tonino Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Greetings! My African Gray is 3 years old and was previously owned by a women who treated her like a child. Baby Girl (BG) was allowed to eat from her plate and had so many toys in her cage that there was very little room for her to move around. We adopted her (because the woman couldn't spend as much time as she thought the bird needed) about four months ago. BG is wonderful. She is very tame and will perch on most anyone's hand....even strangers. She is very well socialized. Here's the reason for the posting. Her chest, part of her wings and part of her back are covered only in down feathers...no mature feathers. She came in that condition and I believe has been that way for a long time. The vet, an experienced bird vet, told us that she looked to be in great condition so he really doubted a metabolic condition and had three recommendations: (1) Spray her 4-5 times per week;(2)Wean her off seed and get her onto a pellet and add fruits, veggies, protein, cod liver oil avian vitamins, etc. and remove all but two toys. We did all this two months ago and her condition improved very slightly. Question: Has anyone of you had any experience with this type "condition" and if so, any suggestons? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Hi Tonino, is this parrot Gloria who you posted about in January or is this another grey? I am assuming it is another grey since you called her BG. I can't help you with BG's problem but perhaps some of our other experienced grey owners can help. If you have any pictures of BG we would love to see her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingles Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 I saw another grey like that and I asked about her... They said that she doesn't pluck, but chews her feathers off, leaving her down feathers alone. They said that she doesn't like change and was a nervous bird... And that they worked with her and she got all her feathers back, but then someone had a baby and there went all her feathers again! you might see a bird trainer? I have one and he is absolutely wonderful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonino Posted November 14, 2009 Author Share Posted November 14, 2009 Baby Girl is a different African Gray. As Gloria settled in, she was less and less interactive and rarely spoke. She was becoming more and more sedate in her everyday behavior. When a friend of mine came around, she would come to life.....allowing her to take Gloria from the cage and responding with mimicry and a lot of excitment and animation. It got to where Gloria would get excited just hearing her voice. We had known that Gloria was hand fed and raised by a woman but had no idea how much that imprinted on her. Needless to say, Gloria lives with our friend. Parrots are so unlike dogs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 What a wonderful parront you are to see that Gloria was happy with your friend and letting her go to be happy!!! Karma to you Tonino for your love of greys!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now