ButtFeathers
Checking out the neighborhood
- Joined
- 10/20/16
- Messages
- 4
My lovie is about eight years old and I've had him since he was weaned. for the last 3ish years, he has become increasingly jumpy and nervous, to the point that he hasn't had any tail feathers in 4 years. He bursts blood feathers all the time because he is so easily scared and startled that he either jumps or tries to fly and subsequently falls. I know that he trusts me, but he seems to be constantly in fight-or-flight mode. I'm worried that he's getting hurt and that his tail and upper wing feathers aren't going to grow back.
Some backstory: He had a mate for several years whom he loved but she was bossy and territorial, which I'm sure is what initially caused his anxiety. They hatched an egg together, who lives in a separate cage next to his father because he is too much like his mother. About a year ago, an animal broke into their cage and carried the mother away, which I'm sure was traumatizing for them both.
So in short, he has a good reason to be anxious. But now that his main sources of stress are handled, I don't know how to calm him down not only to be cuddly again, but to not constantly hurt himself.
Some backstory: He had a mate for several years whom he loved but she was bossy and territorial, which I'm sure is what initially caused his anxiety. They hatched an egg together, who lives in a separate cage next to his father because he is too much like his mother. About a year ago, an animal broke into their cage and carried the mother away, which I'm sure was traumatizing for them both.
So in short, he has a good reason to be anxious. But now that his main sources of stress are handled, I don't know how to calm him down not only to be cuddly again, but to not constantly hurt himself.