Holes in my Clothes

[Pajarita]

Thanks so much for starting your post with Made my day!!!! Thanks so much for sharing what your bird does. Now I know Happy is showing normal parrot behavior and that he is happy and loves me! Would it be a bad idea to wear baby overalls around my neck for him to preen instead of my shirt? How exactly do you teach a bird to not preen your shirt? Thanks so much for your time!

Lyn

My dear, I have 'worn' towels around my neck and tucked into the waist of my pants hanging down both in front and back of my legs, hats, hoodies and even strapped a corn broom to my back so the 'broomy' part was above my head (like an erect crest) so, to me, anything you can wear that will prevent a bird from doing something undesirable is perfectly good so, yes, by all means, go ahead and wear the baby overalls! It would actually be great if you could find something that he could 'work' on instead plucking his own feathers (have you tried what they call 'preening toys'?)

As to 'teaching' them not to do something... well, like I said, this is a perfectly natural behavior that has been taken to the extreme due to whatever problem the bird has. In Nando's case (the male jenday I was telling you about), I think it was the fact that he had been kept in his cage and not let out so, in his frustration and his desire to show his affection, he would try to 'preen' way too much so, although I did not want him to stop completely (he needed to be on me and to be able to show his affection), I also did not want him to continue with this obsessive behavior so all I did was let him get on me (he would fly to my shoulder as soon as I walked through the door and stayed there the entire time I was in the birdroom) and, when I felt that he had already chewed enough, I would give him the command and shrugging my shoulder suddenly, make him fly off. It took many months and was very gradual but, eventually, he stopped chewing my clothes the entire time he was on my shoulder and he also started flying off on his own (indicating he felt more 'secure' in my love). He is now fine and has a girlfriend of his own.

[lrhodes91]

Feather plucking can turn into a serious problem quickly, especially with a CAG, it is not something that I like to think about. One of the primary reasons that Grey's pluck is lack of adequate mental stimulation from their favored human. Most people just say boredom, but I worded this the way that I did because Grey's tend to be more obsessive about their humans than many of the other species of parrots. My Grey likes to play wrestle with me from time to time. This is not an activity that I initiate, she is the one to choose when she wants to do this and from the outside it looks like she is trying to kill my hand although she has never hurt me with it ever. So just in case that this may be part of what is happening, evaluate what you do with your Grey when the two of you are interacting together as well as the amount of time spent together. I am not thinking that this is the case here, based on your postings, but thought that I should mention it as well.
Other factors that seem to cause this type of behavior is itchy skin. I don't know how much your Grey bathes, mine is not the biggest fan of this but she gats a bath at least once a week. I use a 12 ounce spray bottle set to produce a heavy mist and let it fall like rain on her. I also use a water temperature that is just room temperature and I add 2 ounces of 100% organic, alcohol free aloe vera juice to the spray bottle. The aloe is good for them as it is an aid to digestion and it helps to soften the skin and reduce the itchies.
Food allergies can also cause a Grey to pluck, well, not just Greys, the most common ingredient in commercial feeds that birds seem to develop an allergy to seems to be soy products and for this reason I don't feed my birds anything containing soy or soy products.
Most other possible causes fall into the medical reasons realm and it takes a visit to the vet to rule them out.
thought that since this appears to be the early stages of this behavior that I would share what I have learned with you as it is best to find and eliminate the reason for this behavior as soon as you can.

Thanks so much, Wolf! You've given me alot to think about. Happy has been doing this for about a year now. Last spring and summer 2014, he plucked his long wing feathers. I cried when I saw this happen. I have decided part of the problem had to do with barn swallows nesting on my front porch. The little devils are back. I'm fighting them on a daily basis to not nest there this year. For the life of me I can't figure out why he plucks downy feathers when he is covered at night. It is improving so I must be improving my approach. I give Happy daily showers but I'm going to try your suggestion about adding aloe vera. I really appreciate all the time you have taken to inform me and give me advice. I'll have to keep you updated on Mr. Happy. We have a vet visit when he turns 3 next month. Can't wait to share what the vet says! Thanks so much again!!!

[lrhodes91]

Thanks so much for starting your post with Made my day!!!! Thanks so much for sharing what your bird does. Now I know Happy is showing normal parrot behavior and that he is happy and loves me! Would it be a bad idea to wear baby overalls around my neck for him to preen instead of my shirt? How exactly do you teach a bird to not preen your shirt? Thanks so much for your time!

Lyn

My dear, I have 'worn' towels around my neck and tucked into the waist of my pants hanging down both in front and back of my legs, hats, hoodies and even strapped a corn broom to my back so the 'broomy' part was above my head (like an erect crest) so, to me, anything you can wear that will prevent a bird from doing something undesirable is perfectly good so, yes, by all means, go ahead and wear the baby overalls! It would actually be great if you could find something that he could 'work' on instead plucking his own feathers (have you tried what they call 'preening toys'?)

