He loves his vegetables!
I got a quick look under his wings at his mutilation sites yesterday. He hadn't been out of his cage for about a week or so, but flew out yesterday when Thomas scared him (accidentally, of course). Steve was on his boing, and Thomas was clunking around, even though I had warned him to be careful. Before I realized what was happening, Steve flew out of his cage and landed on the floor.There is still wet blood under both wings, but significantly less than when we first got him. Of course I have no measurements and am going based solely on my memory (and Thomas's memory), but under his right wing was maybe 25% less mutilation and under his left wing maybe 67% less mutilation. There's still a significant amount, but it's progress! It's also been a few days since I've seen any plucked feathers in the bottom of his cage.
I'm certainly not saying he's cured, by any means. Feather destruction and mutilation are very complex. Stella still hasn't regrown all of her feathers, and she's been with us over two years. It took me a long time to get there mentally, but plucking doesn't really bother me, as long as I know I'm giving the bird the best captive environment I can. Some birds handle captivity better than others. Mutilation, on the other hand, is a different story, as I worry about infection and the pain the bird must be going through.
Hopefully soon I will have an update that Steve is choosing to come out and be a part of our family!
3 comments:
Steve looks great, especially with a talon full of veg.
I for one love the updates and am following closely, since we intend to foster rescue greys someday ourselves. Though I must say we are fans of all of your flock. :)
Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie
I was just wondering about the mutilation. I'm glad you had a chance to check and am thrilled it seems less!
Stephanie -- thanks for the comment. I will write more on fostering in the future. I am excited that you hope to foster greys someday, too!
BP -- thanks! The rescue where I volunteer has been using some sort of cream on their mutilators with great success. She's getting me some so we can try it on Steve, though it will be tricky getting it under his wings. Hopefully he can heal the sores on his own without requiring that!
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