Rescue Pics Of Abused African Grey
Thought I’d let you guys see some pics of the newest edition to my flock. He’s an 11 year old, abused, feather plucking Congo African Grey parrot named ‘Bean’.
Notice how he picks his upper chest feathers, and chews his lower chest feathers in half. He’s not the worst feather plucking parrot in the world, but I decided to adopt him specifically so you could watch me rehabilitate him here on this blog… with free tip filled videos.
So don’t expect Bean to look this plucked for long… today was his first day of training, and it won’t be long before I have him in top top shape, and hopefully fully feathered again.
He’s super fearful of people, and refuses to step up for ANYONE as of right now.
Make sure you subscribe to the rss feed on this blog, or check back often so you can see his progress as I train him live.
I’ll post again in a few days when I have some more progress on how his training has progressed.
Chet
Notice the mangled feather destruction and plucking
March 31st, 2008 at 9:19 am
Chet, I have an African Grey Named Bella Donna, she is still a baby at 1 1/2 years old, so Thank you for adopting Bean, I know he will be in great hands!
March 31st, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Chet, I commend you on your caring nature and abilty to find the time to properly care for some of the less fortunate parrots. Bean is lucky to have come in contact with you. Rosey, my two year old Grey is developing nicely but there quite a bit of attention that she desires and which I’m happy to provide. Anyone considering adopting or purchasing a Parrot should first understand that they will probably be making lifelong commttimment to caring for these birds and if they don’t think that they can live up to that committment they should reconsider. You are the MAN.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:26 pm
hi hru sir my name is zeeshan i have a problem i have to gray parrot i want to no male & female ….. plzzzzz give me solution who can i know difference between male& female plzzzzzzzzzz reply me
March 31st, 2008 at 12:44 pm
even i have an african grey. he is still also very young almost 2 years now. However he is quite problematic, since he bites whenever i try to approach him and will sure not go out of his cage.. therefore i cannot enjoy him as much as i want to..
well done on your gesture to rescue poor Bean.. i really wish him well. African grey are so cute and am sure that with the proper training he will be just fine!!
March 31st, 2008 at 12:58 pm
My timneh grey would occasionally bite feathers on his chest. So did Alex. I have a severe macaw who is absolutely bald on his chest, back, legs and usually has only one or two tail feathers. He’s been that way for 18 years. He is not an abused bird. He is a happy, healthy little guy who talks and interacts, has a good diet and has plenty of time outside his cage. He was plucked by his parents when he was left in the nest too long and now I honestly believe he thinks that’s what a bird is supposed to do. He thinks he is beautiful and to me he is. The assumption that all plucked birds are “neglected” or “abused” is nonsense.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Thankyou for your newest edition, i also have just required a abused african grey she is 2yrs old and doesnt like or trust anything or anyone..i will be following you closely…
March 31st, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I also have an african grey, named Alex. He was neglected, drove 8 hours to get him, and it is one of the best things I decided to do! ever!! when I first got him, he didn’t like me, he prefered my husband, and took to him in a month or so compared to just about a year that it took for him to just sit with me. I worked at it EVERYNIGHT (religiously) He also plucks his chest feathers, he will let them grow back in and start the viscious cycle again! but that is ok, he is still BEAUTIFUL!!!
It is true, that a neglected/abused bird could be trained/retrained! I sit with him everynight on the couch, and we cuddle, and he loves his head scratched, I can pet him right down his back to his tail, he even lets me get my fingers under his wings and gently pet him. It is a great accomplishment and Alex means the world to me, I would have driven to the end of the earth for him!!! Good luck with “Bean”
Sincerly,
Donna
March 31st, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Hi Chet,
I am so glad you have a rescue African Gray. They need that little extra loven. I have (had) an African Gray named Silver (he). I say had, because I have had to give him to my brother due to now adopting my one year old grandson unexpetedly, and the two didn’t go well together. So it was one or the other. Since my African Gray was so jealous of my grandson I gave him to my brother who really need a friend. He has had him almost two months, and my brother is still working on how to get him to stop bitting. Silver is sly about it, one time he bites the next time he doesn’t. They both enjoy each others company, in time the new parent will be succesful I am hoping. Any help for my bother would be nice. Give your new son a loving home.
March 31st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Hi Chet,
I have an African Grey that is 6 yrs old and doesn’t talk a lot. He is not very loveable either. He loves the nutriberry treats and throws down his dishes for more.
