plucking driving me crazy

[angellady]

hiya there my african grey is 3 years old i got her second hand as the family that had her before couldn't look after her.

i went on holiday in september for 2 weeks and my boyfriends mum looked after her, when we came back she had plucked her stomach and neck feathers they are slowly grwing back but they look scraggy and not thick and shiny like her old ones. is there anything you could suggest doing to help her feathers. plus what can we do to prevent it next time we go away love and light rachael and angel xxxxxx

[judygram]

How long have you had her since you acquired her, maybe the bond has not been established yet? If you had not had her long she may be reacting to the disappearance of yet another owner, with you being gone for 2 weeks. When you first get a grey you should not be gone for any length of time before the trust and bond is set up between you and her. Now that you are home maybe you can get her settled in and then maybe she will stop the plucking. But sometimes once they get started doing it, it is hard to get them to stop, but she may have viewed your being gone for 2 weeks as abandonment by you so you have your work cut out for you.

 

I see this is your first post, why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little more about yourself and this grey.

[angellady]

hiya there i've had her around a year and a half now, thankyou for your reply. i am having a few problems with the forum i am constantly having to keep logging in as it keeps logging me out everytime i go to a new page lol

from rachael xxxx

[nevjoe]

Hi angellady, Sorry for your problem, or should say for your bird. You must have a close repour with each other. The bird was upset with the short move to a different place, and was not able to cope with it. I would try using Aleo Vera Juice on her in place of showering her with water. It should help her with her feathers. Here is a post you should read, http://www.greyforums.net/health--nutrition/100-aloe-vera-juice.html

 

Joe

[judygram]

Thanks Joe for mentioning that aloe vera juice baths might help the plucking problem.

[nevjoe]

Keys I just found it yesterday and will start using it tomorrow. I hope I do it right.

 

Thanks,

Joe

[judygram]

Joe, you can't go wrong with it, trust me.:kiss:

[pepper]

I have a 10 month old CAG who just recently started plucking uncontrolably. His diet had peanuts which I have stopped giving him and replaced with walnuts. One "expert" suggested we use a spray concoction, and another from the same office told us it was the worst thing we can do. This afternoon we tried rubbing aloe vera of his bare chest which hasnt prooven anything.Is the red Palm oil our only remaining solution?

[danmcq]

Welcome Pepper!!

 

Please do a search on this site for "Aloe Juice". You should start spraying your Grey with full-strength Aloe Juice everyday.

 

Also, the Red Palm Oil is a natural item that Greys normally receive from eating the Palm Nuts on the trees in the wild. You can find it online. Melt it and add to your Greys morning oatmeal or eggs etc. It will help him immensely also. You can also perform a search for "red Palm Oil" for a very detailed thread on it. :-)

 

I hope this helps!!