Janfromboone

Remember Alex and Irene Pepperberg. She actually taught Alex to turn on a video of herself to keep him company to try to stop his feather distructive tendencies when she couldn't be there. Don't think it helped though.

I had planned to clip Tobie again. (He was clipped when I bought him, but a very conservative clip). I wanted to keep him safe from flying into windows or especially out the door. I thought I'd let all his molted flight feathers grow out fully before I made the final descision. Guess he made the decision for me. He no longer has a conservative clip. He is clipped to the skin. He only chewed off the few new long flight feathers he had grown in. He has a bunch more coming in now. I plan to leave them long because right now he really can't fly like he could before. Now, I would love to have the opportunity to let him be flighted. If being clipped did this to him I'll take my chances with the dangers of being flighted. That would make a great survey question. How many flighted birds actually pluck vs clipped.

I could do this every day. I have two dogs, Pogo and Tucker. Today (the first time I've heard this) Tobie spent about an hour bossing the dogs around. "Let's go, Lets go Pogo" and "Pogo come on now" and "Tucker stop that" and "Tucker come back down here". Then the big surprise "Give me a kiss Pogo.

The comments are all appreciated - no offense taken. I guess eventually with carefull selection of breeding pairs we will eventually breed out this behaviour, but for now we just have to deal with it and try to prevent it.

I refuse to believe that Tobie's feather chewing is from bad parenting. I know that might be the case in some situations, but in many I'm sure the owners have done everything they can to prevent or stop it. I know there are some birds kept in deplorable conditions that are fully feathered. I'm planning to try to put together a survey that can be mailed to all birds owners that will have specifics about lifestyles, diet, cage placement, etc and try to see if the feather pickers have anything in common. You mentioned genetics. That could be a big one. Unfortunately not many of us know if our birds parents were feather pickers.

OHH! I want to go there. Where is this, you may have said before, but I didn't read all the posts. I'm probebly so late getting in on this that you won't read my question.

Loved your pictures. Beautiful feathers. Cool tree stand too.

Love your photo.

Glad to hear that. 50% seems hight to me since being on the forum and seeing so many beautiful fully feathered greys.

I like that too. It's not Tobie who is upset when he chews a feather off. It's me. On the wing that he chewed the feathers off of, right beside the chewed off featers are three pin feathers that seem to be coming in at the same time. Maybe it was painful and that is why he chewed the others off - just as these new ones broke throught the skin. Don't have any other choices of vets that I know of. I think there was a vet finder assist post. I'll look that up.<br><br>Post edited by: Janfromboone, at: 2008/12/11 02:15

Love hearing these stories. Seems like everyday there is a story to tell. Tobie always sais "What's that" With expression, saying that much louder. Today he has been saying "Whoa! What's that" Don't know where he got this. I think when I took him to the vet yesterday and the vet turned him quickly upside down holding his feet and neck I exclaimed "Whoa". Maybe he heard me.

Maybe we should find out how many start the behavior and then it stops. That would be a comfort to me. The vet was a real downer. He said he wouldn't recommend african greys as pets because they just can't handle it. They are too sensitive. Tobie has stopped chewing his feathers off too, for now. I told him I wouldn't be sorry I got Tobie even if he chewed every feather he had off. And I meant it. I might be sorry for Tobie but he would still be a pleasure to me.

:whistle: According to my vet 50% of african greys engage in some sort of feather abuse. He didn't specify CAG or TAG. Let's take a poll and prove him wrong. I think TAG are more emotionally stable and so I think we should specify TAG or CAG. I'll put Tobie-(CAG-1.5years old), at the top of the list since he has recently chewed off his flight feathers. Age is important since the vet said it doesn't start until the bird is between 1-2 years old or older. Wish I could make a graph to just tick a box with the mouse. Can the moderators do that?:unsure:

I just took Tobie to the vet because he started removing flight feathers and chest feathers. Biting them off. Tobie is 1.5 years old. how old is your bird. The vet seemed to think that 50% of greys have some sort of feather distructive behavior. Wonder what the results of a poll would be in CAGs or TAGs. Hey, I think I just though of a new post.

Thanks for looking at Tobie's videos. I just adore the little guy. The vet gave him a clean bill of health. He said this is a classic pattern. Bird gets to be a little over a year and starts to chew or pluck feathers. Like Dave, he said not to touch him below the neck. Guess kissing and snuggling are out too. Geeez!! How's the bird going to know he is loved?? Oh well. For now he is not doing any more damage and when the vet had him upside down and his wing spread I saw several new flight feathers coming in.

