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My paco won't stop picking his feathers!! :(((((


Faris54

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Hello everyone, I'm fred & new to this site, i've had my grey for about 10 months, mind you he is 8 yrs old already. Got him from a breeder. The first 7-8 months he was great, started to talk right away, never touched a feather,then he started this bad habit of picking his feathers,at first his back, then moved to his neck area. Its so frustrating that I don't know the cause of it. I've talen him to a vet, checked him, he is physically & healthy, doesn't seem depressed. However he has stopped picking the grey small feathers & just goes for the fluffy white ones which grow under the grey feathers, roughly about 4-5 aday which is very concerning. He no longer talk now! :( The vet couldn't find any problems & said the it could be the level of hormones since he has showed the acts of mating calls with me quite often lately. But i need help asap, plzzzzzzz, its driving me nuts! Feel so sorry for him ??

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Are you sure he is plucking his feathers? Losing a couple of feathers a day, particularly his down feathers, is not unusual. Where do you live? The weather is changing and getting warmer, so he doesn't need such a heavy undercoat, and may just be molting the winter down out. Bird's feathers are like our hair, and they lose some all the time, like we do with hair. Since the vet has said he is healthy, and didn't address the feather issue, perhaps it is nothing to worry about. And as for no talking, they are not like us, and sometimes have nothing to say. 8)

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I've even put a humidifier in his room, he eats pallets, the tropical brand name parrot food, he eats fruits, some vegetables(not a big fan) & some nuts ofcourse. I've told the vet what he eats & he said it was fine. I'm just cutting down some seeds & peanuts that he loves which aren't the healthiest nutrition source. I also do mist him like twice a week & closed the 1 heat vent in his room.

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Yes i have seen him do it, the thing is there are only afew grey feathers left on his chest and the fluffy ones. As a matter a fact his bare skin is showing on his neck. :( When i took him to the vet he showed me that there was clear visible signs of feathers damaged by him picking them so hard. On the other hand he is very playfull, calm & not aggressive at all. Doesn't bite or anything either. I live in toronto Canada. I really don't know what else to do at this point.....

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I don't show that I'm that frustrated around him to build up the negative energy but it just bothers me to see howmuch feathers he has lost in the past couple of months only! On top of it he has stopped talking around the same time which is the odd part! However i don't giveup, i keep talking to him the same way, hopefully it will comeback one of these days...

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I have a nudist colony in my home. More naked birds than not. I know the frustration, the sadness, and yes sometimes anger you feel because you just can't "fix" it. Keep thinking back to anything that has changed. For one of my boys it was something as meaningless to us as a type of rope on a toy. He likes sisal by God, not cotton. Who would have guessed that, but i changed his toys to sisal rope and all better. Knock on wood.

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You need to focus on " contact calls". If bird says something, or whistles, repeat it from another room. Repeat it over and over! Our contact calls are sooooo important, I would say, Sophie's vocabulary, has grown by 75% based off of contact calls.We trade calls back and forth. Sometimes I make it more difficult, She responds...sometimes she makes it more difficult, I respond. This is her favorite game for more than a decade!

When we are at a " draw", for complexity.... she steps it up and breaks into " rap"... I can't win!( damn those kids!) Nancy

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Thats why I say work on the contact calls...I found it " instrumental", for Sophie's development! It taught her to talk more, trust us, and learn how to have fun with games.

A quick whistle, Sophie repeats it... I add to the whistle, she repeats it plus what I added.This game ( done in separate rooms), has been important to her, and has certainly increased her vocabulary.

I'm not sure if this will help your bird with plucking, but certainly will if feeling depressed, or anxious. Nancy

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Feather picking is still a bit of a mystery. My CAG Gracie never touched a feather until she was 3 years old and then she had a little plucking episode. I was shocked at it's sudden onset. One day perfect plumage and in three days she had extensive damage. I felt guilty. I was sure i was to blame despite my best efforts to give her the best life possible. I also took her to the vet and got a clean bill of health. I started misting her with aloe vera and increased her access to sunlight. She improved within a month. Then in January, it happened again. The fluff and bare patches emerged again. It was so upsetting. This week, her feathers are back in good order with no sign of plucking. I don't know what caused it or how it ended. Frequent baths and lots of sunlight will hopefully help, but sometimes we just don't know why they do this. Don't beat yourself up.

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Look up something called Rescue Remedy. Other members here have had some luck with it. You sound like you're a great parront. I'm sure you've gone through looking at anything that might have changed in the vicinity of his cage, a toy that might be scaring him etc... I'm sorry you're going through this. Just keep interacting with him as if he's already the bird you want him to be. They're very good at reading our body language. If he's showing mating behaviour with you be careful just to tough him on his head for scritches. Another member here whose bird was plucking just figured out that he was touching his bird too much and that it was frustrating him. We're here to support you so vent all you need.

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Where do i get that rescue remedy from? What is it anyway? For his cage, yes i have made any kind of changes possible to see if it helps but no! It didn't help. I just wonder howlong does that mating behavior will last!?

Edited by Faris54
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You can find Rescue Remedy at most holistic Grocery stores and at health food stores I have even found it at some Drug stores. What we mean by direct Sunlight is not filtered through a window glass as it removes some of the vital components such as Vitamin d3. Here is a link to Rescue remedy

 

www.iherb.com/Bach-Flower-Essences‎

Edited by Greywings
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Natural Sunlight

Expose your bird to natural sunlight for at least one hour a day. If the light passes through window glass, the important UVB rays are lost. Exposure to natural sunshine allows the bird to re-establish it's normal body rhythms and produce adequate amounts of vitamin D3. If you can not do that in a partially shaded area where the pet will not overheat, utilize full-spectrum lamps designed for reptiles. Just be sure the birds cannot gnaw the cords.

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He does get sunlight through out the day, his cage is right by the window & i leave it half way open in day time. Thanks for that link i will look into it. Someone also recommended alo vera i will try that too. Just now when i came come i noticed there was around 20 of those soft under coating feathers in his cage!!! Its so sad :(

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Faris54 don't let it drive you nuts, he'll pick up on your tension. They're very good at reading our moods. Just to be clear, are you talking about the fluffy white downy puff feathers? They pull them all the time, or they fall out, and it's not considered plucking. I just watched Dorian shake himself and three went flying. They're the bain of a grey owners existence because you will leave the house with them in your hair, clinging to your clothes... They shed them every day.

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Yes those white soft fluffy ones, but thats not all... There are no grey feathers on his chest anymore! His bare skin is showing all around his neck! I don't even know whether they'll ever grow back! I see the fluffy ones grow back but no signs of the grey ones.... Lately i've been misting him with alo vera juice, was told it may help. Also since he started plucking feathers he has stopped talking completely!!! Don't know why!!

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