Defective Senegal Parrot

[GreenBean_Baby]

I mean that is the nicest way possible. I'm looking for some advice, know how and all together hands on experience talk. This is my first parrot, you see I rescued this bird last summer who was found in a friends backyard. We looked for owners with no avail and after vet checks and guts feelings we think the birds old living conditions were probably not the best.
I've had the bird for 8ish months now and GB, the bird, has bonded with me right away. He/she loves and tolerates everyone else. He gets vet checks regularly and is currently on harrisons pellets with lots of fresh food as well.
He/she is a plucker and the only remaining feathers are the ones on his head wings and butt. The rest is just pink flesh with little tuffs of fuzzy feathers every now and again. He wears a little cone but he still can pluck.
With all that background here comes the questions. He grooms himself it seems just fine and he's just a normal little bird. But it seems like he does damage to himself mostly over night. He has somewhat of a normal sleeping habbit and as far as I can tell a good 10-12 hours of sleep. He sometimes likes to get up earlier then I plan on so he gets less sleep. He gets grumpy if he is up to late so if he seems tired before I normally put him to bed I just go ahead and put him to bed. So I don't understand why he would be plucking at bed time and not during the day. The other thing is that it seems like he likes to bite off the top part of his feathers and they are left looking like little "V"s. Do you have any idea what that is about? He just grew a couple of feathers on his crop and just bit off all the tops. I don't get it!
He has some separation issues that we are working on but it can be difficult as I am the only person in the family he cares about. If I walk through the room he is in (only sometimes) he will scream for me. And if he hears me in another part of the house he will scream for me. He will scream even with a blanket over his house. It's insane. And when I say he screams I really mean he SCREAMS. He has calmed down a lot sense he first arrived and only does this when he feels I haven't spent time with him enough.
This leads me into my next puzzelment of GB, he doesn't play.
I'm totally serious about this. If I take him out to play with him all he does is try to find food. Thats only if we are in a room that he knows has food. If I take him into a room that we knows and is comfortable in but I keep no food in there he just sits on me and sleeps. I have spent HOURS with him watching bird youtube videos trying to get him interested but you know what he does? sleeps. He could care less. He doesn't care about any type of music. He doesn't whistle, except if he seems me with food he really wants and even then he might not whistle. He does click sounds that I will mimic back at him but he doesn't care. He hates his reflection. He doesn't like any bird toy I have given him. He will climb around on things if it's in order to obtain food. That is the closest thing to play we have. He will play "touch" but again this is food driven. He is too small for all those foraging toys and he just gives up. He doens't like to work for his food.

So any ideas? I was also wondering if getting another bird would be a good idea. A role modle of sorts. On one hand I think he would like a bird more then me and maybe he would catch on to the idea of play. But he might get jealous and hate the other bird and be a big baby about it. I also don't know what kind of bird I would get. I like lovebirds, quakers, meyers maybe... but I feel like I'm leaning more in the direction of just two budgies (parakeet) or a cockatiel. GB has a HUGE cage and I feel it is best for birds and all captive animals to be in larger then required spaces and I don't have that much room in my house. I also don't know about mix matching birds.
I had a parakeet for a year as a little kid and thats as much bird know how I have. I've read a lot and the more I read the better but I would like some human input.
So the basic questions I have are:
How do I get GB to play?
Games to try? (we have done "touch" but he is lazy and looses interest fast)
Other birds a good idea or not?
if so what kind?
Whats with biting off the tops off his feathers?
OH! and his doesn't like baths.... I've tried everything. He will go in the shower with me but he doesn't really want to. So I just have a chair by the shower and let him get some mist and sometimes if I ask him to step up he will and get more wet. He won't bathe in his bowl of water or in bowls of water just for that. He did this summer but now he REALLY wont do it. The house is around 68-72 all day and 65 at night. I dunno... I'm at a total loss with this little guy. I love him to death but he is nothing like any of the books say senegals are like. Maybe he is really old?

Well I wrote a novel... Thanks for your time!

[Michael]

Well the feather picking situation is really sad and I really cannot help you with that. However, when it comes to play, I recommend teaching it some behaviors through trick training:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=227

As for not liking his reflection, I'm hardly surprised that he doesn't like the site of that. In this circumstance I don't think it is a good idea to get another bird. With such a special needs bird, it needs more time/attention from you and diluting it with a second bird would only hurt it.