Sincerely,
Cathy
March 31st, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I have a Sengal parrot, Kiwi, but I adore Africian greys. My Kiwi has a silimar problem with chewing her feathers (no plucking at all). She receives lots of attention outside her cage and I’m always trying to give her toys to keep her occupied while in her cage. I’m looking forward to Bean’s progess. Best of luck to the both of you.
March 31st, 2008 at 6:28 pm
We also adopted a 6 year old grey (Maggie) who was a plucker. She stopped her plucking during a honeymoon period of about 6 months then started up again. It took about 3 years to finally break her of the habit. It involved getting her to play with toys (she never had toys with her previous owners), misting her whenever she was left alone, adding UV-B lamps and just now introducing your organic food. She wore a collar for about a month till she forgot the habit and now has not plucked in about 3 months. Good luck to you and Bean.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Chet;
I have a blue conure he also plucks he feathers when he is upset or I don’t give him enough attention He is 14 years old is he too old to teach new words ? He can say some things but I wish he would learn more. His original owners had to let him go due to a family member became sick and not enough time for Chester. He will shake hands and lift his wing to tickle. But all of this he could do prior to comming to us… Best of luck with Beans
March 31st, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Dear Chet,
The very best of luck with Bean. I adore African Grays and currently have two: Go-Tizo a twelve year old male who we have had since he was 6 weeks old; Ko-Ko who is eleven and adopted by us when she was one year of age. We also have two Senegals who were hatched in our home. Ko- Ko was extremely depressed when we initially brought her home and was a terrible feather plucker. She would only gaze out of the window; would not look at us or the other birds;and she refused to engage in any activities with her new bird family. She no longer plucks and is a delightfully silly girl with an amazing vocabulary. She speaks in complete sentences.
I know that Bean will be fine. Please keep us updated.
Pam
March 31st, 2008 at 8:36 pm
this will be interesting. our senegal is 8 yrs old and has been a feather barberer since very young. he will let them just about all grow back in and then takes a notion to clip them all off his breast then start on his wings and move to the top of the back; even the tips of his tail feathers are shorn. he usually looks like a green backed and winged snowy (downy) owl or woodpecker.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Way to go on adopting “Bean” and giving him the love and rehabilitation he needs. I too have a 9 year old African Grey named Pele who is the best little fella in the world. He is very well behaved however being my first parrot it took years for me to know his total needs, they are so very sensitive, but now we are so close I can’t imagine being without him. He likes to be held upside down, or on his back in the palm of my hand and he loves sitting on my stomach while I pet him with both hands watching T.V. He’s never plucked or mawled his feathers and has always been very healthy. I have only fed him Harrisons Bird Food and he also gets a bite of just about every human food I eat (no chocolate or soda’s). I will stay posted to your further rehab with “Bean”. Good luck to you both.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I have a neglected Rose breasted cockatoo aged 21. I adopted her a year ago and she trusted no one. Biting was a real problem until I followed Chets advice and left the room each time she attempted to (and often suceeded!) in biting me. She now is a different bird, which I put down to a completely balanced diet(pellets and fruit and vegetables) instead of mostly sunflower seeds,quietly talking to her without trying to touch her unless she shows she wants me to and never moving too fast when I’m near her.Chet your advice and videos have made an incredible difference , thank you so much
March 31st, 2008 at 10:00 pm
We have an African Grey that plucks only from December to March and realized it was a humidity issue. Dry indoor climates can create a very uncomfortable time for birds. We bath them regularly with spray and take them with us to the shower stall for the humidity and it seems to help. We installed a humidifier this year and what a difference it has made. Our birds have been ours for 22 years and are still doing great! I can’t believe I just used that number of years! They are the best.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Hi Chet, My daughter has an Africian Grey named Newton, that she bought from a first owner that is a feather picker. He is about 5 yrs old and is very shy and will not be hand touched, only head scratched at bedtime. He picks when nervous and simply has no red tail. When the stalks start, he chews and finally they’re gone. Also he is afraid of new toys or anything introduced even when they are left a few feet away for several weeks. Newton is a wonderful talker and will mimec the people in the household and repeats anything. My bird, Einstein, is just beautiful, talks some, but is very independent and likes to take charge of me constantly. He challenges me all the time. Loves to see my reactionwhen I say “no.” I will be watching your video on training Bean. Bean is certainly a beautiful grey by the looks of his head. I can hardly wait to see what happens and how you manage to train Bean. Bean is a lucky bird as so many are not by their owners.
