Plucking behaviour african grey

[bjorn.k]

Hey all,

I joined this forum today because of the issues my African grey Eevee currently has. if you have any helpfull comments or any tip or even tricks i would love to hear them.



Chronological time order:

Parrot started plucking 3 weeks ago, and ofcourse i went to the vet the check if nothing was wrong with here medically speaking. At the vet they told me that they have the idea that Eevee was hand fed and raised which is now forbidden in The Netherlands. Everything was checked and a medical reason was ruled out by them. furthermore Eevee just turned 3 years old and they told me that this is a comen phenomenon with african grey when they are hand vet

And so came the questions from the vet in regards to routine. So to completely inform you all i shall write that down aswell.

My parrot goes to bed at 9 Pm every evening and wakes up at 7 Am every day. From 7 Am till 8 she can do whatever she wants outside of the cage. At 8 Am i go to work till 4 Pm. When i am back at 4 i take here out of here cage and she is out of here cage till bed time at 9 Pm. All here toys within here cage are swapped weekly and the food that i give is Harrisons. Ofcourse every now and then a treat inbetween.

I noticed in the last week that she only plucks when she is going into here cage when its bedtime. And she does this within her sleeping cage and also in her normally cage.

I already tried alot hopefully some of you have some helpfull information

 

[Rival_of_the_Rickeybird]

Plucking is a mysterious and inconsistent visitor to our birds Whatever you find out (I'm no expert) please know we sympathize and empathize and care.

 

[GaleriaGila]

As you can see in this concurrent thread plucking is truly the great equalizer, cruel and mysterious.

Finding Peace with My Feather-Barbering Macaw: Seeking Support and Acceptance

My 2-year-old female Green Wing Macaw began barbering her feathers about 7 months ago. This post isn't about seeking advice on how to stop it—trust me, I've been pulling my own hair out trying to figure that out. Instead, I'm asking for guidance on how to come to terms with this behavior and...

www.parrotforums.com

I made a heart-felt reply there that applies to you, too, I think.
YOU ARE DOING SO MANY THNGS RIGHT! My only idea for you might be to try to let your bird have a natural light schedule, up at dawn, down at dusk... that gives a "natural" light. schedule for feathers, mating urges, etc. But hey, my bird has always had that and he started to puck with a new drug!
Please know we are all with you. I recommend a lot of talk and listening, and use of the excellent search engine.
Stay with us.

 

[bjorn.k]

You are both completely right! i will tryto slowly incorporate the light shedule maybe it works

 

[kingkrab29]

Hi- I would vary her food incorporating some fruits, veggies- no avocados, no chocolate. They like apples, cherries, blueberries, grapes, pomegranates, edamame, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, pasta without sauces. When you go out, do you leave a radio on? They like to hear something otherwise, they construe silence or quiet as danger.
Try spritzing her at least 1x a week. They love showers. Maybe she has dry skin.
It could be she misses you. Birds are social beings and love being around others. For them to be alone is difficult. Hope this helps her

 

[bjorn.k]

Hi- I would vary her food incorporating some fruits, veggies- no avocados, no chocolate. They like apples, cherries, blueberries, grapes, pomegranates, edamame, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, pasta without sauces. When you go out, do you leave a radio on? They like to hear something otherwise, they construe silence or quiet as danger.
Try spritzing her at least 1x a week. They love showers. Maybe she has dry skin.
It could be she misses you. Birds are social beings and love being around others. For them to be alone is difficult. Hope this helps her

Hey, first of all thank you for your reply.

Thanks for all your remarks and considerations! i always keep an radio on when i shower she always joins. i did not change much in the last few motnhs but she is growing back some feathers.

it is getting there but i shall have to be patient.

 

[kingkrab29]

Hey, first of all thank you for your reply.

Thanks for all your remarks and considerations! i always keep an radio on when i shower she always joins. i did not change much in the last few motnhs but she is growing back some feathers.

it is getting there but i shall have to be patient.

