Feather chewing? Beak trimming?

[Pixburgh29]

Have been silently keeping up with the forum since we got our CAG. Thankfully all of my questions i've been able to look up in the archives thus far! However, I need some clarity on this one. Feather chewing. Not sure if our little guy is chewing/plucking or not. I haven't been stressing about it, advice i've seen you all give, but i'd like to catch it early enough to perhaps help him if that's whats going on.

 

Firstly, he's just over a year old (turned a year Nov 2013) if thats of any importance. I've found a few feathers on the bottom of his cage, 1 or 2 flight feathers and 1 red tail feather. He still startles in his cage every once in a while (when a loud noise randomly occurs etc) so i'm not sure if thats why he appears a bit rough looking or if it's something else. I've checked the feathers and none appear as if they were broken, they look like they just kind of fell out (minus a bit of chewed look to the ends). The short grey feathers on his body though are a different story, they look a bit frayed on the ends, similiar to what split ends look like? I'll see if i can get a good enough picture to help with describing them.

 

This is my first grey so i'm not really sure what's normal and what's not at this age, appearance wise. I also have one other question, beak trimming. Is it necessary and how can I tell if it's needed? His nails trim themselves on the one perch he has so i've never had to take him to get those done. His beak does have a point but I just assumed that was normal and okay?

 

Thanks for the time

[Dave007]

Have been silently keeping up with the forum since we got our CAG. Thankfully all of my questions i've been able to look up in the archives thus far! However, I need some clarity on this one. Feather chewing. Not sure if our little guy is chewing/plucking or not. I haven't been stressing about it, advice i've seen you all give, but i'd like to catch it early enough to perhaps help him if that's whats going on.

 

Firstly, he's just over a year old (turned a year Nov 2013) if thats of any importance. I've found a few feathers on the bottom of his cage, 1 or 2 flight feathers and 1 red tail feather. He still startles in his cage every once in a while (when a loud noise randomly occurs etc) so i'm not sure if thats why he appears a bit rough looking or if it's something else. I've checked the feathers and none appear as if they were broken, they look like they just kind of fell out (minus a bit of chewed look to the ends). The short grey feathers on his body though are a different story, they look a bit frayed on the ends, similiar to what split ends look like? I'll see if i can get a good enough picture to help with describing them.

 

This is my first grey so i'm not really sure what's normal and what's not at this age, appearance wise. I also have one other question, beak trimming. Is it necessary and how can I tell if it's needed? His nails trim themselves on the one perch he has so i've never had to take him to get those done. His beak does have a point but I just assumed that was normal and okay?

 

Thanks for the time

 

 

Feathers

 

 

Try to think of a normal feather which is thick and rounded at the end

Example =================)

 

 

Now, concerning chewing. There's 2 types.

Example of one type ===================< The amount of chewing can just be at the end or even higher but no matter where it ends, it still has that inverted V

This is what happens to a parrot who's chewing the feather but not plucking it out.

 

 

Another type of chewing ( no diagram for this one)

A parrot will start to preen the feathers but also pulls out bits and pieces of feather off of the shaft. What remains is a very thinned out feather which can be seen because the comparasion to other normal feathers is obvious. The ends aren't usually touched. This can happen to just a few feathers or more feathers. Basically,the feather looks very thin and raggy. This can happen to many feathers or just a few. It all depends on the bird. A bird can reach just about every feather on it's body except neak and head feathers. If your bird doesn't have a skin problem, it's best to periodically mist the bird's body and skin thoroughly to keep the feathers softer and cleaner.

I don't know the room temp at your place but a more humid area is better than a dry one. Feathers need a wet atmosphere just like they get in the wild.

 

 

Plucking is when the bird pull out the whole feather from the skin. That can also involve lots of feathers. I have a thread here in the health room concerning chronic and acute plucking.

 

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?198942-Chronic-Plucking-(-Different-than-acute-plucking)-Some-Facts

 

 

The long feathers and tail feathers---they fall out when the blood supply in the feather dries up. That means that a new feather will soon replace the dead one. They're only feathers that have a blood supply and can die at any time of the year. This isn't molting although some of those feathers may fall out but it's just a coincidence.

 

 

Noise

Greys are known to be frightened by sudden loud noises like thunder and some are afraid of lightening. Other greys aren't bothered by either. It all has to do with the bird and the best thing to do is provide an area where loud noises don't sound so loud. In your situation, a cover at night is a good idea.

 

 

Beak--yes it has a point . It needs that point. The beak is the bird's equavelent to a person's hand. Everything it touches is first touched by the beak.The beak should only be filed down when abnormal growth occurs. Having heavy woods pieces and other non breakable items is a good idea because the bird will constantly chew on them. This may also help the bird to show less interest in the feathers.

 

 

Hope this helps a bit.

 

 

PS---This problem does happen to lots of young greys but they outgrow it.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Dave007