Steve finished with a shorter second round of antibiotics and is doing well after an initial low-energy period after his ingrown feather ordeal.He’s now back to be his version of “active,” which is a very, very slow form of active for most African Greys.  He’s just a quiet and slow-moving guy.  However, once in awhile, he really gets mischievous as happened today:  he really, really, wanted a soaking bath. I usually spray him, but he continued in his water dish.  So I provided a low tub of water for him, which he splashed his head into, and then upended most of it onto his play station.  It was good to see, even if a bit messy!

Sam is being adventurous by accompanying me on my daily walks (that is, when it’s not too cold or too hot).  I recently bought a nifty (though expensive) small walking carrier made by Celltei that can be worn like a back pack or worn in front (which I prefer, so that Sam feels I am close and he can see me).  Sam LOVES the carrier!  Here he is, waiting for “walkies.”

The carrier sits on top of his cage, where he plays during the day.  I will often find him quietly sitting inside, just hanging out serenely. I love being able to include Sam in more of my activities, and this is a great boredom-buster.  It tires him out too – an added benefit.  This is the small size, though it borders on being almost too small.  But it works for a Jardine’s Parrot.  It would be too small for an African Grey.

I’m happy to say that Steve is doing much better now.  After a course of antibiotics and some pain relievers on days when he’s been to the vet, he’s doing great.

Dr Linda Contos saw Steve on his follow-up to his first appointment, where it was discovered that his bloody underwing was the result of ingrown feathers.  The wing is still pretty raw but healthy – he’s not worrying or chewing there any more, so the removal of those ingrown feathers did the trick.  The doctor felt, after reviewing all his vet records from Wisconsin (during which time he was in the rescue facility and was being seen by the vet who handled birds from the rescue) that his original bloody underwings probably began with ingrown feathers that no one discovered.  All along, it was thought to be a behavioral issue.  At one point, the sores were so bad that the vet recommended euthanasia if there were no improvements.  That’s when Mary decided to foster him and give him a new chance.  And that’s how I found Steve, through Mary’s blog Parrot Musings.

I’m very happy to find that Steve is much more resilient about vet trips, now that he knows he’s mine and I’m his.  He must have come to that conclusion a little while ago, and things are starting to open up for him.  Even last year around this time, he wasn’t sure he was going to be hauled away yet again.  Steve continues to have a very sweet, gentle nature.  I’m so glad he’s part of my family.  And he can be darn cute and winsome as he shows in this picture:

Steve is feeling mellow and quiet after his dose of antibiotic and Metacam, following a very bad day  on April 16 when I took him to the vet for the first time in 2.5 years!  He has been problem-free for that long – and he needed that long a stretch without vet interference to heal from his bad experiences from previous vet visits in Wisconsin.  But this time I had to bring him in.  I noticed that some of his feathers were growing weirdly on his left wing and he was beginning to fuss with them, pull feathers, etc.  Then I  noticed a spot of blood on his beak, so I got him into see our new New Mexico vet, Dr Linda Contos, at Ventana Animal Clnic in Albuquerque.  She’s an avian vet and very good with birds.

He did indeed have two ingrown feathers under that wing and a bad infection, so she removed the offending feathers and began him on a course of antibiotics.  I was very impressed by Steve – after his initial protest about being hauled out of his travel cage, he was very calm.  The doc said that owing to his previous history of mutilation under his wings, it didn’t surprise her that some feathers are ingrown.  They form little abscesses and cause discomfort.  She did not advise putting a collar on him to prevent him from chewing further, since he is a calm bird and that previous chewing was for a specific reason – to relieve his discomfort and pain – rather than from an emotional or behavioral issue.  Collaring is extremely stressful.  I agreed – Steve is a happy bird and no longer has a reason to feel abandoned and neglected and he rarely pulls his feathers unless the humidity is extremely try (I keep a humidifier on next to him here in the desert to avoid the feather picking and try to keep the humidity between 38-50% RH).  The doc also said that Steve almost seemed even grateful that the offending problem was removed.

The doc also showed me how limited his wing muscles are – which I already knew – and that he will never be able to fly.  The good news is that we examined the other under wing and it was totally healed and pristine.  It’s just that the skin is thin and the muscles atrophied.  And because he is so hand shy and phobic about being forced out of his cage, it’s unlikely that muscle rehab is in the near future, if at all.

It took Steve about 24 hours before he began looking and acting like his normal self, but we’re back to his normal routine of foraging on his play station in the morning, and all looks to be very good for his future.  And he doesn’t appear to have held it against me that I had to towel him to get him out of his cage!

