mas

Hey guys, Today an avian vet came to town, and we took Zahzu to see him to see if he may have any insight into her plucking and to check out why she scratches her ears and stretches her neck up so frequently. He checked her ears, and lo and behold, she had a totally plugged up, blocked LEFT ear (she only has been plucking on her left side!). So, the vet operated on her and removed as much of the blockage as he could - but there is still some gunk left inside - so we need to give her drops for one week. Very worried about how we will manage with the ear drops for this week - I think we are going to have to towel Zahzu and put them in - not looking forward to it, but it has to be done. Any tips and advice is welcome! -Sameera

Thanks guys - I think a vet visit is on the menu. Also, will keep up the bathing/misting regime. Thanks again - and will keep you all posted. -Sameera

Hey guys, We are just back from a lovely 5 day holiday during which Zahzu stayed with the bird sitter. Zahzu was spoiled rotten and had a great time with her - she was out of her cage getting TLC all day, and only went back to her cage to sleep! For a while now we have noticed she yawns, stretches her neck and makes this little 'click' noise and then scratches her ear and nose. She does this very frequently as though something is irritating her... I read a few posts on this forum and it indicated that this is normal - however I've always felt she's doing it too much - it can go on for a long time and she seems very itchy! The bird sitter also noticed this and said next time we need to take her to the vet we should get it checked up - was just wondering if anyone had an idea of what could be the problem? There are no external signs like discharge or redness that i've noticed also. PS. Zahzu is still plucking away! Thanks, Sameera

Thanks guys - unfortunately that product doesn't seem to be available in Sth Africa... I will keep trying all sorts of things - and will let you know how it goes. She's removing all her feathers from both of her wings it seems - we are in it for the long run so we just gotta keep going i guess! Also, I've weaned her off the medication - it did help but it's not a long term solution. Thanks for all the support once again - will keep u updated! -S

Awww... adorable!

Yup - she did stop and was growing back all her feathers beautifully! She was 99% feathered and it started all over again. I've tried heaps of stuff for the little madam ;-) Some advice an acquaintance got from another vet for her feather plucking CAG is that she should leave her bird in it's cage for most of the time, and wean it off so much attention - till it is used to being in the cage. I really feel Zahzu's problem is that she has been out of her cage almost all the time that I am home, and now that she cannot have that level of attention she is upset... What do you all think of this strategy? It seems to be working for this other person I spoke to. I'm planning on phoning the vet this person took her bird to, in order to find out more and see if he can consult over the phone as he is a few hours away from us in another city. -Sameera

Just another update! Zahzu has re-started plucking again this time it is worse than before, however i'm not as stressed about it which is a good thing. She's barbering and then plucking thick flight feathers and all - on her left wing, tail, chest and back and even on her legs *sigh* I'm sure its started because I've started working longer hours - but I really did try to gradually increase hours at work. I'm out from 8.30 to about 2 or 3pm usually. Will keep trying new things to get her to stop... it's so frustrating! Are these relapses normal? Also we have booked to go away for 3 nights next weekend (not the one coming - the one after)..and she is going to stay with the bird sitter. The holiday is already booked - and we really need the time out... just a bit worried about the effect it'll have on Zahzu; however at this stage I don't know how much worse it can get! -Sameera

Hi there, Your bird MAY be plucking due to sexual frustration; however it's probably best to have a vet check to determine if this is the cause (the vet may check to see if he is a he or a she!). Also, where do you frequently pet your bird? From my understanding petting under the wings and above the base of the tail are seen as lovey dovey areas to touch - so maybe err on the side of caution and only pet on the head and neck? We got our grey to stop plucking by moving her cage to an area where she didn't have such an open view of outside - i think the movement and noise frightened her - she's growing back all her lovely feathers now. I really hope you find the reason behind the plucking, because that is really going to help solve the problem. Best of luck.

