Dave007

Yes, what you're saying is exactly how greys can lose those feathers instantly. They can lose them in different amounts but yes, I can understand why you were disturbed. There's nothing unusual ( health wise) that's going on and it may not be the last time you see such a thing happening. It's simply the blood suppy in the feathers drying up and the dead feather falling out. Just you saying that she hasn't touched that area since is a very good sign that it was simply nature taking over. And yes, it's been very frigid in PA for the last week. It's so cold that it can't snow except down in Philly. Not to worry, the feathers are coming back.

The reason you saw some blood is because those feathers and also flight feathers have a blood supply in them. Usually, you saw 1 or 2 on the cage floor but all of a sudden, overnight you saw many more at one time. Eventually, a person is goona have that situation happen. It also happens with flight feathers. It's simply coincedence. As long as your bird isn't constantly chewing them and breaking them off, they should grow back. It may happen again in the future. Maybe 1 , maybe 2, back to 1, maybe 3, back to 2 etc etc. If they fell off all at one time, they were all dead and ready to fall out. The same thing will happen with flight feathers. Again, just a coincence.

Squsih--there's one other thing you can try. It means that you'll have to buy beaded curtains. They come in see through, or different colors. They slide anywhere you want them to. When many birds fly into those beaded curtains, the beads move all over the place and they can stop a bird from going through to the window. Arts and crafts stores sell them as well as other design stores. They also make a slight crackling noise when they're hit. A person can wake right through them with sliding anything. Check it out--the best ones to get are any that have some color. Check out this link http://thebeadedcurtain.com/ PS--a good thing because beaded curtains won't block the light like regular curtains

That depends on how old he was when his wings were originally clipped. When wings are clipped with the bird being very young, that inhibits the bird from practicing and buiding up muscles and learning coordination. If a bird REALLY has to be clipped, the best age to do that is when the bird is about 8 mts old. By that time, muscles have built up, coordination has gotten better, flying skills are getting better. Just because the bird has new feathers now doesn't mean that coordination is there and that has to be learn't by the bird. You can't stop a bird from flying into things. The only thing you can do is put your bird in another area but if he's been flying into things and hasn't gotten hurt, the time is near when he'll start to avoid doing that.

Greased Lightning---is an all around household spray--and it doesn't stain the walls or whatever else you're cleaning. If it's not available, Windex has many similar products. They started making cleansers besides window cleaners. The only difference is that Greased Lightning is very quick. You may have to leave the cleanser on the poop for a little while longer with other brands.Just check out the bottles of cleansers and many will also say that they're also disinfectants. Go to a supermarket because there's a huge variety.

On the wall, don't scratch at it anymore. Get a bottle of Greased Lightning, spray it on the poop, let stand for 10min. Get a very wet paper towel and wipe off. The cleanser won't stain the walls. As far as in the cage, the best 2 times to clean it off is when the bird firsts excretes poop. Can be wiped off quickly. The other time to clean is when the poop in the cage is very hard. It can be pushed off and will crumble and fall off. Then take a solution of vinegar and water---equal parts and wipe off the crusted areas. Again, the solution may have to sink in before wiping off with a wet paper towel. The same vinegar and water solution should be used when the fecal matter has just come out of the bird.

No juicing them. aloe plants have gel in them which is also used for cuts, bruises, other injuries. The aloe juice is very inexpensive and it's extremely thin, like water in a mister. People also drink it for their digestive problems. Actually, it's sold as a people product, not a parrot product.

That's not true at all. Birds like to pluck when they're alone. Being in the mid'st of everything distracts a bird and also raises his curiousity about many things going on. Someday, a bird has to accept people moving around including doors. If the doors you're talking about are located in an area where the bird will be alone, then that area isn't any good. One of the worst things a person can do to a grey is keeping the bird away from what's going on. He's a part of the family and should be involved.

One important thing is missing which indirectly connects to the other things------ You've just gotten the bird and your bird doesn't know you, the home, the environment, daily habits of the fanily. All of these things will cause a bird to pluck especially if he does it now. Your bird needs plenty of time for all of these things to sink in. To you, he may look and act happy and he is probably happy but that doesn't take away the other very important things that have to happen. He may slow down with some of his constant plucking. 2) Full Spectrum Lighting - (Going to buy the AvianSun setup)---good idea 3) Frequent Baths----good idea but also know that a mister may be the only thing he'll accept. 4) Spray with Aloe Vera---good idea but aloe vera won't stop plucking. What it will do is make his skin less itchy (supple). He'll need some humidity. The food you're using is fine. Start adding varieties of green veggies, the darker the better. Don't expect him to like them all. It's a time for experimention for him and you. If he is actually a stress plucker, that will stop when he's very settled in. Getting settled in more than likely will take weeks. 5) Put in room where they can't see door? (This is impossible for me)---that's good that it's impossible for you because the bird does best in getting used to and seeing all that's going on when he's in the midst. 7) LOVE LOVE LOVE them for who they are... No reply is needed here.

