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Post by siobhan on Oct 5, 2017 10:26:13 GMT -5
Clyde actually let me work on his pinfeathers last night. Not sneaking in and fixing one and getting chomped for my trouble. He actually held still and turned his head this way and that and let me really work on them. First time ever! Then, of course, Rocky started shrieking from the living room and I had to stop and go quell the tantrum and maybe he'll never let me do it again, but maybe he will. He's been letting me scritch the last few months, when he would never allow that before, either.
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Post by biteybird on Oct 5, 2017 19:15:56 GMT -5
Good! That's progress. Bonnie only lets me scratch her head (interspersed by nips when I inadvertently touch a pin feather and it moves in a way that displeases her). When I go to scratch her head some mornings she rushes at my hand and tries to peck me through the bars. When she does that I call her "Miss Neurotica".  |
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Post by easttex on Oct 6, 2017 4:23:00 GMT -5
Must be The Year Siobhan's Quakers Mellowed. What's your secret?
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Post by siobhan on Oct 6, 2017 12:21:03 GMT -5
If I knew, I'd share! I have no idea. Rocky's presence? The Quakers are getting middle aged and mellowing? (Though I'm middle aged and getting grumpier) Perhaps Zupreem is putting tranquilizers in their pellets.
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Post by julianna on Oct 10, 2017 12:13:54 GMT -5
Oscar has a lot of pin feathers as well. Every morning he comes and sits on my belly and my left hand will cup around his body. He will take his little face and put it between my fingers and I am thinking he wants me to pet him. So I gently pet his head and cheeks. Then he will flap his feathers until I stop. So I stop and rest my hand and he will once again place his face in between my fingers and once again I will rub his little face. He actually will turn his head this way and that way so he gets the massage in the right place.... but then he starts to flap his wings again.
I never know if I am doing it right or wrong. He seems to enjoy it and does not try to run away or anything ... but the flapping of the wings has me confused.
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Post by cnyguy on Oct 10, 2017 20:22:00 GMT -5
I suspect you must be doing things right, since you're not getting chomped or squawked at. The wing-flapping may be Oscar's way of asking for a "time out."
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Post by pidgesmum on Jan 2, 2018 20:31:37 GMT -5
Since his wings were trimmed, Pidge comes to my lap and asks for a scratch. He loves his pins scratched out but the black ones are painful so he objects to them.He is being overly sooky.
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Post by easttex on Jan 3, 2018 5:20:19 GMT -5
Be very careful with the black ones. They're still actively forming and have a blood supply. Not only are they very tender, but it is dangerous to break one open. It can be difficult to stop the blood flow and birds can't afford to lose much.
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Post by thorolf on Jan 4, 2018 7:34:04 GMT -5
What easttex said !!! :-)
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Post by siobhan on Jan 4, 2018 11:52:17 GMT -5
Yup. That's why he objects to your touching those. Only the completely white ones are ready to be meddled with, and when they're ready, they dissolve quite easily. It doesn't take much and he won't complain.
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Post by pidgesmum on Jan 5, 2018 19:26:23 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice! I only scratch the white ones. He wants to sit for hrs being scratched.
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Post by biteybird on Jan 7, 2018 0:30:46 GMT -5
Bonnie likes being scratched, but every 30 seconds or so will nip/bite just to remind us who's boss.  |
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Post by thorolf on Jan 29, 2018 8:15:43 GMT -5
Beowulf seems to realize that I am trying to help when I work on his pin feathers. He tries to hold still, but sometimes he simply must protest! I have found that immediately after working on his pinnies he likes to have some juice or water. Apple juice is good, but mango juice is his favorite. After some good juice he seems to settle down a lot, and is obviously happy to be relieved of the tortures of those "Bad old pin fedders !"
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