Brie sounds like a joy.
Nigel, poor baby. How long have you had him?
I know with Lulu, my heart breaks. Just about the time she gets feathers in, she pulls them all out....or literally digs a hole in herself until she’s covered in blood. Right now shes in a body sweater-— cuz she looks like chicken Food Lion otherwise.
So many lessons we can learn from our birds.
I adopted Nigel as an 11 yo, 2 years ago, from a situation pertinent to this thread-his “parents” got a divorce, “Mom” moved to an apartment, and he was too noisy for that lifestyle. Not to mention he is a little difficult to handle if you are afraid of big beaks. So, she turned him over to a rescue and that’s where I found him.
I know her name is Barbara and a daughter’s name is Martha - Nigel occasionally calls to them. I also know they had him all his life, so I can only assume the cage was inadequate and he was never allowed to flap his wings.
I will put him on my arm, hold his feet so he doesn’t fall off, and move my arm up and down to make him unfurl his wings. He has very bad balance, most likely due to his non-flying issues.
He has a very sweet disposition, but he is cage bound and will pretend to attack you if you ask him to leave the cage. Several times a week I pluck him off and move him to other rooms and perches just to get him more acclimated. In 2 years he hasn’t changed much, but he is a dear, sweet, large goofy-looking bird who has a solid place in my heart. He now will move onto a swing in his cage and make it move himself-a vast improvement over only a year ago. I still have hope he will get even better over time if I keep trying.
The cockatoo I almost adopted had a friend who was like your Lulu - beaked a hole in his chest and wore an Elisabethan collar for months until it healed. He came from a situation where his owner got to dislike him so much he put the bird’s cage in a closet and ignored the bird. Can you imagine ? He’s in a good home like yours, now, and seems to be doing as well as he can.