Feather chewing and cage size

[Hopefulworld]

Hi!

My GCC, Charlie, has been chewing his feathers.. we tried to spend more time with him to the point he spends half the day out of his cage, he has plenty of toys and everything, but the feathers on his back are chewed, some of his flight feathers have also been chewed, and I believe his flight feathers also have stress bars.

Any advice to help?

Also, we are looking at getting him a bigger cage so he has plenty of room to move around and so we can add more toys and things. I'm not quite sure however what cage to get; I was told wider is better than taller, but all the cages I find are tall and not wide.. when people mean wider to do they mean wide like a turtle tank? Or just mean to make sure there is room width-wise?

Thank you in advance for any and all help!

For pictures of Charlie (feather issue) please click these links:

Back feathers:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DPPXsSXYZoFCKRcUrpCr9klHjIL-3QvW/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MtaPAxVu4JqUhkWMm0vQ5oElHNISptDH/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZgwlisTKx0zWDXXyOFPzxSyqh0GLUiIw/view?usp=sharing
Flight feathers ~ Left wing:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GY6c2767QmKTC3Cm_Utf6-ICCFEpdmcY/view?usp=sharing
Flight feathers ~ Right wing:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1btggz2xZeirZUw5NP4lB2aPr_--DlTAX/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a92unBC8p_2DT0Xd_HYnf3rTQKDIBAjB/view?usp=sharing
Flight feathers ~ Black bars
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11DUU1a8a-_J8AWk52D1ha9tiivVAeI8K/view?usp=sharing
Cage:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ll54VQauc_B_nssA4BlGNSA6SVIKLeBM/view?usp=sharing

 

[noodles123]

Some people get fairly thin, but tall cages. You want something that is wide (but it's okay/ should still be tall). It is just that a narrow tall cage is pointless.

this is a tall, skinny cage (wasted space and smaller than it looks because the space that is there is all vertical). Do not get something like this:

The following cage shows a better width: *Hate this picture's Photoshopping-- never house all of those birds in a cage like this, as they are different species and there isn't enough room for all of them either*

Make sure the bar-spacing on larger cages is appropriate for your conure, as many can be too wide (you want to look at wire gauging as well, as some can be too thin).

 

[noodles123]

In terms of the behavior, do you have him on a routine with a solid 10 hours sleep nightly in a dark and quiet place? This is extremely important for immune health, hormones and mood. I want to say this again-- 10 HOURS EACH NIGHT on a rough schedule (waking up and going to bed within the same hour or so)--- so many people do not do this or keep their bird in a noisy room where people are up late and it really has serious impacts on them. If you are doing this, consider a sleep cage for nights.



Do you pet him anywhere other than the head or neck? If so, stop. Sexually stimulating parrots can lead to plucking due to anxiety/frustration. Do not allow him to hang out in shadowy spaces when he isn't sleeping. I also am opposed to huts/tents in the cages (as these can make many birds very hormonal, but also because they can be deadly for other reasons).


How much time out of the cage does he get daily?


I know you say he has a lot of toys, but does he play with them? If he isn't using them, they really don't count. You do have to teach them to play.


When you do things around the house, do you use phrases to help him predict routine or anticipate what is going to happen next? Whenever I go to work, I say the same dang thing each time and initially, I even used visual indicators (name badge) in conjunction with the phrase. If I will be con under 3 hours, I say "going to the store" each time. If I will be gone longer, I say, "going to work". Whenever I drop something and it makes a scary sound, I say (embarassingly) "BOOMY!" (which is actually helpful). Think about this--- they are in a cage and have no clocks or phone/youtube to entertain themselves...they just sit there wondering unless you establish a routine and phrases to go with it.


Have you taken your bird to a certified avian vet? Feather mutilation can be a sign of internal illness or pain. Make sure it is an avian vet--- exotics vets can be better than nothing, but they don't hold a candle and often know too little about birds (even if they see them often).


Diet can also lead to feather issues--- what is he eating each day and does he get human foods (if so, which ones?)

 

[Hopefulworld]

In terms of the behavior, do you have him on a routine with a solid 10 hours sleep nightly in a dark and quiet place? This is extremely important for immune health, hormones and mood. I want to say this again-- 10 HOURS EACH NIGHT on a rough schedule (waking up and going to bed within the same hour or so)--- so many people do not do this or keep their bird in a noisy room where people are up late and it really has serious impacts on them. If you are doing this, consider a sleep cage for nights.



Do you pet him anywhere other than the head or neck? If so, stop. Sexually stimulating parrots can lead to plucking due to anxiety/frustration. Do not allow him to hang out in shadowy spaces when he isn't sleeping. I also am opposed to huts/tents in the cages (as these can make many birds very hormonal, but also because they can be deadly for other reasons).


