Boomers Mom

Thanks for the advice everyone. I took Boomer to the vet just to be sure not health problems. She did a blood work up. Everything is fine except a little low on iron. Besides increasing dark green leafy veggies, any advice?

Ok, so no listrine on the bird. Thanks for the info. I had already purchased the Aloe juice, so looks like I did the right thing there. There have been no other changes in him throughout all of this. Eyes clear and round, nostriles great, talks talks talks. Sometimes so loudly we have to close the doors to the sun room because we can't hear T.V. Now my next venture is to see if I can actually get him to let me bathe him. He hates the sprayer. Looks like the bath willl be an exercise for tomorrow. I have read the posting regarding ways to get them to accept a bathing. Hope I can be successful with that little endevor. Wish me luck. That will probably be an exercise for tomorrow. I have some errands for today which include purchasing some new toys. Thanks so much for the help. I'll post pictures this evening.

First let me say, I am a newbie at this bird parenting. Actually my African Grey was rescued from an ill friend. Boomer is about 3 years old. I have had him about 2 years. He was doing just great until about a month ago. His feathers started looking "ruffled". I thought he was molting! Yesterday I gave into my instincts and I headed for the local bird store. I didn't know what was wrong, but something is wrong. She sold me some spray in case it was mites. I took his cage apart today, sprayed it and sprayed Boomer. He has slept the rest of the day. The only thing I saw different during this time was his appetite increased, his feathers looked horrible, and the strangest thing - he was rubbing his beak a lot as if it itched. Not his head, it is his beak. Today I took a couple of pictures of him and headed to another town to talk to someone that shows birds. No molting - feather picking. Fortunately I took my bottle of spray I had purchased with me. He smiled then told me to mix 2 Tablespoons of the blue Listerine in a qt of water and spray him a couple times of day. Also told me about the Aloe jell mixture. I was gone about 2 hours. I think Boomer slept the entire time I was gone because he was still relaxed and asleep when I got back. I think he was exhausted from the itching. There was still food left in his food bowl. He is awake now and eating. Didn't want to come out of the cage - probably still ticked at me for the spraying this morning. I have noticed he is still rubbing his beak. Anyone have any suggestions as to what this might be? Or any suggestions of anything else I might try. Oh, I also got my humidifier out and running. I had forgotten about that now that the heat is back on. Any ideas or help would be welcome. The closest Avian vet is over 2 hours away. I'd like to prevent a trip to the vet if possible.

If I might - for water spots on wood, I have always used a soft cloth an mayo (not salad dressing). Rub the mayo into the wood with a circular motion (I just use my finger) then wipe off with the cloth and presto - water spot gone.