Jazz Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Hi - it's been a while since I was here, so thought I would post something about our recent experiences with Obi... Obi is now 10 months old and has really settled in well and in particular taken to me. He's talking, copying random nosies from around the house and is just a happy cheeky chap. However, about 3 weeks ago we noticed that he was over preening his feet. Then at the beginning of last week he started chewing/plucking out his chest feathers. We were of course naturally very worried about this not only because of any health issues but also because we (as far as we were concerned) were looking after him well. We also didn't want an 'oven ready' featherless bird. He's out of his cage at least 3-4 hours a day (more at the w/ends) he has a nice size cage with lots of toys to destroy and play with, he eats a good balanced diet (mainly Harrisons Organic) and is very chatty and excited about spending time with us... ...so I took him to our avain vet that we have used for the last 4 years...nothing was jumping out at them at first glance. we discussed living standards, possibility of vitamin deficiency, worthiness of introducing supliment(s) into his diet but none really seemed to offer an answer...we decided to try a deterent by spraying some TCP onto his chest area to try and discourage him plucking. Yesterday I took him back as on Monday night he'd pulled a lot more feathers out. After a consultation with the Head Vet (Alan Jones) we decided that it was worthwhile for him to perform an endoscopy to confirm Obi's sex and to check his insides to make sure there were no serious problems etc. He explained that just like dogs or cats, birds can and will chew at areas that may be causing them discomfort. Anyway, low and behold - 'He' transpires to be a 'She' and the feather pulling/plucking has been attributed to imbalanced/over productive hormones. She then had an injection (1 of 3 over the next 4-6 weeks) and the noticeable improvement in her behaviour, not only the plucking but also her tolerance and want to be with other family members over the last 24 hours is unbelievable. The diganosis was that her attachement to me was causing her to be intolerant of others and also possibly triggering her want to bond and breed etc.. Alan said that it was unusual at such an early age, but wasn't unheard of. The relief that everything is going to be OK and we have indeed got an exceptionally healthy loving bird is imense. We took the opportunity when Obi was aneathetised to have her id ring removed as she had chewed at it so much the numbers and letters were not visible and to have her microchipped. Now looking forward to a continued healthy and happy future ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Jazz thanks for the update.It is great you have been able to find answers to Obi's plucking.imbalanced/over productive hormones will be one to bear in mind for future reference.I wish you well for the future with your little girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 That is very good to hear that you found the cause of the plucking. That will be something I tell people to have checked from now on when a "well taken care of" birds starts plucking. Be sure to keep us posted on the progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 That sounds almost identical to what we are going through with Makena right now. He/she is EXTREMELY obsessed with my fiance. When he went to the mainland for 2 weeks Makena started chewing his/her feathers big time and now has no tail and right wing. Does Obi need to have those injections for the rest of her life? Or is it something that the vet said would go away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 Hi Makena - it should be a short course of 3 injections over a period of 4-6 weeks only. The vet seemed pretty confident that the treatment should 'cure' that behaviour. Atleast we know what the problem was/is - if the worst came to the worst, I am thinking that she might need another course of injections in the future... will see what happens. I think they are the same type of injections that I was offered for my Cockatiel, Marli last year when she started to lay... perhaps a trip to the vet for Makena might provide some answers? - good luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 This is great information Jazz!! Now that is one highly educated and dedicated Avian Vet your have. Who would imagine a hormonal imbalance at such a young age? Did the Vet say if that is common or perhaps an issue all Grey owners should be aware of at that age? Normally hormonal changes do not really start affecting them until they are at least 2 to 4 years old. Now we have another item to add to our checklists when encountering a plucking problem. Thanks to you and your Vet. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 Glad I've been able to help any others who may be experiencing anything similar to what we have ! Will keep you posted on Obi's progress... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Yes please do Jazz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Thanks for the info Jazz. We are still trying to get to the bottom of Makena's problem. Our vet thinks he has separation anxiety. He suggested a course of drugs that we aren't too excited about. We will see what happens. Thanks so much for posting your story, it's really nice to read about other possible problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted May 18, 2008 Author Share Posted May 18, 2008 Update - Obi is going for her third injection this coming Tuesday. I am pretty confident that they have helped the feather chewing/plucking problem. She does look a state at the moment though! Hopefully this will be the last injection she will need, but the vet has said that it may be necessary for her to have another 1 possibly a fifth... Wanted some advice please...Obi has started making exceptionally loud whitling noises, It isn't the 'screech' that you hear from a frightened bird but sounds more like a referees whistle. Is this a natural sound? it is beginning to test patiences a bit, as she continues to do this when she is in her cage. I am assuming it is associatied with wanting attention or her being frustrated with something. We do not shout or get angry with her. We have tried a soft reassuring whistle back, but now she does the loud whistle, followed by a soft reassuring whistle herself! Any suggestions/comments/idea would be most welcome. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblhelix Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Glad to hear Obi seems to be improving! Regarding the sound...could be something she picked up and just simply likes to make. For example, Kip heard our smoke detector go off several months ago. Now she sometimes goes into smoke detector mode...super loud "PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP!!!". ACK, we hate it! We just try and ignore it. So, I think what I am saying is, good luck with the noise issue. If the bird finds something it likes to make, it can be tough to break! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Jazz just a reminder that if Obi makes an annoying to you noise you need to just ignore it, don't make any kind of response to it for it will only make her do it more for the response she gets from it, she may never not do it but it may lessen in frequency over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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