devastated!!

[littleredhen77]

i too have several instruments in my house, and none of them seem to be reacting to the humidity. ive got 3 acoustic guitars, a violin, and a harp. we burn oil for the most part, but there is a wood stove in the living room and another in the basement that we light on really cold nights, we used to use wood more, but oil prices are way low this year and, well, its easier to just use that while we can.

i will pick one up and while im at it ill try to find a meter of sorts thatll tell he what level the humidity is..then ill try moving it around to different parts of the house to see what im working with.

 

[Anansi]

Any updates on Ziggy?

 

[littleredhen77]

yes! i made him a new toy on sunday while i was home all day with him, it consisted of a paper towel roll with finger sized holes poked all around it. i then stuffed newspaper in the ends and the rest was filled with air popped popcorn. i set it on top of his cage and he went nuts shredding it! seriously the most shredding ive ever seen him do! so, i kept that idea and ive been making him mini ones with toilet paper rolls every morning, but i use smaller newspaper balls inside as well as a few pieces of popcorn so he doesnt fill up on popcorn alone. 3 days in a row now and ive come home to a shredded toy and not a bit of feather on the ground! before, i had been clipping millet sprigs inside of toilet paper rolls so he can see the end of it hanging out but he would just eat the end and refuse to rip into the tube to get the rest. i also moved one of his perches lower and added a new one. i rearranged the toys he has had in his cage but never touches..he still isnt touching them but..that happened lol! im trying to come up with a way to attach some type of treat or something to his toys to make him fiddle with them..ive tried making paper 'pretzels' and tying them to one of them but he ignored it. id love to somehow get him more interested in his wooden toys because at this rate, i will be out of cardboard tubes in no time! hes lucky i had been saving them for a project i wanted to make and i had about 10 stashed away but hes going through them quick!

im just so glad that hes avoided chewing himself and i hope this distraction keeps working. i love to see the cardboard bits all over the floor instead of feather pieces. i can flip him upside down and he lets me spread out his wings this way and i noticed today that hes growing one new wing feather in! lets hope it survives!

ive also ordered him a featherbrite bulb off amazon, ive been reading and reading and i see so much confusion..one person makes it sound so great and the next totally contradicts them. i think ill try using it for a very short amount each day while im with him and see what happens. ill try it a little farther away than it reccomends as well because im terrified of the 'eye burning' i read..maybe itll become a helpful tool that i can use during the winter..? ive brought him outside a couple times last summer but he seems so scared to be out there, which mostly i think is because of my 2 free range chinese geese..they are so loud! giant white screaming birds wandering up near the porch youre sitting on must be terrifying for a little green parrot! my solution would be trying to take him out in the front yard this summer where there are no geese. but that is months away so im curious if this bulb will be a sufficient seasonal substitute..?

thank you for asking, i really love this forum..everyone is so caring and wonderful!

oh..and more information..i have this digital indoor thermometer thing i picked up and over the course of the past 24 hours, it says the room Ziggys cage is in has had a high of 26% humidity and a low of 21%. i assume its a little lower in the living room where the wood stove is but i havent tested that room yet, he spends about 3 hours in the living room, most of his time is in the dining room or the bathroom, and if im in the kitchen he is with me there as well, but for the most part these are the humidity levels hes in. thoughts? too low?

 

[Anansi]

Sweet! I'm so happy to hear that! Great news!

As for your questions, there is quite a bit of debate as to whether full spectrum lighting serves as a substitute for natural sunlight or not. There don't seem to be any definitive answers on the topic, but I don't think it could hurt. (Kept far enough away from Ziggy, of course.)

As for your question regarding humidity levels, I really wasn't quite sure what would be considered a good level for a parrot. So I did some searching. And I came up with this VERY interesting article: http://luchaschoice.blogspot.com/2009/01/importance-of-humidity-for-companion.html?m=1

Hope that helps.

 

[chris-md]

You're onto something! When i decided to get Parker I immediately got a bunch of toys that focus on shredding and preening; palm leaf piñatas, mini paper piñatas, mop head toys, stuff like that. Also got foraging heavy toys and playtime. A toilet paper roll with nutriberry sealed inside (fold the ends to close it) became a favorite of his.

 

[littleredhen77]

that is a great article about humidity! i will definatley have to raise mine up a bit then, it makes sense seeing as hes from a muuuchhh more tropical place than Maine. thank you for doing that research for me!

as for the lighting, i really dont know which side of the argument to believe, but i also dont think itll hurt anything to find out. its saying to keep the bulb between 12"-15" from where he will be perched most. i think ill keep it at least twice that distance away and itll only be on for like an hour or 2 at first. i will keep you updated on if i see any changes!

 

[chris-md]

I would tell you follow the manufacturers instructions. The distance is worked out for a reason (look into the law of inverse squares). Modify the times as your comfortable with. I'm in your exact boat. I followed the manifactures instructions for distance but I only leave it on for half hour stretches rather than on solid for 10 hours. That may change in a few weeks but it's all I'm comfortable with right now.

 

[ScooterMcTavish]

Hi guys,

New here, but I would agree that RH in the 20%'s is way too low, and not just for Ziggy. Our cottage uses a wood stove, and we find it very dry at 40% RH, and this with a kettle on it full time. Monty actually developed a dry sneeze until we were able to get the humidity up into the 50%s.