Tobie is going to the vet tomorrow. I've been bathing him daily and tried the aloe juice today before I went to work. I worried all day. What if he liked the taste of the juice and ate all his feathers off. Ha, Ha! When I got home to my releif he was fine and still has feathers. Actually he seems to have stopped the snapping off of feathers. He isn't molting as heavily either. The last time I saw him snapping feathers on his chest was about 5 days ago. Two days ago he chewed off another large feather (I think a coverlet-is that the right word)from the same wing. It seemed to be split up the stem and I wonder if it wasn't already a damaged feather that he was just removing because it was rough on his skin. For the past few days there haven't been more than six or so feathers in or around the cage and play area,probebly molted. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that may be it was a flash in the pan or that the baths are at least helping. He has a downy place on his left back and chest, but overall doesn't look too bad -- until you spread his wings. Here is a video of Tobie taken a month or so before he started to remove his flight feathers- doesn't seem like a nervous ninny bird to me. Sorry I left the air purifier running and there is alot of noise. edited by: Janfromboone, at: 2008/12/09 04:23

Tobie has a roll of adding machine paper on a plastic holder. You can find different kinds of holders. Be sure you get plain adding machine paper and not the laser type. He has a ball with that and it's the only toy he never tires of.

Tobie mimics my husband. He is bonded with me, but all of his first words and phrases came from my husband and he has a deep voice like my husband. Now he will say some things that I say to him, but I can't just repeat a word or phrase a few times and expect him to say it. My husband can do this. He sais a phrase in passing the cage and the next day Tobie is saying it. Very frustrating for me.

Finally took some pictures of Tobie and myself. So here we are. Isn't he cute!!

I have had cockateils for about 30yrs. I always wanted a parrot. I used to tell my husband that he had better be glad that I have the cockateils because if I didn't I would have to buy a parrot. The year I bought Tobie my father had died, my mother was in the hospital seriously ill and my brother inlaw died. My dog was diagnosed with cushings disease and developed macular degeneration, going totally blind and I didn't expect him to live. Both of my cockateils which were quite old passed away that year. I wanted someone that could outlive me and I had an empty cage, which was a large parrot cage (I had done some planning when I upgraded my cage a few years earlier). The local pet store had two babies. One an amazon, and the other a CAG (Tobie). I read up and was most facinated with the grey. All those years of owning cockateils (I only had one male in the bunch) and non of them would talk. I wanted a bird that would talk to me. I really didn't understand how much the greys talk until I started looking at you tube after Tobie was with me.

Thanks for the info Dave. Jan

Point taken about petting the bird in these places. I always thought that was just a part of socialization. He is such a sweet loving bird I never thought about it. Thanks for the info and education. Jan There was a typo. Just to be sure I understand, Did you say don't mix water in with the juice? I saw the juice at walmart today. When I saw that it was in the laxative section, I didn't buy it. I just wasn't sure I wanted to spray Tobie with laxative juice. Have you done this and know it's ok??

O.K. so Tobie isn't the picture of perfection I thought he was. He is now chewing his feathers. He started his first molt a couple of months ago and then stopped and then three weeks ago he started molting again - pretty heavy, I think. Last week he was on his perch in our den watching TV with us and preening. He kept going under a wing where two of his new flight feathers that had broken (or so I thought)a week or so ago. All of a sudden I hear - crunching. He just proceeded to completely sever the feather off at the base. That got my attention and then I started noticing when he would preen his chest I would hear a little "snap". A feather would come away and before he could chew it I grabbed it and sure enough it was bitten off. I read Dave007's very good post about spraying with Aloe juice mixed 50% with water. My question is -- Do I need to worry about getting the spray in Tobie's eyes. Also should I just spray the tops of the feathers or raise his wings to spray under them. I've been bathing daily and spray under the wings too since this has been happening. I hate to ask this, but Dave said sexual frustration could contribute and don't touch the lower back under the wings or the chest. I touch Tobie all of these places except in the hollow below the rib cage(I read this is a sexual spot for birds). We play alot of kissing games. If he's on the back of the couch away from me I'll lean my head back and say come over here and give mommy a kiss. If he's feeling playful he'll kind of come hopping and gamboling over corkskrewing his neck and give me a upsidedown kiss with a big smack when I kiss his beak. I kiss him on his little barrel ribcage under his wing too. Is this all sexual to a bird?

Wonderful photos!! Beautiful babies!!!

Tobie came from a pet store and so far I couldn't be happier. The owner is also the owner of a Macaw who lives at the pet store but goes home with her too. Her employess have been with her a long time and raise the babies. Didn't do much research when I bought him, but I got lucky. He is wonderful and becoming a great talker.