The Continuing Capers of Companion-ing Cotton

On chicken wings, been banned from diet for a long time...agree...I just can't ...

Grow feathers grow!
 
Well so far when I've checked him via the room camera he looks more like he's foraging for feather stubs lol

Most of the time his preening is just preening. TBD if the 5% of time he's instead feather chewing happens today or not.
 
Every work day, when I get home, I make a dinner of veggies/grains for Cotton, put it on his play stand, then let him out.

While he's eating I wipe down his cage with a cloth and F10 and reset foraging spots for tomorrow.

After he's done watching birds outside, he goes back to his cage to play for a while and I clean off his breakfast (err millet treat today) and dinner remains and rearrange things for tomorrow.

I let him out before setting his food bowl today and didn't expect he'd already be at the window talking to the birds outside before I had his food ready! I talked to.him the whole time I was bringing the bowl over (he was standing RIGHT where it goes at first) and he let my hand get so close! The sound of it going onto the stand scared him though and he scrambled back to his cage for a little bit, making a big show out of preening and staring at me 😝 I pretended not to watch but was totally spying on the camera, ha.

It's 89 degrees in here and 48% humidity with the windows open and a soft breeze. Now he's chowing down on peppers and romaine lettuce and a walnut with Meloxicam coating it ;)

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Every work day, when I get home, I make a dinner of veggies/grains for Cotton, put it on his play stand, then let him out.

While he's eating I wipe down his cage with a cloth and F10 and reset foraging spots for tomorrow.

After he's done watching birds outside, he goes back to his cage to play for a while and I clean off his breakfast (err millet treat today) and dinner remains and rearrange things for tomorrow.

I let him out before setting his food bowl today and didn't expect he'd already be at the window talking to the birds outside before I had his food ready! I talked to.him the whole time I was bringing the bowl over (he was standing RIGHT where it goes at first) and he let my hand get so close! The sound of it going onto the stand scared him though and he scrambled back to his cage for a little bit, making a big show out of preening and staring at me 😝 I pretended not to watch but was totally spying on the camera, ha.

It's 89 degrees in here and 48% humidity with the windows open and a soft breeze. Now he's chowing down on peppers and romaine lettuce and a walnut with Meloxicam coating it ;)

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He has a feather!!! And that meal sounds deleicous, he looks very self-satisfied.
 
Aaaaaaaand he's asleep for the night while the male cardinal outside is doing his Peep...Peep! and the chickadees are roosting in my patio. Cotton's favorite purple finch must also be sleeping; he stopped singing a bit ago (it won't be fully dark for another 90 minutes).

Goodnight fuzzy buddy, sweet dreams!
 
What a good boy! And I see the tummy feather.

I really hope the meloxicam increases his comfort.

Isn’t it god-awfully hot? I’m not so far away and it is AMAZING for mid-June. 80 at 5 am! But my birds are comfy in their cages in my living room, just hanging out. Too hot to go for a walk though.
 
What a good boy! And I see the tummy feather.

I really hope the meloxicam increases his comfort.

Isn’t it god-awfully hot? I’m not so far away and it is AMAZING for mid-June. 80 at 5 am! But my birds are comfy in their cages in my living room, just hanging out. Too hot to go for a walk though.
It's supposed to be 100 on Monday 😶
 
Cotton is still removing his chest/belly feathers BUT he's leaving feathers growing on the outside of his wings alone! 🤞🏻🤞🏻

Pain medication made a very noticeable difference even the first day - way more chatty and playful!

He's interacting more with me (from afar) which he hadn't done in weeks, and he's letting me come ever closer to give him his veggie meals on his playstand (he walks away now when I'm right at the dish but doesn't seem scared while doing so).

Just now he was preening his new feathers (normally! good job!) and then I looked up to see a white poof on his beak. I burst out laughing and he made the biggest scene cocking his head at me and protesting that NOPE he wasn't at all doing anything untoward!

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Cotton has such an incredibly sweet face! Ridiculously cute. I’m getting my hair buzzed off today (I…completely trashed it dyeing it rainbow colors for two years (away from the birds!)) so me n’ Cotton might match!

So glad to hear the pain meds are doing their job. You’re so awesome for opening your home to this little bird and being so thorough in his care!
 
I’m so glad he’s doing well and amazed that the meloxicam is helping! That’s a great piece of info for future work with plucked birds.

And I see so much fuzz and wing feathers! I’m so happy for Cotton. Feeling crappy is miserable.
 
He might still change his mind as they continue coming in and he doesn't have fluffies to remove, but so far he's surprised me with how well he's doing!

Ravvlet that hair change is going to feel so great at this time of year!! I used to do bright pinks/reds/purples all winter but in summer it was too hard to maintain nice and bright colors so I'd go short!

It's GORGEOUS outside today and I so wish Cotton was further along in targeting to go in another cage/carrier.

He wouldn't just bark at all the neighbors non stop either ..... Looking at you, Maynard..... 🤨
 
Yay! He looks like he's on a mission to get where he's going!

And look at the feathers!!!!! ❤️ He's so adorable, with or without them, but... C'mon little man, let them grow in this time 🤞🙏🤞🙏🤞🙏
 
what a confident strut!!!
Yeah feathers !!!!
I'm always floored how far you have taken him in such a short time!!

Im.so glas you decided you couldn't live without him even tho it was sooner than your plan.
 
He's been preening carefully this morning and poofs of pin dust go everywhere when he stretches! So now he's really starting to show feather growth!

He's currently talking to himself and beeping and trilling.

I grin so big every time I see his little march to his veggie bowl! 🥰
 
That is the supermodel walk:

“On the catwalk,
On the catwalk, yeah, I do my little turn on the catwalk.

I am too sexy for my beak
Too sexy for my beak”

Cotton is stylin’! And he has so many more feathers! 😊
 
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How’s the nekkid bird?

Is he succumbing to peer pressure and becoming fuzzier rather than his glorious chickeny self?
He is SO FUZZY!! I kept looking at him during our 100F days thinking what terrible timing to put on a down jacket :) but he loved the heat and humidity and has let almost everything keep growing!

He even has one little tail spike starting right in the center which we didn't think could grow back (he's never shown any growth there)!

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