maya4
Baby Bird
Joined: September 2005
Posts: 11
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Post by maya4 on Nov 4, 2005 20:21:11 GMT -7
Will someone please help me. My CAG, Billy is 6 months old this week and I'm not sure if he is starting to feather pluck. Last week, as I was working and he was in the same room preening, I notice that he had a feather in his mouth. I didn't think too much about it until I began to notice that there was yet another feather on the bottom of his cage. He seems to pull one feather every other day. These feathers are the short ones from his wings that cover his back. I don't see any fuzzy feathers that I have seen on other birds that pluck. I also noticed that he is breaking off his tail feathers. Someone told me that this is common when the weather changes and the household heat is turned on. I have done everything to ensure that he is happy. What am I doing wrong?
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Post by Jane on Nov 5, 2005 2:50:56 GMT -7
Regarding the tail feathers this is not uncommon with young Greys. See: vdnent.proboards41.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=GreyBehave&thread=1115410158&page=1 Regarding the other feathers are you sure he is actually pulling them out, it might be that he is starting a molt. If you do see him with a feather in his beak don't react to it at all because that can encourage them to pull more out. Spray him regularly and keep the humidity up if the heating is on. Jane
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maya4
Baby Bird
Joined: September 2005
Posts: 11
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Post by maya4 on Nov 5, 2005 9:44:47 GMT -7
Thanks, I'll try that. As for actually seeing him pull the feather out, I haven't. However, when I looked at the feathers today, I noticed that they looked chewed on the ends. Is it possible that he may be preening too hard. He appears to be happy and relaxed. What about mites? I am sorry about so many questions, but Billy is my very first parrot and I only want him to be happy.
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Post by Jane on Nov 5, 2005 10:06:05 GMT -7
It isn't likely to be mites in a pet Grey. Over preening can sometimes result in feather chewing and plucking. Try to get some toys he can shred or chew up to distract him - the pinata types are good.
Jane
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maya4
Baby Bird
Joined: September 2005
Posts: 11
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Post by maya4 on Nov 5, 2005 10:46:18 GMT -7
Thanks for all your help Jane!
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