Temperament and Molting

[bradselig]

Hi everyone! First I need to apologize for not being on the forum and updating everyone. Just to refresh everyones memory, I adopted a 10yr old CAG several months ago. Scooter is an amazing bird and we have really bonded in such a short amount of time. I have since gotten him a play stand (that he is on whenever I am home) and a nice big cage (41"wide x 28" x 72").

 

Just about a month ago, I noticed a drastic increase in loose feathers. So I assumed he is starting to molt. I was correct and can feel the new ones coming in. With these new feathers, it seems as if a new temperament has so started to show.

 

Scooter is now starting to act up. He is acting fearful of me and seems to be getting more aggressive. When I first got him, he bit me once. That was the only time (me trying to "force" him to step up. Mistake!). But now he has started to try to bite me more often.

 

I was wondering if anyone has noticed an increase in aggressive behavior when their grey(s)/birds are molting? When he does allow me to pet him, there seems to be a spot on his wing/back that seems to bother him. He will bark at me when I touch this spot and he immediately lunges at my hand. He has always been sensitive to me touching his wings, but never like this.

 

I will be making a vet appointment to get this checked out, but just wondering if anyone has noticed a temperament change in their bird during molting. Sorry if this has been discussed before. I tried searching for it, but could not find anything about it.

 

Here are some pictures taken today. Notice the one flight feather. I know this one bothers him.

[Xtreme575]

Wow! What a gorgeous bird. I can't offer you any information other than there are lots of posts on molting within the forum.

 

I have a baby, so we haven't really gone through a molt yet.

[bradselig]

Thanks for the compliment! I figured that there was a lot about molting, I just couldnt find anything when I used the search function. However, I guess I was trying too hard. I just went a searched "molting" and found A LOT of posts about temperament changes with molting.

 

So I apologize for this post. Just think of it as an update on Scooter! lol.

[harmonicaman68]

We haven't been through a molt with Ziva yet, but had a Sun Conure for 16 years who was VERY gentle. She got touchy when she molted and I always attributed it to the fact that the feathers came in with their sharp sheath to protect the feather. It must have felt as if I was touching her with a pin cushion full of pins when I touched her body. I left her alone for a time to let the pin feathers come in far enough that they didn't directly stick her when I touched ... and that made it better. Then I later noticed that a good bath and drying with a hair dryer helped to dry out the feather sheath. It made it easier to crumble by pinching the sheath with my finger nails. Gently allopreening your bird will make you popular, but don't force it. The sheath needs to be dry. A fresh sheath just dents and the bird will sometimes get poked as you try to crumble the sheath ... not a popular thing to have happen. Wait until the feather is completely in ... then dry ... then remove sheaths that they can't reach by themselves.

 

Good preening :-)

 

Post edited by: harmonicaman68, at: 2010/02/06 13:46<br><br>Post edited by: harmonicaman68, at: 2010/02/06 13:48

[Luvparrots]

My Ana Grey has been molting and I don't touch the larger feathers, let nature take its course. She does love me to scratch her newer smaller feathers, around her neck and head, and just closes her eyes and enjoys.

[Xtreme575]

I spoke to soon... I noticed that Paco was pretty stand offish last night, and kept beaking my hand away with even a head scratch. I also noticed that he was preening more than usual. When I walked over, I noticed a nice big grey feather in beautiful condition sitting on the floor below him. I also noticed a few other smaller grey feathers with a white bar, so I guess he is now molting!

 

I sprayed him with aloe vera juice and he settled right down. I wasn't sure of the aloe juice before, but he sure seemed more comfortable with it, and even got cuddly afterwards.