LNCAG

Is she home or staying at the vet's office? Glad the vet is going to remove them and give her some comfort. Any other feathers affected to be aware of or was it limited to 2? Also, what does the vet think caused this to happen?

Please do let us all know how the vet visit goes. I am kicking myself for not getting more information from you. This thread began like a one-off picked feather to so many other possible issues going on with her. Be sure to let your vet know everything that has happened so he will have more information to go on! Fingers crossed for a good vet report!!!

I wish I had asked more questions in your feather plucking thread! Every time you post there is new relevant information. So, she's moulting, had a run in with a ladder AND there have been changes at home. And she turns out to be a youngster. I'm glad she's going to the vet-- that's a LOT of stuff going on that could influence her feather chewing: from being uncomfortable in her moult, to her possibly trying to repair a feather injury herself, to even a possible behavioural issue with you suddenly not being home all day. And it could be a combo of 2 or all three things going on at once. Like, wow. Please, be sure to mention ALL these factors to your vet so he has full information to start with! Hoping for a really good vet diagnosis. Bless your little girl!

Unless the vet advises against it, I stay with my parrots. And when the vet is through, I become the hero. It's a rescue scenario -- mean vet does stuff to this poor little parrot - but -- then her loving wonderful human 'rescues' her from the vet. Can't promise it always works that way, but with my guys, that was nearly always the case. Mine literally clung to me for snuggles after the vet exam, while shooting evil looks at the vet! Your girl should associate most of the bad experience to the vet and the office with strange smells. You will likely be her hero... and if for some reason you aren't -- she'll just have to get over the experience at home while you pamper her. (Hoping she won't come home with medicine or wound cleanings -- that won't win you any points!)

With more information this all makes more sense now. Poor girl. That second feather just didn't sound right to me and definitely changed my view of things. Hope it's just a small injury the vet can sort out quickly. I would definitely give her lots of things to chew on (toys, cardboard, paper, etc.) to distract her so she'll leave her feathers alone to heal. Even after the vet sorts her out, the area will still be irritating/sore for her -- so she'll need lots of distractions so she'll continue to leave the area alone. I truly believe your girl has been trying to heal herself... and making a right mess of it! Wishing her well!

Not good. One feather was just a fluke. Like maybe the first feather got twisted and was bothering her. But two? It's not really normal for a parrot to chew a fresh new feather in half -- much less two. Is your girl moulting and uncomfortable? Are you sure it's wing wasn't caught between the cage bars and injured, or maybe your parrot flew into/bumped into something? How long have you had this parrot? Your 2nd feather looks newer -- it looks like a freshly formed feather where the sheath has either fallen away (or been preened away by your bird). Yet that pictured feather is chewed through below where a parrot might try to remove a feather sheath (which is normal to remove an old sheath once a feather is mature). But your girl chewed below the normal exposed sheath area. And now I feel concerned about the remaining halves of the feathers -- are they still there? It hurts to pull a new healthy feather out, which would explain why your grey broke them in half rather than pulling out the whole feather. But why are they bothering her? At this point, the remaining chewed feather ends are rough and uncomfortable for her -- you may need a vet to remove them properly and safely. Otherwise, she may keep chewing the area trying to fix it herself and get into a bad cycle of chewing, irritating the area further, chewing more to fix it, area becomes more irritated, chewing some more to fix that, etc.. You don't want this. Is there any swelling or lumpiness in the skin area near where these feathers came from? I'm trying to figure out why your parrot is trying to remove good feathers early -- unless they are damaged in some way. Moulting can be very uncomfortable, but not to the extent a bird is chewing its healthy new feathers in half. I lean towards some trauma having occurred than just an uncomfortable moult (although either could be possible). I'm also concerned that the next feather she chews in half might have some blood supply to it. At any rate, unless her chest and back are also bald, this doesn't fit the usual feather plucking scenario. Just not the first feathers she'd be chewing, imo. I would check to see if other feathers are injured, if the skin is injured... just find out more. I would hate this to turn into a vet visit -- but you need to know what is happening before she injures herself trying to fix the problem herself.