Steve is doing really great these days.  After a settling period from his move from the Pacific Northwest to the high desert Southwest in New Mexico, he’s starting to blossom!  For readers who are not familiar with his story, Steve is a rescued African Grey who was emotionally neglected for his first 6 years and had self-mutilating issues.  He’s also extremely hand phobic and has had fear issues about coming outside of his cage.

But, I’m happy to report that he’s now easily and willingly moving outside his cage on a daily basis to forage for treats and to chew on toys – this is more than I ever thought might happen!  I had been pretty concerned about his apathy and lack of interest in fun, so he’s now learning, thanks to the help of small pecan tidbits from our two old pecan trees in our New Mexico backyard.  I set up a tray on top of a rolling cart and load it up with toys and interesting bird-safe objects.  Steve then comes out of his cage via a food hatch.  The tray is essentially his “back porch.”

Here is Steve foraging for small nut treats that I’ve wrapped inside mini muffin baking cups.  I poke them inside toys he has to chew open to get to the treats.  Or I hide them inside other toys.  I’m making it increasingly hard for him to get to, so this is stimulating him to be more creative and brave.

Searching for nut treats

The result of this serious foraging business?  Well, a brain that is stimulated and less bored, a bird that learns to play with toys (or at least be curious enough to chew them).  A normal African Grey would be all over this tray and into everything else, but Steve has been severely stunted as a youngster, so he’s very slowly  making up for lost time.  Steve is still phobic of hands inside his cage, but maybe that will come in time.

For now, I’m overjoyed with the more tangible result:  A huge and glorious mess!

Foraging is very hard work!

Yes, my flock and Bun Rab will be “flying” south this fall to a  new home in New Mexico!  I will be very happy to be living next door to my mother and sister, who are waiting for my arrival with great anticipation.

It’s a big move – I’ve been at my present location in Oregon for the last 10 years – but I eagerly look forward to a new beginning.  They are always challenging but usually rich with many benefits and blessings.

Chipper is a veteran traveler, having made the trip to New Mexico once before (but ended up only visiting).  Sam has made a trip to California.  Steve is also a veteran traveler when he flew with me two years ago by Southwest Airlines from his foster home to Oregon.  Charlie is Oregon-born and never gone further than 10 miles anywhere.  But as long as he’s next to Chipper, he won’t mind the trip.  The two cockatiels will have a lot of fun.

My greatest worry has been how to shoehorn Steve from his cage to which he is inextricably bound by his phobia of being outside his cage.  But I think I came up with a solution:  getting him used to his travel cage gradually by making it a “sun porch” off his main cage via his food hatch.  With the lure of a pecan in the shell, he easily comes and goes now between his cage and his travel cage, as you can see from this shot:

Steve sampling goodies in his travel cage

It is a morning ritual now that Steve comes to visit his travel cage for his breakfast goodies:  apple, a bit of home made mash, etc.

So Steve and Sam will accompany me in the front passenger seat, and the cockatiels and Bun Rab in the back seat.  It should prove to be quite an adventure!

I know, the titles are pretty cryptic!  But this concerns Chipper’s love of books (see a previous post here) and his influence on our newest flock member, Steve, our rescued African Grey.

Chipper the cockatiel, at age 11, is our oldest and first flock member.  From the time he was a baby, books have been his #1 source of fun. He gets super excited about them and surrounds all his play and being busy with books.  He croons to them, he chews them, he flies on them.  How?  With the help of his human slave (me), of course.

I ask Chipper if he “wants to go for a ride,” and he usually does.  This is Chipper, ready to “fly” with his magic book (this one entitled The Shape of Mercy!!), with the aid of my hand.  I run through the house with book and bird in hand.  He grasps my finger tightly, bends down as if streamlining his body for the wind, and cries loudly “Weeeeee….!!!”

Steve, who has been watching these antics for a few weeks, has been getting increasingly excited about them.  Every time Chipper “flies” past his cage, Steve puffs up his feathers with happiness, his eyes pin, and he moves closer to the cage bars to watch.  Believe it or not, this is the first time in one year and 3 months that Steve has ever shown excitement and a playful side.  He has never, apparently, know how to play.  All these months since he came to our flock, I’ve supplied toys of all kinds.  He often chews on some of them but never explores or plays with them or shows excitement about them.  I seriously doubt he ever played in his life.  It is very sad to think that even when he was a baby, he was deprived of the joy of play and not given encouragement to just be.

I gave Steve his own book (Comanche Moon – I buy these thrift store books based on their size, not contents!) and he is quite tickled with it, providing another way that he and I can interact.  Here he is showing some feather puffing.  He’s going after Chipper’s book!