How much time out of the cage does he get daily?


I know you say he has a lot of toys, but does he play with them? If he isn't using them, they really don't count. You do have to teach them to play.


When you do things around the house, do you use phrases to help him predict routine or anticipate what is going to happen next? Whenever I go to work, I say the same dang thing each time and initially, I even used visual indicators (name badge) in conjunction with the phrase. If I will be con under 3 hours, I say "going to the store" each time. If I will be gone longer, I say, "going to work". Whenever I drop something and it makes a scary sound, I say (embarassingly) "BOOMY!" (which is actually helpful). Think about this--- they are in a cage and have no clocks or phone/youtube to entertain themselves...they just sit there wondering unless you establish a routine and phrases to go with it.


Have you taken your bird to a certified avian vet? Feather mutilation can be a sign of internal illness or pain. Make sure it is an avian vet--- exotics vets can be better than nothing, but they don't hold a candle and often know too little about birds (even if they see them often).


Diet can also lead to feather issues--- what is he eating each day and does he get human foods (if so, which ones?)

He is in the kitchen and gets 10-12 hours of sleep at night. The kitchen is rarely frequented after 9 pm; he is put to bed between 8-9 pm and woken up at about 8 am.

His diet consists mainly of pellets and has been approved by an avian vet back on his first check-up. He hasn't been able to go since due to COVID-19, however.

He spends about 8 hours out of his cage a day recently due to COVID, and he loves to chew toys as well as straws, cans, cardboard, and anything he can destroy or throw. We are constantly replacing toys.

We originally did pet his back but stopped after his first check-up once we were informed to stop. He doesn't use his hut, he sleeps by propping himself behind it and never goes in it. He is OBSESSED with the dryer and washer but is kept away from them.

He is usually kept in the loop of what is going on; "I gotta go to work/school, see you when I'm back!" "One minute Charlie I'm doing the dishes!" "Charlie, Dance!" And anything else we do is usually accompanied by a phrase.

I'm honestly uncomfortable bringing him to the vet when we have to wait outside... it's like bringing a child to the doctor and waiting in the parking lot. But if need be, we definitely will.

 

[Hopefulworld]

Would cages like these be okay?

https://www.wayfair.ca/pet/pdp/archie-oscar-eli-deluxe-parrot-bird-cage-with-play-top-aosc1538.html

https://www.wayfair.ca/pet/pdp/archie-oscar-cleveland-large-dome-top-bird-cage-aosc1352.html?piid=30980203

 

[Laurasea]

Those cages are very nice. But you should be able to find a nice large cage cheaper.

I really like the square flat top cages. As you can add so much of the long rope perches and other stuff on top.

His feathers won't look better till he molts them out and replaces with new ones.

Feathers are protein , sometimes they will chew feathers if diet it to low in protein. You could offer a spoonful of scrambled eggs or boiled eggs twice a week.

Its always a good idea to get a vet check, to rule out and medical issues.

If I haven't in your other threads I will share my stress article.

And if I haven't shared that weight checks are a good practice. Digital kitchen scale works great.

Are there other pets in the house that could be stressing him? What part of the home us the cage located? It could thst being in a cironer with walls on 2 sjdes makes him feel trapped? And what food does he eat? What do use to clean the cage? It could be thst us irritating him? I use dawn dish soap and seperate dilute vinegar in water to clean.

I would offer veggies, leafy greens, and fruit like strawberries, blackberry, pomegranate, mango, cheeks ( pit removed,) once or twice a week. Use safflower seeds or pumpkin seeds for training.
Its possible he is sensitive to tge color additives in some pellets. If you are feeding zooprem, I have seen issues, both here and in my own birds that came only eating zooprem pellets and nothing else. I still feed zooprem as one of my pellets, but they get other pellets too, seeds, lots of veggies too. Both immediately improved when I changed their diet.

https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

 

[noodles123]

Would cages like these be okay?

https://www.wayfair.ca/pet/pdp/archie-oscar-eli-deluxe-parrot-bird-cage-with-play-top-aosc1538.html <----not a fan of this one

https://www.wayfair.ca/pet/pdp/arch...ome-top-bird-cage-aosc1352.html?piid=30980203 <-----this one is better

Those cages are way overpriced for their sizes. If you can spend that, you could find cages that are bigger for much less. Bar spacing should be around 5/8ths to 3/4ths (3/4ths is on the larger size though).

That bottom cage is fine.


I think something like this could work as well https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Pet-P...t+cage&qid=1619361036&sr=8-15#customerReviews although you would need to throw out all of those dowel perches and replace them with something like manzanita, dragonwood or something with more textural variation. I'm not sure if it would be too flimsy for your bird but reviews are decent

The first cage you posted (above) is problematic because all of the usable space is low to the ground and not where a bird would want to spend most of its time. That is an example of wasted height and it also is an awkward shape for covering etc.

