Gerry Had A Bad Night

Violet_Diva

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Late last night there were two instances where Gerry went thud in his cage :-(

His cage is covered at night and sometimes he'll have a little scurry at the bottom of the cage before going to sleep. But last night it sounded like he fell from his perch. I went over and uncovered him to look for any injuries or if he looked sick in any way. He seemed a little confused so I comforted him and I guided him back up to his perch and covered him over again. Within the hour he did it again. After the second time I heard him crunching at his wings again.

Today when I got up, there were 3 small wing feathers in the bottom of his cage plus a bit of tail feather and one of his few wing feathers is dangling from his body at a undesirable angle. Should I cut it off or should I leave him to chomp it himself?

Could he have been having a nightmare or something? I don't understand why he would fall. He has a crazy strong grip (what with him being flightless).
 
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Violet_Diva

Violet_Diva

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I just went to the kitchen to do this


I came back and he had done this


While I was in the kitchen, my other half had turned the lights down dimly, now I'm wondering if Gerry is scared of the dark...
Could this be why he plucks? Maybe when his previous humans were on holiday the lights were out the whole time in the house...

I'm thinking I might try only half covering his cage at bedtime...

I can't believe how many feathers he just wrecked in a few minutes. That's more than he did all last week!
 

katie_fleming

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I am so sorry to hear this :( Poor guy.

Do you think something could have spooked him? One night something fell in my living room and scared Jasper and he fell off.

You didn't mention it but first thought I had -- any toe tapping?
 
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Violet_Diva

Violet_Diva

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I am so sorry to hear this :( Poor guy.

Do you think something could have spooked him? One night something fell in my living room and scared Jasper and he fell off.

You didn't mention it but first thought I had -- any toe tapping?
Thanks for the reply Katie. I haven't witnessed any toe tapping as of yet. He's been having some Harrisons added to his diet the past couple of days as recommended by the vet. She thinks the added nutrition will help with regrowth of feathers etc.

It's possible something might've spooked him. I had a thought that maybe he was asleep and forgot he'd moved house - woke up and everything was strange and had a freak out?!?

The trouble is because he's new to me there's so much I don't know! Had this behaviour developed during my care I feel like it would be easier to work out. But as I don't know what 'normal' is to Gerry it makes it a bit harder to make sense of things.

So far I'm quite sure he's not keen on being caged. But I have noticed him really enjoying the added enrichment of having toys and things to shred in his cage. He has been a bit territorial of his food bowls and sometimes the top of his cage - but this could just be because I'm effectively a stranger to him.

I'm still not overly keen on his cage size, Bellas is a macaw size cage. But I can't realistically upgrade his cage until his quarantine is over and he's in the bird room.

Sorry, just realised I'm waffling! I guess it's all just trial and error from here on in...
 

Scott

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I wanted to review Gerry's intro thread before commenting: http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/72275-my-third-parrot-male-vosmaeri-eclectus.html Beautiful Vos, reminds me of my Sasquatch.

I'd be a bit concerned with repeated falls, considering he has a strong grip. Seems less likely to be a medical issue and rather environmental. Perhaps experimenting with a constant source of muted light at night would be an easy start?

Have you any idea how long he's been plucking? Rather strange pattern, just his wings but not the chest. Not that I'd complain that his front section is about perfect!
 
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Violet_Diva

Violet_Diva

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I wanted to review Gerry's intro thread before commenting: http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/72275-my-third-parrot-male-vosmaeri-eclectus.html Beautiful Vos, reminds me of my Sasquatch.

I'd be a bit concerned with repeated falls, considering he has a strong grip. Seems less likely to be a medical issue and rather environmental. Perhaps experimenting with a constant source of muted light at night would be an easy start?

Have you any idea how long he's been plucking? Rather strange pattern, just his wings but not the chest. Not that I'd complain that his front section is about perfect!
I will definitely make sure he has some kind of light source tonight. And maybe not cover him over completely.

His previous human had an instagram account for him
gerry_the_eclectus
From the photos and videos you can see...

November 2016
Fully feathered and flighted

January 2017
Tail is gone

Apparently after the humans came back from holiday (after having an accident involving broken bones,) they returned to a Gerry minus his wings.

The short underside of his tail is intact, the short topside of his tail is intact - it's just the lengthy flight assisting feathers from between that are gone.

His wings are rather a mess.

May I just say Sasquatch is an awesome name - I'd love to see a photo :)
 

GaleriaGila

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When in doubt, more light, I think?
In particular, I have a pet worry about nightmares. Rb is a vigorous dreamer, judging by REM-indications even during daytime naps, so I suspect he can wake up at night, disoriented and jarred by nightmares, so... good to have some light?
 