My grey can be very intense and devoted. He's regurgitated millions of times for me. I don't encourage it (basically just put him back on his stand or in his cage) and I prefer it if he picks toy instead. They need an outlet so I think you made a good choice. A funny: I have had parrots who regurgitated for me and then re-swallowed it, like "Wait! I don't want to waste this on you." So hurtful. Where's the love??? lol

All is well with your parrot, feather-wise. A blood feather is a one that is still developing and still has a blood supply. Once mature, the parrot's body cuts off the blood supply to the developing feather and it's just a normal mature feather. Trust me, you'll know a blood feather; when broken. a blood feather can literally spurt blood for many feet (or even meters) helter skelter across the walls of your room. All feathers begin with a blood supply -- so the evidence of some dried blood is normal even in a fully formed feather. Also, just feather irritation to the skin could cause a drop or two of blood. All is good! No worries -- your parrot didn't break a blood feather nor become a feather picker. Your parrot simply removed a damage feather. This may or may not happen again. My grey has only ever had one damaged feather in the 23 years I've had him. Generally parrots don't injure their feathers! You seriously may never have anything like this occur again. Best of luck with your parrot -- read the forums here -- lots of excellent information re: nutrition, health, enrichment, training, bonding, etc., is here for your parrot!

>>Thanx for your advice. The only problem I’m having is when my girl flies then lands she starts screaming so I’m thinking the base of the feather is still there. There’s no way she will even let me pull out her wing to see what’s going on. Im thinking I may have no choice but to take her to the Vet. I’m really worried about her. She has put back on the 10 grams she lost. << Glad her weight is improving! And welcome to parrot issues 101. Yeah, I ended up taking my macaw to the vet once for a broken blood feather in her wing that she refused to let me handle. Sometimes you just need a second pair of hands for a delicate damaged feather removal. And if you really feel the base of the feather is still there, but it's not bleeding, then no worries: it's closed off already and can come out later. A mature feather isn't a bleed-out risk like a blood feather is. Since there is no bleeding, I'd let your parrot handle it... the broken base of a feather will eventually work loose and your guy can pull it out or it will moult out by itself. (This assumes feather isn't broken beneath the skin -- and from the look of your feather pictures, this isn't a concern for you at all). My MOST important advice, if you ever needed to pull a blood feather out yourself, is to SUPPORT (hold firm) the wing so you don't dislocate it, and to pull out the feather in the direction the feather is growing. Those feathers can be very tight and firmly in place while developing! Thankfully this information isn't relevant in your case! And I get your fears, I've pulled out several broken blood feathers, without help, all the while the various parrot was biting at my hands. Difficult to know if it was the feather was bleeding out or if I was! Good times! lol The thing with a blood feather is that it acts like a catheter, er, the feather sheath is like an open straw, directly connected to a parrot's vascular system -- hence it bleeding out. It almost like a cut artery of sorts. Your parrot was different -- it was a mature feather. Be GLAD! (23 years experience keeping parrots -- from small cockatiels to large macaws [plus 32 years experience with any birds, like zebra finches])

Just agreeing with others: the injured feather preceded the feather removal. Chronic feather plucking is quite different and begins with your grey plucking healthy down, semiplume and contour feathers (on it's chest) -- generally not important feathers like wing feathers. Any time my grey gets an injured wing feather, I always just hope he will just remove it himself. The exception is a split/broken blood feather, spurting blood -- in which case I support the wing and pull the feather's base out completely with a pliers (pulling in the direction the feather is growing). Because such a broken blood feather can act as an open catheter causing major blood loss, it's urgent the entire feather base is pulled so coagulation can occur. Again, we're talking only about blood feathers, not mature feathers. Hope you never have this happen). My grey is smart, and if he can repair the damage himself (with feather removal), I just leave it alone for him to handle it. Sometimes they can't fix the problem, and then it's my responsibility to pull a damaged feather myself if I see it poses a risk to him. Usually it's just a twisted feather (no bleeding) and my guy knows to remove it.

I'd leave the toy. I don't think you can modify the behaviour with toy removal; you can only make it slightly more difficult for him to find a new toy/outlet to express himself. I'd argue he needs an outlet. Good luck with your fellow -- he sound very normal. Greys just do the best they can in their circumstances, yannoe?

