by Maggie- » Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:00 pm
Yes. Unfortunately, she had to adjust to too many things at once. In the future, when you change homes, talk to her about it. Take her over to the new house at stages of putting it together. I do not mean when you are moving around big pieces of furniture and so on, but doing small things that will not scare her. Show her her room. Talk about it and get VERY excited. This would have made an easier transition. Then you would need to have the cage there already before she moves in.
Now, watch her a lot now. Is there anything in the room that makes her nervous? If so, see what you can do to change it. Is she comfortable in the part of the room you have her? Think about putting little scatter rugs along the tile floor. Maybe this will make her more relaxed about being on the floor.
When you leave town, even for a weekend.....PLEASE make sure someone she trusts is with her. Let her know you are leaving and when will be back. Talk to her on the phone from a distance. Not setting up a Grey correctly to handle your leaving town can cause feather picking and phobias, JUST in itself. This is very important because if you do not prepare her, she may think she is being abandoned. That, in addition to a new house, is a lot for a Grey to handle at once.
If you want to fatten her, give her some pureed butternut squash or sweet potato. I have a recipe and discussion on this in my book.
If you have not purchased my book, PLEASE do so. It will help you in some of these areas. It is African Grey Parrots: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual. An autographed copy is sold in the Grey Place section of this site. Or you can get it off Amazon.com or most bird stores.
With the picking, please do not focus on it. You may want to do a Google search on feather picking toys but be careful to make sure the toys are safe. There is a product called cotton candy that they push for feather picking greys but the birds can get tangled in the toy if playing hard....and a few have gotten hung. So, PLEASE be very vigilant about the safety. Don't get that product, if it is still on the market.
If anyone has ideas about stopping picking, please chime in!
GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-
PS: But the other issues are as important. The more secure she feels, the less tendency she will have to pick.