Grey Owner that is LOST!

[maxthegrey]

So, I got Max from a breeder outside of San Antonio back in 2002. He's a beautiful bird, but I'm feeling very lost and confused with him because I don't understand him. I have books and I read on the internet and just can't figure him out.

 

About a year ago, he started with the feather plucking. No matter what I try, he keeps messing with his feathers. Every year for Christmas, I drive from Wisconsin to Texas to see family and he and the dog go with me. We've done this every year since 2003! Well, this year, the day before we left, he decided to pluck the beautiful red feathers! Why is he doing this?

 

Last summer, I had him completely checked out at the vet, and nothing was wrong. They did every test they could and everything was fine.

 

I let him out of his cage whenever I'm home but he never wants to "step up" anymore. But if he flies off his cage, he wants me to pick up to bring him back. Does he just feel secure in his cage? Does he not trust me?

 

Also, I notice that he shakes a lot. Is this normal? It looks like he's scared.

 

I feel like a horrible African Grey Owner because I don't know what else to do to help my bird!

 

Matt

[FeatheredFiend]

if he hasn't been vetted in a while i would schedule a vet visit. while it could be stress or something else behavioral, rule out the medical possibilities first. once that has been done, you can move onto behavior possibilities. has anything changed, even something you don't think might affect him?

 

the first interaction i had with any bird was a grey during my vacation in august. she was being birdsat while her family was on vacation. she plucked all her tail feathers out too, and we assumed it was from stress. she was very sociable and entertaining otherwise, and hadn't plucked any other areas. ::shrug::

 

anyway, that's what i would do.

[maxthegrey]

We went to the vet in August of 2007 (four months ago) and everything was fine. The vet said it's behavioral but didn't really give me anything substantial to do with him.

 

He hasn't plucked all the way down to the skin, he leaves the fluffy grey feathers closest to his skin but shreds the dark grey feathers. the only ones he hasn't touched are the long flight feathers.

[Nychsa]

Hi Matt,

 

I'm by no means any kind of an expert on Greys, but I have been getting some pretty good information from my Vet as it relates to how to keep my parrots happy:

 

Since parrots spend most of their time in the wild foraging, it's a good idea to create some kind of foraging opportunities for them in our homes. He suggested I make a foraging enviornment on their playtops. So, I got some hay at the pet store (the one they use for rabbits), and spread it out on their playtop, and then I scattered their food throughout and underneath the hay so they have to forage for the food. I also have anumber of toys that they need to noodle out and open in order to get the really good treats like walnuts and pistachios.

 

When I'm gone during the day I try to keep the foraging activities going. So, I've made these little foraging cups out of dixie cups that I hang all over their cage and put different things in them. Some I leave empty and others I put a bunch of stuff in. That keeps them hunting around. I have to make a new round of cups about once a week as they tear them up. But other then that, they really enjoy the cup games. I also have these toys that I can hide treats in hanging around the cage. I usually put carrots, and celery in there. For my grey I also have big pinata type toys that she can tear up. She loves to shred things now (didn't at first but now she does) and she attacks those toys vehemently!

 

So, I'm not sure if you've tried some of these things, but maybe if you give him an opportunity to forage around, he may let go of some of this more obsessive kind of behavior.

 

Again - I'm not an expert on AG's - but I find those to be some fun tips from my Avian Vet.

 

Good Luck!

Terri

[KatB]

A couple of other things I've heard about that can lead to plucking, which you may already be aware of:

 

Dry skin, of course. Bathe 2 or 3 times a week with aloe; feed EFAs daily such as a couple of drops of flaxseed oil; walnuts; red palm oil.

 

Make sure he gets his full 10 hours sleep each night.

 

Make sure he always has something other than his feathers to shred.

[Ronda477]

They have some preening toys out there too that you might want to try, and some of the others have posted good ideas as well, does he have a lot of toys? Do you change the toys out often so he's not getting bored with the same one? Have you changed his diet? Like changed brand of pellets or seed any? Does he bath often? Do you spend time talking to him or is he basically just left in the corner? I am not assuming anything at all please understand, just trying to help with some questions on what can cause this. Is he in a room where he can see you when you are home? Has your schedule changed? These are all things that can make a bird pluck plus there are plenty more things, was just trying to give some idea as to why. Please keep us updated.

