Hello and welcome!