Help !

[Blitz67]

Our CAG is 11 months old, it a bit timid with new toys, but gets great reports from the vet. Here is our problem. Just in the last few days, Lilo has started biting some feathers on just one wing. I enclosed a few pictures. I have done alot of reading and can not determine if it is plucking, i think there is a first molt happening as well. I am concerned and want to stop the plucking right away if it is in fact that. Like i stated, she is well socialized, plays with her toys, just started speaking. Dont feel it is our of boredom. My vet is away for two weeks, she is the only avian vet on Cape Cod. Any ideas

[judygram]

The new feathers could be irritating her as they sometimes do, why not try some aloe vera juice baths as bathing is very important when molting but if it is in one area it could be something wrong and maybe a vet visit is in order.

[birdhouse]

Like Judy said, a few nice baths & some pure organic aloe juice might help. You can usually get it at Walmart or the big drug stores.

 

Lilo is the right age & this is the right time of year for molting & the complications that sometimes go w/it. But this has apparently been going on for at least a few weeks & so maybe there's something more to it. Unfortunately, it's a tough problem to figure out.

 

Has Lilo been acting normally? Is she eating, vocalizing & playing normally? Does she sit or move differently?

 

Is there anything new around? New food, perches or toys? Something new in the house? Have you moved anything around? Any new people or animals?

 

Has anything else changed? Did you remove anything in her environment? Has there been a change in the household schedule?

 

Looks like she started this right about the beginning of the year. So maybe the stress from the holidays started it. Rearranging, decorating for the holidays, putting things up, taking things down & rearranging again can be a lot for some greys to handle.

 

The next thing to consider may be Lilo's cage & the time she spends in & out of it. A bored parrot can get pretty self destructive. To complicate that, a young fid has a lot of energy. Sometimes that combination turns into plucking which can lead to chronic plucking even if the problem is resolved.

 

A large cage w/a variety of toys is particularly important to help keep that from happening. The living space in a cage should be at least 2'dx3'wx3'h w/a couple of perches at least & maybe a swing or boing. Usually, the bigger the cage the be better. There should be at least several toys that the fid will actually play with. Those should also be changed out occasionally to keep things interesting. Greys can be a challenge where it comes to accepting &/or being afraid of new toys. It may require some effort to figure out what works for Lilo. There are a number of posts/threads on this issue that may be helpful to you.

 

The more time out of the cage, the better. Also important that Lilo's comfortable with it. Some fids stress in a loud, busy environment. My guys do NOT like it when my subwoofer is on. Birds don't hear & feel sound the way humans do & I think the sonic vibration bothers them. But they're all different & sometimes it takes some detective work to figure out what works & why.

 

A lot of greys set about plucking when sick or injured. So those are important things to rule out. And even when a fid is generally healthy, they can have food issues. That's another thing we talk about all the time. So you might do some reading & see if there may be some dietary changes or additions that seem like they might be worth a try.

 

I know it seems like a lot. But this could actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It's almost impossible to do much reading about greys w/o learn something new. Best case is that this is a temporary insanity from Lilo's first molt & you got a whole bunch of new information that will help keep her happy & healthy for a long, long time.

 

Plus you found Grey Forums, which is a really good thing all by itself. lol How about introducing yourself in the Welcome & Introduction forum & telling us a little more about you & Lilo? That might help people understand more about what's going on & maybe generate some more discussion & suggestions. Besides, everyone likes to meet new members & just say hello.

Edited January 31, 2012 by birdhouse

[Blitz67]

Thank you both so much for getting back to me. Lilo seems to be her wonderful self, other than this picking at one area. From what i have read and can tell, it appears this is her first molt. Her vet will be back in two weeks. She is such a wonderful little girl,, however, she was purchased as my bird, but has completely bonded with my wife. Lilo will let me hold her, but the minute mommy shows up, its all over. She truly loves her mommy. Gonna read up on the aloe juice bath, i have heard a bit about this. Thanks again. I will let you know how the princess is doing.

 

 

Wayne