December Pluckers?

[Elvenking]

So for the past three years, right in the month of December, Isaac likes to pull about 50% of the feathers from his tummy and back areas. Wondering if anyone experiences or knows why December would be a good month for this. Two other unusual things happen during this time, I take a week off from work, and I run the heater to about 72 on days where it gets just too darned cold during winter months. He seems to be sensitive around this time. Is this when mating season would be for them? I have totally come to accept this is just some expression of Isaac's because I have tried many things to help him along and he just has a habit of really picking up during December. Then it'll take the majority of the year to get them all back in, just in time to go and pull those bastards back out again. LOL. I have noticed that he may do this if he feels I am not paying enough attention to him as well...or so I think. I give the bird my life though and there really is not much more I can do. We're still happy though and playful as always. If you have any thoughts on this kind of plucking though, please share. Cheers!

 

PS: Here is the little plucker-doodle now. Mr. Fuzzy my little boy.

 

 

Stephen Gyves

Edited December 30, 2015 by Elvenking

[SRSeedBurners]

Well, I must say it does fit the season. All he needs is a little green mixed in there somewhere. At least you have a great attitude about it. I have to wonder what it is about this time of year too. Mystery of mysteries.

[Greytness]

The air has been super dry in our area, so it could be related to that. He could have very itchy skin from the low humidity. How often do you give him baths or a spritzing during the winter?

[Elvenking]

The air has been super dry in our area, so it could be related to that. He could have very itchy skin from the low humidity. How often do you give him baths or a spritzing during the winter?

 

Whenever this time comes around, I try to give him more Showers with a little aloe based shampoo in it. I could still step it up more.

[Timbersmom]

Are you using a humidifier?

[Elvenking]

Are you using a humidifier?

 

I do have one for them and darn it I forgot to put it out today, have to stop by at lunch. I do run it but have to move it because Isaac likes to go after the knobs and such. I just have to keep using it.

[Dave007]

You shouldn't be shampooing your bird ever. Only birds that have special feather problems like the wild birds that've gotten stuck in oil spills need shampooing. Greys and other parrots don't ever shampoo themselves.

As far as the Aloe Vera Juice-----------it should n't be mixed or diluted at all.

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189967-100-natural-aloe-vera-juice

[Elvenking]

You shouldn't be shampooing your bird ever. Only birds that have special feather problems like the wild birds that've gotten stuck in oil spills need shampooing. Greys and other parrots don't ever shampoo themselves.

As far as the Aloe Vera Juice-----------it should n't be mixed or diluted at all.

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189967-100-natural-aloe-vera-juice

 

This is a special avian shampoo designed for parrots.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Cages-Feather-Shine-Shampoo/dp/B0032XLUPG

 

...but do let me know if you think that is a no-no.

 

Also, if there is a regimen I could start with Isaac using aloe, I'd like to understand how. He is a fighter against baths and tolerates them because...well he has to. I have to have him enclosed in the cage or he will try to rip my fingers off for squirting at him. If I so much as hold my hand up and make the sound of a sprayer spraying, he will get a bit upset with me. LOL.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Elvenking

[Muse]

I would be careful with shampoos. Nearly all contain some type of surfactant designed to loosen dirt and oils and it may actually exacerbate the dryness by releasing natural oils from the skin and feathers. Have you tried the tea from TEAKS? (Used to be "Calming Skin and Feather", I think now it is called "Skin and Feather Tonic"?). We use it for Megan and she LOVES it. She's nearly fully feathered now. We tried so many other things including showers with a mix of aloe juice and chamomile tea, adding humidity, Soother spray, Rescue Remedy, Shen Calmer, Sock Buddy, a vest ... and a few other things I can't recall. She had full blood workups on more than one occasion with totally normal results. The only thing that has helped her so far has been the tea. At least Isaac leaves the fuzz, Megan picked that off as well.

 

Megan with mostly bare chest

 

Megan taken 12/5/15

[Muse]

See my previous reply re: shampoos. I did mix the aloe juice about 50/50 with warm chamomile tea as chamomile has both calming and skin soothing properties. I think the main problem with Megan was that she *HATES* showers unless SHE initiates bathing. So I believe any benefit of calming or skin soothing from either aloe or chamomile was lost to the huge stress reaction of being showered. I finally gave up and now I let her tell me when she wants a shower and that works for us.