Note how flared Steve’s tail feather are – he puts everything into playfully chomping on the book!

I’ve always known the value of play for my birds, but none of them have problems being playful.  Having never had such a repressed bird as Steve has been, the concept of how healing and freeing play is has been underscored.  In the last couple of weeks, Steve has been much more relaxed and easy with me.  His resilience to change and sudden things that happen in life are that much easier for him to take in his stride.  I even saw him peering intently at the bottom of his cage (he never goes down there) and environs, as if he was seeing it for the first time.  I think being playful has opened new pathways in his brain, making him more exploratory and less fearful.

For the first time ever (at least in my hearing – what he does when I’m not home, I haven’t a clue), Steve SPOKE.

His first words, as I was leaving the house, wishing everyone to be good and telling them that I love them, he said:  “I’ll be right back!!!”

I repeated the words back to him, and he said again very clearly, “I’LL BE RIGHT BACK!”

How fun is that?  He’s such a dear guy.  It made me smile so broadly all day today that he finally has relaxed enough to say something.

I believe Steve learned this phrase from his first owner.  Mary of Parrot Musings told me over a year ago that she thought she heard him muttering something like this when she was out of his sight.  I wonder what else he might come out with in the future?  Stay tuned….

I apologize for not writing for so long.  Again, computer problems.  I seem to have a bad effect on new computers.  I finally had to dump my new HP desktop and switch to a Mac – now no problems!!  May it continue thus…

For you Steve fans, Steve is doing fine.  While there isn’t much outward progress to report, my feeling is that he’s doing well.  He continues to have a serious case of agoraphobia and hasn’t ventured outside of his cage in a long time, EXCEPT at night when the other guys have gone to bed and it’s head-rubbing time.  Then he consents willingly to stick his head – sometimes half his body – outside the food hatch near my chair.   But no more than that.  In this, he has regressed a bit, as he used to come out periodically when things were quiet.  That hasn’t happened in a long time.  But I don’t force the issue or any others.  I figure that in time – perhaps a great long time – he may finally feel he’s safe enough to come out a bit more.

Curious about my iPhone and looking very dinosaurish...

Steve is also very shy with the other birds.  Having been a single bird at the beginning of his life and gone through terrible years of neglect, he is timid of the cockatiels (they are the noisiest and most fractious) and Sam (who is definitely unpredictable).  He may never warm to any of them, but that’s OK.  And he doesn’t know how to play (having never been given destructible toys to play with).  This has been a challenge.  He also often opts not to get excited about things because it may still hurt to move his body a lot (the skin under his wings is very tender).  But at least he chews on various items I have hung and attached throughout his cage, and that’s good.

He continues to keep the feathers off his neck and upper chest – it’s a bit of a habit now, I think.  But when he began chewing the feathers on this thigh big time, I felt there was another reason at play.  I began spraying him daily with warm water, in case it was because of the increased dryness with winter heating.  That seemed to do the trick.  He has stopped chewing his thigh completely and I will continue spraying him, despite the colder weather.  He seems to really enjoy the spray, so it must be what he needed.

The one thing that pleases me most is that his relationship with me as caregiver and friend is much stronger and feels cemented somehow.  He gets very excited to see me if I’m out late, beaking my fingers happily.  And his personality is starting to manifest at odd moments.  If I turn on a light in the living room after I’ve put the birds to bed (covered), he will emit a soft heart-wrenching wail, which means he wants me to come and say hello, followed by happy finger-beaking.  Then it’s hard to cover him as he will continue with a few pips and whistles when I re-cover him.  He is the sweetest, most gentle of greys!

The other guys are doing just fine too, though I think Chipper has been missing Pippin my lovebird.  This past week, he kept referring to her in such phrases as “What, Pippin?” and “Whatcha doing, Pippin?” – which has the effect of tearing my heart!  Sam continues to make Pippin’s sweet sound and also her sounds of annoyance – sounds which Pippin made about HIM when he did things Pippin considered in poor taste or simply bad behavior.

Sam, the goofball/dog with feathers

The cockatiels Chipper and Charlie are fine too.  I had to replace Charlie’s sleep basket with a very large one, so it displaced a wooden box I had previously used to shore up his basket.  Chipper has always coveted it, so it’s now in his cage, and he is most pleased!  I call it his hobbit home, and here he is coyly peeking out of the hobbit hole:

Chipper, loving his hobbit home

(By the way, don’t ever give such a nesty box to a female bird or it will induce them to lay eggs, which can be dangerous.)

And here is Chipper again, in your facet:

That’s a summary of how things are going in my flock.  Here is hoping that your life goes well this special season – that you stay healthy and happy and warm!