[chapala]

It's not always easy to figure out what causes plucking, and once it becomes a habit it can be very hard to change. Some birds that have been force weaned or at least not abundantly weaned may be more prone to plucking. It may have a genetic component. You have ruled out physical causes. Some behavioral pluckers are possibly bored, stressed or fearful. You say your bird is shaking - is the house warm enough? A plucked bird no longer has all his feathers to keep warm. Is something scaring the bird?

 

Some birds may have a food allergy (soy, peanuts, wheat or something else). There is a plucker's diet on Feeding Feathers Yahoo forum in their files section if you want to try eliminating foods to see if it helps.

 

Others have mentioned shredding toys, foraging, keeping the bird busy. Is he alone a lot? Do you have other pets, other people in the house?

Reta

[maxthegrey]

THANK YOU all for your suggestions!

 

I've been trying to keep new toys in rotation, and I know that whenever there's a new toy, he's afraid of it, so I have to hang it outside his cage for a day until he knows it won't hurt him. I'll try the foraging ideas! Thanks Terri!

 

As for the other things, my schedule is basically the same, he's in my bedroom, but I have a smaller cage in the living room that I can put him in if I'm not in here a lot. Since I work on the computer so much, we spend a lot of time in the bedroom.

 

I have a dog and a cat in the house with me, and they all get along great.

 

I'll play around with his diet more and see if things change.

 

Thanks again for all of the great suggestions. This forum is a blessing and I'm glad I found it!

 

Best,

Matt & Max

[Nychsa]

My pleasure Matt! Good luck with that, and do share how it goes. My conure, Jigme, is also afraid of new toys. Bella my grey is much more relaxed and usually checks out anything new to see if it is something good to eat LOL! She LOVES food! Jigme has started to copy her after he watches her with a new toy. Maybe if you played with the new toy first and make a big deal out of how much fun you're having Max might get curious?

 

Does he like new foods? The food angle is a blessing for me in trying to get my grey to do something. She's all about the food LOL!

 

Good Luck!!

Terri

[danmcq]

Please try spraying him down at least 2x a week with Aloe Juice as previously mentioned and also pick up some Red Palm Oil and add 10 - 15 drops of it to his breakfast cereal, eggs or whatever it will mix in nicely with.

 

These have also been known to help Plucking Greys. Most all of us here on the forum use these products religiously :-)

[maxthegrey]

Hi everyone!

 

Thanks again for the suggestions! I think I need to work on some social skills for my bird, the poor thing. I've read a bunch of these forum posts and I feel very confident that it's not too late to work on these things!

 

I have a hard time getting him out of his cage, he feels so secure in it ... but once he's out he's fine. We practiced step up today and he's so funny, I said "STEP UP" and his little foot just pops right up in the air.

 

I'll keep working on it. Keep those suggestions coming, you guys are all great!

 

here are some pictures! if they work!!

[maxthegrey]

sorry i guess i can't figure out how to upload images!!

 

 

 

 

<br><br>Post edited by: maxthegrey, at: 2008/01/07 18:40

[maxthegrey]

okay you can visit this website to see the pictures

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlgmusic/sets/72157603657280936/<br><br>Post edited by: maxthegrey, at: 2008/01/07 18:49

[danmcq]

Thanks for the photos! Boy, you weren't kidding when you said he is plucking!! I hope all the suggestions you have received him that poor guy. :-)

[siobha9]

Poor little guy. He is so cute though. I really hope you can help him to resolve it. Thankfully none of my birds pluck, it seems to be such a huge complicated problem with many possible causes, and many possible solutions.

 

Best of luck with it.

 

Siobhan

[graciecatt]

My new Grey was a plucker too and I was really worried at first. I inherited her and now that she has a new more attentive owner (me) I think she is done with that. I was shocked when I saw your Grey! It really makes me feel better (sorry). I sure hope you get to the root of the problem. I was told that diet and combating boredom were a big part of the problem, but it could also be physical, which it looks like you ruled out. Just give it time. Good luck.