 

Edit: Clicked the link to see what was in the shampoo and this:

 

"... as well as famous TV celebrity Marc Morrone (Parrots of the World) " was enough to make me never buy it. That man is a shill for Kaytee as well, and a serious animal abuser. Go to YouTube and watch some of his gimmicky videos and see what he does to the poor animals he uses. He's like a clumsy version of the Sham Wow guy but with animals involved. He mixes predators and prey animals, drops them off tables, handles them COMPLETELY inappropriately, all while showboating like some carny or snake oil saleman. This guy is SUCH a joke. I call him Marc Moron.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Muse

[Elvenking]

See my previous reply re: shampoos. I did mix the aloe juice about 50/50 with warm chamomile tea as chamomile has both calming and skin soothing properties. I think the main problem with Megan was that she *HATES* showers unless SHE initiates bathing. So I believe any benefit of calming or skin soothing from either aloe or chamomile was lost to the huge stress reaction of being showered. I finally gave up and now I let her tell me when she wants a shower and that works for us.

 

Edit: Clicked the link to see what was in the shampoo and this:

 

"... as well as famous TV celebrity Marc Morrone (Parrots of the World) " was enough to make me never buy it. That man is a shill for Kaytee as well, and a serious animal abuser. Go to YouTube and watch some of his gimmicky videos and see what he does to the poor animals he uses. He's like a clumsy version of the Sham Wow guy but with animals involved. He mixes predators and prey animals, drops them off tables, handles them COMPLETELY inappropriately, all while showboating like some carny or snake oil saleman. This guy is SUCH a joke. I call him Marc Moron.

 

This is encouraging! If you can link me to where you get your tea from, I will order some up. Just let me know how you go about it and how much you get. I would like to do the exact thing that you do for your baby for Isaac.

[Muse]

EDIT: I have just heard that this website (wingingitaviary) has been very slow filling orders and is not very responsive with customer service inquiries. It's been a while since I ordered, so this may be a recent change. I have another source for a very similar product and am going to order now. It has some of the ingredients (chamomile and calendula) but not the red clover, and adds lemon grass and lavender (which sounds DELICIOUS to me!) so I am going to try it with Megan since it's time to order more of her tea. I will let you know how the new mix works and can send you some if you'd like to PM me your mailing address.

 

http://www.wingingitaviary.com/avianpro-teaks-tea4beaks/ but grab it now! It's my understanding that the person who developed this is no longer with TEA4Beaks and is developing other teas, but not are identical to this one. I may start looking for the ingredients and mixing my own. Our vet (a certified veterinary herbalist) did say that the red clover could exacerbate hormonal episodes and to pick it out if Megan acted broody. I don't know if this would apply to a male as well, I can ask her.

Edited December 31, 2015 by Muse

[Elvenking]

EDIT: I have just heard that this website (wingingitaviary) has been very slow filling orders and is not very responsive with customer service inquiries. It's been a while since I ordered, so this may be a recent change. I have another source for a very similar product and am going to order now. It has some of the ingredients (chamomile and calendula) but not the red clover, and adds lemon grass and lavender (which sounds DELICIOUS to me!) so I am going to try it with Megan since it's time to order more of her tea. I will let you know how the new mix works and can send you some if you'd like to PM me your mailing address.

 

http://www.wingingitaviary.com/avianpro-teaks-tea4beaks/ but grab it now! It's my understanding that the person who developed this is no longer with TEA4Beaks and is developing other teas, but not are identical to this one. I may start looking for the ingredients and mixing my own. Our vet (a certified veterinary herbalist) did say that the red clover could exacerbate hormonal episodes and to pick it out if Megan acted broody. I don't know if this would apply to a male as well, I can ask her.

 

Yeah. I'd be curious about this because I haven't heard too much about it. Have there been any studies around this? I am not sure I want to just try something else because maybe. I might just try stepping up his showers more for now.

[Elvenking]

You shouldn't be shampooing your bird ever. Only birds that have special feather problems like the wild birds that've gotten stuck in oil spills need shampooing. Greys and other parrots don't ever shampoo themselves.

As far as the Aloe Vera Juice-----------it should n't be mixed or diluted at all.

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189967-100-natural-aloe-vera-juice

 

 

I'll have to give the aloe shower a try Dave!

[Elvenking]

Hey Dave, what kind of mister do you use?

[SRSeedBurners]

Speaking of showering birds, we don't ever shower them in the winter around here because we're afraid of the chill they may get. I noticed today Greycie and Toby have had berry stains on them for over two weeks and no one around here is doing a damn thing about it.

[Dave007]

Hey Dave, what kind of mister do you use?

 

Any simple type of mister can be used. It can have soap, windex, counter cleaner, window spray,---Any kind that's usually perchased in household goods/ cleaner dept. in stores. The sprayer has to be thoroughly cleaned out until there's no trace of the original product that was in it. The mister on the top of the plastic bottle has to have one feature on it which all sprayer bottles/plastic have---there's a knob on the top that turns clockwise or the opposite. There's usually 2 holes---one hole says *spray* and the other side says * stream* ,

The stream shoots out like a squirt gun and the other side comes out like a fine mist. You'll be using both holes. The stream will allow a strong jet of water to enter any closed areas like where the wings sit tightly against the body. Most birds aren't too eager to spread those areas. The mister will be used on all the white fluff areas plus all the rest of the body. The trick is toSOAK DOWN THE BIRD UNTIL THE SKIN IS SOAKED. Your bird will screech and squawk and try to fly around the cage. Pay no attention to this. DON't react. Just keep on Squirting until the bird is soaked. DO not towel dry him.!!!!! LET HIM DRIP DRY HIMSELF!!. THIS WILL TAKE AN HOUR OR SO. MAYBE MORE, MAYBE LESS.

