Cassie-Willow Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Hi All, i have had my CAG Willow for just over a week and she settled in perfectly from day one! she was 12 weeks old hand reared when i got her and had shared a cage with a male grey of same age. she was so shy and timid while he was boistrous and a little bit mean to her really. After an hour of being in her new home, Willow settled straight in exploring her new cage and toys. I think she loved being away from the other grey. She is very sweet and cuddly and gets LOTS of attention. After being with us for 5 days i noticed she had started plucking. To be honest though it doesnt even look like plucking its like she suddenly has an uncontrolable itch and she starts excessively preening herself and rubbing her beak then bites her legs and feet. at first i thought she was fretting being alone while i am at work but she has plenty of toys and food and i alternate leaving the radio or tv on each day plus i come home on my dinner break. I have also made an effort NOT to have a routine so she does not get stressed by change. The reason I do not believe she is stressing is that she is played with for hours we constantly handle her and talk to her or even just whistle if shes having some play time on her cage. Last night she was cuddling into me on the couch and having a little snooze when she got a few twitches then started scratching and plucking so it definately cant be because she has been left alone as she was asleep on my chest! The pet shop said they had sprayed her daily but she squarks and smells dusty when we do it so im guessing this isnt the case or she would like it so i have twice taken her into she shower with me and she seemed to enjoy that and the plucking stops for a few hours. Could it be possible she has mites being from a shop with other birds? She has been beak and feather disease tested so i know its not that and i cant find anything in her feathers. I have also covered her cage in a white sheet at night but no red dots in the morning to suggest mites either. Shes pulled all her neck feathers out underneath and im starting to worry she will continue and end up a real plucker! one thing we have been advised to do by a breeder is every time she plucks to squirt her with a stream of water, it is kind of working but we cant be there 100% to do this! Another thing that may be important to mention is that she is eating the same pellets she was having in the shop with fruit and nuts/seeds mixture in another bowl as advised by the shop! Apart from this she is perfect already mimicking our wolf whislte and trying to say hello but its more of a burp than anything haha! Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated! Thanks Cassie xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Hello and welcome Cassie and Willow! She is a beautiful baby Others with more experience will have advice for you on the plucking/mites, but if I were you I'd take her to an avian vet and have her checked out. Funny about her hello being a burp! Good luck and God bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Hello Cassie and welcome to our family. Willow is a beautiful grey, love those dark eyes and she is settling into her new home very nicely. Its unusual for them to be plucking at this young age so an avian vet visit is in order, they should have a vet check them over anyways when you bring a new one into the flock but since she is pulling out feathers that means that something is bothering her and mites are a possibility so schedule one for as soon as you can get one so you can nip this in the bud before it becomes a habit. Sometimes their skin is dry and if so it becomes itchy, get some aloe vera juice and spray her with it undiluted, be sure to soak her good with it, under the wings and especially where she is plucking, it soothes the skin and it won't hurt her if she ingests any of it, you can get it at any Walmart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Welcome Cassie and Willow. Great advice about a vet visit. It will certainly answers the itching problem, hopefully. Looking forward to hearing more about Willow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassie-Willow Posted June 1, 2013 Author Share Posted June 1, 2013 Thank you both for your replies! Yes something is definately bothering her she has bitten my niece pretty harshly today and then myself as I tried to stop her doing it, she was also squarking attacking her toy! I went to asda (Walmart) but they had no aloe juice so ill find a bigger store and see if they have some. in the meantime I have asked around to find the best local avian vet so I can get her booked in Monday as its too late now! I will keep you updated and thanks again for the reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 The aloe juice at our Walmart is in the pharmacy area. You can probably get it from Amazon.com if you don't have a local vendor. I'm not sure of your location. Glad to hear you are getting Willor to the vet ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 All have great advice. In my experience, babies don't pluck. BUT.... they do suffer from dry skin, mites, etc. An avian vet visit is more than welcome. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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