[kimbo]

dont know if this will help but i saw a woman at a bird sanctuary teach a parrot to play by sewing differant things to t shirts and just sitting wth the bird, it learnt to play and chew and shred. you could also try playing with a toy in front of him. my bird goes mad when im holding one of his toys. best of luck and i think you are great taking a problem bird in.

[sophisity]

I also recommend to not get another parrot. When new feathers grow they bite the tips off as a way of grooming themselves( hopefully just the outer whitish layer of the new feather not the feather itself). As of bathing you can get a spray bottle and put warm water it in and spray him. D'art used to hate this but now he is coming around and is starting to get used to it. Also, how is the air in your place? Is it dry? You might want to consider a humidifier for your parrot as he grow feather he will get really itchy and the dry air will irritate his skin more.
Sometimes parrots don't know how to play with toys. D'art was the same way and it took over 2 months of me be showing him how to play with the toys and showing him different toys to see what he likes. If he likes food you can do simple things for him to do to get it like cover it with a small piece of paper/cloth. Have you try playing peek-a-boo with your parrot? Keep trying and don't give up! I think you are doing a wonderful job so far!
For the screaming---when your parrot knows your home or calls for you. This will also take a while, try to build a habit of saying" Good bye" to him or tell him you "I will be back." When you leave the room and he screams..wait till to stops and come in and say "see I am back!" If you have a routine schedule during the day this well help a lot. Eventually, the bird will recognize this and won't scream a much. I read about this and now I am working on it with D'art about his screaming/calling.

[windharper]

Wow. You have your hands full! I have to agree with the others that you don't need another bird right now.

Speaking from my own experience, I have a Cockatiel named Teyla. I had rescued her and her clutchmate Tico from a lady with no parrot experience who basically did nothing but occasionally feed and water the birds. Tico was a bully to Teyla and would keep her from food and attack her when he simply felt like it. Teyla was such a frustrated bird that she started plucking. I can't tell you how many blood feathers I'd find in the cage after her 'preening' sessions! I believe it was displaced aggression because she had a miserable life. She also never played.

After separating the birds, I was surprised the Teyla still screamed looking for Tico. I have friends with tiels who can't believe me when I tell them that mine really screams loudly. I found another loving home for Tico and kept Teyla because she needed the most help.

It took a little while for her to adjust to not having a bully in her cage and to start to be interested in humans. If you saw her now, her feathers have grown out and she no longer plucks. As she felt more secure, you could see the change in her. I placed several toys in her cage and one day found her chewing on them! Now she does that quite regularly. She is so completely different now that you wouldn't know it was the same bird. She does, however, still scream very loudly whenever we are watching TV (sitting motionless in the same room with her in full view) and when it's 'birdy bedtime'. Once she's covered for the night, she's okay.

Now, regarding GB. I've read a lot about plucking. Teyla was lucky that it hadn't gone that far. GB is far more severe. Hopefully, you've rescued him in time that this will not be a permanent behavior. I am assuming that GB doesn't have a mite problem? I'm sure the vet would have been onto this if so. Since the plucking happens at night, I'm wondering if he might be better off with his cage not covered? I ask because my senegal 'Tamber', hates being covered and will screech up a storm if I even try to cover him! I've read that some birds even like a dim night light. It might be worth a try.

Regarding baths, the spritz bottle is what I do with Teyla. She used to run away from it. Now, she loves it and will fan out her wings, roll around in the spray and even hang upside down while I do it. Just make sure the water is room temperature and that you do not spray directly toward GB's eyes or ears. Some people will spray up over the bird so the droplets fall on the bird like rain. I actually do aim at Teyla with a gentle mist setting. Do it while he's in his cage (take the food bowls out and prepare to change his paper afterward). Just because he may not like it at first, don't give up. It may take awhile before he starts to enjoy it. I think it took Teyla a few months. Having said that, Tamber prefers to do it himself in his waterbowl and never seemed to care for the spritzer bottle. As he was doing it himself, I didn't keep trying with the bottle.

Is GB really old? Not necessarilly. He is certainly really traumatized.

You have a good thing going already. GB adores you and loves food. For training, you can work with him before he eats, so that he is hungry or you can save some particular food item that he really likes and ~only~ give it to him while training. With Teyla I use millet and with Tamber I use pine nuts.

