I had 3 pet turkeys. They came from cafos, so their beaks had been chopped off. They couldn't preen themselves. They discovered I would do this for them, and they would waddle to me, and show me where it itched. They were the best pets, and followed me around like puppies.
@Lizzie and Mocha Cafo stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation & they're factory farms. I think the turkey's beaks are cut to keep them from hurting each other.
@@kinka9883 factory farm is the commonly used word by people not working in the industry, From what I hear of people working in Animal agriculture, they call it Commercial farming.
Usually they immediately tell you if it hurts. My parrot personally doesn't really mind my mistakes. I accidentally hit her multiple times. She didn't get hurt, still feel pretty bad about this. But she stiill lets me preen her and preens me back heh
For some reason I felt bad about preening my cockatiels pin feathers until I realized that because I was part of his "flock" it was actually my job to preen him.
My cockatiel doesn’t let me touch him, I think he’s a bit traumatised from the pet shop we got him from. They had him and his sisters in an empty cage, and when we bought him they just grabbed him and shoved him in a box. I doubt they cared about their animals at all. He’s friendlier and braver than he was when we first got him, but he still doesn’t let any hands near him.
Poor baby, a lot of animals end up like this and then when their owners get them they just assume the animal is mean There was a rescue stall at a kinda small zoo? I don’t know what to call them but the place is Laporte farms in Florida and there was a animal rescue booth one year that had a cockatiel named beaker who was abused by her previous owners and (supposedly hated men) which i can’t tell cuz I’m a dude and when I went over she ended up wanting all the attention and was super sweet and lovable and even the rescue people were surprised But it’s proof that the animals aren’t mean they’re just conditioned to be scared and they want to love but are scared to
I have a traumatized cat. We've had her like 3 years now and I could count how many times I've touched her on one hand. She's never recieved anything but care in this home but I believe the damage has been permanently done by her previous owners. It's okay. I'll just admire her. Like art. 🥲
Yeah. My past boy was passed from house to house to house until he got to me. Got him a big cage, foods, snacks, toys, etc. He always had pins on his head and that just seemed to be the best way we bonded ❤
Also, when you realize a bird is afraid of something, try to work on that fear with them because otherwise that fear can become stronger and stronger. Dont force them physically until they realize they can't do anything but do give treats and try to encourage them, you can look up more information online
People, important info: never pull a pin father that isn't ready. If you get any resistance at all don't mess with it. It hurts the bird. When they are ready though totally get them and the bird will feel so much better
I do this for my elderly Quaker parrot a lot, she can’t unclench her feet anymore which limits movement so the vet recommended it. Don’t know how much longer we’ll have her but she seems happy so I’m hoping she’ll live for a while longer.
Yes I loved that with our old Bird! It's almost his deathday again. He died at 1st of April, the birthday of his first owner who died the 1st of march. It was kinda poetic this way. I think he just missed his owner so much😢 I mean, he knew us. We often took him for a few days so he could get some exercise and he feathers taken care of. But he loved that old man, never wanting to leave his side. We had to help him to learn how to fly again every single time since he'd just hop to his owner and back to his cage and never fly anywhere
Our cockatiel loves it when my brother does this for him. He'll walk up to his face and put his head down on his shoulder or just rest his head next to my brother's nose and wait.
Aww, I remember by sweet little budgie Halo letting me get her "pinnies." Of the three that I had, she was the only one who let me groom her. Gosh, I miss my little chickens.
When you help them make sure you get the white tips. If they are darker they still have blood in them and could potentially harm your bird. Especially the blood feathers. I have a blue and gold and unfortunately his blue feathers look like that sometimes and hes corrected me when i go after them. Just a few love taps
It is so good to know this, I thought I was doing something wrong with my birds. I couldn't find a solid answer as to what it may be. Thank you for sharing this, I feel so much better.
I used to do that all the time with my cockatiel, Lemonade. He enjoyed it so much and would try to do the same thing to me after with my eyelashes. I'd say to my mom "I think we're married now" 😄 Had him for 21 years. I miss you so much, my pretty bird.
I remember doing this with my cockatiel, and I think he tried to do it to me, because he'd always try to "preen" my hair. While cute, he'd often tangle himself in it, luckily he never got hurt and I'm not hair-sensitive. He was one of the reasons I started having my hair in a ponytail, and even though he's no longer with us, it's a habit that still sticks to this day.
