Amazon Plucking

[Kiwibird]

Sounds like he's feeling much better if he had it in him to deliver a good chomp If he's still plucking a bit, my guess is stress at this point, and can you really blame him? I mean, the poor little guy had had zinc poisoning and over 6 straight months of back and forth to vets, different medications, you being stressed (which I'm sure he picks up on). I'd try to increase his amount of shredding toys to give him something else to pick at besides his legs and foraging opportunities to keep him occupied. Also, when was the last time he had a bath and what's the humidity in your house? He may just be grungy and have dry skin if all the zinc is gone and theres been a few months passage for him to start recovering

 

[Amethyst]

I've been misting him and spraying him which he never really likes when I do. He seems to prefer bathing on his own terms which translates to him doing it in his drinking cup on Sunday mornings when I'm not looking. I also have a bottle of that "Rain" aloe spray I use sometimes.

He now has lots of shredding toys and will soon be getting a second (spare) cage we are putting in another room to give him some other place to hang out when we are home. I'm trying to incorporate more "good / positive" variety.

He is also back to yelling our names out when we get home and are doing things around the house. He had stopped that while he was sick. So now he's back to repeating our names over and over and over.

Reminds me of that show where the kid keeps saying: "Mom, mom, mommy, ma, ma, maaaa....."

 

[Kiwibird]

Glad he's getting back to normal. At this point, if he's getting back to being himself again, any residual symptoms will probably clear up over the next few months I hope your nightmare is over and you and your bird can get back to normal again.

 

[95talongirl]

So glad to hear he is doing better!!

 

[Amethyst]

He had an update vet visit this morning. Although some days he seems to be getting better, there are days he does not. "two steps forward and three back" as the old saying goes....I still don't think we are out of the woods yet. Both vets he has been to STILL do not know what is wrong with my amazon now that all his tests come back negative.

All recent zinc tests have been normal. I just had one more done today as extra precaution. He has been eating better and has a good appetite, but his body just won't gain and keep the weight on. On my scale at home, it seems some times his weight increases, but then other times, not. The vet says that he thinks his body is not absorbing nutrients or vitamins and that's why he can't gain weight. He is still plucking and on occasion he will twitch. We now have another spare cage that we have in our living room for variety for him to hang out in, watch TV with us and climb and play on. We've been spoiling him extra big time, just to see what works and what doesn't.

Basically as of today, we were told there is a 50/50 chance of him recovering from whatever it is that lingers in him. We will love him and care for him for as long as he's alive which I hope is a long time.

This whole ordeal has been an up and down emotional roller coaster and I appreciate everyone's suggestions, opinions and good wishes throughout this whole discussion.

 

[porthos]

Hey im sorry I haven't read all the posts so forgive me if I say something already been said, it could be hormonal and sometimes they pluck and there is just nothing we can do about it, amazons are prone to being vitamin A deficient,could be a factor, aloe vera in his spray bottle will help soothe his skin, despite what is said pellets and certainly Harrisons aren't always the best thing to feed, you must feed seed as well and sprouted seeds and pulses are full of nutrients, there is a good supplement called Nekton s if you don't already use it, it has loads of amino acids and enzymes in it, give this to him twice a week, a lastly a big hug to you, I adopted a plucker who has been doing this for 12yrs and it is heartbreaking, the thing is they are not domesticated and even when we do everything right they can still pluck, don't blame yourself. xx

 

[Kiwibird]

Has the vet prescribed a weight-gaining diet for him? There are (vet RX) pellet diets out there designed to put weight on birds while still providing adequate nutrition who have been ill or have trouble maintaining a healthy weight. I'm really hoping he'll make a full recovery. Sometimes it takes a long time after such a serious issues. Especially in such a tiny and fragile body. He's been a fighter to this point, and I'm sure he'll keep on fighting

 

[squawkie]

Re: Amazon Plucking & Twitching

My Yellow Nape (37 years old F) has the same problems as your bird. I've read all your post. It been going on for all most 2 years, some times good, some times bad. Did everything, 2 vet, Xray, all the blood test, re-coated her cage, vets have no idea whats wrong, I'm in So. Ca. the vets were specialist for bird. Yesterday she was the worst that she has ever been, she couldn't even sleep, pulling at her feather as if she was being bit, shifting from foot to foot, feathers locked down tit to her body. Out of desperation I want to the pet store bought calcium (Avian Calcium) put about a 1/16 teaspoon in her dinner, this morning she was right back to her old self. This AM gave her another 1/16 of a teaspoon of calcium and will continue to give it to her twice a day till I'm sure that it isn't helping. It's cheap ($7) easy (you can get it on Amazon) and shouldn't hurt her and may even fix the problem. I really can't believe the overnight change!

 

[Amethyst]

Re: Amazon Plucking & Twitching

Wow - Squawkie, I am amazed to hear this. I was thinking my poor little guy either has some rare disease or still has zinc that is undetected in his body. I will consider trying this. My amazon has had about 6 or 7 (I've lost count!) zinc tests and the only one that was abnormal was the first one. So his has tested negative for any more zinc. He has been tested twice for Borna Virus, negative all times...and now as I type this he is back to his plucking and twitching like your bird too. I have no clue what causes this and now the vet is leaning on boredom or stress. My bird was never bored or stressed and all these symptoms started January 2014 and that was when his zinc was abnormal. I can't imagine this going on for two years. We even got him a spare cage that is smaller and can be rolled around the house easily and we use it as a back-up and sometimes let him sleep in our room with us on the weekends when we don't have to wake up so early. I will consider trying what you did because you are the only person who has told me of similar symptoms. I think I am going to start plucking myself soon if he doesn't get better. THANK YOU FOR POSTING !!!


So

My Yellow Nape (37 years old F) has the same problems as your bird. I've read all your post. It been going on for all most 2 years, some times good, some times bad. Did everything, 2 vet, Xray, all the blood test, re-coated her cage, vets have no idea whats wrong, I'm in So. Ca. the vets were specialist for bird. Yesterday she was the worst that she has ever been, she couldn't even sleep, pulling at her feather as if she was being bit, shifting from foot to foot, feathers locked down tit to her body. Out of desperation I want to the pet store bought calcium (Avian Calcium) put about a 1/16 teaspoon in her dinner, this morning she was right back to her old self. This AM gave her another 1/16 of a teaspoon of calcium and will continue to give it to her twice a day till I'm sure that it isn't helping. It's cheap ($7) easy (you can get it on Amazon) and shouldn't hurt her and may even fix the problem. I really can't believe the overnight change!

 

[Amethyst]

Today I noticed he's not having frequent droppings. Don't parrots poop about every 15 minutes? His droppings do look normal in consistency meaning not watery but he is definitely NOT pooping as often as he normally does. When he does it's very small.

Of course this had to happen on a holiday weekend, no competent avian vet open. His appetite is ok and he's still doing the plucking thing that's been going on. This "less pooping" thing is the latest in his whole health saga!

Are there any home remedies I can do to get him to move his stool until a vet is available ?