This is Stomper. He is a 4 year old DNA sexed male, Congo African Grey. I hand raised Stomper. He was given the name of Stomper because as soon as he was old enough to stand in his incubator, he would stand and stomp his feet. Stomper was to be a gift to my Mother, she loved Greys. My family and I got together and bought Stomper from a breeder friend of mine. I had Stomper here from no feathers to fully feathered. It was very difficult to send him to his new home but I knew that I would see him any time I wanted. The day arrived when Stomper was to go home, I sat and held him and cried like a baby. I had allready gathered his cage and all his belongings in my truck so what was I waiting for? It had been weeks of late night,early morning handfeedings, all the worries anyone has that handfeeds a parrot, constant checking the temp in the incubator, my hands were raw from extensive cleaning, my house smelled like antiseptic, my kitchen counters had been covered with all the needs for a baby parrot, the weaning, the first flight, YIKES!!! I would be getting sleep, my house would return to normal, so why was I so upset? I totally loved this baby and did not want to send him home.....I did send him home, finally....... Stomper did very well, he was eating fine, acting great, no problems at all and I was very happy about that. Less that a year later, Stomper began chewing his left primary feathers. Off to the vet asap to make sure that he was not ill. Tests were taken, questions asked. It turned out to be that Stomper is a CAG with an attitude, a normal CAG I would say. :) The problem was that my sister had lost her job so she was home all the time, she held and cuddled Stomper alot. He wanted that attention and when she went back to work he did not get it. It got to the point that if he whisteled to her and she did not answer, he would chew a feather. At this point he had all of his left primaries chewed to nubs, crop feathers were disappearing and he was at his tail now too. I got so upset, NOT at my sister she only loved him too much, I bought Stomper back here to do what I called, de-programming. Stomper was put on HCG, I still give him one injection monthly. I put him in a smaller cage, basically ignored him. I would talk to him when I fed him, cleaned the cage. He was a nasty brat, I could not get near him without him attacking me. It took me eight months to get him to stop the mutilation,to even play which he really did not do before. I sent him home with explicit instructions for my sister to not have ANY contact with him whatsoever. To not look, talk or go near him. It worked for awhile but finally she gave in because she loved him so much. The really sad part of this is that my sister knew in her heart that she had caused this to happen and it tore her apart and that broke my heart. She is a wonderful Lady who would give you the shirt off her back. Many times she would say," You used to cuddle and hug Rembrandt and he never chewed or plucked." I had to tell her that Rembrandt first off is a Macaw and Greys are more prone to pluck/chew. And I never sat for hours just holding and cuddling him. I taught him how to be a bird, how to play, actually physically showed him how to play with any new toy I gave him. I used those same things with Stomper and it worked. Stomper is now with me for good. After he was home for a long period of time he started his mutilations again but this time worse. We had hoped that, in time, he could go back home. I had finally gotten Stomper fully feathered again, he was eating great, even starting to talk. He never really was a talker but a sound machine he always was. My sister came here one day and I asked her if she wanted to hold Stomper. She wanted to but said to me that she was afraid the he would start all over again. I had to find out so I let her hold him. My Mother and my sister cried so much that Stomper was gone but knew it was for his best. I had hoped that he was now out of his *acting up* behavior and hopefully could return home. She held him not even for ten minutes and they left. Not ten minutes passed and chewed feathers were all over his cage and I had my answer. My heart sank, I knew this news would devestate my Mom and sister. I told my Mom that evening but we waited to tell my sister. For whatever reason, this time, Stomper really chewed/plucked terribly and just would not stop. He is now on Pamelor, an anti-depressant, it has controlled the plucking/chewing and he is almost fully feathered. He talks up a storm, makes any type of sound that one can imagine and he seems to be happy. He now knows how to be a bird. Is he a brat? Of course he is and I would not have him be any other way, he now is a loving brat who knows that he will not get what he wants when He wants it. I better have his toy bowl filled up or he smacks his beak on it and gives me a stare. If I do not feed him his supper at exactly 6 pm he attacks his food bowl and yells at me.
Stomper, as of 2/28/2000, has been taken off of all medications. I decided that it was time to try and see what would happen. I am very happy to announce that as of 4/04/2000 Stomper has not plucked or chewed a single feather. this does not mean he will not start again but I am hoping he will not..