CdnGirl
Moving in
- Joined
- 4/12/24
- Messages
- 7
- Real Name
- Tanya
Hi Everybirdy, I’m looking for advice and learning from your journeys with a mild plucker. I have had Leo for 10 years (from a 16 weeks of age). He is sweet, gentle, very loving with our sun conure and is happy to be on his own or being in the center of the family action. We have fostered and cared for many smaller birds over the years and he has done well with all of them - more curious than anything.
At the age of 4, he began barbering and plucking. After many avian specialist visits (including being part of a local vet university study) he was diagnosed with anxiety. I learned this is common with greys and one of the many outcomes that pop up between ages 4-6 from being pulled from the nest too soon, clipped before he learned to fly (against our expressed request to the breeder to not clip him). He is also missing half of one back toe which the breeder gave an unreasonable explanation but may indicate he may have had a trauma in the nest or born with a defect. We let his flight feathers grow in and he started to learn how to fly but had a bad crash into a window and didn’t fly after that despite many attempts to support him with this including padded flooring. He chews and pulls his flight feathers when they grow in. We tried Haloperidol but he turns into a zombie even at a small dose which breaks my heart. He is very healthy otherwise - he will try any food we give him which makes it enjoyable to make different homemade chop recipes. He also has Harrison pellets ( switched from zupreem six months ago) and occasional nuts for treats. He is an absolute joy in our family. I have tried every product available ( including CBD oil for birds) and all his food is provided in foraging toys.
We recently went on vacation and boarded him and our conure at a in-home care provider. They were wonderful and they have their own Timneh. The greys called and mimicked each other which was a first for him.
Looking through old posts and more research indicates that a companion male CAG his age may help him with his anxiety…or make it worse. Males are more tolerable and often enjoy other males company. I am acutely aware that he will outlive our conure and I often wonder how he would handle her absence. We also feel lucky that Leo loves and generally is happy to sit with anyone who visits us.
So if you’ve read this far…thank you! My question is: have any of you introduced a grey companion of similar age later and gender later in their life? If so, how did that work out ? Any advice? I wish there was ability to meet or foster greys with him but change takes time so a visit is not likely a good indicator.
At the age of 4, he began barbering and plucking. After many avian specialist visits (including being part of a local vet university study) he was diagnosed with anxiety. I learned this is common with greys and one of the many outcomes that pop up between ages 4-6 from being pulled from the nest too soon, clipped before he learned to fly (against our expressed request to the breeder to not clip him). He is also missing half of one back toe which the breeder gave an unreasonable explanation but may indicate he may have had a trauma in the nest or born with a defect. We let his flight feathers grow in and he started to learn how to fly but had a bad crash into a window and didn’t fly after that despite many attempts to support him with this including padded flooring. He chews and pulls his flight feathers when they grow in. We tried Haloperidol but he turns into a zombie even at a small dose which breaks my heart. He is very healthy otherwise - he will try any food we give him which makes it enjoyable to make different homemade chop recipes. He also has Harrison pellets ( switched from zupreem six months ago) and occasional nuts for treats. He is an absolute joy in our family. I have tried every product available ( including CBD oil for birds) and all his food is provided in foraging toys.
We recently went on vacation and boarded him and our conure at a in-home care provider. They were wonderful and they have their own Timneh. The greys called and mimicked each other which was a first for him.
Looking through old posts and more research indicates that a companion male CAG his age may help him with his anxiety…or make it worse. Males are more tolerable and often enjoy other males company. I am acutely aware that he will outlive our conure and I often wonder how he would handle her absence. We also feel lucky that Leo loves and generally is happy to sit with anyone who visits us.
So if you’ve read this far…thank you! My question is: have any of you introduced a grey companion of similar age later and gender later in their life? If so, how did that work out ? Any advice? I wish there was ability to meet or foster greys with him but change takes time so a visit is not likely a good indicator.
