African grey wont stop plucking

[Dragonfly]

i need help! Iv had an african grey for just over a year now, hes only really bonded to myself and now that im barely home, he seems to be pulling out his feathers so much that it causes bleeding. iv purchaced a bottle of "anti pluck" and have used pretty much the whole bottle on him and it hasnt worked at all. he has a good diet and gets put outside every day with the radio on with lots of toys. Does any one have any suggestions on what i can do to stop this?

[cml]

i need help! Iv had an african grey for just over a year now, hes only really bonded to myself and now that im barely home, he seems to be pulling out his feathers so much that it causes bleeding. iv purchaced a bottle of "anti pluck" and have used pretty much the whole bottle on him and it hasnt worked at all. he has a good diet and gets put outside every day with the radio on with lots of toys. Does any one have any suggestions on what i can do to stop this?

That he has a good diet is great, what does it consist of?

There are a few things you should do, the first being to take him to a vet for a medical exam as many cases of plucking are actually medically induced.

There is another likely scenario as well, which is him getting very upset with you leaving, which is caused by him being TOO used to having you around and having TOO a regular and strict schedule. In general, its good to vary the times which you interact with the bird, leave them for a day here and there, and make sure they cope with change. If you dont, psycological problems often occur as they cant deal with it.

What happened if I may ask, did you go from not working to a full time job?

If you did, without properly training your bird to accept changes, this may very well be the root cause of the plucking.
Greys are known to be extra sensitive.

I would never leave a parrot alone for a whole day, and thats one of the reasons that I have two. They keep each other company while me and my wife is at work, and even at that they are only alone for about 6 hours a day. I would never reccommend anyone to keep a single parrot unless they can be home 24/7, it just isnt fair on the poor bird.
With that said, getting another parrot isnt the solution atm, you need to work past your current problem before considering an addition to your flock.

Stay well clear of that anti-plucking stuff, it sounds very suspious and I would NOT trust the ingriedients to be completely safe.

[Dragonfly]

His diet consists of sunflower seeds, nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit and veggies. i got him when he was a baby on 3 feeds a day and spent pretty much all day with him and now Iv started working full time again and take him out his cage every morning before i go to work and put him back in and leave his cage outside during the day. Was concidering getting him a friend but afraid of how he may react to having another bird around. will definatily start with taking him to get checked out. thank you so much for your help.

[cml]

His diet consists of sunflower seeds, nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit and veggies. i got him when he was a baby on 3 feeds a day and spent pretty much all day with him and now Iv started working full time again and take him out his cage every morning before i go to work and put him back in and leave his cage outside during the day. Was concidering getting him a friend but afraid of how he may react to having another bird around. will definatily start with taking him to get checked out. thank you so much for your help.

Great thing that you are taking him to the vet ! Thats a good way of eliminating the possibility of this being a medically induced plucking.

I do think though, based on your reply above, that the root cause is separation anxiety. Greys are VERY sensitive, and are more prone to psycological issues than others birds. They are known to start plucking when depressed.

Dont leave his cage outside without observation, there are many dangers with this such as cats or other animals attacking, or him catching diseases from bugs or bird spillings.

I would do this:
*Take him to the vet to rule out medical issues (which you are doing already )
*Put him close to a window rather than place him outside.
*Put a radio on timer, so that it is on for a few hours in the morning, turns off around noon for a few hours, then goes back on until you get home. This will help keeping him entertained.
*Make sure he has plenty of toys, both foraging toys as well as toys to destroy. Rotate toys every week so he keeps being interested.
*Remove the sunflower seeds from his diet, and slowly introduce pellets. If you could provide pellets in the morning and fresh veggies and fruit in the afternoon thats great! Conversion to pellets can be difficult though, but we are here to help!

Plucking issues are difficult, but I know you can help your bird and get through this !

In the long run, if you are going to be working full time, getting another grey is not a bad idea. They can keep each other company. But, you need to work past a few issues first and then really consider if you can manage two birds.

