madisimmons Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Sammy is doing good her first morning in her new home. Today, however, I did notice a feather at the bottom of the cage. I know this can not be a good thing. What should I do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitt79 Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Didn't you say Sammy's tail was kind of ragged? He could just have pulled one of those. I don't think one feather is anything to worry about, especially since you just got him home -- stress of moving may be the only problem, or it might just have been that feather's time to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Madi, don't panic at the loss of one feather, a few feathers lost is normal and something you will see from time to time. And what Kitt said about it might just have been that feather's time to go could be right on the money. Now if you start seeing other feathers and the ends are chewed then you might have a problem. But you can expect some adjustments since you just brought Sammy home, it will take time for her to adjust to her new home, new owners so be very patient with her and in time she will settle in. Glad to hear she is doing fine to start with do keep us posted as to how it goes with her as you and her are learning together. Probably a lot of your concerns can be answered by scanning thru the threads here for information, we have covered a lot of territory on greys here in our many topics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Greys do loose feathers periodically throughout the year,nothing to be to worried about,unless as Judy said the feather end is chewed,then that would be another issue,im sure this feather has just come out naturally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisimmons Posted May 12, 2008 Author Share Posted May 12, 2008 Thanks I will keep an eye out for more. When it is the 'feathers time to go' do they pull those out or do they just fall out. I will check back in later for more helpful knowlege.. Thanks for everyone who has commented. I am off to Wal-Mart for some aloe vera juice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitt79 Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 In general, either. Sometimes they just fall out, but if they're itching or irritating the bird, sometimes they'll pull them out on their own. Either way, unless it's a a lot of feathers, don't panic . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisimmons Posted May 12, 2008 Author Share Posted May 12, 2008 Sammy pulled a tail feather out today. I hope it's because she is just needing a bath. I am going to give her a bath tomorrow. Mist with cold water anyway. I read somewhere on here where people mist with straight aloe vera?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisimmons Posted May 12, 2008 Author Share Posted May 12, 2008 I hope this is from just needing a bath, she seems really happy. Absolutely loves to step up and get scritches.. What should I do if she doesnt quit after the bath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Don't make a big fuss or have a big reaction about the feather. They love any kind of attention and you may accidently reinforce feather plucking, if that's what she's doing. You said the tail was kind of ragged so this could just be the result of her trying to get herself cleaned up and all her feathers in place now that she has room to preen and a home much less frantic than I'm sure the pet store was. Just keep interacting calmly with her, let her settle in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisimmons Posted May 12, 2008 Author Share Posted May 12, 2008 Okay I'll do that. She is the sweetest bird, I am so happy I found her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisimmons Posted May 12, 2008 Author Share Posted May 12, 2008 Wow, this morning i misted her with cold water (from the faucet) she did not like that one little bit. If she would have been out of her cage when I did it, I'm pretty sure she would have drawn blood. I know she needed it though. I misted above her so it would fall down on her instead of squirting her. I assume this is the correct way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 That was the correct way of course, and you can also try putting a bowl of water on the bottom of her cage and see if she will bathe in it. Did you tell her you were going to do it before you actually did it, they like to be warned beforehand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisimmons Posted May 13, 2008 Author Share Posted May 13, 2008 I actually tried to do it in a big bowl in the kitchen sink and tried to get her to perch on the side of it, this was yesterday. She was having no part of that so this morning I went for the mister. Yes, I asked her if she was ready to take a bath and then I told her it was bath time. I will try the big bowl approach on the bottom of the cage with a little aloe vera juic and just leave it there for awhile and see what she does. Another thing, she absolutely does not want to be in her cage. she tries to grab the sides with her beak and sticks her talons onto whatever she can grab onto on the way in. either her owner hardly ever made her go in or her owners kids never let her out before i got her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Is this the same cage she had before or a different one? I would say they never let her out so now she does not want to go inside for fear she will be left there, but in time she may get over that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisimmons Posted May 13, 2008 Author Share Posted May 13, 2008 This is a different one. Hopefully your right Judy. I only put her in the cage when I'm leaving the house or there is nobody in the same room with her to watch her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 OK, here's another tough parront moment I had to learn the hard way. Don't let her associate being inside the cage with being left alone. Dorian started to figure out that my workout clothes meant I was leaving and became impossible to put in. As I type, he's inside his cage making the most pathetic chirps that seen to say 'bad mommy, I've been inside here forever' but I'm leaving for the gym in 15 minutes and I know I'll never get him back in! You'll have to leave her inside the cage sometimes even when you're in the room with her. Sit by the cage, talk to her, find a toy she likes that she only gets inside the cage. Play a game with her inside the cage. A big hit around here is I hold loosely rolled white tissue paper outside the cage, poke it between the bars, and Dorian attacks and rips at it. (Introduce slowly. Dorian was conviced the paper was out to kill him at first) Then I make a big deal of picking up all the paper. Do not give in to whatever sound she finds that rips your heart in half, and trust me, she'll find one! Another tip, when you do have to place her inside, put her in backwards. It's hard for them to grab onto the cage that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Thats a very good point and I think that is why I have no trouble getting Josey back into her cage, she spends some of the time I am home in her cage, she is not out the whole time I am home. And some of the time when she is out of the cage she is back inside either playing or getting a snack or a drink. That way she does not associate me being home to mean she is out all the time. And I have never had her to refuse to go back into her cage, I just put her in and it is usually forwards, it just seems easier that way and she never grabs ahold of the cage to try to prevent it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisimmons Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Hmmm good observations you have both made. I thought I was being cruel to have her in the cage while I was home, but yet, I was only spoiling her. Thanks for the tips. Acapella, thanks for the tissue and spray bottle comments. I will try those also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NelsonMandela Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Hi, i am really hoping you guys can help me. Its about feather plucking, which he started about a month ago. Its not just the one as you can see from the pics on the profile it is getting pretty bad. I have tried to help him, regular showers, chaning his toys in his cage to keep him occupied, health food, but he is still doing it. He does seem to spend alot of his time preening himself, is this normal? I've been told if you smear vaseline on the areas he is plucking he will stop, but this just seems wrong. Has anyone heard of this? I read the artical on 100% Aloe Juice, which im going to try Thanks in advance for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 We need to know a little more information about your grey before we can try to help you with your problem. How old is your grey and how long have you had him? Did you get him as a baby? Does he spend a lot of time caged or does he spend time with the family? Has anything changed in the household about the time he started plucking? Its normal for them to preen themselves but not to the point of being excessive. I would not smear any vaseline on his feathers, not good for him or his feathers. Why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little more about you and this grey, like what is his name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyboop Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Perhaps this bird is molting, have you actually seen her pull a feather or just in the bottom of the cage ? My Grey is molting at the moment . Also a new home or change can cause stress which can bring on a molt . Molting can make a bird look pretty rough . Mary (BETTYBOOP) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisimmons Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 I introduced myself in the welcome room last week. Sammie my Grey is about 2-3 yrs old they say. I adopted her on saturday.. I would never put vaseline on her feathers!! that sounds horrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Kim, those questions in my last post in this thread were directed to Nelson as he posted right before me and he has a similar problem and it was his first post. Just wanted to clarify that for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyboop Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Kim I think the introduce yourself was to the person who goes by Nelson Mandela asking questions about their bird plucking . My Question to you was have you ever seen Sammy pull out a feather or are they just in the bottom of the cage ? Greys loose feathers without pulling . Do the ends of the feathers look chewed or smooth , the part that grows out of the bird ? Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisimmons Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 wow, i missed page two.. sorry.. I was like.. i dont know what she's talking about... vaseline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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