Woman Soothes Featherless Parrot Suffering From PTSD With 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
The new owners also wrap the bird in a blanket to keep it warm and calm.
A 10-year-old featherless parrot named Chicken Man that suffers from PTSD is on the road to recovery after being adopted by a new owner who calms the bird down by serenading.
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Over the years, Chicken Man has plucked the feathers off of his body due to the stress disorder after spending its entire life locked up in a cage.
The bird ended up a shelter but would peck at other birds and stress out.
In November, a Texas couple, Brenda and John, adopted Chicken Man and helped bring the bird some much needed care.
In video obtained by SWNS, Brenda sings “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to Chicken Man when he gets agitated, stressed or nervous and it instantly calms him down.
She started singing the tune to him after he tried to attack her one day and through the magic of music, they formed a bond.
“He was lunging and screaming and trying to bite. I started singing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ – I don’t know why I thought of that song,” she told SWNS. “He grabbed his tail feathers and started dancing and started clicking. I was laughing so hard. I gave myself two months to see if he would connect to people and trust again. Two months turned into us dancing and singing every day. Every time I would sing with him he would calm down.”
Chicken Man also loves Taylor Swift songs and she finds him bopping along to those songs as well. Maybe he is just shaking off the stress.
Since Chicken Man does not have any feathers, Brenda wraps him up on occasion in a blanket to keep him warm and gave it the nickname,“Chicken Burrito Wrap,” which also helps calm him down.
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“People tell me he looks ugly but I forget that he’s naked,” she said. “What matters to me is his heart. If I can fix him on the inside I don’t care what the outside looks like. He’s just the way he is in all his glory. I think he’s adorable.”
The parrot also interacts with the family's other pets, including a dog, 13 reptiles, and four other birds, however, he cannot be part of the flock because he doesn't socialize.
“He had been in a cage for 10 years," she said. "It was a very neglectful situation. He went through several sanctuaries and several foster families — nothing stuck. He lost trust in people.
"He’s not hostile, just awkward. It’s cute to watch him open up. He’s kind of afraid of everything and everyone. I don’t blame him — he’s been through a lot.”
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