what should i do?

[bookworm0550]

evolet needs a collar put on asap. i looked at her just now and her beak is covered in dried blood and her mutilated area looks pretty mutilated. argh! i'm so frustrated. i can't get her to stop. she was doing fine when she was laying on eggs, but now that the babies are more grown, she's gone back to picking and picking like it's the end of the world.

if i put a collar on her, will she still be able to go in and out of the nestbox? would i have to separate her from her family? even when she was on me today, she kept preening me. she wouldn't stop. she's been preening furiously all day.

[bookworm0550]

and will pan be ok w/ feeding the babies himself should that arise? right now they are on my shoulder. my poor evie. i wish i could do more right now to help her. i sure hope my vet has an opening tomorrow

[linda040899]

If you put an e-collar on Evie, she most likely will not be able to go in and out of the nest box entrance. Pan will take over feeding duties should the need arise.

Have you tried Neem cream? Neem is very soothing and it helped my one lovebird with his wing. Your vet may or may not be able to do something. I, personally, don't like e-collars. Picking may subside while the collar is being worn but it will usually resume once the collar comes off.

[bookworm0550]

should i keep her in a different cage? i could put her in hermes' cage and place that cage and their current cage right next to one another.

[linda040899]

I'd try the Neem cream first and see if it has any effect. Evie will not be happy separated from her family but if Neem doesn't help, you're going to have to do what's necessary, even if it means a separate cage? Do the babies still need the box?

[Chickobee]

I was also wondering about the nestbox. How old are your babies? I think at this point you could substitute a happy hut for the nestbox if you decide to put a collar on Evie, or even if you don't.

I don't have experience with the plucking problem you described but I'm wondering if a combination of the neem cream along with an e-collar for a few days would give the area a chance to heal a bit. Then remove the collar and continue with the cream...

Linda; I was reading about Theraneem on the internet last week. It seems to all be scented--like vanilla or orange. What kind do you get? Is there one that is not scented? I wanted to get some to have on hand but wasn't sure which one to purchase. (Thank you.)

[bookworm0550]

the babies will be 6 weeks old on wednesday. they still like going to dark places because when they're in my bedroom, they like to borrow under clothes. they like to hide in my shirt too

[linda040899]

Linda,
The Neem cream I use is vanilla scented but the scent is from a natural ingredient and it's extremely light. If they have unscented, I've not seen it where I purchase mine. The only thing I can tell you from first hand human experience is that it works well and soothes within minutes.

[bookworm0550]

the vet hospital didn't have any collars, but she told me i could order some online. she gave me baytril to give her. she said evie did a good number on herself: she chewed/bit/plucked herself down to her muscle. she said give her baytril, if that doesn't work, we'll put her on pain meds. she said a collar may help, but she could very well go back to plucking.

sometimes i think she's becoming an over preener. she's always preening me and i hear pan whining sometimes when they're preening.

are there any recommended toys i could put in her cage so she's not preening so hard?

i also got her some missling link avian formula. my biggest concern was the babies. if she's on antibiotics and feeds her babies.....that's why the vet recommended the missing link formula. the babies will be weaned soon i think. they're starting to munch on big bird food though i don't know if they're eating it or just biting it.

she also didn't recommend a collar right now because of the babies. she said it was best to wait til the babies are weaned and then put a collar on her though not all collars are created equal. i was thinking of these collars: http://www.premiumpinecones.net/products.html

poor evie, she was so tired. my bf needed new tires so we had to get them replaced after the vet visit. i couldn't just leave her in the car and the tire place stunk like tires. the fumes were so bad. so we went to embers to eat and she was so good. didn't make a sound probably because she was scared. but the folks there sure wanted to see her, quite the center of attention i tell ya. then we had to kill time so we walked down the street to petco. they had all the birds behind glass, which i hope was safe for her. i just kinda held her cage up (not too close or anything) to see the other birds which she didn't really care for. the conures were sure interested in her and us. but mainly we were in the fish aisle which perked her up a bit.