April 1st, 2008 at 12:39 am
I am REALLY looking forward to your training videos of Bean. We adopted an 8-year-old Timneh (Tally) on December 26th, 2007. She is cage aggressive, will not step up unless she is on the floor and even then, there’s a 50/50 chance she will dig her beak in her human’s hand and notice how I didn’t write “bite”. We would love to wear an oven mitt to protect our hand but Tally won’t have any of it! I had used an oven mitt for protection when I first brought home my blue-fronted amazon and it worked fine - he eventually trusted me and now I’m able to get him to be “THE baby” (lie on his back in my arms). I also used the oven mitt with my belly and back plucked Cherry-headed Conure. And now, Scooter steps up every time without attacking and he even snuggles to me and lets me pet him. I brought Scooter home 5 days after Tally came home - December 31, 2007). Anyhow, we are NOT giving up on her. On her good days, she had let me pet her. March 18th was a big day for Tally. She let us place her on our Tree of Life (big Java Tree) with our two boys Hakuna & Kahuna both amazons. They all exchanged kisses. It brought tears to my eyes. It was so nice to see her play. We had achieved one of our goals. We thought, if we can get her on the tree (or any of our perches), she might discover that it’s fun and what to go back. She’s been going on the tree almost every day since. I have a feeling we’re not that far away from a breakthrough with her.
Thank you for everything you do. Every day there is a birdie somewhere that benefits from what you do.
April 1st, 2008 at 2:54 am
Thank you chat for doing your job the way you do it . Wishful thinking their eould bremore chats put there. I have two african greys and one sounds like Bean to me .i got her a male and they are very happy together even if it meant that i cant have tha parrot i wanted. ( Cuddly and loving ) They are very happy together ! but i will follow your advises closely since maybe it can be done with mine too .?
April 1st, 2008 at 4:09 am
I had an african grey which I hand reared and we were extremely close, then he became extremely afraid of me and everybody else. I later discovered that our maid was hitting his cage. He would hang from the top of the cage and let go and fall and hurt himself. After 2 years of trying to get him right, and several operations and having him in a collar. I finally took him to a bird zoo to try take care of him. There they discovered he had a brain tumour and he died. I was devastated to give up on him and by his death. And wont have another parrot.
Anybody wanting to get one…it is a big decision.
April 1st, 2008 at 4:46 am
Well done with Bean, I will be watching this closely as my African Grey, Dino was also abused and does not interact well with anyone. He refuses to leave the cage although with patience I have managed it on 3 occaisions and also does not step up although I can get him to have tickles. He does not pluck I am happy to say and although I know he can talk he only ever says things once … he said Hello once and ouch S**t once but never ever again which is odd.
Now I have bought Dino a new (huge) cage, he is improving daily even destroying his toys which had hung in his old cage for 8 months without being touched… he will now eat fruit and a good diet (previously mostly sunflower seeds) so I have high hopes with time and patience he will become the loving bird I dream of.
April 1st, 2008 at 5:36 am
Hi, Chet.
Bean is in good hands now. I look forward to following his progress.
I have a six-year-old sun conure my brother gave me about three months ago. He bought him at a yard sale about two years ago, and he was abused and neglected. So he’s having a hard time making trusting bonds. I’m eager to read about your progress and hope to apply those tips.
April 1st, 2008 at 7:21 am
I have 3 african greys now. My old lady Freddie is 40 and she has gone partly blind. She has slowed down and spends a lot of time on the floor of her cage. I think that she has had a stroke from being in the sun on the day my mother died 5 years ago. She has never been out of her cage much and is not interested in leaving it. Now I have her she is madly in love with my partner John. She has lived mostly on sunflower seed and tonic seed that we get here in England. I give her lots of fruit and nuts but she isn’t that keen. She perks up whenever any man comes into the house. She is a real flirt! She started laying eggs at about 14 but she stopped around 30. she has now had three different owners but she plods along and rules the house with a rod of iron.
Then I have a rescue boy of 6 Frankie. He is adolescent big time. He over preens his feathers. He is always covered in white dust and when he is sprayed he dries instantly from what I call his greasy hair. He is a worried bird and he hates me coming and going. A result of the time when my mother was dying and he had to spend time alone in a strange place. He is too bouncy for my old lady to deal with so I have just just bought him a friend Georgie who is only 8 months. We think she is a girl and though she is to young to be in with him now we hope they will share a cage soon. At the moment they tell one another off but he has calmed down since she has been sat next to him in her cage. He has a flock of his own to relate to. None of my birds is keen on being handled. We are working on that though. Good luck with Beans
April 1st, 2008 at 8:41 am
I have an African Gray named Sterling, he was given to me last year because his former owner wanted to travel a lot and couldn’t take care of him. He loves my son and son-in-law but doesn’t like me or any females at all. He bites me everytime I get close to him. He didn’t like the female in the home he came from and she hand raised him from a chick. I am trying patiently to win him over and train him to stop biting me. He talks to me and seems happy other than the biting.