I got a second baby and now they clean each other... it means a little less bonding for me as he doesn't need help with this or want head scratches as much but he looks so much happier and healthier. It's bittersweet but I'm glad my babies get along so well ❤
Makes me think of that one video where the guys pulled the bird’s broken pin feather and even though it squeaked it was probably feeling such relief and the guys possibly saved it from so much more hurt.
I wouldn't call it a guilty pleasure, that implies that you should feel bad for doing it. On the contrary, it's good for your bird and good for your bond with them.
I have also found that brushing them with a soft tooth brush (or attaching it to the bars of their cage for solo-preening) works well. (My bestie has a GCC who gets very bitey, so preening him can hurt. Lol)
My budgie used to love me when I did this to him, he’d turn into a little burrowing cuddle buddy(yeah he’s a bird that liked to burrow lmao under the covers and into my shirt, never had a bird that did that before)
There is a bird at my work and I loveeeee preening her! It’s become our little bonding ritual so she saves her hardest bites for my coworkers instead of me 😂
I found preening my bird was so satisfying and relaxing for both of us, the dust was an added bonus… grooming my dog doesn’t have same effect on me. Birds are best pets ever
Or you get a second bird, like almost every parrot requires a mate. Its great if you spend the whole day with them, you are still not squeal to another bird.
Quakers are fine by themselves as long as you take the time needed to spend with them. They actually do really well for people who only want one bird because they are a one-person bird and will become extremely loyal to their owner.
the reason why single birds are so bonded to their owners is, that there is no-one else to interact with and they need social stimulus, same reason other birds start talking - they are desperate for communication. A bird that is fine on its own won't have the need to bond that much to a human because they are fine being alone. Birds that naturally live in flocks NEED at least a second bird to be truly happy. No human can ever replace another bird because we can not 'talk' to them or give them the social interaction that they need. It's really sad to see that so many people still don't recognize that birds should not be kept alone. And it's even more sad when people say the reason they keep the bird alone is so that it 'will bond to them more' since birds kept in pairs are less likely to have that strong of a bond to their human because, shocking I know, they have a partner they can communicate with and are not lonely, therefore don't need their human to give them attention 24/7.
That’s great but your parrot will bond to that other bird therefore making it harder for you the handler to be near your bird or be able to touch it unless you spend time with them first before getting another bird
@@gggthsbhowever your not really gonna have any bonding moment with your bird because then they will bond to the second bird.. that’s why you need to spend quality time with them before anything else
So I live aboard and I have a 15 year old Quaker, that I had acquired in Ft Lauderdale after a particularly strong thunderstorm took out some trees by the marina I was staying at, and as I was walking around checking out the carnage there was a nest with one dead chick, and one mostly dead one not to far away so I watched from a distance for a bit to see if mama would be coming back, and when it was clear she wasn't, little dude got scooped up and rode back to the boat with me in my shirt pocket. Then the search began for an eye dropper to give the little guy a drink as it had been quite some time since the storm already. Then for lack of a better place, I pulled out a galley draw and laid a towel in it, evicting all my silverware and cooking utensils. A quick trip to the library (I knew nothing about raising birds, nor indeed was I 100% sure what kind of bird I was dealing with exactly) and found out that they make a formula for baby birds and how to fee them (for the first week and a half or so a only a little bit but very often, something like 10x a day, but it tappers down to only a couple times a day after that. I also got a plastic tote for him, and some bedding grass, as the draw and towel wasn't a long term solution, at all. After a coupe months he started exploring the cabin and had started eating seeds, and any pasta he could break into, he has a cage that technically is too small for him but the lifting door litterally is missing, its just where he goes to take a nap. He actually prefers to spend most of his time on me or hanging out on the fiddles (little raised edges on tables and desks on boats to keep things from sliding off) for the shelf above the nav desk, good view of the cabin and a nice view out a portlight as well. He does fly, but not terribly well, and well, there are a few bits of bird-101 that he definitely missed. He does mimic a bit though, but not terribly well, but "hey" "No" "what cha doin" and some of the grunts I make when sitting or standing. He will not however preen if I am visable, although I have watched him do it himself through a hatch where he couldn't see me, I think he just prefers when I do it. But he will spend hours going through my beard and hair. Fun bit he doesn't leave the boat, like he has zero desire to, there's almost always a hatch or two open unless like this year we got stuck up north for the winter. But he'll go out on deck hang on the coiled sheets in the cockpit, which he will climb, he also likes hanging out on the companion way hatch coaming under the dodger if we are under way and its not too cold. But as odd as it sounds he's not really an "outside bird" unless he's riding me. He's a good bird, and I was fully expecting him to fly off once he was old enough, it's just that the thought doesn't seem to have ever occured to him, he was a wild bird when I found him and I did have every intention of returning him to the wild, he just never left lol.