Hey Bjorn- it's a process of elimination what the underlying cause may be. Sometimes, it's hormonal, dietary, behavioral or underlying disease process for example. If she's growing a few feathers back then it may improve.

 

[bjorn.k]

Hey Bjorn- it's a process of elimination what the underlying cause may be. Sometimes, it's hormonal, dietary, behavioral or underlying disease process for example. If she's growing a few feathers back then it may improve.

True, in the whole time span i only changed one thing hopefully that is it. i now have an african grey who is big and fluffy

 

[kme3388]

I’m sorry you have a parrot who is feather plucking. It’s a very perplexing issue. I know my parrots vet recommended spray baths, changing out toys/perches in the cage, diet, and such to try to help with this.

 

[bjorn.k]

I’m sorry you have a parrot who is feather plucking. It’s a very perplexing issue. I know my parrots vet recommended spray baths, changing out toys/perches in the cage, diet, and such to try to help with this.

it is getting better currently as i wrote above:

True, in the whole time span i only changed one thing hopefully that is it. i now have an african grey who is big and fluffy

nevertheless all tips are welcome

 

[texsize]

Bella my CAG is a plucker also.

I wish there was some secret fix but if so I haven’t found it.

Bella was a rescue and came to me/us as a plucker.

I have seen (on YouTube) numerous African grey’s that are extremely well cared for and yet develop plucking issues.

Bella goes through periods of time where she will pluck.
Sometimes in her cage at night.
In the am when I change out food/water I will find a small bunch of feathers in one bowl or another.
Sometimes I will see her…… aggressively grooming is what I call it. Almost like she is angry at them.
When this happens I do my best to give her a mist bath.
She doesn’t like taking a bath unless it’s her idea so this doesn’t always amount to much.

 

[kme3388]

it is getting better currently as i wrote above:

True, in the whole time span i only changed one thing hopefully that is it. i now have an african grey who is big and fluffy

nevertheless all tips are welcome

I’m very happy to hear that things are improving. I adopted my parrot, and from my understanding he’d been feather plucking for years. It probably started out as a skin infection or something that went on. From what I’ve gathered once feather plucking becomes habitual it’s close to impossible to address. I’m glad you were able to address it right away.

 

[bjorn.k]

Hey,

Thanks everyone for responding! I shall keep it in check. And if Eevee improves any further i shall write a complete story about what happend and how i hopefully (solved) it. I keep you all in the loop and hopefully someone else can use this as a guidance

 

[RCC8]

I wrote this is another thread but check out feathergrow.com. They are onto something since it worked with my parrot. Mixture of pro-biotics, dha, and bird feed

 

[kme3388]

I am unfamiliar with some of these ingredients. Are they all safe for parrots?

 

[RCC8]

many of the same ingredients in baby bird feed. But also has probiotics and dha.

 

[RCC8]

I did send a message beforehand and got a response that said they had tested on over 40 birds with no side effects.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

Is this added to their drinking water, or given as a dose?

 

[RCC8]

Dose. I mixed 2 g with some warm water daily and used a syringe.

 

[bjorn.k]

Dear all,

As we all agree feather plucking is sadly a not well understood phenomena. As I said within the previous post I would keep people updated on the progress in relation to my African grey.

It all started in September 2024 and since than I made some changes towards the routine of the parrot (eevee). Eevee always slept within a different cage during the night and I found out that for some reason she suddenly preferred sleeping within her main cage. This change drastically reduced the amount of feather plucking but did not completely removed it.

The plucking decreased extensively and the furry coat underneath the feathers came back. Although still feathers we plucked but extensively less.

I also checked all the toys that she has and noticed that in the months before September she obviously destroyed some puzzle (with the rewards being tasty snacks ofcoure). I replaced these toys with new ones and this change has a positive affect.

Within the last 3 weeks she hasn’t plucked at all and is leaving her feathers alone and started to prune them as she should. See pictures!

Hopefully this helps some other people in need. Feel free to ask questions if you want to know something in particular.

PS the feathergrow stuff I did not try it because at that time it wasn’t available to be send to the Netherlands.