rescued b & g

[talvarez]

i rescued casey the blue and gold
she is almost 5 years old now.
she really has come around since i brought her home last friday. she often comes off her cage and will walk up to someone in the house to step up. she will not step up off her cage but will step up most of the time off of her tree stand i made. my reason for making this thread is to inform that she has been plucking since i brought her home. she was lightly pulling her feet feathers and very lightly in the pits. but now im seeing a lot of feathers in her cage. what can i do to stop her from chewing herself up? i got her a shred toy and make the tree stand just so she cant get some time to play. she has not touched the toy nor has she touched any toys since i got her.
also she hates being misted and hates the hose so im assuming shell hate the shower. she wont bathe in a tub. what do some macaw owners reccomend i do to get her to come out of her shell and stop plucking!! i am with her basically all day and if im not home someone is. she screams alot too in the morning. i dont want people to think i dont have the knowledge to care for casey but experience comes from living it so i have to start somewhere.

 

[MikeyTN]

You said you rescued her, what happened in her previous home???

Take her in the shower with you, mine tend to like that better. I've been dealing with the same plucking issue too and I'm working on it still to find the solution. Willie never plucked like this but Lola is going to town doing it even while she's on me. When I get it figured out I'll post about it but so far I think she's sexually frustrated....

 

[JerseyWendy]

Congratulations on adopting Casey.

Casey sounds like she's still pretty nervous about her new home/environment. 1 week isn't long enough for her to feel safe and secure yet.

What type of cage is she in, and where is the cage located? Are there other pets in the house that may possibly scare her? What diet is she on?

The more information you can give us, the better we may be able to try and help you.

You said she plucked a little as far as you know BEFORE you brought her home, right? Where did she come from?

I apologize for all the questions, like I said, the more we know, the better.

Has she had a recent health check? I think a health check is important to rule out any medical issues. Once you know your Casey is healthy, you can slowly start working with her, so you can gain her trust and make her feel at ease and comfortable.

Perhaps she doesn't know how to play with her toys. Show her! Take a toy a play with it in front of her, exaggerate how much fun it is. Monkey see - monkey do.

As for bathing, it is important to get her thoroughly wet at least once a week. You can build or buy a shower perch and hop in the shower with her. That's how I got my Ripley used to it. He HATED getting wet in the beginning, and I was at my wits end, until I built a perch and we did it together.

Sorry for the long-windedness.

 

[Merlee]

Are you sure she is plucking and not going through a molt?

She may be afraid of the toys because they are new to her. My B&G takes a while before touching them. Give you bird some time to get used to EVERYTHING.

Screaming in the morning and in the evening are normal behaviors. As the bird settles in, the screaming may stop. Mine did that too when he was younger. Merlin is now 12 and doesn't scream unless he is warning me about strangers in or about our house.

 

[ZoeynHarley17]

Hey...
Well I have blue and gold named zoey and when I brought her home she already had plucked all her underarm feathers out...
After a while I started to notice she was going for her ankle feathers and id discourage her when I could.
After a few days I realized there was alot of untouched food at the bottom of her cage. I changed her diet and the plucking just stopped. She was a nervous wreck all because she hated her food. Its a possibility. Try new foods and new enticing treats. Also can you see herskin? Is Iit flaky or inflamed. She could have a rash or be itchy. Try bird sprays my birds hate them but they work.

 

[Kalidasa]

I just wanted to add that if you bathe at the same time every day it becomes an accepted routine and less like some sort of punishment. And morning seems to be the best time for that. good luck

 

[talvarez]

hi
she is in a huge cage atleast for bed time. she primarly is on her tree stand during the day.
she is eating a mix of pellets and seeds.
she seems to love her diet eating a balance of both pellets and seeds.
is there a specific diet that is better for a plucking bird?
from what it looks like, basically every 5 seconds she is just preening her wing. and when i say 5 seconds im not beeing sarcastic. everytime i look up she is working on that wing!
she was in a rescue for 6 months prior to my ownership and the rescue woman said she began plucking recently because she has been helping her sister who is a cancer patient who is termanilly ill.
her cage location is near large windows where she can look out into the ocean. her last home she was in a basement with 2 other macaws(one who was a terrible plucker for hormonal reasons)
idk if it is cage location or diet but im following her diet she has always been on. no other pets in the home, it isnt a very loud home either. idk what it can be i just hate to constantly see her itching/preening. Also, i seem to find feathers in her cage in the morning. After a full day on her tree i havent seen a feather.
Hit me with suggestions
also if anyone has a DIY shower perch throw me ideas.

 

[MikeyTN]

So you adopted her from a rescue center, good for you!

Plucking issue can be many reasons, it's hard to pin point. Mine does it cause she likes to eat the down feathers. I watch her do it right in front of me and I always discourage her from doing so but she'll quit for a bit then do it all over again....I know she's sexually frustrated cause she kept waving her butt at my partner. She'll do it to me to a certain extent. I really think she likes my partner a lot but my partner won't hold her after she went nutzo and nip a bit too hard at my partner. So it's all me holding her, she wants to feed me soooo badly and I kept discourage her from doing so.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Here is a link to a DIY shower perch:
http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/27017-diy-shower-perch-very-easy.html

 

[Blancaej]

I would try adding fresh fruit & vegetables and nuts in and out of the shell to her diet. It is good for her and will add variety. Also cages are best placed in a corner with two sides of the cage facing the wall. This makes the bird feel more secure in there cage. If she is too close to a window or next to a window, this could frighten her if she sees predators outside.

You've only had her for a short time. She will settle in before you know it. Just be patient and go at her pace.

 

[talvarez]

also, how can i handle her? what i have been doing is either making her step up to a perch in my hand or kind of forcing her to the ground so she has to step up to me.. sounds horrible but it works.