At the moment we are having some difficulty in deciding weather to cover or not to cover. Zahzu used to be fine being covered up since we got her last year, however over the past 6 weeks or so she takes a long time to settle after being covered and flaps her wings in (what I assume is) frustration. I'm thinking its worth trialing not covering her...hmmm... -Sameera

Today I found a feather at the bottom of her cage which i'm sure is molted, and 4 others fell out while I was giving her neck scratches - so, i'm officially a paranoid ditz - she must be moulting! Thanks guys, Also - for the first time in a month or so, she's damaged a blood feather and bled a fair bit (about 10 big drops), however the bleeding stopped on it's own so I'll just continue to monitor her. She's happy as harry so I'm nt too worried! -Sameera<br><br>Post edited by: mas, at: 2008/09/23 15:25

Hey guys, Zahzu is doing really well, however, over the past few days I've been noticing a few new feathers in the bottom of her cage that I'm sure she's plucked. Today it was 3 feathers, the other day it was 5...and day before yesterday was only 1. I'm just worried she's going to relapse! What can I do to prevent this? She's bathing, having palm oil, calcium, and lots of time out of her cage (sometimes she doesn't even want to come out when i offer!) She seems happy, and nothing has changed. However, over the weekend the kiddos were over, and maybe she was a bit frightened?? I'm not sure... On a brighter note she's picking up a lot of new words - they aren't so clear yet though, but it's quite funny to hear her mumbling away! -Sameera

Falling is the most frightening thing - and it can happen to flighted birds also (see post 'Worst Situation Ever' - it made my stomach turn and it should be a warning to all of us). Also, please don't leave Kaskoo alone for even a minute unsupervised, especially since he can't fly. I'm speaking from experience too! I've made plenty of mistakes, but I just don't take risks anymore. The worst fall Zahzu had was a few weeks ago - my phone rang and I went against my gut feeling to go answer it (it was in another room) and when I came back Zahzu had fallen (probably tried to follow me) from the top of her cage - she had split her keel (broken skin around keel bone area) and had broken 2 blood feathers which were bleeding all over the floor. It was terrible. We had to remove the 2 broken feathers, and because she wasn't held for long enough for me to apply pressure, she continued to bleed - so we had to towel her AGAIN to catch her to apply pressure required to stop the bleeding. You are really lucky you haven't had to remove blood feathers - at one stage we went to the vet 3 times in a week and a half to get feathers removed; thereafter I decided we are going to have to do it ourselves because the stress of vet visits resulted in Zahzu starting to pluck - she's stopped now thankfully! Just be patient, follow your guy, and be super cautious - try getting some old cushions to put on the floor where Kaskoo might fall - that has saved us a lot of broken feathers! Main thing is he's happy and healthy -Sameera

I know how stressful broken blood feathers can be! (Have a read through my previous posts). What we do is keep Zahzu on our laps, and have foam and big cushions on the floor when she is outside the cage, and I've put a couple of big fluffy towels in the bottom of her cage to prevent injury if she falls. It's been since March that we are waiting for our problem to resolve ;-) Her right wing has grown back beautifully, however her left wing has barely any long feathers! Patience patience patience! Also, if she breaks a blood feather, only remove it if the bleeding does not stop after a few minutes (30 minutes some sources say); after having removed several blood feathers that were bleeding, we have found that more often than not they stop bleeding on their own and Zahzu sorts it out on her own (including pulling out the 'root' of the damaged feather once it has dried up!). Best of luck, Sameera

Thanks guys

Hey guys, Just a little update on Zahzu - she seems to have almost stopped plucking (probably as a result of a move in cage location, and medication she is on) - and she's spiky with new feathers all over! Anyway - back to my topic!! She has discovered at LOOONG LAST what a pleasure it is to bath! This week we have had a couple of cold days, however on the warm ones I put a caserole dish, and a bowl of water on the floor for her, and she had such a ball splashing about and bathing - I'm so glad because I know one of the most important things for her is to be bathing regularly... I guess in Winter she was not so happy about it, and Spring has come so she's on the mend! No dramas to report ;-) Enjoy whats left of the weekend! -Sameera

