An old bird

[Pajarita]

Yes, I am sure she will take the new cage in a heartbeat but I am also sure that George's mom would like to keep it for when George decides to move into it - that's why I thought of offering the woman some money.

[Georges mom]

It's one thing after another. Now George us pulling out feathers and I'm thinking it's the new cage. He doesn't settle down well at night either. I've asked the rescue lady if she's take my new one or I offered to pay for the old one. This morning when I opened up the blinds that stupid hawk was perched out on the grill. I thought George was adjusting nicely to his new cage but he always seeks out the old one still every day. I just thought it was habit/ comfort but maybe he really misses it. Pray that the lady accepts my offer. Is this a mounting season for amazons?? There are those little white fuzzies but also he keeps poking down on his chest and pulling them out right under his neck. I'm so stressed now. He's always been so perfect and happy and now I don't know. He still always with me and the feather pulling is only in his cage. I gave him a mounting stick and he gobbled it down. He's is a little aggressive at times with other people but fine with me. I'm having to scratch him for 15 minutes before he goes in at night since the new cage came but I figured he'd adjust. I don't know what to think

[galeriagila]

Oh, wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww..................

I hate cage changes... always an adjustment.

I do so hope she takes your offer.

*sigh*

[Georges mom]

Moved George back into his old cage and he went very willingly. He went on top and just sat there and watched me move everything back into it. Sent the woman a pic of the new cage and she was eager to swap immediately. I offered her money or the new cage and she took the cage. It's a big beautiful cage but one George did not like. I feel I did the right thing. George is up on his roosting perch now looking like his old calm self. Hope the feathers stay in tonight. I'm suppose to buy rescue remedy and spray 6 drops on him to help the feather plucking. She says it will help so I'll get that in the morning.

[Pajarita]

I am glad that you decided to keep his old cage as he, obviously, likes it much bettter than the old one. Yes, we are in molting season but, if you see A LOT of feathers, it could be a hard molt (too much protein in his diet) or, if you see the down showing, it could be plucking.

Now, I would wait until I see what happens now that he has his old cage back but, even if he is plucking, I would not spray rescue remedy on him. There is a spray but the regular one is not meant to be sprayed on, it's meant to be ingested and anything you put on a bird's feathers, aside from plain water is always a mistake. You can add a small splash of aloe vera juice from the inner filet to cold tap water to his spray but only if he likes been sprayed, if he doesn't, don't do it because it will stress him out even more which would make him pluck in earnest.

By the way, I have tried Rescue Remedy in dogs, cats and birds and has not worked in any of those species - and, if you look up the ingredients, you will see that there is only one that is mildly 'calming'. And it has shown zero improvement over placebos in controlled studies.

See below:

Impatiens - a very mild anti-inflammatory but only used topically on things like insect bites.

Star of Bethlehem - used for heart conditions but, mostly, it's considered unsafe (it has toxic properties)

Cherry Plum - this is the only one that has some sort of calming effect but it doesn't have anywhere near the efficacy of other herbs

Rock Rose - normally only used for sore throat (gargles) so I have no idea why this is considered a nervine (in large doses, it gives diarrhea)

Clematis - slightly toxic and hardly ever used any longer but it treats sore throats and arthritis.

I don't use any of these herbals. I don't like any of them...

[galeriagila]

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Georges mom]

Thank you Pajarita for the information and I did not bother to purchase the rescue remedy. George seems to be doing fine although he just seems to be constantly itching and biting however there are no more feathers since he's been back in his old cage. He went through 4 bowls of water for his bath the other day . ...... He just kept bathing and looked like a drowned birdie when he was done. I never saw him so wet. The vet said too it could be a hard molt but if looks like it's not letting up to bring him in. He was so sad in his new cage and would just sit there and not want to interact but now he's back to his normal demanding self. I still have the new cage and he will sometimes go and look at it but then comes right back. It's a bug beautiful cage with all the bells and whistles and some.rescued bird will be glad to call it home. George will be so happy to see it leave .

[liz]

Leave the new cage with him with some toys in it. I also put treats in a new cage. Rambo makes quick moves to new things. He usually does his excited squeal when offered something new. (He sounds like someone is pulling his trail feathers,) It take Myrtle a while.

[Wolf]

Like everything else concerning parrots cage changes take time, otherwise the bird gets stressed out as they do not readily take to changes. Cage changes are probably the most deceptive of changes for humans to understand as we do not think of it as being a big deal, but for the captive parrot their cage is their nesting area and they will defend it to the death. It is because of their natural drive to keep using the same nesting site and their drive to protect it that make changing cages so tricky.

In my opinion and with my limited experience, I very often have to sit down and attempt to put myself in a frame of mind that takes into account their natural behaviors so that I can at least begin to see things from their perspective, sort of like thinking the way that they do. I would place the new cage next to the old one with some of your birds favorite things in the new cage as well as some food and water and then wait for the bird to make the change. It is only after the bird chooses to make the new cage its new nesting area that you can remove the old cage. You will know when this happens because the bird will begin to go to and use the new cage more than it uses the old cage.

Now that I have shared that, I guess I might as well share a couple of other thoughts that might not endear me to the party that you got the bird and cage from and may cause me to take a little flack here on the forum as well. But the way that I see it based on what you said, the party that you got the bird and cage from gave you the cage as it appears to have been an unwanted cage at the time. If that is true they have no claim on the older cage that they gave you.

Please don't get me wrong, I would not have any qualms with trying to help them come up with a cage if they need one, but there is a huge difference between giving something to someone and loaning it to them. I am sure that if they had only loaned it to you that you would have tried to replace the cage much sooner than you did so that you could have returned it as soon as possible, at least that is what I would have done.

I have read what others have suggested and mine would be to keep the new cage and the old one as long as George needed it and to perhaps offer a fair price for the old cage or even to look for another used cage and help that person to acquire it in exchange for the old one, but in the end I do not feel that you owe them anything that you have not already given. What is right is right, but sometimes that is not so important and sometimes it might be better to preserve the peace and sometimes it is not worth it, we all have to make up our own minds. Just my thoughts.

[Pajarita]

The rescue lady was offered the new cage and she accepted it so, whether it's actually fair or not it's moot now as it's a done deal.

I have to say, I have one black cage, it's a double macaw one and the one that Freddy brought with him and, because it's in perfect condition, I use it for the amazons but I would never buy a black cage or any other dark color, actually. It seems to me that a dark cage is much more oppressive than a very light one. Mind you, this is nothing but an 'off-the-wall' idea of mine based on a personal perception and nothing else but I have looked through white and black bars and, although I don't like either, the white did not seem as 'cagey' as the black ones... Pookey is in a dark green one and I can't wait until I get the new white one I ordered!

If he is having a hard molt, it's because of an excess of protein in his diet but it could be a consequence of his previous diet - in any case, please make sure you are not free-feeding his protein food because you can't do that with any species but amazons are particularly sensitive to it.