Today, a year ago exactly, I few halfway across the US to meet and take home my rescued African Grey Steve, who had been fostered from a parrot rescue by my good friend Mary of Parrot Musings.

It’s been a very challenging year for both of us, with many ups and downs x a zillion, it seems!  There have been times I’ve been overjoyed for the least little progress and down in the dumps through discouragement.  Nevertheless, I was never willing to give up on this sweet, most gentle of Greys.  That very gentle spirit is what attracted me to him.  From all of the neglect and unknown treatment he has received in the past, Steve could have turned out anti-social and vicious.  But he has always allowed himself to trust again, amazingly.

Steve has severe phobias – about being handled, about being outside his cage, about other birds, about the outside (where he had escaped for 5 days during this stay with his original owner).  Those phobias still remain, and probably always will in a reduced form.  But with extreme PATIENCE, he has come a long way in a year.  Most of this time, it was I who had to learn from Steve what he needed.  That is still an ongoing process.  Sometimes I’m embarrassed by how long it’s taken me to “get” what he needs, but with give and take between us, we have come to be very attached to one another.  Like any other relationship, we learn what the other person is like in certain situations and we adjust or compromise.

What is very clear is that Steve will never be a typical boisterous Grey, who likes to hang from things and bounce around having fun.  The skin under his wings is so delicate that the least jolt, fall, or sudden movement tears whatever has healed, causing those wounds to bleed slightly.  Pain is part of this cycle, so Steve is very careful how he walks or climbs – deliberately and with care.  These are the mutilation wounds he developed when living with his original owner, and which continued while at the rescue.  Since being fostered and coming home to me, he has never once picked under his wings, thankfully.  The only thing he does, in times of nervousness, is pluck feathers from his neck, and you can see that bald spot in the photo above.

It might be possible, with a type of avian physical therapy, to improve the mobility of that delicate skin if it ever healed definitively, but Steve cannot be handled yet, and I think the trauma of regular handling would be far more detrimental to his physical and emotional self than anything gained from the therapy.

Of course, this means Steve isn’t very active physically and probably never will be.  But I’ve arranged his food in such a way that it’s either wrapped or stuck inside various crevices all over his cage.  Same with his foot toys.  So he has to move around to get to any food.  He loves it this way.  So, while Steve may not live as long as a healthier Grey, he will be a happy one and after all that he’s been through, that is all I care about.

The best part of our day is at the end, when the other birds have been put to bed.  I sit next to Steve’s cage near his food hatch.  I’ve rigged a platform there, so he can safely walk up to and through the hatch to get his nightly head rubs.  We commune with each other for about 1/2 hour before Steve’s bedtime.  Even if Steve doesn’t solicit head rubs, he will sit with one foot curled up, relaxed, and just watch me, and I watch him.  It’s a great calming time for both of us.

I have great hopes for the next year for Steve!

While Steve still doesn’t know how to really play like an African Grey yet, one thing he knows how to do well is EAT.

His all-time favorite food is the hard-boiled egg.  Actually, any type of cooked egg will do, but hard-boiled in the shell is the kind of food he will crane his neck nearly outside his cage to see if it’s in his food cup.  Sadly, I cannot give it to him every day.  He’d balloon out into a very round Grey!  But he still looks every night to see if I’ve brought him some special 8-minute egg.

Here you see him carefully scraping out whatever remnant of egg white remains in the shell.  When that is done, he carefully shreds the shell as part of the ritual.

Steve is no slouch about other foods, either:  Besides pistachios, cashews, and almonds, his next favorite food is apple or grape or blueberry.  He also likes pea pods, which he also shreds after extracting the raw peas.

Fortunately, Steve also loves his Harrison’s pellets, which I wrap for him ahead of time.  He goes through a fair amount each day, deposited all over his cage to forage.

Here he is looking at me through the feed hatch – I just love his expression!

He’s eating a wrapped pellet and watching what I’m doing.  This was taken during the temporary regression when he didn’t come out of his hatch for head scritches.  Thankfully, he is coming out again onto the platform you see at the bottom of this photo.

In many ways, I see Steve has progressed wonderfully in the nearly 9 months he’s been in his new and permanent home.  In other ways, I see we still have a long slog to go before he can drop his fears.  Considering how long he has had to remain in a nervous state as a coping and survival mechanism, I appreciate all the more his progress.  He’s a trooper and I’m grateful he’s here.

I feel we a real relationship now, even though his is limited to how far he can let down his guard.  But when he has let those guards down, I can tell he’s very happy to be here.  I think he knows I mean to keep him safe.