No moving around. Just still pics once in a while.

Well, you can avoid wing clipping. You can avoid claw trimming. You can avoid beak filing ( unless you've been told in the past that your bird has a growth problem with the beak.) If you're not positive of your bird's sex but don't care, you can avoid DNA tests which determine males from females. You can avoid having the sexual organs examined since that won;t have anything to do with his feathers. You can avoid sinus examinations unless the vet says it's necessary. All of these tests are expensive. Different vets charge different amounts for these things or the workup may include all of these tests free of charge. It's hard to say how a million vets deal with different situations. Because you're low on funds and because in every other way, your bird is acting very normal, has a good appetite, is generally playful, doesn't sit on the floor of the cage and is isn't constantly puffed up and very quiet ( that's a sign of digestive or liver problems) I would wait ubtil the next molt and afyer he drops those feathers, check th4e new ones. Those feathers may die and fall out by themselves or fall out with the rest of the feathers. Neither means any trouble. Birds lose feathers like that all the time. Try to think about when his last molt was and you can roughly judge when the next molt will be. Some birds molt 2x a year--some 1x time a year--some 3x a year. That all has to do with the surrounding humidity that your bird lives in all the time. The less humidity, the more molts per year. Try to relax a bit because you say that other than this feathersituation, the bird is fine. I wish I could be of more help but different countries deal with problems differently.

Welcome to the board. Check out all of the sections here and you'll learn more than you can imagine. Enjoy the board.

Well, we're not vets here so it's really difficult to give out possible diagnoses on different problems. I do understand your financial situation and it may hamper you from what you need to do ******I allready spoke to our veterinarian, and brought a feather for analysis and she said there were no parasites, no bacteria or virus and under the microscope the spots look like holes. The feather is healthy except from this holes. She doesn't know what it is and it appears it is not affecting his health but it certainly doesn't look normal. ******** There's certain illnesses or abnormalities that a bird can get and visually, answers don't happen. What I can tell you is what the great majority of people here would do if something can't be diagnosed and treated. They normally go to an avian vet who does a small exam to determine the general health of the bird. After that, a complete exam is done which involves many tests. Blood is usually taken. Stool is examined. Because this is a grey that we're talking about, calcium levels are checked. Other tests are done to determine other internal problems. Cultures are taken. This is whole routine is called a workup. It's the same thing that's done to a person who has a medical problem where the cause can't be seen but needs to be located. The problem could be anywhere. The same thing applies to parrots and other animals. I truly feel that your bird needs a complete workup to test for various things. Obviously, something is wrong or abnormal. I'm not insulting your vet but I can tell you that a simple external exam of a feather put under a microscope is not a complete workup. The problem may be coming from the blood stream. The feathers you're pointing out have a constant amount of blood in them. There could be a lack of vit A or vit E. You said it yourself ""I can't figure out what is causing this and why is it spreading more and more."" On this board and other boards, you'll get opinions but those opinions are just that, opinions. The vet gets the final results with extensive testing and yes, sadly, a workup is expensive but in many cases, they're extremely necessary. Sorry, wish I could be of more help.

I've seen them before and it was caused by a vitamin deficiency. Vets have also said that a slightly elevated white blood count and increased globulins which could be the cause. There's a product called Nekton S which deals with viamin definicy and unknown stress. The bird doesn't have to look stressed but it's possible that your bird may need vitamins. Since you say that nothing seems to be unusual with your bird, you can also wait until your bird molts them out and see if the spots are still there on new feathers. There are times when it has to do with genetics. I doubt that he's poisoning himself. You may wanna try a different type of diet which includes increasing the veggies amount. I don't know how difficult this may be but you may have to find another avian vet especially if the present vet isn't an avian vet.

Hi there. Welcome to our board. Zak is very beautiful looking. His coloring really looks good. Hope you enjoy yourself here and we look forward to seeing more pics of your grey. Happy holidays

You're very welcome. Many people are very surprised when they get the full story and history of the quakers in the US. They can be seen on the Net roaming around in trees, telephone lines, on the tops of abandoned buildings. There's even conversations with workers and with private people all over the place concerning quakers on the net( their likes and dislikes of quakers). They're one of the few parrots that withstand harsh temperatures and ocean going travels which is how they originally got here. Some of my old friends in the bronx have told me they've arrived. They're even roosting in my son's old little league field and some are on top of the church that owns that field. They're great birds but yes, they can be pains in the ass for many people in different regions. I also saw them in Sheepshead Bay and near Coney Island years ago. They can be very strong and aggressive birds on the outside, especially towards pigeons. Plus many rural farmland people in different states still don't trust them although many quakers have moved on. Once in a while, I see a few in my backyard which is mainly high trees that look like a forest. As far as mature greys, after 5/6/7 yrs old, they become very stable.

