Advice for a stressed bird

[Frostella]

Any tips on helping a stressed out bird? I brought my dusky conure to get his nails trimmed yesterday. They got a little overgrown so now we are going more often to do a little at a time to get them back where they need to be. He's normally handled this fine. It's the place we got him from so he was handfed and raised there for a year before us. The people who work there love him and give him lots of scritches when hes there. We've had him 6 months and he's probably just about 18 months old. Since we got back from getting the nails trimmed he's been obsessively feather picking around his legs and picking/nibbling at his feet. We've tried to keep him distracted with toys. Yesterday he was very quiet and not making his typical noises. He seems slightly perked up today but my big concern is we are supposed to be gone for 3 days next week and we are going to board him at the same place.
We did do some furniture rearranging 2 weeks ago so maybe the two things combined are the cause for this new response? I love this bird and I want to make sure he's going to be okay. Any tips on how to help him get back to baseline and make sure he will be okay with boarding? I think I'll learn how to do his nails if it's going to be this hard for him.

 

[wrench13]

I always explain to Salty if I am going to be away for a day or more. I start a few days before and show him with fingers how long. If i dont do this, it 3 or so days before I am forgiven. If I do it, it's a day. TIme well spent believe me!

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

Any tips on helping a stressed out bird? I brought my dusky conure to get his nails trimmed yesterday. They got a little overgrown so now we are going more often to do a little at a time to get them back where they need to be. He's normally handled this fine. It's the place we got him from so he was handfed and raised there for a year before us. The people who work there love him and give him lots of scritches when hes there. We've had him 6 months and he's probably just about 18 months old. Since we got back from getting the nails trimmed he's been obsessively feather picking around his legs and picking/nibbling at his feet. We've tried to keep him distracted with toys. Yesterday he was very quiet and not making his typical noises. He seems slightly perked up today but my big concern is we are supposed to be gone for 3 days next week and we are going to board him at the same place.
We did do some furniture rearranging 2 weeks ago so maybe the two things combined are the cause for this new response? I love this bird and I want to make sure he's going to be okay. Any tips on how to help him get back to baseline and make sure he will be okay with boarding? I think I'll learn how to do his nails if it's going to be this hard for him.

Awwww, it must be so scary for him to have stayed there for a year and then with you for 6 months and then to go back there. Even if nothing bad happens I think it can be traumatic for them to be rehomed since that's all they've known and they have no idea what's going on. A year is a long time so he was probably very comfortable there and then all of a sudden he's got a new home, doesn't know anyone and everything is different. And then six months later he goes back there, so it can be confusing for him too. I think it's brilliant that you can board him there as it will make the transition so much easier since he's been there before and if they love him then you know he'll be looked after well.

I had a budgie that was only nine moths old when I got him but he'd had about four different homes before me and after around two months of having him he started behaving very anxiously and I think it was because he expected to be rehomed again. I don't remember doing anything special with him, other than just the usual things and after some time had passed he was fine and now he's a very happy bird and doesn't display any signs of anxiety.

I think learning to trim his nails yourself is a good idea, or getting those trimming perches to help maintain it. If you're going to be boarding him there regularly then it might be worth sticking with having them trim his nails so he can learn that he goes there and then comes home and he can be comfortable in both places. Has he been picking his feathers out or preening a lot? I know mine preen a bit more as a comfort thing and they don't really pick their feathers out when they do this but it can look worrying when they do it a lot. If he's not picking his feathers out then I think he'll be ok and he's just dealing with the new stresses in his own way.

 

[Frostella]

Awwww, it must be so scary for him to have stayed there for a year and then with you for 6 months and then to go back there. Even if nothing bad happens I think it can be traumatic for them to be rehomed since that's all they've known and they have no idea what's going on. A year is a long time so he was probably very comfortable there and then all of a sudden he's got a new home, doesn't know anyone and everything is different. And then six months later he goes back there, so it can be confusing for him too. I think it's brilliant that you can board him there as it will make the transition so much easier since he's been there before and if they love him then you know he'll be looked after well.

