This M2 has plucked her feathers so badly that new feathers aren't coming in properly any more. So she wears her poncho all the time now and has no problem with it. I make the ponchos and sent them to a rescue in Pennsylvania. So every few weeks she gets a new clean poncho. I think she looks pretty cute!!!
Being new to parrots, I had actually questioned why, a person from a different forum, said she put blinds up in all her windows, heavy curtains, and then blankets over all her bird cages, made the house silent and this was to be more natural to their wild life. I lived in the country, and as I recall, the moon and stars were out there too, but she insisted she studied parrots for years in the wild in south america. So I dropped it, but I have not put blankets over my bird cages, and now we do live in town and there is more light in the home. So then when our, new to us, B&G 29 yo became hormonal and laid an egg, despite us making the house dark and quiet by 630 pm, I initially felt we were failing her and questioned if we needed to blanket her cage. We then determined that this was the first time in her life that she had been this healthy and independent. So it is with happiness that we find someone else that feels it is not always necessary to keep a bird in complete darkness. I will listen to anyone's reasoning, and this makes sense to me, but like all situations, there are situations, and everything needs to be looked at on an individual basis. So far we have not had a problem with plucking, but that is not because we are the best parents, in our case, it is because we have birds that just didn't pick it up in their past homes or here. Our G2 and B&G had plenty of reason to pluck and be severely depressed, but somehow, did not take up plucking.
Location is main reason some people need to regulate light. Most parrots are from equatorial regions of the world. They get nearly 12 hours or daylight followed by 12 hours of night. This will be consistent all year. If you live in Canada, Denmark or the Northern US, etc the lighting conditions will not be the same. You will get very very long days in the summer and very short days in the winter.. this is not a normal factor for wild parrots. I am glad your bird is healthy and happy, but it is important to understand why some people are careful about regulating their birds' light conditions. Laying behaviour can be risky for hens, some birds can become eggbound which can be fatal. Owners are only looking out for the best interest of their birds.
...very true...
...the thing is that Milty has this annoying thing of letting the feathers start to unfurl...then plucking them out...so, like I said we'll watch him closely. The herbals are arriving tomorrow, so we'll be introducing them soon...
I hope the herbals can help him, that's really difficult when they do things like that, it can make it scary to be hopeful. Here's hoping that this feather growth stays!
Awe that is so cute!...oh yes, forgot to mention...Milty has gotten used to seeing...and interacting with the ponchos @EkkieLu made for him.He actually hides underneath it and pops out and yells "PEEKBOO"...
I didn't try and construct a response in an offensive way. I am sorry you felt a need to apologise. My nerves are resilient and sound. Most messages that I write are for the audience. You have your own pattern down with your birds. All good. Someone else might come upon this post looking for help with their bird.
You have a very valid point! The amount of day light. And location. And your right, it isn't a normal factor in the wild...though parrots can adapt, and do in many cases, it's not the same. That's why it's important to adjust lighting to seasons if you can, yes I know it's not easy.
That is great! I'm so happy he's not frightened of them. At least now if you ever need to have Milton wear them he'll just think it's a really long game of Peekaboo!...oh yes, forgot to mention...Milty has gotten used to seeing...and interacting with the ponchos @EkkieLu made for him.
Luv Bug still pulls out a pin feather every now and then. She's never been a full-fledged plucker but we think she used to pluck feathers to ant them when she ran out of food to ant as there were no toys in her cage. But I have noticed that when she does pull one there's usually not much red blood, mostly plasma, but she does nibble on that end. She'll also chew the shafts of any shed feathers, hers or the others', even though they're dry. Could be that the same stuff is dried inside?
Echo does the same things
He likes chewing plasma too. It's odd. To look at him you wouldn't think of him as a plucker but he does occasionally. It's always the same type of feather or same stage of growth of the feather. Ones with a bit of blood and plasma
