sanzoni Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Hey guys. I have been battling my CAG's plucking behavior for a little over a year now. The vet said he is healthy. I moved him near a window, to give him sunlight to help with vitamin D production and boredom. I gave him excessive amounts of stuff to shred. Make sure I vary his diet. Comes out of the cage and interacts with us and climbs around his cage for a couple hours. He is a VERY happy bird and loves to talk our ears off. I am lost and it feels horrible (even though he is beautiful regardless) to see him look like this and doing this to himself. I just want to make this stop. Please help me guys. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLB Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Sanzoni...there are lots of folks here who experience plucking! You are not alone. The one thing I might mention is that the glass in the window filters out all the benefits of the sunshine itself. You might want to try a travel cage where your bird could go outside safely to enjoy the benefits of fresh air and sunshine or you might look into full spectrum lighting, there is lots of info here about good lights. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanzoni Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 Yeah, I was actually just reading that. Do you think there is a big chance it is related to not having enough uv so the CAG can produce Vit D? Do you have any other suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 How old is your bird? Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarasota Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Sanzoni, It sounds like you have a happy little guy! There are many reasons for plucking. Some of them are inter-connected. Not all reasons are understood or verified. Some people believe it is solely nutritional, others claim it is hormonal. First thing to do is have your vet run a complete blood panel to rule out any possible illness or dietary deficiency. Keep doing what you are doing with toys and enrichment. As CLB suggested, you may want to invest in full spectrum lighting or find time to take the bird outside in good weather. Also, if you tend to focus on it a lot - change that behavior. Parrots love drama and attention. The more you fuss over plucking...the more you may get plucking. If your bird has been plucking for a long time, it may be habit now - like biting your fingernails. It can function as a comfort behavior. In addition, if the bird is severely plucked, the follicle may be dead and feathers unable to grow back in. Do you have a photo of the bird? I hope some of this is helpful! If the bird is healthy and happy and the plucking is not destructive, I wouldn't worry too much. Just get the vet to take a look. It's always good to have a yearly check up and the blood panel can indicate any problem areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanzoni Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 Thanks for the great advice. I will post a current picture of him and get it on here tomorrow. I wish there was a way to tell if it was habit or not. You guys are really helping though so please check in on this thread over the next few days as I update it with pics and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarasota Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Thanks for the great advice. I will post a current picture of him and get it on here tomorrow. I wish there was a way to tell if it was habit or not. You guys are really helping though so please check in on this thread over the next few days as I update it with pics and such. We love pix! By the way, there are things you can do to help plucking as far as training goes. It doesn't stop plucking, but it does give the bird something else to do (and reweard it) for not plucking. It's no quick fix and may/may not solve the problem - just to throw it out there. I'm working on an anti-plucking/ABA blurb and will post it here when I'm done. Also, some people have had a degree of succes with mop toys. If you are handy, you can buy a mop head at the 99 Cent store and rig something up. Pix idea below (that's a retail item called the Messy Mop). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Thanks for the great advice. I will post a current picture of him and get it on here tomorrow. I wish there was a way to tell if it was habit or not. You guys are really helping though so please check in on this thread over the next few days as I update it with pics and such. It is a habit now since you have had him to the vets and he gave him the clean bill of health, you know its nothing physical for the plucking and so many do as a result of stress. I sense that this situation stresses you and he is picking up on that, you might as well accept the fact that he is a plucker no matter what you do to try to prevent it, if it upsets you to see it then leave the room he is in and vent somewhere else so he doesn't see how upset you are. Many greys and other birds pluck and are happy and content with themselves, just continue to provide outlets for him to tear up other things besides his feathers. Looking forward to seeing your grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarasota Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I sense that this situation stresses you and he is picking up on that...if it upsets you to see it then leave the room he is in and vent somewhere else so he doesn't see how upset you are. So very true, Judy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLB Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 My only experience with plucking and my grey was related to