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Hi I am a bird lover my second grey I rehomed her today she has hardly any feathers im not sure if she’s pulled some out completely or they will grow back she-plucks bad firstly looking for a good avain vet to rule out illness but looking to get insurance too as I can’t afford vet bill please help I’m so worried but really want to help her anyway I can x

Welcome Chvonne! Thank you for taking in a beautiful grey in need. It's great that you are taking her in to be evaluated. Hopefully you will receive some answers from your avian vet. If a bird has been a chronic plucker, it's one of those awful habits that's extremely difficult to break. Oftentimes the follicles become so badly damaged that they won't be able to regrow its feathers. There are bird collars that some have used that help. Changing her diet to one filled with fresh fruit and veggies, adding organic red palm oil to the food and giving regular warm water baths will also help. Adding yams or sweet potatoes to her diet will provide her with much needed vitamin A, something greys really need. Please let us know how your vet appt goes! Oh, and pictures of your brand new baby please! 🙂

Looks like my carrier. Nice stuff!

Hopefully so! Fingers crossed that he takes to it! He doesn't like his travel cage and actively avoids going in it- he has always hated going in carriers/small cages. So I'm hoping this is a bit more successful.

Alfie hits the jackpot. Love how he's checking out the new carrier. Won't be long and he'll be hoofing it downtown.

Serious chronic plucking is involved. A diagnosis is made. A possible solution is given. A bird collar. For so many birds A collar isn't going to fix the problem unless you plan for him to wear it for the rest of his life. His plucking is something that was a formed habit prior to you getting him. A physical block will not fix it, because it's not a physical problem - it is an emotional one. This is how he has learned to deal with his feelings. Its not YOUR fault. You took on a known plucker. Even when you provide the best environment possible, he still may pluck (and will more than likely continue to do so for the rest of his life). When I first dealt with my friend's TAG, Romeo (who was a known shredder prior to him getting her) I thought that as long as I temporarily provided the best environment it would stop immediately. This was a common but FALSE way of thinking. He went 8 weeks without touching his feathers, then one day I came home and he had completely shredded her chest and tail feathers. I cant even begin to tell you what you what it was like to call my buddy about it. At my friend's house he was in a perfect environment (he was beyond spoiled - He ruled the roost). I was devastated and thought I did something wrong because I had worked with other pluckers with good results. In actuality there was NOTHING I could do to really do to fix the problem. He was probably leaving his feathers alone because he was in a new home with very new distractions - He then settled in a bit and had decided to be himself. Over time, as long as you keep providing the most stable best environment possible, his plucking will curb some but NEVER truly go away. Look at it like an ADDICTION, he did not get to this state overnight - it cannot be cured overnight either. This is a life long problem, just when you think he is done - he will relapse. You are living with an addict (in a bird form) and don't take what he does personal, just love him and help him through it. One of my vet's first words to me were 'you will never fix this, either be prepared to live with this problem for the rest of the birds life or walk away now' -This was told to my friend with me visiting the vet at the same time. His love for this bird and his connection with him,He could never leave him just because was not perfect. His bird will eventually get to a point where he may go weeks without incident, then a few months, then a few years, then out of no where when he looks absolutely perfect he does it again. Ignore the problem and act like its not there, don't give any attention when he does it. If you come home and he's plucked himself bald don't treat him any different than normal - act as if you don't even notice it. Put soothing liquids and gels on him but enjoy him for him and forget the feathers. This is an emotionally unstable bird and its going to take TIME, LOTS OF IT. Go in with the mindset that he's yours for the rest of his life and if he wants to be naked then so be it. Trying to physically block the problem (collar) is going to cause him to become even more emotionally upset as he has no outlet for his pent up feelings, plucking is his way to cope. Worse would be if he tries to find a different outlet - then you will have two behavioral problems instead of one. Provide the perfect environment, accept his condition, and you will be surprised at the results. Its a very long hard road but remember that this is what you signed up for. You saw he needed help and you came to his aid. You could of easily bought a baby from a breeder and never had to deal with this problem. What you did do though is take on a wonderful bird that most would of walked away from, due to his problem, and are giving him the chance to really enjoy life. Rescuing is not easy, but extremely rewarding in ways you would never had known had he been perfect from the start. Stay strong and you will eventually get through this. This also applies to female birds.