Good luck with Beans
April 1st, 2008 at 8:45 am
Chet, I am so glad to see this. I too adopted an African Grey, 10 years old and suffering from feather plucking. Looks just like your Grey! “Dillion” was sharing a room with two large and very loud Macaws. Once removed from that enviroment and giving some loving care his plucking has stopped, however, now my 13 year old Double Yellowheaded Amazon has started plucking. He had never done this before. I am not sure if it is the addition of the Grey, or the fact that
I suddenly started using crushed corn cob in his cage bottom. ???? He was soo beautiful and bless his little feathered heart he looks pitiful now. I will be watching deligently for your blogs. So glad I found you some years ago. You are a Godsend!
April 1st, 2008 at 9:09 am
Dear Chet and Co.
My dear Grey, Pepper, joins me in congratulating you and Bean!
We are sure you will enjoy life together; Pepper was a gift to
me from a precious woman who loved her deeply, but became ill
and her Dr. advised her to let her entire flock go. It’s hard for her, but that is the most loving thing one can do sometimes. Pep came to me full of love, very well behaved, except she loves to chew my carpet! We are working on that now. ( I’ll be contacting you shortly about this!) Again, best wishes, looking forward to your videos! God speed! By the way, I’m sure I’m not the only one that would LOVE to see an updated photo of your new son!!(Bet he’s hard to leave everyday to go to work!) Most Sincerely, Leslie and Pepper Lee Caldwell
April 1st, 2008 at 9:37 am
Hi Chet, I have a african grey called Milo,he,s 9 years old and my best buy ever.Good luck with Bean.I have been trying to get organic food over here in the uk no joy. Do you know where else i can try Thanks a lot.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:25 am
Dear Chet, Good luck you have one of the sweetest birds anyone could ever hope for I also have a African Grey Jazzy, they are loveable I kiss her every morning and she looks for her treat (peanuts her favorite) I have notice that she does not like certain people she has bonded with me and my daughter and just recenlty with my husband she is only 1 years old and she says hello I love you and I think her name she is so soft spoken that it is hard to tell, I say all this to said that your bird is a blessing and I know tat you two will do wonderful.
I look forward to all of your updates.
Love,hugs and kisses. Georgina & Jazzy New Orleans, La.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:32 am
Two years ago I bought a umbrella cockatoo on line. When he arrived he looked ragged and stressed. I found out later that he had lost his first owner of ten year and was bought at an auction by a breeder. I hoped he would stop over-preening but he has not. Some plucking is also a problem.
He is a loving cuddling bird now and is never shows stress except when my 1year old female chases him and she is seldom let out of her cage at the same time.
I have tried everything to stop him from destroying his feather. help!
April 1st, 2008 at 10:43 am
Our Grey is yet only 9 mos. old. talks and whissles a blue streak. Spoiled rotton:). How could ANYONE abuse a little creature as cute as they are? So sad.
Good luck with Bean.
April 1st, 2008 at 11:06 am
I will be watching your blog for some great tips on helping my African Grey. Phil is fantastic, 12 years old and still learning. He answers questions like when asked where Bailey is (Bailey is a blue front amazon) Phil respondes “Bailey Bird, what you doing in the cage” He will whistle a song we have sung to him all the way through. He is a non-stop talker-but will not say a word if we have visitors to our home. He will wave to them but will not talk. He is a feather plucker taking all off his legs and will not allow anyone to touch him except me. He growls and gets extremely nervous at my granddaughter but will take nuts from her. I assume he is jealous because he doesn’t do this with any other children. We just realized that the amazon is talking “phil’s” language but only when he thinks he’s alone. Hopefully he will break out and start communicating better. We thought he would never learn more than the few words he came to us with 5 years ago, but no, Phil must be home schooling him during the day:)
April 1st, 2008 at 11:12 am
Hi Chet.