I had a budgie that was only nine moths old when I got him but he'd had about four different homes before me and after around two months of having him he started behaving very anxiously and I think it was because he expected to be rehomed again. I don't remember doing anything special with him, other than just the usual things and after some time had passed he was fine and now he's a very happy bird and doesn't display any signs of anxiety.

I think learning to trim his nails yourself is a good idea, or getting those trimming perches to help maintain it. If you're going to be boarding him there regularly then it might be worth sticking with having them trim his nails so he can learn that he goes there and then comes home and he can be comfortable in both places. Has he been picking his feathers out or preening a lot? I know mine preen a bit more as a comfort thing and they don't really pick their feathers out when they do this but it can look worrying when they do it a lot. If he's not picking his feathers out then I think he'll be ok and he's just dealing with the new stresses in his own way.

We are almost never out of town. It's very rare for us to so not something that will happen often. Even getting him into his travel case has been a battle and I don't want to fight with him. I'm going to get a perch for him to help with nails and then try myself. I work in Healthcare so I'm decent with my hands and handle stress well. I dont want to hurt his trust in me if he hates it but i think im already doing that by shoving him in the hated travel container. He's attached to me so well. One 30 minute trip got him so stressed that I'm wondering how 3 days will be.
I ordered some bird safe chamomile and I'm wondering if he's super stressed when we get back if maybe that will help him. Other it sounds like it's mostly just give him time? Also he isn't plucking. Just aggressively pulling on them over and over. Some might eventually come out but he's definitely chewing his poor feet

 

[Frostella]

Awwww, it must be so scary for him to have stayed there for a year and then with you for 6 months and then to go back there. Even if nothing bad happens I think it can be traumatic for them to be rehomed since that's all they've known and they have no idea what's going on. A year is a long time so he was probably very comfortable there and then all of a sudden he's got a new home, doesn't know anyone and everything is different. And then six months later he goes back there, so it can be confusing for him too. I think it's brilliant that you can board him there as it will make the transition so much easier since he's been there before and if they love him then you know he'll be looked after well.

I had a budgie that was only nine moths old when I got him but he'd had about four different homes before me and after around two months of having him he started behaving very anxiously and I think it was because he expected to be rehomed again. I don't remember doing anything special with him, other than just the usual things and after some time had passed he was fine and now he's a very happy bird and doesn't display any signs of anxiety.

I think learning to trim his nails yourself is a good idea, or getting those trimming perches to help maintain it. If you're going to be boarding him there regularly then it might be worth sticking with having them trim his nails so he can learn that he goes there and then comes home and he can be comfortable in both places. Has he been picking his feathers out or preening a lot? I know mine preen a bit more as a comfort thing and they don't really pick their feathers out when they do this but it can look worrying when they do it a lot. If he's not picking his feathers out then I think he'll be ok and he's just dealing with the new stresses in his own way.

He has also been there a few times for nails since we got him and it wad always super easy with no stress so I'm not sure why it's popped up so strong now.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

We are almost never out of town. It's very rare for us to so not something that will happen often. Even getting him into his travel case has been a battle and I don't want to fight with him. I'm going to get a perch for him to help with nails and then try myself. I work in Healthcare so I'm decent with my hands and handle stress well. I dont want to hurt his trust in me if he hates it but i think im already doing that by shoving him in the hated travel container. He's attached to me so well. One 30 minute trip got him so stressed that I'm wondering how 3 days will be.
I ordered some bird safe chamomile and I'm wondering if he's super stressed when we get back if maybe that will help him. Other it sounds like it's mostly just give him time? Also he isn't plucking. Just aggressively pulling on them over and over. Some might eventually come out but he's definitely chewing his poor feet

I like the chamomile idea! I think you're doing everything right by him and it does sound like the furniture moving around might have made him a bit uneasy and that's why he's reacted this way now. Mine can become unsettled by the smallest things, such as a cardboard box in the room when it wasn't before so it's possible that that big change has made him a bit scared.

One thing I've found with birds is that they don't really hold a grudge for long if it's just one thing you've done to upset them. I've upset mine countless of times and they never hold it against me for long, so I'm sure he won't be upset with you for too long. If anything when you pick him up after the three days he'll probably be so happy to see you that he'll forget it was you that took him there to begin with!