mabdewn Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hi, Sorry if I am starting too many new threads. But here I am again. My CAG seems to have been losing a lot of feathers lately. I know he should be losing a few here and there, but now his left wing, when tucked on his back there is a hole his back. He doesn't seem able to keep good balance and flying doesn't seem as easy. The root of 2 feathers that he lost here today seem like they've been like broken off. I am worried about my bird is doing ok, and if I have perhaps neglected or not done something right. Someone please tell me this is normal!<br><br>Post edited by: mabdewn, at: 2010/02/09 20:12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joolesgreyuk Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 How old is your grey? Have you had him long? Is it possible for you to post a picture of the area you are concerned about? It does sound like your grey is either plucking or has had a bit of an accident and broken his flights but without a picture we are unable to confirm this - it may be a normal molt. Is your bird clipped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 That's possibly an injury that happened when you weren't looking or it could be overpreening which can sometimes happen when the shaft of the feather is stuck in dry skin or it could be just a coincedence that a few feathers have died and are falling out. I assume you're talking about flight feathers? Any other molting involrs lots of feather loss all over the body. I don't really understand what you mean be *hole in the back* Maybe you're seeing raw areas that have no feathers coming out? A picture or two would be helpful but if you feel that something is seriously wrong, go to a vet and have that area looked at. In the meantime, go to your druggist and buy an item call aloe vera gel and put some dabs on that area. It will moisten the skin and relive dryness. You didn't say haw much you bathe him but frequent bathing is necessary for a grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabdewn Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 my bird is 4 months old and no he is not clipped. There aren't any raw areas. When I say hole I mean when he tucked his left wing on his back, his back was still exposed (with feathers on the back). He has had a few accident around here when he gets his outbursts and thinks he should fly at superspeed around the house and bash into a window. I will try to take some pics, when I have an extra person near me. I don't think he is plucking. there are no feathers in the cage at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joolesgreyuk Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Well that is a good sign, it would seem he has just broken a few feathers but you have been lucky that they haven't broken at the skin or you would have bleeding to contend with. Should he have another accident you can use cornflour or just old fashioned flour to help stop the bleeding. You will also need to put something at the window ie. a large sticker, a suncatcher, net curtains or a beaded curtain to let him know the window is there. Birds do not see windows and think they can fly straight through them - sometimes killing themselves in the process, this is probably how he came to break his feathers and he will be lopsided until he replaces these flights with new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabdewn Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 Cheers for the reply. I just noticed now. He can't fly at all, and he is well aware of it. so I am keeping him close to me. I still help but blame myself for his misfortune I like the fact that he was airborne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joolesgreyuk Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 It won't hurt him not to fly but you will have to watch he doesn't fall or he could seriously hurt himself, he may not realise he can't fly lol. Don't blame yourself you are a new parrant and still learning (I've been a parrant less than a year myself) it could be as long as 2 years before he replaces those flights but maybe only a year. You may find the flight stubbles annoy him and he may pluck them himself but as Dave has said, give him a spray of aloe vera juice to the affected area to sooth any irritation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Pictures will certainly help for us to understand what is happening with your grey. As Dave says, the Aloe Vera juice will certainly help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabdewn Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 I will try to get some pics asap. Charlie is not the type of bird that stands still very often or for very long. Guilt trip is killing me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabdewn Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 have a pic of a feather that he lost today. most of his feathers look like this that he loses. the look sorta chewed off. rather than coming out with its root. should I be worried???? edited by: mabdewn, at: 2010/02/15 18:52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 <br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/15 19:31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 About your photo in Flicker----------- It indicates that if your bird constantly does this to many of the feathers on a regular basis then he has to be classified as a chewer. Other birds do the same thing by pulling out the feathers at the base. They're know as pluckers. The difference is that pluckers have a better chance of creating areas where feathers will never grow back. That takes a lot of regular plucking for that to happen. In the case of chewers, what's left of the feathers still attached to the body will look ragged, will die quicker and will fall out to be replaced by another feather which will be chewed again if your bird has a chronic habit. Some birds stop doing that. Some birds don't. It's just something that has to be watched. If it's only a few feathers once in a while then chewing those feathers was caused by irritation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabdewn Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hey Dave, cheers for the reply. Is there anything I can do to prevent it? He does quite often go into a "spasm". He can be in the middle of something and no matter if he is hanging upside down, he will feel compelled kinda perhaps chew at his wings. To me it would appear as if, it was an itch or an irritation as you might suggest. But fact is, due to this habit, he has lost his ability to fly. Can it be due to his age? (4 months) and is there anything I am doing wrong? Again cheers for the swift reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Well, there could be some minor things that will cause it but in general, it's a habit that some high strung birds have. Basically, nervousness or doing it when changes are going on or new things being introduced around the bird ( small and large things, new people, new toys etc.) ""no matter if he is hanging upside down"" Yes, that's a very common position when birds are chewing and plucking BUT they also use that exact same position for playing. Right now, the best thing you can do is keeping him pretty wet about 2x a week. Never dry him off. Let him stay soaked down to the skin. Within an hr or so, he'll start preening himself and dead feathers and left over dander will come out. I'm not guaranteeing perfect results but it can help. Molting is different. Almost all body feathers are shed all at once excluding the wings and tail. Those fall out all year long with no regularity. At 4 mts old, your bird is much too young to be having it's first major molt. Another thing you can do if you haven't done it yet is to go to a pet store and buy a large Cow Bell ( about 2 inches in diameter. Many birds will take their frustration out on that type of item. They yell, fight and knock it around. for long periods of time and then act like they're best buddies. A good thing you do have going for you is his age. He truly might be going through a phase because of his living with people. He's extremely young. There's a slight chance that he was taken off of formula prematurely and many times, a bird will become a nervous type of bird. This has nothing to do with you and I'm not saying you did anything wrong. So, try out a few things--get him basically distracted. More time out of a cage deters a bird from doing that. That also applies to being on a playstand.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/16 01:23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabdewn Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hi Dave, Thank you SO MUCH for your reply. I will try to wet him and see if I can get a cow bell from the petstore. I am praying it's just a phase and he grows out of it. Again, cheers for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabdewn Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Ok, he went bonkers on me, when I tried spraying him with water. I didn't have the heart to go on. Is there an alternative? I don't want to risk losing his trust. He is very devoted to me already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 More than likely from what you just said, it appears that you've never tried to bathe or mist your bird. For the first few times the bird will screech or squawk or race around a cage when being misted. It has nothing to do with trust nor will you useit. Many people here will tell you that it took quite a bit of time for their bird to get misted or bathed BUT it needs to be done. As a matter of fact, even in the future a bird may make a little noise when being sprayed but if you look at them afterward, you'll see that they are glad that they're wet. Stand farther away when misting or stand closer. Change the nozzle to fine mist setting. Spray from top downward. Spray from the side. Use 1/2 squirts. Practice makes perfect and this is also gonna apply to many other things you'll eventually be doing in the future that have nothing to do with bathing. Stop worrying about trust just because your bird acts a little defensive or offensive when doing things in the future. When they're that young they can come off like little spoiled pains in the ass but you have to do what you have to do because you're the boss.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/16 19:16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabdewn Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Cheers again mate. You're a godsend. My experience with parrots is limited to the family's grey, and he rather enjoys being misted. But with a baby like this one, I just couldn't get myself to continue seeing how upset he was. But if you say its normal behaviour, then I will just harden up. Again, cheers heaps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittykittykitty Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Dave's the man! And remember the aloe vera! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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