Meanwhile, I think to get him out of being so needy for your attention, GB could really use to be around your other family members too. He needs to learn that members of your human flock are his friends too. Michael has some good posts on this too. You might want to check them out when you look at his training videos.

Best of luck to you. Keep us posted on GB's progress.

Deb

[SirHubi]

Im not an expert from parrots, but I think that foraging toys where he has to do something to get the treat would be a great toy. It would help parrot to realise what toys are for and maybe he would be more curious during training . Well done for taking the bird in

[pchela]

Hi. I just posted a bunch of info on plucking here. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1126&p=4172#p4172 Maybe there is something there that might help? It sounds like your little guy was not well taken care of in his previous home. Never taught how to play and probably neglected or suffering malnutrition if he was bored enough to start plucking especially since Senegals and Poicephalus in general are not known for plucking (though I have a Meyers that plucks) I'm glad he found you to take care of him.

The thing you are talking about where he bites of part of his feather and leaves a "v" is feather mutilation and it's just another form of the obsessive behavior that causes plucking.

I hope that something in the link I posted for you will help though I'm sure you've probably already read up on plucking and so have most of the information I posted. Good luck!

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I'm not an expert and I don't play one on TV, but... I've been reading a lot. I have a couple of books by Mattie Sue Athan that contain anecdotes and ideas about dealing with behavioral issues. She relates one story about an African Grey that was a plucker that apparently never plucked when wet and she was able to cure him by keeping him damp while a full set of feathers was growing in.

What happens when you play with the toys, does he show any interest? Does he show any interest in non-toys? Scooter has rejected most of his chew toys, but loves to chew on my watch, my computer mouse and my notepad. He happily shreds paper.

[Suzzique]

Becides adding a hummidifer and the bath/showers that everyone else has suggested which are all good. Try misting with aloe vera juice. This is different than the gel stuff you get for sun burns. You find it in most health food stores and it is made for people to drink. So by misting you bird with it it does double duty. First the birds skin is now damp but you also have the added benifit of the aloe vera which helps soften the skin. If the bird drinks any of the juice it wont hurt it. Another thing is try adding red palm oil to the diet. I put some in the morning mash that I make. Mine get the oil 3 to 4 times a week. The red palm oil is also good for thier skin and feathers. I have to order the palm oil as I can't find it locally.

[GreenBean_Baby]

WOW! so many replies I don't even know where to start!
Someone gave me a heads up about this great bird forum called Second chance birds, its great and everyone there has been so sweet and helpful... not that you guys haven't. : ) its just a lot of people with troubled bird experience.
http://www.secondchancebirds.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=118&t=9420
I have pics in there so go take a look at my little guy!

I do a birdie bath spray with aloe and I have a 50/50 water and aloe spray I use as well, it's done wonders for his skin! (but he hates it and tried to run away.. so I don't bother spray bottle showering him het gets mad at me enough as is)
GB used to have a cone, but I decided it wasn't doing him any good and took it off. When I did his neck was so dry and itchy he itched till he bled, but with daily showers and aloe within a week he started to grow new feathers! I'm pretty sure he is molting right now and has so many pinfeathers he looks like a baby bird! It's exciting . I don't know what did it..
he is healthy. He is on Harrisons and fresh food as well. Gets the aloe spray. Had a cone but am happy to be rid of it, and just got a zoomed UVA-UVB light. The cone coming off and the UV light are the only new things so who knows.

As far as toys go GB does like to chew on some things but nothing he should chew on. Go figure. He likes to crack off the plastic on she laces or hoodie pull strings, he likes zippers and the metal rings that cover the pull string holes on hoodies. He also gets cloth stuck in his nostrils so the one toy he did like, preening ropes, I had to take away. He wont shred paper and he wont chew wood... I just don't know. You should see all the things I've bought for him, and they just sit around. I rotate them in and out of his cage but he doesn't like any of them.

GB can be scared of the new toys at first but gets over it if its wood... plastic on the other hand. I just bought this shower perch for him off e-bay.. great little thing its bendy plastic tubing in the shape of a U with beads in it and two suction cups so its pretty and bendable! So goes on the window or shower wall. Anyway he thinks its a snake or something and I tried just leaving it on the table by his cage for him to see it and get used to it... but he wont step up for me if its there.

I will try and keep up in this site but I have gotten a lot of help in SCB... I suppose I could double post about my bird. T-he he

Thank you all again and appreciate all your comments!