 

[Hopefulworld]

Would cages like these be okay?

https://www.wayfair.ca/pet/pdp/archie-oscar-eli-deluxe-parrot-bird-cage-with-play-top-aosc1538.html <----not a fan of this one

https://www.wayfair.ca/pet/pdp/arch...ome-top-bird-cage-aosc1352.html?piid=30980203 <-----this one is better

Those cages are way overpriced for their sizes. If you can spend that, you could find cages that are bigger for much less. Bar spacing should be around 5/8ths to 3/4ths (3/4ths is on the larger size though).

That bottom cage is fine.


I think something like this could work as well https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Pet-P...t+cage&qid=1619361036&sr=8-15#customerReviews although you would need to throw out all of those dowel perches and replace them with something like manzanita, dragonwood or something with more textural variation. I'm not sure if it would be too flimsy for your bird but reviews are decent

The first cage you posted (above) is problematic because all of the usable space is low to the ground and not where a bird would want to spend most of its time. That is an example of wasted height and it also is an awkward shape for covering etc.

Charlie actually spends most of his time at the bottom of his cage, as he loves to chew the newspaper at the bottom, and he also enjoys tossing all of his food on the ground to go chase after them.

We plan on teaching him to 'scavenge' (So moving the food bowl around, and covering it in a thin piece of paper) as well, and he has those rope bars that are colorful and woven. We weren't going to buy them for those prices but were looking at ideas. A friend received the first cage as a gift, but can't use it so is gifting it to us. Would it still be okay or we really need to get something else? Is it acceptable to try it out, and if we find he isnt using the full cage than swapping to something better suited for him?

Thank you for the help

 

[noodles123]

Would cages like these be okay?

https://www.wayfair.ca/pet/pdp/archie-oscar-eli-deluxe-parrot-bird-cage-with-play-top-aosc1538.html <----not a fan of this one

https://www.wayfair.ca/pet/pdp/arch...ome-top-bird-cage-aosc1352.html?piid=30980203 <-----this one is better

Those cages are way overpriced for their sizes. If you can spend that, you could find cages that are bigger for much less. Bar spacing should be around 5/8ths to 3/4ths (3/4ths is on the larger size though).

That bottom cage is fine.


I think something like this could work as well https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Pet-P...t+cage&qid=1619361036&sr=8-15#customerReviews although you would need to throw out all of those dowel perches and replace them with something like manzanita, dragonwood or something with more textural variation. I'm not sure if it would be too flimsy for your bird but reviews are decent

The first cage you posted (above) is problematic because all of the usable space is low to the ground and not where a bird would want to spend most of its time. That is an example of wasted height and it also is an awkward shape for covering etc.

Charlie actually spends most of his time at the bottom of his cage, as he loves to chew the newspaper at the bottom, and he also enjoys tossing all of his food on the ground to go chase after them.

We plan on teaching him to 'scavenge' (So moving the food bowl around, and covering it in a thin piece of paper) as well, and he has those rope bars that are colorful and woven. We weren't going to buy them for those prices but were looking at ideas. A friend received the first cage as a gift, but can't use it so is gifting it to us. Would it still be okay or we really need to get something else? Is it acceptable to try it out, and if we find he isnt using the full cage than swapping to something better suited for him?

Thank you for the help

Some of that is okay, but you may not want to really encourage that, as it can be a hormonal/nesting behavior and it also makes it harder to tell when they are sick. Noodles will go down there to do nesting stuff, and certain species are ground-foragers, but be careful with floor-level shredding/toys in a bird with unexplained behavioral issues such as feather mutilation, cage aggression or screaming. Floor shredding has always been a major cue for me. I know it may seem benign, but shredding on the ground could def be related to the plucking you are seeing. If it were happening and you were not seeing behavioral issues, then perhaps you could brush it off, but I do strongly believe that it is correlated.
Also, if your friend's cage was ever housed in the same home as his/her current birds and especially if ever used (but seriously, even in the same house period) you must take some fairly rigorous cleaning precautions (not indoors with your parrot, as bleach residue and fumes harm them unless aired out, rinsed and sat in the sun to breakdown what is left after).


A sexually frustrated and hormonal bird will shred on cage bottom and often mutilate feathers. I really would remove all interest from his cage bottom while you are seeing this behavior of feather mutilation in conjunction with ground shredding...very nesty...all signs point to sexually frustrated. Again, playing around on the cage bottom van be okay for some species DEPENDING on accompanying behavior, but I think this further points to hormones as a large part of the feather issue. In such a case, it is not something you want him to be doing. A small cage can also contribute, as they lack the space needed to expel some of that anxious, sexual energy.