Puberty and feather plucking

[Carynhcb]

My grey is 18 yrs and has had no problem. About 1.5 weeks ago he started plucking (all the light grey/white feathers are gone and looks like a walking plucked chicken with dark grey wings). The consences is that he is going through puberty and is a bit backed up since he doesn't have a mate. Is there anything to do to relieve this situation or to get over the issue? Will this pass? Teenage boys were bad enough, but I never thought I would have to go through this wi a bird!!!

[Luvparrots]

If you will look in the Health Room there is all kinds of information about bathing/misting our greys to help with dry skin. Also Aloe Vera juice is a great help with dry skin in our greys. Please check the Health Room.

[Jayd]

Hi, [contact Dave007] If your Grey is 18 YR'S old, He's way past puberty. A Grey matures about the age of 4. Janet's right....

[chezron]

Cary,

Do you take your bird out into the sunshine? My bird had begun to barber his feathers,my vet suggested 15 minutes of outside sunlight on most days. Regular exposure to sunshine STOPPED my bird from continuing to barber. It also tempered his mood because of the increase of Vitamin D in his system. Vitamin D is a vitamin and also a hormone.

 

I also supplement my parrot's diet with organic red palm oil which supplies valuable nutrients like Vitamin A. Once a week my parrots also get a cooked chicken drumstick bone. The marrow is an excellent source of many nutrients. They devour the bones! You might try some of these measures to help your bird.

 

I have excerpted this from African Grey expert, Pamela Clark:

 

"Several physical problems are coming to be recognized as typical to African Greys. Aside from infectious diseases common to their species, they also experience other maladies for which the cause is not as easily identifiable. Feather abusive behavior, seizure activity, blindness and cataracts are becoming more commonly seen. Calcium deficiencies and low vitamin A levels are frequently seen in older birds. Many adult Greys do not display the vibrant red tails, shiny black beaks, and gray feathers that have sheen to them that are all characteristic of a healthy African Grey.

 

I have come to believe that many of the problems, both behavioral and physical, that Greys manifest in the domestic world are a result of inadequate nutrition. From what I’ve been able to determine, a lot of Greys just don’t feel really well as a result of poor diets. The types of problems that I described above suggest that Greys are not receiving adequate levels of vitamins D3 and A, the minerals calcium and selenium, and the essential fatty acids.

 

In the last few years, there has grown to be an increased awareness of the benefits of full spectrum lighting, primarily because it allows parrots to manufacture vitamin D. However, there is also some confusion about whether full spectrum lighting is really necessary for parrots receiving vitamin D3 in their diets. If they are, they may not need full spectrum lighting. However, this line of reasoning assumes that most species can successfully absorb vitamin D from their digestive tracts.

 

At the last PBR convention, Tammy Jenkins, DVM brought up an interesting point. Greys in the wild live close to the equator and get the maximum possible number of hours of sunlight each day. They have evolved a dark coloring to their feathers, much the same that dark skinned peoples have who live in these same geographical regions. This dark coloring is responsible for screening out much of the UV light which hits them. The hypothesis that might be drawn from these observations states that Greys may have evolved in such a way that they do not, in the wild, have to be as effective in absorbing vitamin D from their diets because they manufacture adequate amounts from their exposure to the sunlight. In other words, they may depend upon exposure to sunlight for their source of this vitamin, rather than diet.

 

If true, this would suggest that it is critical for African Greys to receive either full spectrum lighting close to their cages, or have frequent access to an outdoor aviary to enjoy the benefits of natural sunshine. My own observations have lent credibility to this theory."

[Jayd]

Any parrot needs 4-8hr's a day of full spectrum lighting [uvb] or as much natural sun as they can get. A grey absorbs very little D through diet this is the latest scientific find, most of the Vit D is the absorb through the skin, a Grey will rub their uropygial gland located just in front of their tail on their lower back when they preen, they inturn rub this oil over their feathers/skin which inturn allows D to be adsorb through the skin which delivers the D and promotes calcium into there system.

It is essential that a Grey receives full spectrum lighting/natural sun light. Do not at any time feed you Grey a vitamin supplement unless vet ordered......

 

I have some questions about this I don't understand, I'm not questioning this statement just don't understand?

 

At the last PBR convention, Tammy Jenkins, DVM brought up an interesting point. Greys in the wild live close to the equator and get the maximum possible number of hours of sunlight each day.[A parrot spends a small amount of time in the sun in the morning and early evening, the rest of the time in the shade no matter where they live.]

They have evolved a dark coloring to their feathers, much the same that dark skinned peoples have who live in these same geographical regions. Through out the Grey habitat depending on area, their gray color vary s from light silvery gray to very dark gray..] This dark coloring is responsible for screening out much of the UV light which hits them. [ this means they DON'T absorb much uvb] The hypothesis that might be drawn from these observations states that Greys may have evolved in such a way that they do not, in the wild, have to be as effective in absorbing vitamin D from their diets because they manufacture adequate amounts from their exposure to the sunlight. In other words, they may depend upon exposure to sunlight for their source of this vitamin, rather than diet.[contradiction to above statement] In a human yes, but UVB stimulates the uropygial in a grey? Point: If you place a black pan and a white pan beside each other in the sun, the black absorbs heat while white reflects it... Just bellow the forest canopy in the forest it is a lot cooler than above it.....

Edited August 25, 2012 by Jayd