Keep us updated on your progress and results from the vet!

[Pajarita]

I don't feed pellets, I feed gloop, fresh produce and leafy greens for breakfast and a small amount of seed for dinner but never only sunflowers (my greys get a cockatiel mix that has a few safflowers and even fewer striped sunflowers).

You have two issues, here: one is the diet way too high in protein (which brings on hormonal surges, a precursor of sexual frustration and one of the main causes of feather destructive behavior) but the other one is that the bird regards you as his mate and mates are never supposed to disappear all day long. Your bird is hormonal, confused, upset and depressed. Now, I've had up to six grays at one time, two of them a clutch brother and a sister that grew up together and none of them ever bonded with another bird, all they ever wanted was human company, so bringing another bird might not work out to solve the problem and you might end up with two depressed birds.

You can take the bird to the avian vet. As a matter of fact, I would recommend it if for nothing else to find out if it's 100% OK but, in my personal experience and opinion, this is a behavioral problem and as long as you work full time, your bird will suffer. And you will need to do something about it and fast because, if there is blood, the bird is not only plucking, it's self-mutilating (there is never blood when there is only plucking) and you can drug the bird, you can put all kinds of collars to prevent him from chewing himself but the problem will remain because the only solution is for the bird to have company during the day.

Greys are VERY difficult birds, much more so than other parrot species. They are a real bad combination of high intelligence and emotions... It makes them high-strung, way too attached to humans and almost incapable of adapting to drastic changes in their lifestyle and, to make matters worse, you can't fool them as you would other birds!

My heart feels for you and your bird and I am sorry to say that if you have no choice but to work full time outside the house, you should consider rehoming him to a house where there is a stay-at-home lady.

[GreenWing]

So sorry for you and your poor bird. Cml and Pajarita have said it all, though.

[laducockatiel]

Hi,

Also, make sure you have some foraging toys. This will also help keep the bird busy and prevent any causes of plucking.

[GreenWing]

Hi,

Also, make sure you have some foraging toys. This will also help keep the bird busy and prevent any causes of plucking.

Maybe, and good suggestion but if the causes of the bird's self-mutilation is due to the bird missing social interaction, then foraging toys may not be a practical long-term solution.

What about finding a babysitter for your parrot? I mean, there's dogsitters, right? And Greys have the intelligence of children so it does make sense. Why not look into an experienced parrot owner with healthy birds or past bird experience and pay someone to watch the Grey while you're at work? I mean, is this a practical idea? Maybe not but heck, it's something I'd look into.

[Pajarita]

Actually, that's a great idea, Greenwing! I knew a lady in Pennsylvania who had a dog and cat grooming salon who used to offer day care to parrots, she had two birds of her own and 6 or 7 that were dropped every morning and picked up in the evening (they stayed in a room of their own which had a window to the grooming area). It doesn't work very well in the winter because, by the time the bird is picked, he should have been asleep for a couple of hours but it does solve the problem of the company.

[UMARKHANMARDAN]

Hi Dragon fly i feel very sorry for you & your bird.Parrots & specially Grays are very intelligent birds.Grays fully depend on the owner & develop very strong bond.So its good if the owner train him from the very start to spend some time playing with toys.Another thing keep a flock from the very first day so your bird never get bored.Since your bird has developed strong attachment with you now toys or other parrots will not work.Its better to leave him with some one who really cares about him in the day time.I my self am a banker, so very busy on the working days.Keeping in mind this that one day i l be in practical life after studies i always use to keep my parrots in pairs.Specially Grays.I have a flock which has a pair of IRN, 3 pairs of Alexandrines & a pair of Congo.Just for the sake when i am not there so they don,t get bored in the day time.So always keep in mind these things.
Now lets come to the subject.Your parrot is plucking which is a sign of bored parrot not only grays but also the other tamed large parrots.Take him to a day care as one of our friends told earlier that there is a dog & cat care house.Dogs & cats have the same thing.When the owner is out they become under stress.I hope your Gray will improve.