You show such wonderful devotion to all your pets! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! Scritches to the cats (and just give Alfie a virtual neck scritch from me -- no point in testing his patience too much)!!!!

Added thought: I will say some pet stores do have some employees very knowledgeable about fish. I remember back in the day when the pet store was my fish vet -- also a place where you could take a water sample in for testing. Not every pet store, obviously, but some were quite brilliant when it came to fish keeping trouble-shooting.

I don't trust pet stores -- they are in the market of making money. As far as "endangered species" go, it is an issue, but not one solved by domestic breeding (which never seeks to re-introduce parrots to the wild). The goal is to make money selling parrots to private owners. I deeply regret that I am one such person. In generaI, I admit, I don't trust information from pet stores or breeders -- I would never rely on their information. When money is involved, I consider the source. My good friend works in a pet store, and makes minimal wage and there is zero requirement (for employment) of any training or degree, for anything beyond an immediate sale. And breeders are involved in the business of selling parrots. Don't confuse those who mean well with those who are actively trying to save a species (and prevent poaching) and re-introduce parrots back into the wild. Most are trying to make a buck in the private market. Parrots ARE a wanted commodity, but private ownership has nothing to do with preservation of a species. It's simply a "I want this parrot" dealie. And I am one such consumer from the 1990s. If I could go back in time, I'd have NEVER purchased a domestically bred parrot. I would encourage protecting wild parrots by making poaching un-profitable. I would rather see parrots in the wild than in cage. But many here in this forum (like me) have domestically raised parrots and we do our best to make their lives tolerable, hopefully, and happy.

Sad. So extremely sorry this happened to you. I also assume there was teflon (aka polytetrafluoroethylene/PTFE) in the heating unit. Many companies don't emphasize that many pots, pans, toaster ovens, space heaters, air fryers, slow-cookers, etc., contain this dangerous product. I even bought a ceramic frying skillet a few years back, and the small (and I mean very small print!) mentioned it was a danger to birds due to a fluorocarbon agent. Yeah, a ceramic skillet. I mean, c'mon, you buy ceramic to AVOID a non-stick polytetrafluoroethylene-type pan. I am leery of anything coating that heats up these days being used around parrots. So sorry you found this out in such a cruel way. At low temps, not a big deal -- but at higher heats -- lethal for birds. So sorry for your loss.

Endangered? Interesting. LOTS of african greys in captivity. New argument for me.

Agreed with others -- I don't clip. If my guy takes a flight -- I want him to be able to fly and land safely.

Usually they say nutrition is an issue, but I've had healthy parrots with some weird colored feathers before. I think it just happens that way sometimes. Guess a lot can go wrong when feathers are developing.

Why do feel the need to breed? Lots of unwanted african greys needing a home already. Would love for all parrots to have excellent homes before more are brought into this world. Just me, I guess.

For me, the issue with breeding, is that there are already too many unwanted parrots. I don't see the need to breed more until every already-living parrot has a *good* home. The sheer number of re-homed parrots makes me cry. Most people don't know what they're getting into with a parrot, so many parrots get re-homed many times during their life. My own grey was also an unwanted re-homed parrot. I've had him 23 years. Can't really imagine deliberately breeding more domestic parrots. Just me, I guess. I BEG people, give a new home to a domestically bred parrot, don't just adopt chicks -- home the ones already bred -- they didn't ask for this life, yannoe.

Welcome!

Agree with Timber. There's a LOT of salt in potato chips -- maybe try to rub some salt off on a paper towel or something first. But yeah, I have given Snickers a few unhealthy treats over these years -- they see us eating and want some too! Esp french fries!

Mine is 30+ yo. He still knows when it's Spring. He has found uses for his toys and I know without looking what he's doing because of his special noises. Mine is quick to regurgitate but will bring a little something up, roll it around in his mouth, and then decide 'nah, this is too good to share' and just re-swallow it himself. A real tease, so, sort of a selfish lover. (Or maybe, after 23 years together, he just knows I am not a willing recipient of being fed parrot vomit... lol)

I'd be the last of the huge dinosaurs and find out what really happened to the others.

Ability to read minds would be cool (human and animal). But these days the ability to cure Covid-19 would really be a superpower! Not sure how many could be healed in just 24 hours though.