sabiansdrum Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Hello fellow grey owners! I have a 3 y/o congo, named Sabian, that is having some issues, she started to chew some feathers off a few months ago, not pulling out but chewing and breaking them (like her breast feathers,some wing ones and her tail). Well her tail feathers were just stubs at one point, but she has since removed the stubs and new ones are coming out, they are still in the sheath, so little red stick nubs just about 1/2 to 3/4 out now. But here's the problem, shes chewing the ends of them, and now they are bleeding! I noticed a drop in her cage the other day but didn't see the source. Well after having her out today I saw about 5 drops across the floor from when i was walking with her on my sholder.. This is freaking me out, what should I do about this?! any help asap is much appreciated, I don't even want to leave her in the room without me there for her to bleed to death or something! Post edited by: sabiansdrum, at: 2009/04/09 02:20<br><br>Post edited by: sabiansdrum, at: 2009/04/09 02:22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azzie Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Sabian I know you can try to stop the bleeding with some corn starch or flour. The real issue is why she is chewing her feathers, but I'll leave that to the experts here on the forum to comment on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabiansdrum Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 Well it's not at this moment, the tips where it did bleed from seemed to have stopped, it was just those drops. But who knows if she were to reopen it? I mean if these feathers need to be yanked,Ide rather know to have that done then come home from work not have her around anymore ya know.. I know the breeder I got her from I still have her #, I'de rather have an expert do that i just don't know what to do at this point.<br><br>Post edited by: sabiansdrum, at: 2009/04/09 02:38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Kyle, has something happened in the household that may have triggered this behavior? It may not seem like anything has but it does not take much for it to seem like a big deal to a grey? Does she get bathed regularly? We need some more information before we can be of some help. We do have a few members here who know a lot more than I do about this subject, maybe they will chime in with some ideas and suggestions for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I know right now your more concernd abou the bleeding as your afraid she is going to start bleeding and no one will be there to stop it if you are really concerned and do feel there is a chance that this could happen I would phone your vet and just ask what he sujests If he thinks those feathers should be pulled then it would be better for you to take her in and get them pulled by the vet it could cause her allot more trama and stress to have it done by your breeder or yourself you could lose what ever trust she has in you its better to let the proffetionals handle this type of situation thin to lose you best friend forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabiansdrum Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 Hey thanks for the replies! About anything changing, not really that I can think of...BUT I've been pretty busy the past year, where I can only get her out for an hour or two a day. I at least get her out even if I can't play with her much. I work extra full time and go full time at the university, go Huskers! (second degree woo!) But she has her own chair she sits on while I work away at homework, but it's within 5 feet from me and seems pretty content I'm terrible...I don't bathe her as much as I should, I feel bad doing it when it's been so cold out and it's not as warm as I would like it in the house... is winter over yet?! But she always seems content whistling away, if not yelling at the dog for us when she whines to go outside haha. But I did call the breeder, she has hundreds of birds and really knows her stuff. She suggested the corn starch and to make an appointment with a vet she gave me that is good. Said she might have a calcium def, or maybe even something bacterial so to find the culprit of this asap. I also need to get a full spectrum light on her too, I don't think she gets enough direct sunlight for D. I hope I don't sound like a bad owner I really love my birdie! But that's exactly right, I'm worried she will bleed to death while I'm at work, I don't even think I will go to work until this is taken care of, seriously..<br><br>Post edited by: sabiansdrum, at: 2009/04/09 05:57 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I guess the trip to the vet will make things clearer. Please keep us posted about sabian {Nature-00020095}{Nature-00020095} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyric Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Glad to hear you are taking her to an avian vet. They should be able to tell you whether or not the feathers need to be pulled. Do you give her new toys to distract her from plucking/chewing when you are not at home? If you are stressed, your bird can easily pick up on this and feel stress itself. Try to remain calm and do not show a reaction whenever she is chewing her feathers. She may take any kind of reaction as a form of attention and it may encourage her to pluck more. I'd also try to give her some more time-out of cage each day if at all possible. Spray with aloe vera juice until she is soaked- this will make the skin and new feathers less itchy and less irritated. You may need to do this every day or every other until the problem is better. Do it early in the day so she has time to dry before bedtime. I hope these ideas might help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 A friend of mine recommended feeding greys with cucumber from time to time...it helps cooloing them down... I just wanted to ask if you have enough tos around the cage to keep your grey busy during your absence rather than chewing on the feathers... {Nature-00020095}{Nature-00020095} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabiansdrum Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 update! Ok I took her to the vet and he checked her out, sail all looked good visually etc. But thought a calcium check would be good, so I agreed and opted to have a full blood analysis to cover all of that. so we'll see! I do have a full spectrum light on her now and have been keeping her busy. Lyric, yes I do usually give her different things to chew on, but it has been a while so with that said I think I'm going to go get her something today! Now, aloe vera juice? where/how do I get this? I mean I know what aloe vera is etc, but how does it come in a juice? I would like to do that.. thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I don't know what country you live in but here in the US you can get 1 gallon bottles of the aloe juice from Walmart or other pharmaqcies or health food stores--in Walmart it costs approx $9.00 per gallon. In other places, you may have to pay a little more. Walmart always has it in the section that sells items for stomach problems because humans drink it because of digestive problems. ith birds, it's only sprayed on the bird. You need to make sure that the skin is saturated. That's where the dryness begins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Having that blood workup was the smart thing to do and I hope it comes back that all is well. I don't know where you live but we get aloe vera juice at walmart here in the USA, it comes in a gallon container and can usually be found in the pharmacy department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Glad to hear Sabian's vet visit went well. Hope the bloodwork is A-okay. So glad you have joined the family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
she Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Glad you had the blood work done,it is the best way to tell your birds health status.Hope it all proves ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 Any news on Sabian's blood work? How did things turn out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabiansdrum Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Hey all! Sorry it took me so long to get on here! It's been nuts recently. Anyway her blood work came out good actually, but that her calcium was low, but not dangerously low. She's been doing good lately, getting in some stubbs on her tail, she occasionally nips at them but it's nothing like she used to do so one day at a time I guess. I'm keeping her busy and now that it's nice she loves to go outside. And I got more toys for her, some she seems to like and really chew on. Thanks for checking up on her and stuff you guys are awesome on here! thanks again, much appreciated! <br><br>Post edited by: sabiansdrum, at: 2009/05/13 04:08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thanks so much for updating us on Sabian, glad to hear she is doing good and maybe with a little time she will have her tail back again. I think you found that if you can keep her busy and occupied it will help to keep her focus off her feathers. Don't stay away so long and come back and keep us posted on how she is doing, ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 So happy Sabian is doing better. Thanks for the update. Don't stay away so long, the family misses you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Glad that Sabian is doing better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Glad that Sabian is doing better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thats great that her tail is coming i and she likes her new toys now that she's getting some natural sun that should help bring her calcium up to par. good news all around that is so nice to hear come back soon and keep us up to date Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
she Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 That is good news.I was wondering how things went.Sabian sounds a lot better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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