Frustrated with chewing!

[Printer bird]

No questions, just upset. I was with my GCC who is a chewer (of feathers and everything else of course!) all morning and stepped out for an hour to run errands. When I returned he had chewed a whole bunch of his down feathers and clipped off a few of his colored ones too No questions, just sad a frustrated that we can't seem to get a handle on this. He'll do great for a few days/weeks and then get right back to it no matter what. I'm sure other people dealing with this can relate, just wanted to share with people who understand.

He is, however, now munching away at the food in his cage and saying "good boy!" to himself. Such a cute, fun guy to have such a serious problem!

 

[critterman]

You might wanna make a Vet appt to see if their is anything going on with the bird to make it do that. It could be a medical health issue or maybe it just misses you when you are gone. Good luck anyway but rule out the medical health issues first please. Good luck!

 

[Printer bird]

Hi thanks, Critterman. Charlie has been to the vet twice already about his feather chewing. The vet thinks that either this has developed out of a hormonal chewing issue. He is very attached to us and possibly uses it to deal with anxiety from separation as it is worse at night and during the day when we're gone (despite a ton of toys/food/chewing options in the cage) and the vet thinks he's high strung for a GCC. Seems healthy, has had a blood test and fecal test as well as visual examinations etc. So, probably psychological at this point!

 

[Molcan2]

I defiantly know first hand how difficult it is to have a shredder, in the begging it really bothered me. I've finally come to the conclusion that this is the way it will always be. Except his chewing behavior and realize that there really isn't anything you can do to fix it. Provide the best environment possible for him and ignore the fact that he even has feathers. The chewing isn't anything that is your fault, never take it personal its nothing YOU have done. This is, for whatever reason, his habit/coping mechanism. I've decided that if Princess wants to be bald, then so be it - she can be bald (which shes not she just shreds her chest so instead of feathers its all down fluff). Excepting that this is something that you cant change will help you to not feel upset by it. This is something that is apart of your bird - for better or worse. Really try to not care that the behavior is going on, birds are so intelligent and intuitive that he will be able to sense that there is something going on and if your upset it may encourage him to do it more. I've referenced this before but look at it as if your living with an addict - its beyond your control, its a lifelong disease, and you will always have relapses. Love your bird for who he is and forget about the feathers.

 

[suebee]

nuts a chewer, and its near heart breaking, she even sometimes does it when she is perched next to me, i hear a distinct snip :52: and see a few coloured feather ends drop down

i've stopped trying to find out why, as its to random why she does it, her feathers have grown back, i never realised how bad it was till i looked back on pictures of when we 1st got her

even though all her feathers are back, she is still my moth eaten, little nut bird

but on the bright side, even though she is chewing its not at an alarming rate

 

[Printer bird]

Thanks Suebee and Molcan2! We are starting to accept that this is just what he likes to do and are giving him all the love an attention that we can otherwise. We love him all the same, he is very funny and personable and is super cuddly and cute as many conures are. When he walks over my arm and then just kind of tips sideways into my hand to be snuggly or exclaims "good!" in his little growly voice when he gets an almond, he is just such a joy to have around. He charms the pants off of everyone he meets, even non-bird people! I wouldn't trade him for the world and are trying to be less upset about it as we can (good advice that we could be passing our anxiety onto him). Poor little guy has had quite the life in the last year! Its nice to hear from others who have similar situations and know that we are not alone in this. I will post some pics of him when I get home tonight, even if he is moth eaten as Suebee says, he's still a real cutie!

ps Suebee, your little nut is so cute!

 

[suebee]

ps Suebee, your little nut is so cute, thank you i think so too :10:

with all honesty, i think if nut was feather perfect, i might not have taken her on. because when i 1st saw her, she was so small and battered lookin, completely different to how she is now, bossy, strong willed and will punish with a rather hard bite if she thinks you deserve it:11:

 

[merlinsmom13]

nuts a chewer, and its near heart breaking, she even sometimes does it when she is perched next to me, i hear a distinct snip :52: and see a few coloured feather ends drop down

i've stopped trying to find out why, as its to random why she does it, her feathers have grown back, i never realised how bad it was till i looked back on pictures of when we 1st got her

even though all her feathers are back, she is still my moth eaten, little nut bird

but on the bright side, even though she is chewing its not at an alarming rate

What a difference, I had no idea. I would have felt terrible for her too. Its heartbreaking when they chew, Merlin was doing it for awhile. Something was scaring him, Printer Bird are you sure he's not afraid of something?

 

[Kawaii]

I had a love bird that used to chew his feathers all of the time (almost obsessively), though he wasn't maliciously plucking them. We thought it must have been hormonal since his environment was always clean and he didn't have mites or lice. We tried everything, even growing our own vegetables to see if it would help him. I felt so bad for him all of the time, but I felt like I was failing my baby. My dad used to work in a pet shop as a kid, and he gave me the best advice! I found that an hour and a half to an hour of sunlight helped incredibly with his chewing, occasional behavioral issues, and his desire for affection and to be affectionate! Of course, lovebirds are smaller then Conures, so I'm not quite sure as to how long you should leave your bird in the sun. Plus, this may not even be the case with your bird, but I know the sun worked wonders for me… amazingly that was the last thing I thought of. Natural sunlight.

If you'd like, you can read a little about the sun's magic here! or The simplified version of all that test Here!

But what if you can't bring your bird or it's cage outside to let him bathe in the sun, and what if it's not sunny?
There are new Full Spectrum Lights for birds. Though I've never tried one, it's supposed to use both UVA and UVB rays, which supplies a healthy amount of Vitamin D for your bird—just like the sun! I've never used a Full Spectrum light, so I can't say if it works or not, but I know I'm going to look into one for my next bird!
This post really struck my interest since I dealt with the same thing, and I hope everything works out in the end!
-Leia

 

[Printer bird]

Thanks Leia! He comes outside with us sometimes but we do live in Canada and don't have too many months of sun. I've tried a natural light next to his cage but am considering a bird lamp. We're not sure that's the issue, though, as he seems to do better with the chewing when he's at my parents house even though there's not necessarily more sunshine there. The vet thought that might be the case (or at least predicted it) because she feels there's some sort of anxiety connected to attachment/affection with us that is the cause. Too much love, how awful! There is not too much difference at my parents other than they don't take him out as much and they don't cuddle with him. Otherwise same diet, similar schedule for Charlie, same cage as we bring his palace over there. Although I would say we are gone more often then they are - however he still chews on days when I'm home the whole day or weekend.

I really appreciate your note, maybe regardless if the sunshine/vit D is not the cause, it can maybe help him at this stage. Its nice to hear about other people who have dealt with this, its always good to know you're not alone, especially with a breed that isn't necessarily known for plucking/chewing. He's still a charmer of a guy, he's currently running around the couch trying to get on one of our shoulders (he's not allowed) and generally being cute even if he sometimes sneaks in a feather chew.