I'm so sorry. You have our prayers and best wishes. I can't begin to imagine what you are going through right now - just try to find some comfort in knowing that you a wonderful, carying and devoted parront - you did the best you could, and a wonderful job, and Cesar had the best life he could have ever hoped for with you - no matter how short it was. Try as best as you can to be patient, and in time you will feel better. Best wishes, Sameera

Hehe... Zahzu has started doing the same thing! She was sitting on my lap eating pasta and veges (throwing what she didn't like onto the floor), and then she walks to the edge of my lap, looks around on the floor and whispers "what a mess"! -Sameera

So glad to hear such a happy ending to the saga! Elmo sounds absolutely adorable! -Sameera

When we took Zahzu to the vet, I had newspaper in the bottom of her carry cage, and in questioning the vet about possible heavy metal poisoning as a cause of Zahzu's (now significantly reduced! yay!) feather plucking, he told me that he usually only sees h.metal poisioning in birds around the age of 20 who have always had newspaper in the bottom of their cages. He told us to rather use butcher's brown paper and avoid the newspaper due to the ink containing lead (i think he said lead)... However pls note that we are in Sth Africa, so the ink used here is probably different to what is used elsewhere. -Sameera

Lol - poor bugger! He must have been so irritated! I think we all have made silly mistakes like that at least once! Zahzu had one of those balls with a bell in it, however it was a large one about the size of a baseball...anyway, she loved it, however she broke it a little, and next thing I knew she got her foot caught in it - I was so freaked out! Managed to get her foot out, and threw it straight into the bin! ;-) -Sameera

She does get red palm oil - will try to increase the aloe baths we have also added wheat germ oil (vit E) to her diet, so hopefully something will work... just so relieved it's nothing serious! -Sameera

Hey everyone! Good news!! The test results came back for Zahzu - and she does NOT have beak and feather disease.... However now, what could be making her feathers brittle? And why is she not putting on much weight?? Back to good news - I've spent 2 days at work (7am-1pm)and Zahzu has not plucked much at all - it seems the collar did some good, or the medication has done good, or our ignoring of her behaviour has done some good! probably a bit of both... however about the collar itself doing good I'm not sure - it may have snapped her out of her anxious mood though - when it came off she was a new bird! I think she's still happy its off thats why the minimal plucking maybe?? She went to bed well tonight - she was plucking a little and climbing all over the cage, so i went into my bedroom and left her for no more than 5minutes, and when i came back and peeped in the cage she was settled... the light is on and i'm typing away in the same room as her with no complaints. all in all - am very glad things are normalising again - i hope it continues this way thats all! -Sameera

I wouldn't worry too much - Zahzu's beak is looking a bit worse for wear also, but I'm noticing it is growing back. Zahzu even once fell and chipped her beak which caused bleeding; and that healed up so don't stress -Sameera

We have the same problem with Zahzu these past couple of weeks - when we put her off to bed she climbs all over her cage - it's taking about 5-10minutes for her to settle down; and I'm quite certain it's because she doesn't have as much time out as she is used to in the past (she can't be left to sit on top of her cage as she doesn't have any flight feathers, and the risk of her falling is high...long story!)... What I'm trying tonight is to cover half her cage, turn out the lights, and cover the front up, so she settles down nicely... Hope it all goes well for you - the suggestions provided have also helped me out too! -Sameera

Thank you everyone for your replies! I agree strongly about not going for another collar - all the prior research I had done also indicated that they barely ever work, and are only indicated in cases of self mutilation - however the vet kinda gave me no choice... I'm trying to introduce peacock feathers to her - a full on feather duster is one of her FEARS, she growls when she sees it, so I'm going to get one and keep it in the same room, and move it a tiny bit closer every day to get her used to it. Am anxiously awaiting blood test results for beak and feather disease - as soon as results are in the receptionist said she'd call me... Today I started work (well practicals in order to get registered in S.Africa)..and had to leave Zahzu alone from 7am-1pm...she seemed to do ok, however she did pluck on a blood feather and lost a few drops of blood; however it stopped bleeding itself. Do I need to worry about feathers like that?? Thanks guys, Sameera