 

There's many methods in the link I posted to you yesterday

[Elvenking]

Any simple type of mister can be used. It can have soap, windex, counter cleaner, window spray,---Any kind that's usually perchased in household goods/ cleaner dept. in stores. The sprayer has to be thoroughly cleaned out until there's no trace of the original product that was in it. The mister on the top of the plastic bottle has to have one feature on it which all sprayer bottles/plastic have---there's a knob on the top that turns clockwise or the opposite. There's usually 2 holes---one hole says *spray* and the other side says * stream* ,

The stream shoots out like a squirt gun and the other side comes out like a fine mist. You'll be using both holes. The stream will allow a strong jet of water to enter any closed areas like where the wings sit tightly against the body. Most birds aren't too eager to spread those areas. The mister will be used on all the white fluff areas plus all the rest of the body. The trick is toSOAK DOWN THE BIRD UNTIL THE SKIN IS SOAKED. Your bird will screech and squawk and try to fly around the cage. Pay no attention to this. DON't react. Just keep on Squirting until the bird is soaked. DO not towel dry him.!!!!! LET HIM DRIP DRY HIMSELF!!. THIS WILL TAKE AN HOUR OR SO. MAYBE MORE, MAYBE LESS.

 

There's many methods in the link I posted to you yesterday

 

Ahh okay. I thought you had a continuous mister or something of that sort. Okay...I'll get him wet. I use a bottle I got special for spraying him. Adjustable mist for those times where he challenges me with distance. HA! I'll get some of the Aloe Juice today and I'll make a mix later. I keep it warm enough in the house so I am not worried about him getting cold.

 

On that note. I have seen Greys who like to bathe in ice water...with cubes. LOL. I wonder if Isaac is such a freak. He does seem to be fascinated with ice.

Edited December 31, 2015 by Elvenking

[Acappella]

Dorian definitely prefers his bath water to be cold. He is most likely to start to try to bathe in his water dish when the water is fresh from the fridge.

[Greywings]

The birds living out of doors at the sanctuary often bathe when weather is it's coldest-wierd but that is what they choose. Maybe it is a way wild birds rid themselves of external parasites?

[Elvenking]

The birds living out of doors at the sanctuary often bathe when weather is it's coldest-weird but that is what they choose. Maybe it is a way wild birds rid themselves of external parasites?

 

 

Ha ha ha....I totally bet Isaac is one of these cold water lovers now that I think about it and remember a few things. He loves to go for ice cubes...but it has been a while since I had any in the house, and I can remember one time when I put refrigerated water in his bowl....he tried to bathe in it. But when I put warm water out, no dice. LOL. Tomorrow I have to try cold water in a large Pyrex pan or something similar. I think it may be just crazy enough to be true.

[Muse]

Yeah. I'd be curious about this because I haven't heard too much about it. Have there been any studies around this? I am not sure I want to just try something else because maybe. I might just try stepping up his showers more for now.

 

The new tea formulation is on the way, and I will let you know how it goes over with her majesty. If it goes over well and she continues to avoid plucking, I will be happy to send you some since I ordered two of the largest bags. Just PM me your mailing address.

[Elvenking]

HEEE'SSSS BATHING!!!!! It worked. My boy LOVES cooooold cooold water! I got a rectangular Pyrex dish and he is playing in the cold water right now. It took a while for him to uhh.....warm up to the idea. But he is in there right now. I hear splashing in the kitchen. He doesn't want to be watched and pictures make him stop...so I'll have to catch him some other time. But I am excited to see how wet he will get himself. HA!!! It worked! What turned out to be great was that this Pyrex Dish....with the added water....turns out to be too heavy for him to lift. So he can;t go and just make a mess of the setup. Cool.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Elvenking

[Greytness]

That's great! So silly that he wants to bathe in private!

[Elvenking]

That's great! So silly that he wants to bathe in private!

 

He didn't get too wet, but he played for a long time in there....like 30-40 minutes...standing on the edge.....dipping feet in....taking it slow. I am sure he will probably do more in subsequent tries. He made a big splashing mess...but I was happy for him and kept telling him what a good boy he was and to have fun! It had to be really cold though. I put just cool water out first...not interested in much but trying to tip the dish over. Add ice cubes....and now we have captured his interest. He proceeded to play.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Elvenking