Problem with feathers

[Q9550]

Hi All,

 

I wonder if you guys can help me out. I would like to know how can i go about improving the condition of nonsense's feathers. We have never seen her plucking her feathers but we hav seen a feather or two on the cage floor every now and then which we assumed was natural. You can see in the pic that her chest feathers don't look proper as compared to other greys. Her diet consists mostly of parrot seed mix and fresh veggies which she hates. We also give her snacks when we cooking like pasta, egg, cheese, millet spray etc

What can i do to promote healthy feathers?

[Acappella]

You could try cold showers with 100% aloe juice. Put the aloe juice in a spray bottle with a gentle mist. Most greys like it cold, so keep it in the fridge. If she's doing the plucking because she's itchy this should help. You can usually get the aloe juice in health food stores.

[JeffNOK]

Does Nonsense have regular exposure UV light (natural sun or a UV avian lamp?). This also can be a factor. Also please check some other threads on feather picking. Dave and others have lots of good advice there.

[Timbersmom]

I think the red palm oil I've been putting in Timber's food helps. He is shinier and fuller since I added it.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

I wish I could help... Sophie just preens herself like she is a " beauty queen", and already won the pageant! I have no clue, why I got so lucky! Nancy

[Greywings]

Nonsense is in her underwear, those are her downy underfeathers she should have contour feathers over them. Sunlight unfiltered and natural is the best thing and cheap. Aloe vera juice in a mister is a wonderful thing to do for your bird. Getting her to eat her veggies can be a challenge but would help her metabolism to get them. You may have to show her how yummy they are or try some cooked mashed sweet potato with a little coconut oil stirred in, you can add a dash of cinnamon too.