Gotta love the look on her face in that bottom photo * what did you say!*. Welcome to our board. Enjoy.

There's nothing you can do if the people actually think the bird is fine. Eventually. you may get a *mind your own business* attitude from them. Who knows how people think?

Munch The birds you see or have heard about in Bklyn are called Quakers. They're the only parrot that roams city areas in the US. They originally came from Honduras, Brazil, Argentina. That was in the 50s and 60s. They arrived here in huge flocks and spread throughout the US. At that point in time, they were considered to be invading pests because of the many rural crops they destroyed. Corn fieids, wheat fields and other farm land crops. In the US to this day, there are strict rules about Quakers- the many states have different types of rules concerning Quakers. In some states, if the quakers are caught, they'll be euthanized. In other states, breeding isn't allowed but can be sold in pet shops In other states, pet stores can't sell them but in other states pet stores can sell them if they're banded. There's loads of other variations of laws and rules depending on the state. Some states have extreme rules concerning quakers. In this state ( PA), the rules are---no breeding, no selling in stores, no banding or privately dealing with birds, no interstate transportation. Wll enforce euthinzation. There's other states that have the same laws towards quakers. Of course, the private part of the laws can be broken if dealing with quakers privately ( behind closed doors) between people. Other states have less stringent laws concerning them. When those parrots finally arrived in NY, Bklyn was the the first area they went to. Now, they're in Bklyn, Queens, Bronx and recently, they've been trying to get into NYC. They'be been spotted in Central park and near Riverside Drive.The reason they've been less successful in NYC is because the height of the trees are much shorter than other boroughs. Another problem with the feral quakers is that because they'll breed anywhere, telephone lines and electrical currents have been messed up because of their breeding everywhere. Many complaints have been registered concerning large flocks of feral quakers. In many areas in NY they're still considered pests. In NJ, they have different rules concerning quakers and some of their rules are more harsh than in NY. I have 2 quakers which I illegally brought to PA from MO. I lived in NY (Bronx) for 55 yrs and I saw them for yrs and years. The only parrots that roam wild are the ones that still live in their own country. Those quakers you see aren't the same size or larger than greys. They're much smaller and weigh approx 115 grams. You can easily see the rules concerning quakers and where they are in the US by looking it up on your PC. There's even a website devoted to THE QUAKERS OF BKLYN.

The **Grey's Stages of Life** is aimed at very young greys up until they're 5 yrs old. After 5/6 yrs old, each grey is a young adult, is more mature and has developed it's own personality which is totally different than another grey and it's personality. A very young immature grey is totally different than a mature grey. At maturity there no more *stages*. A 8 yr old grey can be exactly like a 6 yr grey or a 15 yr old grey or any other mature adult. In adolescence, it's the owner who develops what direction the bird will go in. A grey may talk alot, may not talk alot, may be more or less friendly, has a preference for certain foods, certain types of toys, is well trained or not well trained, is very extroverted or introverted. Basically, when a grey reaches adulthood, it's the owner who has to go through individual stages in order to deal with their own mature, adult grey who's not going through stages anymore. That's why the post was put into the Nursery Room. After maturity, if a person wanted to sell or give away that mature bird, the new owner needs to be willing to also accept the bird's habits that were developed by the bird. In bird jargon, that's called history or baggage of the grey. At least 95% of the members who are here are trying to learn about their new very young and adolescent birds who haven't yet reached maturity. After maturity, the bird rules the roost that the owner built.

Of course they're real. My dog and Smokey have been in love with each other since Smokey was 6 weeks old. Seamus used to fall asleep with his head on the table while watching him being handfed. One thing the dog doesn't like is when people make sudden moves towards Smokey. He's always hanging around the bird's cage or playstand and he will show a person that he's upset. Smokey is 11 and Seamus is 12. PS--the yorky isn't mine. Was just baby sitting the dog for my son's girlfriend.

Look at dog's tail

Ok. Then I guess it's fine

59F? well, if it works for you then I guess it's all right but I can tell you that 59F isn't the average temp in a bird room. Usually it's about 65 to 69/70.

Wedding Dresses Son asked his mother the following question: "Mom, why are wedding dresses white?" The mother looks at her son and replies, "Son, this shows your friends and relatives that your bride is pure." The son thanks his Mom and goes off to double-check this with his father. "Dad why are wedding dresses white?" The father looks at his son in surprise and says, "Son, all household appliances come in white."