Successful introduction...sort of

[bird-brain]

I apologize in advance for the length of this post:blush:. After Kenya's vet trip and subsequent lab results, the vet conference called the medical director at the avian lab for me (which I thought was way cool) and I got a very nice lesson on birdie lab work. Kenya had several elevations that indicated a stressed bird. We have had a lot of rainy dreary days and my birds are usually quiet in these cases. The sun came out and Cabo started singing which made Kenya start plucking her chest again. As Kenya was alone in her previous home, labs indicated no infectious process and she was so stressed, the 3 of us decided it was in her best interest to stop quarantine and introduce her to Cabo but keep the conure out of the mix to prevent fights of jealousy. (if we have made the wrong decision I will not forgive myself) I began introducing them through the cages and within minutes they were preening through the bars. Knowing the birds (Cabo could make friends with a rock and Kenya is so laid back) we progressed them to the table top by the end of the evening they were sharing toys and food. This morning because I am sometimes stupid :blush:, I put them together on Kenya's play top on her cage (which was Cabo's first cage). There is a small grate on top that lifts out so a bird can come in and out at will. I didn't even think about closing it because when Cabo hates being in a cage. Needless to say Cabo helped himself to Kenya's cage and all of her toys! Poor Kenya is clueless about toys as she lived in a parakeet cage with one perch but when she saw Cabo playing she joined in slowly then with vigor! With in about 10 minutes Cabo was clicking and trying to feed Kenya. They ate a bit of a millet sprig together, THEN Cabo started clicking and gacking and proceeded to attempt to mount Kenya's back which she was having none of. There wasn't really a fight but I don't know if this is dominant hen behavior or mating behavior. If it's the latter I'm not sure Kenya is healthy enough for eggs! Cabo had started this behavior with Skyy and we would have to separate them because Skyy was truly going to kill Cabo. Of course the most immediate problem is going to be getting Cabo out of Kenya's cage (because again, I am stupid) without losing my fingers.......:omg: But I am afraid to leave them unsupervised together.

[bird-brain]

My day just gets worse.... after succesful extraction of Cabo so I could go to the grocery store, Kenya plucked her chest until she bled! There was one area that was full of pins and really annoying her and she also obviously plucked at in when stressed. She did not get a blood feather, she did not bleed profusely. She definitely did the damage with her own beak. It was a scratch and nothing more (off to buy some neem cream) but wow. I knew she was not well cared for and was plucking some but had no idea she would start causing damage to herself. It's obvious that she plucks when unhappy. How in the world do I make a frightened, stressed bird happy?

[michael]

My day just gets worse.... after succesful extraction of Cabo so I could go to the grocery store, Kenya plucked her chest until she bled!.......

How about giving yourself a bit of credit here!....:)....First of all, any bird adopted out of negligent care must have a thorough "wellbird" exam. .. As a good fidparront, you've followed through, and are now utilizing the results to improve upon Kenya's quality of life. ..Whether its by means of introducing a new flockmate, or by way of creating a nutritional plan thats more healthy and fun, any effort fidparronts place towards improving their parrots lifestyle is a POSITIVE step. ...Unless of course, you invite a couple of hungry mountain lions over for dinner whilst your birds are out, i'd say your doing a fabulous job.

What kind of history does Kenya have regarding her "broad patch"?... Could it be she's starting to molt? .. Has she ever laid an egg?.... What i'm thinking, is that because this is a rather generalized area for females to pluck, there may not be much of a problem at all. .... Did your vet explain what indicators were used in determining her type and/or level of stress? ... Stress can come in may forms. ...It could either be brought about by hormones, dietary deficiencies, or through various environmental changes/settings. ...For some birds, varying amounts of stress may be normal. ...Unless it becomes an obvious problem, I would be careful not to treat it as one.

[bird-brain]

Thank you Michael! According to Kenya's previous owners, she has never laid an egg. She was an '07 hatch that stayed with her breeder until she was a year old then went to the family I "rescued" her from. She is most definitely in a molt. Her total protein is low due to poor diet. She had a tiny bare patch on her upper right chest when I took her for her exam. The patch was not irritated at that time. The vet hypothesized that her lack of egg laying could be do to diet and poor living conditions. And attributed her less than beautiful feathering to the same thing. The reason I attribute her activity to stress response is that any time she is frightened and flies off a perch, she grabs feathers and pulls them out from this area as soon as she lands and the immediate "threat" is over. All of her organ functions were normal on labs so at least I am not dealing with a liver problem! I just got really freaked out when I came in to find her with blood all over her chest! I wondered about a brood patch but as she has never laid am afraid to attribute it to that, though it is possible. Her previous owners say that she never plucked but I know that is crap because she was missing feathers when I got her! It truly freaked me out to come in and find blood all over her chest!:omg: She just seems soooo fragile. I want her to do well and be happy. But you're right, all I can do is try. :)

[michael]

........The vet hypothesized that her lack of egg laying could be do to diet and poor living conditions. And attributed her less than beautiful feathering to the same thing. The reason I attribute her activity to stress response is that any time she is frightened and flies off a perch, she grabs feathers and pulls them out from this area as soon as she lands and the immediate "threat" is over.......

With regards to her diet and previous poor living conditions, I think your vets assumption makes perfect sense. ... And so does yours. ... Although recommendations suggest we must act quick to resolve any possible plucking disorder for fear it may become "habitual" or "obsessive", care must be taken to ensure that whatever treament prescribed doesn't somehow cause the parrot to percieve plucking as part of their daily ritual. ... Like ecollars, topical treatments or psychotropic drugs are really a last resort. ..Unfortunately, neither of them do much to eliminate the problem at hand. ... Exceptions of course, would be those medications used for treating any diagnosed bacterial/fungal/or viral disorder. ....What would be ideal in Kenya's case, is that by providing her with plenty reassurance and a better diet, her plucking may eventually subside on its own, or at worst, limit itself to one small area. ... Best wishes for Kenya!........:)