[judygram]

Hello, Graciecatt, why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little about you and your grey.

[KatB]

Matt, no wonder you are so concerned! My grey started plucking a bit a couple of months ago, when there was a lot of tension in my house (my granddaughter was abducted during a nasty custody battle and things were pretty tense around here for a while). I think his issue was that he was just not getting the attention he had become accustomed to. Also, I was a new grey owner and didn't know all the should-dos and must-dos. When he started plucking I did several things at once. I don't know if any one of those things or just the combination of all helped him, but he did stop plucking. Here's what I did:

 

I installed a flourescent light above his cage with a 92 CRI, 5500K bulb, put it on a timer to imitate sunrise and sunset and to give him the full spectrum lighting he needs (he sees ultraviolet light, but needs the full spectrum light to produce it). Also it helps convert vitamin D3 for calcium absorption, though there are differing opinions as to whether supplemental lighting is necessary.

 

Then I started putting a couple of drops of flaxseed oil and ground walnuts in his breakfast every morning to help his skin condition.

 

I made sure I gave him an aloe-juice shower at least 3 times a week, without fail.

 

I learned that he must be with his flock or he feels abandoned, so now when I am home I take him from room to room with me. He's in the bathroom when I'm taking a shower, in the kitchen when I'm preparing meals, in the office when I'm on the computer. I started leaving the television on for him when I left for work (on a children's educational channel, of course ) to give him the illusion of company when he's alone.

 

I make sure he always has plenty of shredding toys in his cage.

 

Recently I've been reading about the benefits of foraging so at the suggestion of some of the forum members I've started hiding non-perishable treats in little 3-ounce paper dixie cups (not the plastic ones!), folding the tops over to form mini- pinatas, and placing them at various spots in his cage. That has the double benefit of giving him something to shred and foraging exercise.

 

I hope you find the right combination for Max. Please keep us updated on your progress. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of him with all his feathers grown back in!

[chapala]

Some great suggestions Kat! I agree with everything, except I am not a fan of aloe juice sprayed on the bird, just plain, non-chlorinated water. Adding the flax oil and nuts to the diet does help the skin condition, as does a diet high in nutritious vegetables. Also, a tiny bit of red palm oil (1/4 tsp.) could be added or alternated with the flax oil. Almonds are good too, and I give a few almonds and walnuts daily.

 

The shredding and foraging are both very important for all our Grey birds, pluckers or not. And bringing him with you around the house is also good flock behavior

Reta

[maxthegrey]

Hi Everyone!

 

Well, I know that it will take some time, but after talking with a friend from the bird store, I was offered an interested idea that I tried out today.

 

The suggestion was to put an old phone book in the cage for Max to shred up. He was so excited with it that as I was installing it, he came up and started ripping it up already! I had to leave for a few hours and when I got back I could tell he has been working on it!!

 

I've been rotating his toys, but I think he's been bored with the rotation. I guess I didn't understand how much they like to destruct things and didn't keep enough of the toys that he can destroy.

 

When I described the feather plucking, she explained that it seems like Max is chewing the feathers. that he's plucking them out and then "playing" with them.

 

I change his paper daily and can usually see the "shreds" of feathers at the bottom of his cage, well tonight there were NO FEATHERS or pieces of feathers at all!

 

I'm going to keep at this but I have a new light for him, new toys, treats and everything. I hope my baby keeps improving!!

 

Matt

[KatB]

Yay!!!! I don't know you or Max, but for some reason your post made me very happy. I feel like you're on the right path :laugh:

[judygram]

Well it sounds like you have hit on an excellent idea and I hope it works out for you and Max.

[Nychsa]

Matt that is excellent news!! Keep at it! Bless your heart for being so caring and getting information and working with him. I know the plucking issues often frustrate people and they often just pass the bird on. I'm so glad Max has a "Dad" who loves him like you do! Yeah!

[KatB]

Hey, Matt, are you out there? How's Max doing?

[judygram]

The last we heard from Matt was the 9th of this month, we are overdue for an update on Max, how about it Matt.:dry: