Well my husband and I are buying a house here in Oregon and will be moving sometime in November. We have over 30 birds, but the only one I'm concerned about in terms of the move is my african grey Mijo. We relocated to Oregon from Hawaii 2 1/2 years ago and Mijo has never been the same. As much as I love him and disagree with rehoming birds unless absolutely necessary (we brought all 26 birds and our bun from Hawaii to Oregon), I would have rehomed Mijo had I known how the move was going to effect him longterm. He is now a plucker who developed serious phobias around cleaning and moving, among other things, as a result of our relocation (Yep. His area is often really dirty as a result of only being able to clean periodically. Thankfully, I can clean his paper and grate with little problems). In fact, according to the avian vet, he is highly stressed even for a grey. So I am worried how this move will effect Mijo. My options are as follows:

1) Keep him home while we move - This is my least favorite option due to the distress just cleaning has on him. I can't imagine all the packing and noise. Closing his door makes things worse instead of hiding what is going on. I have been wanting to put Mijo, with vets advise, back on valium for a while to calm him down enough to make some environmental changes, but Mijo is afraid of syringes and my vet only has a syringe valium. It works for Mijo, but we can only get him to take a bit at a time in juice, which is not consistent. So medication is not an option if he stays home.
2) Board him at the vets for a week or so while we do most of the move - He hates this. He was boarded at the vets for some behavior training to get Mijo to accept a syringe. The vet and the behaviorist gave up afer two days of Mijo being too stressed to even start behavior modification.
3) I have an older friend who lives alone and has one grey Mijo's age who has agreed to birdsit Mijo while we move. This would include a vet visit and a quarantine to make sure everyone is safe prior to Mijo staying at her house. This is my favorite option for a number of reasons, inlcuding the quiet environment, my trust in my friend, and Mijo's ability to have his cage and toys moved to her home while he's there. I think Mijo would be upset but in the long run it would be the quietest choice available and allow Mijo to move from there to our new home. If I pick this option, I don't know if it would be better for me to visit Mijo during his stay at my friend's house or if I should just let him be until I pick him up to move, which would mean I would not see him for a week or so.

I would appreciate any input or addtional suggestions to make this move as easy as possible for Mijo.

Just my opinion but here goes...

Option 3 - Board Mijo with your friends where he is most comfortable & do NOT visit during your move. I think if you visit & leave, he will be more stressed than no visit at all.
Explain to him how many 'sleeps' he will be there for - reassure him that you WILL be back & it's only for XX number of 'sleeps'.
I used to board my M2 every summer. He went for 1 month or 31 'sleeps', how many each year varied, but I told him exactly how many it would be & that I WOULD be back.
This was a bird who was dumped from one home after another, and was very 'needy'. He got over it, by the 2nd summer of 'birdie camp' it was much easier & he did not start picking or hollering any more or less because of it.

Moving is NEVER easy, even when it's a move you want to make & he will pick up on your energy & stress levels.

Regarding the valium use - have you considered any of the alternative herbal therapies?
I use Chamomille &/or Valerian with my birds & there are no issues with injections. It's a pellet that is given in the water daily, mild, no doped out birds, no withdrawal problems.
A holistic vet or a naturopath (who is experienced with birds) could maybe assist with this.

Hope this helps.

I'm with Liisa and you on this one

when we moved I boarded my birds for the first time ever - for a week ..
I am fortunate in that my vet knows them well and set them up in their own cages from home in his office instead of in the general boarding area ... I didn't visit though I called daily .. they did amazingly well

it's so stressful isn't it?

hang in there

Laura,

I agree with the others, I would board with your friend and do not visit, but call as Brody suggested. Whenever hubs and I go out of town, we have my neighbor watch the birds. I start telling them we are going away about a week before we leave. I really think that explaining it to them helps tremendously. I have been using a fantastic product that is all natural called Avi-Calm. I started using it a few months back when Maui (TAG) was picking her feathers. It has made an amazing difference. I also use it on my resuced Nanday Conure who is a plucker and a screamer. He has calmed down tremendously. He still plucks, but not near as much as before. Good luck and let us know how it goes

Thank you all for your replies. I agree and think my friend is the best option. I so appreciate the info on the visits. I was so confused about whether I should visit or not, but agree it may be worse to visit. It's also the same suggestion my friend made. Of course, I will call daily and my friend will also call me. She is a neat lady who has had a parrot in her life for many many years. Her grey is Mijo's age and her prior parrot was 26 years old when she died of cancer. She was a wild caught amazon who my friend loved dearly. So she has a lot of bird experience.

I have tried both Chamomille tea and avi-calm to no avail. However, I'm wondering how long these products were used before any difference was noticed? I tried the avi-calm for only two weeks and Mijo actually plucked more though I don't think it was the avi-calm that made him pluck more. I tried the Chamomille even less time cause it was suggested by a friend and not something I read about. I be interested to know about the tablets as I was just giving Mijo brewed tea.

Thanks again for the suggestions I will use them!

Laura,

I had good luck with Avi-Calm from the beginning and it continues to work for me. But I really think that all of these remedies are kind of a hit and miss thing. Some things work for some birds, and some things do not. It will be interesting to see how your Mijo does with another grey around. Let us know how it goes

Option #3 for me too.

There is a Bach Flower remedy commonly available, which was pretty widely used for some time, until someone read the label and cautioned folks aginst it: I think it's called Rescue Remedy. It's a homeopathic thing, given in minute doses (one or two drops) diluted with drinking water, which means you don't have very much control over how much the bird is actually ingesting. However, because it's in such tiny doses, there is minimal opportunity for harm, even though it's an alcohol-based thing. Greys seem to be very sensitive to everything, and he might get a little benefit, or maybe even a lot, from this, but don't plan on using it often or for very long, becuse of the alcohol.

I also think option 3 sounds the best. I have two Grey's and know how even little changes cause negative reactions. I wish you the best of luck on whatever you decide.

I also use Avi-Calm on a suggestion from Bev and it has made a big difference with my GW. He has calmed down considerably and has started to re-feather. I also give it to my Cockatoo and has worked well on his aggression.

Bev

Well Mijo went to stay with my friend on Friday. He had a rough day with me having to clean his cage and then transport him and his cage to my friend's house. I stayed with Mijo for a few hours so he could calm down and see how my friend and I interact. Mijo was actually doing okay by the time I left, and my friend said he did pretty well yesterday. She says he's calm and not nervous at all, which is good.

Now, I am missing Mijo pretty badly and am worried about him. I am having a hard time not going to visit him. All the advice I've gotten says leave him be until I pick him up to move to the new house. However, this is easier said then done. I just keep telling myself he's better off not seeing me right now!

(((HUGS)))

you will be more aware of him missing than he is worried about it - he has familiar person, new place and he'll be fine

if your friend thinks he's mopng maybe you'll decide a visit is in order but try to do it for him not you .. ask her to take pictures, let you hear him on the phone .. tell you stories whatever will make you feel better without stressing him out

hang in there

andrea

Laura, I'm sorry. I'd be worried sick so I'm sure you are too. Maybe he will do better with the other grey around. My M2 had so many previous homes that she absolutely freaks even if I move her cage to vacuum under it, and take it outside for a pressure wash? OMG, she has to be able to see it the whole time. This is why I have never changed cages on her, it's the only thing that is "hers" and has gone from home to home. Luckily it's a huge California King cage.

Well I got another update last night and my friend says Mijo is doing pretty well. I believe her cause she has a grey and she has been spending a great deal of time with him and her bird. Plus, she says he's playing and talking a bit along with taking treats. The only down side is he isn't really getting any out of the cage time. I would be more worried about this if Mijo wasn't so nervous. My friend is a little frightened she won't be able to get Mijo back in his cage if she lets him out. She has, however, started talking about lettting him out. So she's getting more comfortable with the idea. I think this is reasonable especially since I don't want Mijo to get nervous and jump off his cage and plunk onto her hardwood floors, which he would likely have done if let out before getting comfortable. Luckily, Mijo has his cage with him so he's comfortable.

Anyway, it sounds like it's me who has the biggest problem with Mijo being away. It's hard to believe things are so quiet around the house and we still have 32 of our 33 birds here .

Yes... You sound like I did the first summer Simon went to Birdie Boot Camp!! It was harder for me than it was for him!! He did just fine & came home fat & sassy!!

~~~
Simon was bounced around & unwanted just like Peaches was Lori - He survived all those summers, a new cage, a cross country move, surgery + recuperation without me even in the province. They are tougher than we give them credit for.
I wonder... IF you were able to offer Peaches a new/different cage would it in fact help/allow her to 'let go' of the past once & for all ? She might surprise you

Well we finally moved into our new house fully yesterday. However, Mijo is still not home. We have most things in the garage and the lovebirds (26 of them) in our dining room temporarily. We are hoping to have things fixed enough to pick Mijo up on Saturday afternoon. I would love to wait til' Sunday but I work that day and want some time with Mijo.

He continues to do well at my friend's house. She now feels comfortable to let him out of his cage which is good. He lives with his cage door open because he is one of those birds you don't have to worry about getting in trouble. So I'm sure he's happier with his freedom....Anyway, the one setback happened after I spoke with Mijo on the phone. My friend said he plucked a bunch of feathers right after. He continued to get stressed even when I only spoke with my friend on the phone (I could hear his upset cheep in the background). So I've called less and she sits in another room to chat.

So wish me luck. Saturday and the days that follow will be rough on Mijo, but at least he will be back home with us. BTW, I'm open to any advice to make a highly anxiety ridden grey more comfortable adjusting to our new house. Our last move was really hard on him and I dont' think I did well in helping him adjust.

You must be so excited to see your baby!!! I would not change anything in his cage at all; keep toys just where they have been. Also, try to find a very secure spot in the new home such as one with 2 walls for protection ;-)
Other than that, just keeping close by and doing things he is used to (do you leave TV or music on often?).
Good luck~ the little stinkers get through it but boy, are those greys sensitive