AmazinglAvians
New member
Good afternoon! I am new to this site, and I'm looking for advice from Quaker owners who have worked with "challenging" birds in the past. My Quaker, Verdie, came to live with me about three months ago, and we have been struggling to bond since then. I will list her back-story, living conditions, and vet history below. Maybe one of you will be able to recognize her condition and give me handy advice! 
The main problem that I would like advice on: I dearly love my little birdie, but she is very emotionally traumatized due to her difficult past. She has QMS to the extent that her vet gave me haladol to keep her from peeling the skin off of her legs, which she has done before. her entire belly is plucked. She is fearful of everyone and everything (new toys and towels especially), and will bolt if anything moves too quickly near her. The haladol has seemed to help with some of her fear, and she is now allowing me to pet her face gently. sometimes she even snuggles under my chin! However, she is extremely cage aggressive when she is even within sight of her caging, and is prone to chasing strangers and occasionally even biting me with no warning, for no reason, when I am being slow and gentle with her. She HATES men with a passion, and will go out of her way to attack my boyfriend and father. How can I work with her to change her behaviors in a positive way?
Verdie's Personal History: I work at a wildlife rehabilitation facility. and occasionally we receive accidental domestic admissions. We work together to find parrot rescue groups in which to place these birds, but in Verdie's case, she was "forgotten" at our center, as the parrot rescue group never came for her. she was admitted by a woman who caught her with a blanket after observing her flying (or attempting to fly) feral in an apartment complex for close to a month. when Verdie came to the center, her wings were clipped in a very messy manner, and she weighed a measly 78 grams. (normal is around 93 grams) her beak was overgrown and uneven, and she was very frightened of everything. She knew how to step up, but would shiver profusely in the corner of her cage unless prompted with a treat. After doing my best to care for her at the center for two days with little success, I decided that I would adopt her myself, and so I did. As soon as I brought her home, she began eating the roudybush pellets that I provided. My best guess is that Verdie was once a pet who was dumped when her owners moved.
Verdie's housing as of Today: she lives within a spacious cage that is approx. 4.5 feet tall, and has 3X3 base. I have provided her with plenty of perching that is appropriate for her foot size, and multiple raffia toys, which are the only kind she enjoys. she is allowed free-flight while supervised in my room for up to 4 hours a day. she eats roudybush matienence, supplemented with fruit and veggies. her bedtime is 10pm, I cover her cage and say "goodnight". she sleeps well until 8am, at which point she calls until I pull away the cage cover.
Verdie's medical history: When I first adopted Verdie, I researched a safe and effective wing-clipping technique, for the purpose of keeping her grounded while we bonded, so that she wouldn't fly into a dangerous situation that I could not retrieve her from. I am very familiar with feathers, wings and all the structures thereof, so I took it upon myself to cover verdie's face, and evenly clip seven primary feathers on both wings, without injuring any blood feathers. She put up no struggle at the time, and even today, she does not seem to mind the lack of lift. She can still flutter about five feet in any direction. Her avian vet has been helping me deal with her QMS for the last month, and it has been progressing rapidly. She is on Haladol, she tested negative for any viral causes, and she otherwise seems in good health. (normal stools, normal eating/drinking ect.) Her vet also initially trimmed her beak with a dremmel tool, since it was so long that it was impeding her movement. there were no extreme behavioral changes after that, either. when we took a ventri-dorsal X-ray, there was no sign of testicles nor ovaries, so the vet and I are assuming that she is female until we see evidence otherwise. (simply because testicles nearly always are present in x-rays, and the tiny ovaries can be easily missed.)
Anyone recognize outstanding clues in this case? aside from the fear of towels, which I know to be because of her interactions with the vet.
The main problem that I would like advice on: I dearly love my little birdie, but she is very emotionally traumatized due to her difficult past. She has QMS to the extent that her vet gave me haladol to keep her from peeling the skin off of her legs, which she has done before. her entire belly is plucked. She is fearful of everyone and everything (new toys and towels especially), and will bolt if anything moves too quickly near her. The haladol has seemed to help with some of her fear, and she is now allowing me to pet her face gently. sometimes she even snuggles under my chin! However, she is extremely cage aggressive when she is even within sight of her caging, and is prone to chasing strangers and occasionally even biting me with no warning, for no reason, when I am being slow and gentle with her. She HATES men with a passion, and will go out of her way to attack my boyfriend and father. How can I work with her to change her behaviors in a positive way?
Verdie's Personal History: I work at a wildlife rehabilitation facility. and occasionally we receive accidental domestic admissions. We work together to find parrot rescue groups in which to place these birds, but in Verdie's case, she was "forgotten" at our center, as the parrot rescue group never came for her. she was admitted by a woman who caught her with a blanket after observing her flying (or attempting to fly) feral in an apartment complex for close to a month. when Verdie came to the center, her wings were clipped in a very messy manner, and she weighed a measly 78 grams. (normal is around 93 grams) her beak was overgrown and uneven, and she was very frightened of everything. She knew how to step up, but would shiver profusely in the corner of her cage unless prompted with a treat. After doing my best to care for her at the center for two days with little success, I decided that I would adopt her myself, and so I did. As soon as I brought her home, she began eating the roudybush pellets that I provided. My best guess is that Verdie was once a pet who was dumped when her owners moved.
Verdie's housing as of Today: she lives within a spacious cage that is approx. 4.5 feet tall, and has 3X3 base. I have provided her with plenty of perching that is appropriate for her foot size, and multiple raffia toys, which are the only kind she enjoys. she is allowed free-flight while supervised in my room for up to 4 hours a day. she eats roudybush matienence, supplemented with fruit and veggies. her bedtime is 10pm, I cover her cage and say "goodnight". she sleeps well until 8am, at which point she calls until I pull away the cage cover.
Verdie's medical history: When I first adopted Verdie, I researched a safe and effective wing-clipping technique, for the purpose of keeping her grounded while we bonded, so that she wouldn't fly into a dangerous situation that I could not retrieve her from. I am very familiar with feathers, wings and all the structures thereof, so I took it upon myself to cover verdie's face, and evenly clip seven primary feathers on both wings, without injuring any blood feathers. She put up no struggle at the time, and even today, she does not seem to mind the lack of lift. She can still flutter about five feet in any direction. Her avian vet has been helping me deal with her QMS for the last month, and it has been progressing rapidly. She is on Haladol, she tested negative for any viral causes, and she otherwise seems in good health. (normal stools, normal eating/drinking ect.) Her vet also initially trimmed her beak with a dremmel tool, since it was so long that it was impeding her movement. there were no extreme behavioral changes after that, either. when we took a ventri-dorsal X-ray, there was no sign of testicles nor ovaries, so the vet and I are assuming that she is female until we see evidence otherwise. (simply because testicles nearly always are present in x-rays, and the tiny ovaries can be easily missed.)
Anyone recognize outstanding clues in this case? aside from the fear of towels, which I know to be because of her interactions with the vet.
