Feathers

[jlandsiedel]

I have a CAG that is 6 months old. I was talking to my husband yesterday and we both pointed out to eachother that her tail doesn't look anything like any pictures you would see of a CAG. Don't get me wrong, its red =) but it doesn't look that great. Right now there is only 2 of the longer feathers (interesting, because right as I wrote this she picked one of those out) so 1 long feather. I'm not really sure why she is doing this. Could it be molting, is she irritated, or is that just how it is when they are really young. I know some birds dont even have all their feathers until they are a bit older. I bought this spray bath stuff at Petsmart, its supposed to help with feathers and irritation but I've only been using it for two days. Any advice?

[Luvparrots]

Do you have any pictures of your grey that you can post showing its tail so that our more experienced members can look to see what the problem, if any, there might be. Also a little more background on your grey's circumstances might be helpful, food, bathing, time out of its cage, and the like would be helpful.

[jlandsiedel]

[jlandsiedel]

<br><br>Post edited by: jlandsiedel, at: 2008/11/07 16:37

[jlandsiedel]

Sorry, but I was just learning how to post pictures =) Anyways, she's out during my kids nap time every day and we take her out when they go to bed. She seems distressed when we let her out when they are awake and around. She seems to rub her beak up against her perches a lot which is what the second picture is for. On other pictures I've looked at, it didn't look like those birds were doing the same thing. She has a seed mix she eats, and also something that looks like trix cereal that she really likes. I also have two water bowls in her cage. I've only given her a bath twice with this stuff I bought at Petsmart. I appreciate any opinions!

[Dave007]

Your bird is chewing it's feathers and the area won't look good until those feathers fall out and are replaced with new ones. lets hope that by the time the new feathers grow in evenly, he won't do it anymore. Many times, a feather or feathers won't fall out when it's time so the bird decides to pull at it but considering that your bird is extremely young it could also have a high strung personality which causes chewing or plucking. The item you got at Petsmart has chemicals in it and doesn't prevent chewing. There is no item that's sold that prevents that. A change in it's daily habits and routines helps that problem. You should start spraying that area with an item called Aloe Vera Juice. Use it full strength on that area and also on the bird's vent area.

You should try to have the kids around more often so she gets used to the idea that they're around. Many greys get nervous with kids. When a bird has a specific feather problem, you can't rely on a water bowl. She needs more wetting down and you're the only one that can do it. You should do it with the juice in a mister and it should be done everyday especially in that area.

The scratchiness on your bird's beak is normally what an adult grey's beak will eventually look like and it happens for the exact same reason as yours--rubbing against perches, or other rough surfaces. It's not a serious problem but you can take a little aloe get and put a very slight bit on the beak. The beak will turn black again but within a few hrs, the beakwill look like it does right now.

@ very good items you should always have in the house is

Aloe Vera Gel and Aloe Vera Juice. In the future they'll be used for many things and both items are inexpensive.

Diet--Now's the time to introduce all diffent types of very dark veggies which contain many more vitamins and nutrients that a bird needs. Straight seed and cereals don't have that.

 

PS--your photos were perfect.

[jlandsiedel]

What is the vent area? and I'll get those aloe vera items, but more specifically, which veggies should I introduce to her first? About being around the kids, her cage is in their playroom which is right next to the living room and kitchen. They aren't always in there, but the bird see's them a lot. She just doesn't like to be out of her cage around them. I guess I can't blame her my kids are 4, 2 and 7 months, they haven't learned boundaries yet so I really can't let her around them outside of her cage.

[seankly]

Is her wings clipped? Looks as though they are...normally the wing feathers reach right to the tip of the tail.

 

Im no expert but ive read a few posts on this forum and others, including some books etc and ive read that its not a good idea to clip wings before 2 years of age (and only then, if its something you really need to do).

 

Could this be one of the reasons for her chewing her feathers and nervousness towards your kids?

