Quote Originally Posted by Nanci View Post

They are trying a collar on Roy. I don't really understand why they don't just remove the leg up into his body so there is nothing exposed- like Dill had done- but the vet thinks he could still have phantom pain and eat his abdomen...Dill used to do a funny thing- he'd "scratch" his head with the leg that wasn't there. It's a lot easier for a pea-brained pigeon to deal with stuff like that than a smarter parrot. Dill did go through a horrible mutilaiton phase where he was picking the backs of his wings till he had these horrible scabby bleeding lumps. He did that for months- there was nothing to do to stop him except I could wrap him in a towel and then he couldn't do it. A parrot could just chew its way out. I don't know what to tell her. Thousands of dollars of vet bills- she's missed a car payment, her husband is working OT, she says she doesn't feel like interacting with husband or baby-

I told her just give him a week in the collar and see what happens. It sounds like the vet is going to just quit soon no matter what Kelly wants.
OMG that sounds like a terrible situation!! And all that money!!
Here's my humble suggestion: have her buy a little parakeet or cockatiel or lovebird and set it up in a cage right next to the parrot's cage. This will provide a HUGE distraction and lots of entertainment for the parrot, and will take his mind off picking at himself...and get the mirror in his cage! Mirrors work very well too. Do these two things- they are a lot cheaper and easier to try than missing car payments!
I used to raise birds...doves, finches, canaries. And I had an amazon parrot for years.