You are a trip, Parjarita! I enjoy reading all of your posts! I tried the baby overalls today which he is very familiar with. He sat with me and even tried to shred them, but he doesn't really like them. He kept leaving and coming back. I guess he thought they would suddenly disappear. Finally I got a pinch. I guess i need to find some other material that Happy approves of. He has lots of toys to destroy. I even bake pine cones for him to chew and shred. Do you have a suggestion where I could find some good preening toys that he may like better? Thanks so much again!
Lyn

As to 'teaching' them well, like I said, this is a perfectly natural behavior that has been taken to the extreme due to whatever problem the bird has. In Nando's case (the male jenday I was telling you about), I think it was the fact that he had been kept in his cage and not let out so, in his frustration and his desire to show his affection, he would try to 'preen' way too much so, although I did not want him to stop completely (he needed to be on me and to be able to show his affection), I also did not want him to continue with this obsessive behavior so all I did was let him get on me (he would fly to my shoulder as soon as I walked through the door and stayed there the entire time I was in the birdroom) and, when I felt that he had already chewed enough, I would give him the command and shrugging my shoulder suddenly, make him fly off. It took many months and was very gradual but, eventually, he stopped chewing my clothes the entire time he was on my shoulder and he also started flying off on his own (indicating he felt more 'secure' in my love). He is now fine and has a girlfriend of his own.

[Wolf]

Why do you think that the barn swallows have anything to do with this? I am not saying that you are wrong, I am just trying to see this through your eyes.

[lrhodes91]

Why do you think that the barn swallows have anything to do with this? I am not saying that you are wrong, I am just trying to see this through your eyes.

Hi Wolf,
At the time I didn't realize what was happening. Now that I look back to a year ago, I remember everytime Happy was in the area near our front porch (he would be inside looking out) or near windows, he got nervous and the bad plucking happened. Since then, when I take him outside in his carrier, he looks to the sky from time to time and gets restless when he sees another bird flying. You probably are familiar with barn swalllows already, but in case you might not, those birds pretty well take over the outside of your house. At times I just knew one was going to fly into a window.. I'm sure Happy thought that all 50 birds were going to fly into his home and get him. After babies hatch, the numbers grow to 40 or 50 depending on how many nests there are. When babies are learning to fly, it is a long process. They don't immmediatedly leave.
It takes 2-3 weeks before they migrate south. I know they are beneficial birds, but they just created too much tormoil for Happy and mess for me. We had horrible mess (feces) on our porch everyday even after hosing it off. I'm sorry for such a long post, but I had to rant a little. I'm afraid the barn swallows are winning the war again. They were kamakazing me yesterday and they haven't even built a nest yet. My house was here many years before they decided this should be their summer home. Happy deserves to live peaceful and secure - not
afraid that his home is bring invaded on a daily basis. Thanks! Lyn

[Wolf]

I am very familiar with barn swallows and their habits. I agree that they probably a major factor in the plucking, I just wanted to see what you were seeing to be sure. Thank you.

[lrhodes91]

I am very familiar with barn swallows and their habits. I agree that they probably a major factor in the plucking, I just wanted to see what you were seeing to be sure. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Wolf! Hope you have a great day!

[Pajarita]

My dear, if he gets stressed out when he goes out, stop taking him out. Pluckers that despite good husbandry (good light quality and schedule, fresh food diet, adequate exercise and out of cage time, etc) don't get better (note that I did not say 'stop' but merely 'get better') might be parrots that have psychological issues. There are studies that show that baby birds that are stressed out when hatchlings remain high-strung all their lives (some breeders gavage feed and that's terribly traumatic for the babies) so the best thing you can do in these cases is to eliminate, as much as possible, insecurity - and that means change. They do better when their life is 100% stable, unchanging and calm so super strict schedules and routines and eliminating anything that can upset them, make them worry overly stimulate them is best so I suggest soft music, no loud TV programs with shots or screams or stuff like that, no taking him to an unfamiliar place (like outside), keeping him away from the window if something out there is stressing him out, etc. Have you tried giving him tea with nervine herbs?

[lrhodes91]

My dear, if he gets stressed out when he goes out, stop taking him out. Pluckers that despite good husbandry (good light quality and schedule, fresh food diet, adequate exercise and out of cage time, etc) don't get better (note that I did not say 'stop' but merely 'get better') might be parrots that have psychological issues. There are studies that show that baby birds that are stressed out when hatchlings remain high-strung all their lives (some breeders gavage feed and that's terribly traumatic for the babies) so the best thing you can do in these cases is to eliminate, as much as possible, insecurity - and that means change. They do better when their life is 100% stable, unchanging and calm so super strict schedules and routines and eliminating anything that can upset them, make them worry overly stimulate them is best so I suggest soft music, no loud TV programs with shots or screams or stuff like that, no taking him to an unfamiliar place (like outside), keeping him away from the window if something out there is stressing him out, etc. Have you tried giving him tea with nervine herbs?

Hi Pajarita,

Happy didn't seem to get stressed from going out. He just seemed to stress near the front of my house (front door). I have other animals in other parts of the house so just by bad luck Happy is located near the front door where the barn swallows nest. I have fixed the room that he has out of cage time near the front door with curtains now which I hope will help the situation before the barn swallows take over my house this year. I do have easy listening music playing most of the day or he watches the Disney Channel when he is in his cage. Most days he has a very strict routine in and out of the cage time. So far this spring is much better. Now sure of what tomorrow will bring. Praying he continues to stay Happy and Healthy. Thanks so much!

[Pajarita]

Parrots don't show stress in ways that we are 'programmed' to recognize, if they show anything at all. We are predatory mammals and most of our companion animal experience is with other predatory mammals -dogs, cats- but birds are aves and prey so the signs are almost unrecognizable to us.