saskabush40

Thanks Jeff; I am really starting to think this is a seasonal hormonal thing that has been triggered by a bit of separation anxiety. I cant rule out everything else but the way this has come on in the spring and then gone away seems to be following that type of pattern. He is also chewing his nails. I am worried hes going to bite them down to the area where blood is present soon. Il give the vet a call to see if there is anything we can do. (Haldol or hormone drugs) At this stage sprays do not help. Toys offer only a minor distraction. we are trying to stay calm and keep him happy. Its too bad because he is mostly in good humour chirping and talking and playing, but its like he loses control and starts to shake his wings briefly twitches and then chews his feathers for a while. there are bits of feathers everywhere and he is looking so scruffy.

Update: Almost a year later. Our bird grew his feathers back by the fall. I had tried everything, vitamins, toys, etc, etc. I had lots of good advice and followed all that I could. So we didnt leave him and brought him south with us for the winter. That was a huge ordeal crossing the border and all, but we made it feathers in tact. All seemed to be going fairly well untill a week ago and he started chewing again. The only thing that had changed was a house guest that the bird really liked, came and left. Now he is in the process of removing his tail and wing feathers bit by bit. Nothing I can do will stop him. He temporarily loses intrest in eating, playing or anything else and just chews. I am really disappointed, having done all this to no avail. Sprays, toys, or anything else is of no help. The bird was just a few days ago seemingly in great heatlth and happy. Im near the end of my patience.

I wanted to post my travel experience because it is very hard to get comprehensive information on travel between Canada and the US. In fact it was nearly impossible to find out exactly what to do. So here is some information which I hope will be helpful to someone out there. Here are the steps to take: You need to get CITES passports issued by each country. They last 3 years. They are issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Environment Canada. The US cost is $50. This process is sequential, so u need to allow about 8 months to get them both, starting with your own country first. You also need to designate a US port of entry and there are only a few major crossings that handle birds. Check the USFWS site. Also the bird must have ID; a chip or a band. Sorry, but this is a requirement. You must have an adequate cage with enough space and one that does not touch your luggage and can not move in the vehicle. It helps to be able to reach and give food treats, etc if the passenger can while driving. I suggest a trial test of this before you leave. I placed a travel size cage in a cardboard box bottom to act as a spacer to other articles. Otherwise beaks will be busy shredding... You really should make reservations at hotels, motels that take pets. Do research ahead of time so you dont struggle with this. Not many do, so avoid this frustration. Do take the bird out of the travel cage at any overnight stay and play and exercise them. They are cooped up all day and need this. You must make an appointment with the USFWS coming into and leaving the US. This is probably the most onorous aspect, so I would do this about 3 weeks ahead if you can and keep the number handy if you need to make any last minute changes. When you get to the border there are about 3 forms to fill from USDA. They can be obtained and done and checked ahead of time to save you time at customs. USFWS can help you with this. Crossing is simple. leaving US : check out at customs USFWS the a simple check in at Can customs and pasports are stamped. Entering US is reverse except you must add a USDA vet first come first served inspection. This is done after the USFWS routine. total cost is about $340 leaving US plus $40 vet inspection entering. No Canadian costs. The bird does not have to leave the vehicle. No prior vet inspections are required. I hope this helps somebody make an easier trip. If you need help with specifics let me know. I just made the snowbird trip from Canada to FL and our little guy made it safe and sound and we had a pretty good parrot travel experience. If there is a will there is a way!

I think a bit is ok to combat short term stress but a balanced diet is much better. I was adding to be on the side of caution because of his feather problems,but i can see they have much less tolerance to extra vitamins than people do.

This is a follow up. The wing twitching and down shredding have gradually diminished now. So the only thing changed is that he gets no vitamins. I just wanted to make folks aware of this issue. Too many vitamins. He seems much more relaxed too.

He's off the vitamins as of today. Il monitor an update as to how he does. I think i maybe overdid it with the suppliments. I had drops, water suppliment and powder suppliment on his food. When i think of this issues first coming out it was about 3 months after the water suppliment. Now with all of them this issue has become much more apparant.

This is quite an abrubt twitch and he does maybe 10 or 15 per min and this may last for a coupleof hours. I was reading in another forum someone else had the same problem and they traced it to an over supply of vitamins. This could be an issue because i have been giving him water and food supliment now for about 4 months to get his feathers back. He has a good diet, so i will back off on this and see what happens. Any thoughts on this aspect appreciated...

No there r no bald patches. Yes he does not seem comfortable falling to sleep but he is happy during the day.

My CAG is 9 years old. I had issues with him feather chewing due to seperation anxiety but he is recovered almost fully. However, he does something i cant understand. When he goes to bed instead of grinding his beak he flinches his wings against his body and reaches around pulling out pieces of down and an occaisional small feather. Most of these are from his back or front. This only occurs as he is going down and a bit during the night. I have tried covering most of his cage,camoumille tea before bed, ati pluck spray, holding him before sleep, etc. He seems healthy otherwise. This down must be vacuumed every morning as it drifts all over. He seems to do this more if there is sounds from the TV but even does it in a quiet environment. The air in the house is about 40 to 65 percent and this occurs the same inhumid conditions. He does bathe every few days. I was hoping there might be some experience here with this. Iam worried that this is continuing for about 8 months now. Thanks

Has anyone tried Rescue Remedy? It was recommended to me to help with the anxiety.

What is the stuff you put in the water?

We were planning to car travel with him across the border just need that passport lol. This bird is a mess. The customs agent might think i abused him or that he was really sick. Luv him anyhow thou

I want to thank everyone for the help this is making me feel better at least. I have really tried to be calm and not show my emotion and to spend time with him. Today was a better day so maybe we can turn a corner its hard though. I will follow up on the product. Btw. I had intended to get him a bird passport so he could come with us to florida but i am waiting on the USA passport. The whole process has taken 5 months so far but if we get it he will be with us in the winter and be a snow bird like the rest

I agree with the advice. No doubt I'm stressed although I'm trying to keep things in check around the bird. I just cant stand to see him do this, so I am losing it a bit. He has only one flight feather left as of today down from 6 yesterday, so it is dangerous for him if he falls from his cage. I do hold him in the evenings and give him hand feeding of his favourite treats but so far he is only mildly less anxious than yesterday.

My CAG started chewing his feathers a year ago. we went away on a vacation. Just before we returned he chewed off his tail. It eventually grew back. Another vacation- same thing, but a few wing feathers. Some feathers grew back. Last vacation- same thing, but he is destroying all his wing feathers and is ripping his down feathers up. I initially went to the vet to rule out illness. As this seems to be a separation anxiety the complete battery of tests was not recommended. I have tried everything, aloe spray, extra toys, the perfect diet, etc. This time he seems almost beyond rehabilitation as he gets into a nervous state then attacks his feathers. He shows little interest in toys, etc.Some times he snaps out of it and returns to near normal behavior. Please note I have done everything to prevent this. Always introduced him since young age (he is almost 9) to new places, people food, etc. He has his own HD TV and can watch cartoons when we are away (he used to like this a lot). he gets plenty of rest and is loved and cared for. I am at my end here. I have him since he was a baby and have owned greys for almost 30 years. I Cant stand to see him destroy himself and am worried i cant keep up the work to vacuum up all the feather bits 2 or 3 times a day. any suggestions appreciated.