To Grey Owners

[Honkers36]

TO ALL,
I HAVE A PERPELXING TALE TO TELL. AS YOU SEE I AM OWNED BY A 3 1/2 YEAR OLD AFRICAN GREY, MY BEAUTIFUL GIRL SCARLET. SHE DOES SEEM TO WANT TO REMOVE VERY CAREFULLY I MIGHT ADD ONLY HER TOP FEATHERS. I HAVE TAKEN HER TO HER AVIAN VET, RAN ALL OF THE TESTS AND FOUND NOT ONE THING WRONG. SHE DOES NOT HAVE ANY OF THE QURKS OF A USUAL FEATHER PLUCKING BIRD. STRESS, BORDOM, CHANGE IN HABIT ECT,....
I WONDER IF ANY OTHER GREY OWNERS HAVE SEEN THIS? THE ONLY THING I HAVE CHANGED IS TO GIVE HER SOME OF MY COCKATOO'S FOOD, MUCH TO THE HORROR OF MY VET, SHE IS A PELLET BELIEVER. HER FEATHERS ARE NOW RETURNING. COULD IT BE THE SEEDS.? I THINK THE CLIMATE MIGHT BE TO DRY IN NEVADA AND SHE NEEDS THE OIL. I JUST DON'T KNOW. I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY INSIGHT.

[DJFyrewolf36]

Mom, remember to turn the capslock off all caps is concidered shouting online.

[popcornbird]

I don't have a Grey, and my tiels don't pluck, so I really can't give much advice. The good thing is he's in perfect health, according to the vet, so you know its not a health issue. How often do you bathe him?

My friend's conure had the same problem, and when they took him to the vet, he got a clean bill of health. Apparently, he liked to feather pluck for fun. He was destroying his feathers, and enjoying it.

Eventully, they bought this product for him....

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...54&N=2003+2015

It has worked so well. He stopped plucking and has beautiful feathers again. Maybe you could give it a try. They also bought him this.... http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...34&N=2003+2015 , to shred instead of his feathers. Both things seem to be working well.

[DJFyrewolf36]

Had to thank you for the advice PCB! Ive seen Scarlets plucking problem first hand. Unfortuneatly the bitter biter stuff just makes her itch but the shreaders might help! Her plucking IS getting better as of late, she seems to have lost interest in plucking.

[CathyBogart]

Some birds just do...even if they're not bored or stressed out. Hopefully she doesn't start up again. What kind of Grey is she?

[My Peanuts]

My boyfriend has had an African Grey for the past 13 or 14 years. We have been dating for over 9 years, so I've been around him a lot. I also take him to his avian vet appointments. Murphy, the Grey, is very temperamental. Any little change in his daily routine can start him feather plucking. Move a couch, or change the curtains and he gets stressed. In my opinion, it would be really hard to find exactly what upset Scarlet. I wouldn't worry too much, especially since the vet found no physical problems causing the picking and because her feathers are growing back.

Make sure she isn't on an all seed diet. Greys LOVE pizza, but don't give that to her too much. Scarlet can and should be eating a lot of veggies and fruit, but she doesn't need to be limited to those foods. Anything aside from avocados, alcohol, and chocolate is ok for her. Watch her salt and fat intake and take the pits out of fruits that have them. Also make sure Scarlet is getting plenty of calcium, especially because she is a female. You might know all that already (I noticed your profile with 21 birds ), but diet can be a main problem for birds. Hope that helps or at least makes you worry a little less

[Honkers36]

thanks alot for all the advice. Scarlet is Congo African Grey. I feed her Roudy Bush pellets for nesting birds because she needs more calcuim. I had her on that the whols time. When I started introducing part seeds in her diet the plucking stopped. Go figure.


here are some other pix of her:

[My Peanuts]

She's beautiful

[popcornbird]

Oh she's so beautiful!!! I have ALWAYS wanted an African Grey.

What other birds do you have? Can't wait to see pics of all of them!