This is why you gently pet them first. For my Amazon, after inviting me to pet him, I'll gently brush back his feathers to get a clearer look at his skin and the base of the pins. If I see one that is done forming, I'll gently rub that one away. I have to brush back and do each one at a time because he's so sensitive and reactive to any accidental touches. If I see the littlest reaction or anything, I have to quickly react myself and take my hand back so he knows I'm listening lol. And after his reaction if he's still inviting me for pets, I just only continue petting instead of helping preen. This how my Amazon still lets me preen for next time lol. Before we formed this specific process, if I missed up at preening he would not let me touch him for days 😅
You have to be super careful and gentle, not just go for it, because yeah you can accidentally fuck up once or so, but obviously if you badly hurt them multiple times they're going to be terrified, as you would if someone hurt you in a way that could cause you potentially to bleed out, multiple times
@@beththegreen as another example. If someone is prone to yanking your hair when brushing, you most likely won't want to let them brush your hair because it's a torture session. I feel that the birb would think similarly with a clumsy human accidentally hurting them a lot while trying to help with grooming.
Hope this helps... With delicate preeners, small birds, or lots of mixed blood and pin feathers, I use a toothbrush and just gently massage in the same direction of the feathers. You'd have to be pretty rough to cause any harm or pain with this method.
OOOOOOooooo, I didn't know I could preen them for my baby! I know when she has one because she gets very, "You have to scratch this specific nook on my neck," But I figured I'd just scratch the root and hope they helps her. Glad to know I can help her get them out of the shell :)
My budgie has a condition where he grows multiple feathers in one follicle & it’s super uncomfortable for him. He doesn’t let me touch anywhere besides his beak unless I hold him in my hand. He’ll be all wriggle & fussy trying to escape but the second I start giving him little scratches on his cheeks it’s like time stops for him. He’ll immediately stop trying to escape, fluff up his head & turn it so I can scratch all the itchy spots. I feel so bad I can’t help him any more than that. When he grooms himself he’ll do the occasional angry squawk which means he just removed a still growing feather to leave space for the other feather growing in that follicle. Every now & then there’ll be a bit of blood on the tip of his beak. I wish I could do more. I’m just glad despite this he’s still a very happy boy. :)
Whenever I have a chicken that is NOT willing to relax and bond (I raise birds to sell as PETS) I have a go to method I give them a warm bath/shower, blowdry, and preen. The spa treatment wins over even the most scared chicks ❤
Rule of thumb, if the feather is white feel free to preen them, though you might get a couple of bites regardless of how gentle you are. My conure begs me to do it then nips at me even when I’m being very careful haha
I've got a nandaus conure... For those that don't know, they are seed birds and have longer pointy beaks. My cockatoos loved being preened... My conure hated it and would bite the heck out of any person or animal that tried. Because of this he learned how to scratch his head really fast with his nails, sorta like a dog and gets all his pin casing off.
the bird store near me has a bunch if rescues and the place is MASSIVE. there's tons of these tree things everywhere and I didn't even realize there was a bird near me but I glanced and saw the ANGRIEST looking quaker ever. theres tons of other quakers and birds but he just chose to be alone and look all pissed off.
My Daughter does this with her last remaining chicken. She’ll put her Chicken in her lap and while she gets the tips off her head and upper neck her baby just comes and snuggles. It’s the cutest thing ever.
My lovebird is super shy and scared of fingers. Whenever she's molting, I see her rubbing her head and neck to perches, sticks, toys etc. To scratch the itch, I want nothing more than to help her out, but she's too afraid. In 5 years, we got to the point where I can let her step up, or let me pick her up. But as soon as individual fingers move, she's flying back to her cage 😅 I've made a little scratching tree for her to help with molting itch. It's a small 'tree' with sticks poking out on different heights and with varying shapes and roughness. That way, I hoped it's easier for her to reach the itchy parts.
Sadly my bird absolutely does not let me touch her head (we adopted her from a pet store with a not so good reputation) but she loves it when I get the ones on her wings! It’s so satisfying
Yeah it is one of me and my bird’s favorite processes. Unfortunately with her being a black cap conure I’m not playing on easy mode when it comes to figuring out when the feather is ready and the blood supply is gone. Her pin feathers never really lighten up, it was far easier on my late budgie and sun conure. Because their feathers turned light when ready.
