feather barbaring

[joyfuljulez]

Hi I am new to this forum, I have an African Grey 32 years old. he just started plucking his feathers from his chest. It is really bad, since he hasn't done it before. Any ideas? I do have a vet that I have taken him to before, so I will call her tomorrow. but its worrisome.

[Dave007]

Hi I am new to this forum, I have an African Grey 32 years old. he just started plucking his feathers from his chest. It is really bad, since he hasn't done it before. Any ideas? I do have a vet that I have taken him to before, so I will call her tomorrow. but its worrisome.

 

Hi

If your bird is 32 yrs old, I doubt that your bird has any type of permanent chronic barbering problem and barbering isn't plucking. When a bird is barbering feathers he's cracking longer feathers in half. Plucking feathers is plucking the whole feather from the skin. It's extremely hard for any bird to *barber* chest feathers. The feathers are too small. Your bird may be developing a dry, itchy area which causes a bird to pluck those areas. Another scenario may be a change in the surrounding humidity in his living area. Another problem may be the adding of new toys or items to his area. Another problem is movement of a cage to another area which may be strange. In any case, spraying that area with cool water may stop a bird from plucking.

In your situation, a vet visit is a good idea because your vet may suggest what specific items to use on the irritated area. If your bird was doing this for a very long time ( 6 mts to a 1 yr ) there's other items that can be used on the bird but your vet will probably recognize the problem and guide you from there. Good luck.

[judygram]

I second Dave's suggestion of doing a vet visit as it could be a lot of reasons for this to happen. If its possible try to take a picture or two and post so we can see exactly what you are talking about. I would also recommend that you don't react to the plucking/barbering, just ignore it and maybe try to divert his attention to something else.

[Greywings]

Even the ingestion of a heavy metal such as zinc from a toy can cause this action, or a health concern like a heart issue or it may be something simple like dry itchy skin or a molt. Vet visit is a great idea to eliminate any worries.