She is a junk food junkie. I'm now cooking her meals of rices and types of beans, the only fruits, orange and grapes. She prefers hemp and safflower. I think I tried EVERY cereal. She wastes them. WILL starve and is underweight. I have to force her to eat.
Check out the following post for ideas on food
Bird Safe Fresh Foods & Toxic Food Lists + Sprouts
And check out the Feeding Feathers yahoo group for a "plucker's" diet
Have you tried feeding her fresh foods first thing in the morning with no other foods available? Have you tried making/buying foraging toys and adding in food? What about skewers? Large pieces of fruits/veggies as well as small? Diced? Sliced? Etc?
I have a HUGE problem with GRAIN BEETLES, flour and confused are the worst. Carpet and drugstore beetles and on occasion INDIAN MOTHS. I have done all Ican think of. I have 24yr old carpet I am trying to get rid of. Hope that helps. Outside bug guy said they are also coming in from the massive beehive in my roof, eating dead pupa and honey! I also worry about poison around my guinea pigs, cats and dogs. I do animal rescues and foster too.
Freeze all of your animals dry food (primarily bird and guinea pig food). Freeze all your grain and flour products as well, for at least 24-48 hours. Any grain/flour type foods repackage in air-tight containers. Clean everywhere. Vacuum everywhere.
Ask the bug-guy if he's got any organic/pet/baby safe bug sprays that can be used within the house, then take all the critters out for a few days (if you can) and allow him to spray inside.
I believe I have tried everything to stop Kyle's feather chewing. It seems to be a comfort thing for her, similar to thumb sucking. She won't do it when she is out with me, she has GREATLY improved in the 2 1/2 yrs we have been together.
What does "everything" entail? Have you done full blood panels? Fecal? Checked for allergies? Tried removing allergy type foods from the diet? Plenty of wooden toys to destroy? Ways to forage?
The next 2 things the vet said were, sweater, or flight suit, but I'm scared she will get worse with her finally growing primarys and tail feathers. A collar, which I know she'd hate.
Sweaters, flight suits, and collars all due the same thing. They are not a cure, they are a preventative. Just because something is prevented doesn't mean it is cured - it can start up at a later time when that deterrent is removed. If the bird has an itch, these deterrents can end up aggravating the bird instead of helping them. Some birds learn to go around collars, and others would just chew through a sweater or flight suit, so sometimes it really doesn't make a difference.
I can barely bathe her, she thinks I'm murdering her, spray bottles were used as punishment by one of her three past owners to get her to be quiet
Spray bottles as punishment work for some birds, while in others it'll terrify them. It scares them because they don't connect the "bad behavior means punishment," although it's most often our faults when they are misbehaving.
Have you tried in the shower? In the tub with a few inches of water? A plant mister? A container of water? A container of water with ice? A container of water with foot toys? A container of water with the vacuum running? In the sink?
Prozac has been suggested. Anyone have any luck?
I don't have any plucker's, but I do have mutilators. One hasn't mutilated herself in several months, while the other only mutilates every now and then. I haven't tried Prozac and it's not a "*major* issue" so I don't currently feel the need to. Others have, and perhaps they can tell you their experiences.
She seems to do it to get my attention, which has never worked, I don't punish or acknowlegde it at all. She loves me too much, probably, and it's mutual! They call them the VELCRO BIRD for a reason!
Although you say you don't reward her with attention for when she plucks, and this is a past issue, could she also be plucking due to too much attention? That is, she gets so used to having you around and gets stressed when you aren't around... if this is the case then she needs to be more independent. If it's not the case, or is not the only cause, then you need to find the other reasons as well... I realize she is a second hand bird so you may never be able to figure it all out, and she may never stop plucking... but you can certainly try your best.
Last question. PLEASE remind everyone. NON-STICK cookware can be deadly to parrots! I am even confused between HARD ANODIZED ALUMINUM and HARD ANODIZED. Get stainless steel. If anyone can clear all the confusion on this, please do. I got an e-mail from another bird place about yet another feathered friends death, I can't imagine how many just wound up on the ground for seemingly no reason. I would feel awful if mine died simply because this isn't widely known. I can't use the brand name that kills. I did read the short thread on it here though. It still seemed a bit confusing.
I must wonder how much of a danger Hard Anodized Aluminum is. We have it and use it. (contains no PTFE - brand name Teflon) I know that others do as well without issues. I would like to know personally if all cases of overheated appliances/cookware included PTFE/PFOA, or if in any cases it did not. I myself have read conflicting information about Hard Anodized Aluminum.