I’m one of your earlier clients and a very happy one with what I managed to achive through your guidance. I have a two and a half year old Grey called Raphy. He has just hit hits first spring when he realises he needs company other than me. He is a great talker and puts things in the right context I.e very tired (for good night) turn the telly on and light fire (evening) and many more. Slowly over the last 6 months he has started biting again. Really aggressively. especially my hands and I had a near miss with my eye. Its getting to the stage where he cant be handled at all which I never wanted it to come too.He doesn’t have a favourite food I can tempt him with seed he can take or leave ,fruit he will eat because I give it to him. From the cage he’s an angel but once the doors open I’m fair game for a bite. How to I regain his trust again or how do I learn to trust him again? From your last training video he learned to pick out colours on request and on the first try was able to show me which ones were the same no matter which way I mixed them.Help.wounded in dublin
April 1st, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Hi Chet, In December of 2007 I was given the chance of a lifetime. I was given an African Grey. His name is Pete and he is 7 years old, as I understand I am his 3rd home. I love him very much, but I am just a little scared to approach him. He has bitten me a few times. He does let me pet him a little but if I am not careful he will quickly bite me. I want to be able to hold him and let him walk around the house, but he stopped stepping up. Is there any information you can give me as far as how I would go about treating him. He is very vocal and makes me laugh constantly. Thankyou, and also Good Luck with Bean, I am looking forward to watching you train him.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Great, Chet!
I adopted an 11-year old Congo (I named him Kongo) three months ago who was abused — his entire body was bare. The lady who rescued him did a good job of rehabbing him, but he still plucks his neck big time, especially if we have to leave him alone for a day. I really look forward to seeing Bean’s progress –and watching your brother’s Cressi grow up, too!
You guys are the best.
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
We have a 2 1/2 year old Grey named Ash, in the past two weeks she has taken to plucking herself bald on the chest, and had done the same to her legs. She by no means a neglected bird, but the vet told us that even the happiest most intellegent birds can pluck. Its very distressing.. I look forward to seeing your progress with Bean.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Chet, I am just so excited to follow your progress with Bean. I actually have Bean’s cage mate from Pampered parrots. Bella came to live with me a month or so before you got Bean. She is cage bound and has some issues. We are making progress, but it is slow. She is very sweet, just scared. I look forward to reading about your progress with Bean, and getting ideas for Bella. Tracy told me that Bean used to say, “Goodnight, Bella.” every night, even after she came to live with us. I think that it is wonderful that Bella’s old buddy is getting such a great opportunity to overcome his phobias. And thank you for sharing with the rest of us! Take care!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:14 am
Hi, im from South Africa at the South Coast near Durban. I have bought a African Grey and a Blackwing Jardine. They said that the Jardine is a loveable parrot for my daughter of 16 years, but he is very aggressive and always bites her. What can i do? My African grey and the JArdine is a month difference and it doesn bite me
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:30 am
Hi Chet, Congratulations. I think Bean is very lucky to have found you,
it is heart breaking to think of abused birds out there,
I have a grey named George he is eighteen, i was lucky enough to adopt a year ago, he is such a sweetheart, talks all day he is very friendly loves to be with me, out in the garden, he is just like one of my children,
I Look forward to seeing how Bean does, lucky boy to have you in his life,
Keep up the good work, Regards Sheila
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Hello, i have 3 african congo parrots all are handlable but 2 still need coaching on some areas. my gal doesn/t like to be touched in cage but out she’s good but still needs training.
one boy doesn/t like his back touched with hands but accepts
a kiss. my other boy is just huggable all over with me but doesnt like my husband as much and sneekly bites him.
well we keep up the training. Good thing is all can be loved on even by our 3 year old grandson.
looking forward to more training help.
thank you
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Our grey african conga named “Buba” is 7 years old and has been caged most of his life. He will always attack my spouse since I’ve set him free and he has become attached to me. What up with all that white power he accumulates on his beak. It looks like talcum power. Is it natural?
April 4th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Congrats on Beans
And The new Baby.
Hope all is going well for you and yours on all those sleepless nights….
It is all worth it in the end.
I have been receiving tips from you for a few months now and all have helped.
I rescued a red masked conure from a basement last may and have had great sucksess getting him to grow his feathers he looked like a plucked chicken when i got him but your advice on skin irratation and showering 5 times a week alll of the sudden the feathers grew back.. He is the size of an african grey seed large for a conure but i guess there are all kinds, and now cuz of u he had a full body of shinny green feaths.
Thanx a tonn!!!
Rock On!!!
Not only in Canada EH?