frogstar

thanks guys. Well Avian vets are in very short supply here in Cape Town. Have an appointment with the same vet today will grill him a bit as to what to do about the paint chips.

HI Dave Thanks. The vet gave us a treatment plan for the chips but it seems that it isnt working. I will be taking them back for another checkup this week and we can take it from there. I think you may have a point about the bathing. I dont think they get bathed nearly enough. I did read about this and started to bathe them every 3rd day about a week ago so will see how that progresses. We live on the coast so we have fairly high humidity. Thanks for your advice, will keep you posted

Hi Guys Greetings for a very hot and sunny Cape Town, South Africa.. ok, I know this is a very common problem and hard to diagnose but any help will be appreciated. I have two wonderful african greys one male "Chilli" (6yrs) and one female "JP" (5yrs). We have had them both from 6 weeks old. JP has plucked her chest feathers for a while now, but worst in the last year. Chilli only recently (also in the last year) started plucking. More about our birds: - They both on pelleted diet with lots of greens and fruit etc. - They are out their cages the entire day. They are in a room of their own with large glass sliding doors so they can see the world our small garden:). - We have taken them to a bird specialist who reckons they have paint chips in their stomachs that apparently the gizard holds onto and they actually have sore stomachs as a result. In fact JP has a small piece of metal in her stomach according to x-rays. We have these powder coated cages that is apparently the cause of the paint chips. I'm not sure about this diagnosis but im no vet. The xrays were expensive so not sure if the vet is pulling a fast one, who knows. - They do not like each other at all so are housed in seperate cages. Additionally will they ever get to like each other, we dont want to breed with them just want them to sit together. Our vet says nature will take its course and they will bond at some point. I think it is possibly one of the following (if not the paint chips) - Jealosy towards each other for our attention - Not enough attention (dunno how much more i can give as i work from home and they get tons of attention) We havent been able to figure out any changes that may have cause the behaviour. Thanks in advance