I personally find it very dry, and scratch myself constantly - I can't imagine how itchy I'd be if I had feathers as well!

Not sure if this is contributing to his feather mangulation, but I'm sure you and the bird would both appreciate a little more humidity in the home - I know I sure do.

As a side note, when I use my dehumidifier in spring, it's first setting is 50% then goes to 35% (then "Lo") in steps of 5! So according to this, 50% is when air starts being considered dry.

 

[littleredhen77]

Hello again! Thank you scooter for that info..i have become comfortable at this humidity level but i have been working at making it more humid in here for the sake of my birds currently my living room is at 28% and im finding it hard to get it much higher than that..perhaps the type of house i have is hindering progress? i live in a very old, very large farm house..it has 10 foot ceilings with a ceiling fan in each room. i have many many house plants if that contributes at all, not sure if it matters but..theyre here

an update on his light..i received the bulb on saturday but when i tried to screw it into the lamp i planned on using, i found that the ballast base of it was shaped in a way that prevented it from screwing in far enough. i bought a large one of those aluminum clip lights that you see at tractor supply or any farm supply store. the bulb just barely threads in enough on that lamp to make contact and when i move the cable around it sometimes makes the bulb flicker on and off. i have chosen to hang it above my chair instead of putting it over his cage and setting it to a timer. yesterday and today i have taken him out when i get home and after hes had his dinner, and hes ready to hang out on the chair i turn the light on. it is positioned so its 2' above where the top of his head would be ((if he stood up tall and stood still lol)) and its only shining on one side of the chair/one of my shoulders. he can move over to the other shoulder if he wants to get away from it. so far, he seems to not really care about it that much, he isnt afraid of the lamp but i dont know if he likes the brightness of the bulb that much. it sure does make his color POP though! i took a few pictures earlier while he was hanging out near it and while they dont quite show the colors im seeing, theyre still adorable!

he still hasnt chewed himself since ive been making him the toilet paper tube toys daily, so its going to be hard to tell if the light is affecting anything. regardless, im verrrrryyyyy glad he hasnt chewed himself! here are the pictures i took of him

^^that last picture cracks me up..i love it when hes all poofy and about to shake out his feathers! soo cute! D sorry theyre all sideways..my internet is very slow and i cant seem to rotate anything on photobucket tonight..arrgh

 

[Anansi]

Sweet pics of Ziggy! And yes, his colors really are popping! Nice!

As for the humidity level, perhaps the problem is the humidifier itself. Maybe you need a stronger one for the size of the room you're attempting to humidify?

 

[GaleriaGila]

I have joined the ranks of parronts of barberers.

No telling how long the Rb has been doing it. It's practically invisible... the innermost 3 primaries. Our wonderful avian vet suspects it's related to some mid-wing arthritis. Rb can still fly, but I have noticed that over the last few years, he's become more fond of asking (more like demanding!) to be carried around. The vet encouraged me to give in to him a little more. He didn't think there was any indication for medicine or anything except watching. Rb will moult in July, so we'll go see the vet again then.

I've ramped up all the usual precautions, but his diet and environment are great, I do believe, so... for now, at least, I think I'm doing all I can.

You know, I thought I was pretty sympathetic to those dealing with feather issues. But having it happen with my own dear darling really shook me up. I needed a lot of support.

Another reason I love this place.

I'm in the process of searching for past threads (on wing barbers) like this one.

 

[Anansi]

We're here for you, Abigail. For you and RB, both. Dealing with feather barbering and plucking can be incredibly difficult and trying, mostly because it can make you feel so helpless.

Jolly had once hit both wings while trying to pull off some kind of crazy flight maneuver through a partially closed door. He had a rare moment of miscalculation and hit both wings somewhat hard. After that, I noticed that he started barbering the same 2 or 3 flight feathers on each wing. Kind of came off like a rather inelegant (ugly) clip.

The thought of Jolly barbering horrified me, because flight means so very much to him. It's part and parcel of who he is. This self-imposed clipping hindered his flight ability for a few months. To the point where flying all the way upstairs was a bit difficult for him.

Thankfully, however, once his wings stopped feeling irritated he stopped barbering. Eventually his new flight feathers grew in and he hasn't shown any inclination toward barbering since. I mention this story because it's possible that RB is going through something similar. So the day may come where he no longer feels the irritant that has been messing with him and he allows those feathers to grow back in fully.

Is it possible that he's been doing this for a long time and you just never noticed? Sure. But it's also just as possible, in my opinion, that this is something temporary and that he'll get past it soon enough. Be prepared for the scenario wherein this is a long term situation, of course, but also keep in mind that it may not be as well.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Thank you Being a flighted terror *IS* his thing! As much as I get irritsted, I hate to see him humbled.
I do tend to catastrohize, and to try to feel "in control" by preparing for worst cases. Which might not BE the case. I also have had to admit that I was/am proud of my little rooster and his health and 'tyranny'. I know the Rb can sense when I'm upset, too. So I just need to be OKAY, because HE is OKAY, no matter what.
And he is. A perfect Rickeybird.
Thanks.

P.S.
BTW, friends and famly tend to call me 'Abigail' when addressing me on important topics. It always gets my attention.
Interesting that the Rb never picked up on igt. I'm always 'GAYYULLL!' to him.