[Dave007]

The vent area is underneath the tail where the feathers of the tail are attached to the body. It's also the area that the bird craps out of. That areamay be irritated for many different reasons and the juice will soothe the area

 

Veggies

 

String beans

Carrots

Sweet potatoes

Leafy greens such as collards, kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, Swiss chard, beet greens and dandelion greens

Parsley

Sweet red, yellow and green peppers

Cauliflower

Broccoli (head and leaves)

Eggplant

Sugar snap or snow peas

Squash

Romaine or green/red leaf lettuce (small amounts)

Corn (kernels, or on the cob for larger birds.

NO AVOCADOS

 

Also start feeding different fruits

 

Your bird will not like all the types of veggies you offer so you just need to test them out to see what types the bird likes. The same thing applies to the fruits. Stay away from pomergranites. Too messy.

[cflanny]

Also I would suggest looking for things to keep his mind occupied, sounds like hes in the cage alot. These birds have the minds of a 3 -5 year old child. this little mind needs to stay active and blossom. This is very important I would look into foraging ideas there are many you can make for free and there are toys that are sold like puzzles to get treats. You can search thru the many topics here just type a word into the box above and lots of stuff will come up

 

Also mabey the playroom is too much can he see you from there?? Greys are really not a childs bird but they do like activity but I would say if theres alot of yelling and playing mabey this is a stress factor for him. mabey a corner in the living area where he can observe the children but not be on the middle of them.

 

just some ideas that came to my mind mabey they can help ) Please read thru as many post on this forum as possible Good luck

[cflanny]

One great free idea is a empty tissue or shoe box filled with pieces of newspaper you put treats in there and they will dig dig to find them. I place one on the bottom of ZZeros cage and he loves it.

[jlandsiedel]

We don't have a huge house, and the living area and play area and very close to eachother. I have some toys that challenge her like that, and I've finally found a fruit she likes (apples) so I'll give her the toy, and try the shoe box idea. I'll let you know how things go. Has anyone else heard that you should wait until 2 to get her wings clipped. We were just thinking about getting that done, she had it done before we got her so this would be the first time we took her . . .

[seankly]

I read this somewhere, either online or in a book, that their mental stability is affected when their ability to fly is denied. Behavioural problems can become more apparent (ie. plucking feathers)

 

Birds who can fly become more confident and outgoing in the later years whereas the opposite can happen when a young birds wings are clipped.

 

Most peaople have a valid reason for clipping a birds wings and safety for the bird is paramount.

 

Heres a clip form a post on this forum that kind of sums what im saying up :

 

"Finally, over time breeders have found that allowing Greys to learn how to fly is critical to their development. Greys who learn how to fly, also called fledging, tend to be better balanced pets in the long-run. Therefore, this is one question I would recommend asking any breeder prior to selecting one � to see if they believe in fledging their birds or not. And, if you happen to get a bird that never has fledged, and you wish to keep it clipped, if you can bear through allowing your bird to learn to fly first it would be very beneficial to her confidence and mental health."

 

Heres the link to the original post : [/url]http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/25408-the-african-grey-to-clip-or-not-to-clip.html [/url]

[jlandsiedel]

So, I will wait to get her wings clipped until she is at least 2, if even then if its working out that way. However, I was looking at another website on which way to clip their wings and I was wondering if anyone would agree if this is a better way to clip their wings. . .

 

"The wing clip that I advocate leaves the primaries about a half inch longer than those covert feathers that lay directly over the primaries. Another way to explain it is that the flight feathers are clipped no shorter than the length of the longest coverts, those that lay closer to the body. If a Grey clipped this way spreads its wings, it looks similar to a "stealth fighter plane" with its wings having a triangular shape.

 

Greys clipped in this manner can actually fly, although no higher than a foot or two off the ground. I've seen my own Timneh hen, Jing, navigate corners to cruise into another room and land gracefully on the floor or a low perch. I never worry about her injuring herself and she has plenty of confidence that she can land in a perching position, much the same as if she were flying to a tree limb. What she cannot do, however, is fly above a couple of feet off the ground, or fly very far."