LordTriggs

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try getting a little night light near his cage, they help cockatiels in the night so maybe it will help Gerry

as for the vet recommending pellets that worries me quite a bit. Are they aware of Eclectus' dietary requirements? I've only ever seen stuff saying not to give them pellets
 

plumsmum2005

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Oh that is sad to hear, poor Gerry. I think I would (if not already) put some cushions at the bottom of his cage and or lower his perches. A plug in night light (for babies) helped my friends 'too getting over night time issues. It all worked out and he demands dark now LOL! Certainly think about that AV appointment, sometimes we just cannot work some things out ourselves.
 

katie_fleming

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You could put a towel/blanket on the bottom of his cage and cover it with newspaper just in case he falls again.

Has he been to the vet recently for a general health check?
 

Flboy

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Our first, Tango, freaked if covered in the dark. My JoJo? You put a light on, you know he is using words he never heard from me!
 
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Violet_Diva

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try getting a little night light near his cage, they help cockatiels in the night so maybe it will help Gerry

When in doubt, more light, I think?
In particular, I have a pet worry about nightmares. Rb is a vigorous dreamer, judging by REM-indications even during daytime naps, so I suspect he can wake up at night, disoriented and jarred by nightmares, so... good to have some light?

A plug in night light (for babies) helped my friends 'too getting over night time issues. It all worked out and he demands dark now LOL!

Our first, Tango, freaked if covered in the dark. My JoJo? You put a light on, you know he is using words he never heard from me!

He's been much better with regards to night time. He hasn't had any more falls. We now have him half covered with some dim light until he's fast asleep. He seems to be doing better with this gradual covering technique. Hopefully he's a bit more settled and is getting used to his surroundings now. So maybe he won't be so scared when he wakes from bad dreams.

You could put a towel/blanket on the bottom of his cage and cover it with newspaper just in case he falls again.

Oh that is sad to hear, poor Gerry. I think I would (if not already) put some cushions at the bottom of his cage and or lower his perches.

He currently eats and showers in his cage and as his diet is mostly fresh produce I would be wary of putting any kind of cushion in there... I'd be too worried about him eating a hole in it and getting tangled in threads or chewing a zip or managing to get himself stuck somehow. I do worry about him alot what with him not being able to fly or right himself. I also don't let the birdies access newspaper as I worry about them ingesting it. I wouldn't eat newspaper ink myself, so I wouldn't put one of the birdies in a position where they might eat it :)

I'm reluctant to move his perches lower as his perches were all previously at the same level and I think this was too boring for him. From moving his perches it's been like him moving from a high ceiling bungalow to a three story house and I truly believe his new found enrichment during the day (from all the different levels and toys) has been most beneficial to him :)
 
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Violet_Diva

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Certainly think about that AV appointment, sometimes we just cannot work some things out ourselves.

Has he been to the vet recently for a general health check?

He has been to a vet (she has parrots herself). She weighed him checked his general condition and suggested adding Harrisons to the diet, suggested specific activities and training and said we would look at how he is in Jan to decide if we should remove his broken feathers under anesthetic. At this point she would take blood while he's out (as in England vets won't take blood from parrots that aren't sedated. So it's better if we do it all in one go.)

as for the vet recommending pellets that worries me quite a bit. Are they aware of Eclectus' dietary requirements? I've only ever seen stuff saying not to give them pellets

She is aware of Eclectus dietary needs, I think maybe she is sceptical as to whether I am able to provide a balanced enough diet, and as he is in need of good nutrition to help his wings, I've met her half way by giving him half the amount of pellets she recommended...
 
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Violet_Diva

Violet_Diva

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Thank-you to everyone who posted suggestions and messaged me. I really do appreciate it. I'm sorry if my replies lack lustre but I'm super tired, I've only been getting 5 hours sleep a night for a few days and it's catching up with me. The first thing to go is personality... so I'm rather robotic at the mo - auto pilot has kicked in! I just thought I'd better reply and acknowledge all your great advice and suggestions before I fall to far behind :)
 

Soyajam

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Hey Diva, don't panic. I'm a shocker when I'm sleep deprived so I can relate!

Sounds like between us and the vet you've got it more or less under control anyway. I hope Gerry makes a quick recovery.

Personally I'd agree on the issue of pellets if it's temporary. If he's not really stuffing himself with the fresh stuff, the pellets are likely to contain enough fats, protein and energy to support recovering from sickness/injury.

I'm using a small percentage of pellets to supplement my girl's diet - since she's so young and not really eating as much as I'd like - and she's a little underweight for her age - I use the pellets soaked in mash to give a little oomph, so to speak.

Can always dial the pellets back once he's right again.

Hope you get some good rest soon!
 

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Any updates? Was dim lighting the answer after all?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
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Violet_Diva

Violet_Diva

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Just thought I'd update on this thread for some closure
Since our new 'gradual nighttime' routine, Gerry hasn't had anymore episodes of falling or going crazy. We now cover the top of the cage, then later on turn on a lamp and turn the main light off, then a while after that, half cover the front of the cage, then finally cover the cage completely at bedtime. He seems happier with this gradual darkness. So hopefully no more falls!
 

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Great! I'm so glad that worked out. Thanks for the update!
 

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