stress. When I got her...she is a rehome....Shadow had several "chewed" spots and one bald spot on her upper leg, however, after changing her food to a natural dye free variety and time to settle in, her feathers all grew back. Even the bald spot. I am sure here transition from her first home through another home to mine was very stressful. I saw some of this same type of behavior this spring when our life was VERY crazy and everyone was somewhat neglected. We were all very stressed out and Shadow shared in those feelings and again began some chewing and plucking. Again, the behavior stopped when the stress was relieved. I do hope you can find some peace with your situation. As others have mentioned, ignoring the behavior will be much more helpful than focusing on it. Hopefully you can find something that helps. There should be comfort in knowing that the vet did not find anything medically wrong. : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanzoni Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 Oh, thee is definitely some comfort knowing that there is nothing medically wrong. Isn't it too early to decide if it is out of habit? Especially since it might be due to lack of sunlights and therefore lack of vitamin d production? Isn't there a spray or something that Dave007 suggested to spray on them to help with the plucking? I mean, there has got to be a way to help him get better. I am very stressed about it, and will do my best to make sure he doesn't know that. I will also definitely try to find cheep chewing toys like the mop one I can make to help him take focus off himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerial.2000 Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I know they talk ALOT about the aloe spray .. I bought mine (tho havent had to use it) at Walmart in a gallon jug in the pharmacy area for like $10 did you try that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenabrd Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 both our girls pluck. they get check ups 2x's a year and so far are as healthy as can be. i have tried many things, medication from the vet, more misting with water and/or aloe juice (however, they both hate being misted and it sometimes creates more stress than i'd like, so i have mixed feelings about this. they both like to take baths in their water bowls, athena several times a week, kallie maybe once a month), more toys/shreddables, more sun outside when possible, etc. yet they still pluck. so this is how i approach the problem. athena is our little redneck. she likes to run around in her grey underwear more than she likes to wear her pretty green shirt (she plucks her green chest/belly feathers leaving the grey down and has periods where she stops plucking and gets all the green feathers back). kallie is our little fashionista, she doesn't like to wear a turtle neck and likes to show off her belly button (she plucks an area on her neck and a area on her belly where a belly button would be if she had one). i know this is weird, but this is the way i have to look at it so i don't get stressed out by it and they don't get stressed out about my stress. i hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 To be honest, i stressed alot when we first homed our nudist, Oliver. Now, i couldn't picture him with feathers! Being bald is who he is. It isn't medical, it could have been in the begining but he also was plucked by another bird. His folicals are damaged now so nothing much will ever grow on his belly, legs or top of his wings. His back does get little pin feathers but he pulls them out as soon as he can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshire Cat Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I've had a problem with Tui plucking on and off now for about two years and I've had her about two and a half years. She goes through phases of plucking, stops, and then starts again. My only conclusion is that she wishes to be with me all the time as I've noticed her worst times of plucking have been when I've spent less time with her. Now that I'm out of work and at home, she seems to have stopped. Are you with your bird a lot during the day? It may not be because of the time you're with him, but it's something I've noticed with my bird. It might be something to consider.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Hi Sanzoni, I feel for you. Please read this article. http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-diet-and-health/bird-nutrition/food-for-african-greys.aspx I think at least 15 minutes a day of outside sunshine, plus better nutrition, as per the article, can help. My grey started to mutilate his feathers at 6 months of age, and completely stopped after I instituted regular trips outside and added organic palm oil, and one cooked chicken drumstick a week to his varied diet of organic fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains. I also offer organic pellets with palm oil. He is now beautifully feathered and hasn't mutilated since a few days after the behavioral and feeding changes. The big caveat is, if your bird has been plucking for awhile sometimes the behavior becomes a habit, and then it is more difficult to stop. My feeling is do the best you can to maximize the health of the bird and let that be enough. These birds are from sunny equatorial regions and get much of their diet from palm fruit. These are the conditions in which they evolved. Replicating the historical variety of their diet, plus providing them access to sunshine will definitely help your bird's health. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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