Help!

[Nevermore]

Oh god.... putting the poor boy in a sock? He'd absolutely freak out, I can tell you that. And I would pay for it in blood.

I suppose it could work, until he tears said sock into pieces, entangles himself in the elastic and strangles himself with it. I've booked him in at a vet...unfortunately I can't get him in until Thursday. So it will be an interesting week.

[kaylayuh]

You have to cut the sock apart to make it like a sweater. There's a post about it on her blog, I believe. But yeah, I understand most birds not liking it.

Hopefully his bald spot is just from molting a bit quickly and not from plucking.

[Nevermore]

My fingers are crossed for that, or hormones.

[sidech]

If he's molting, he's probably itchy, even with the Red Palm oil.

I would increase the misting (or even better, showering) to once everyday, if you don't already, even preferably twice a day for a while.

[patdbunny]

If you do decide on the sock, here's how:
http://staringatbirdsandgoats.blogspot. ... ather.html

On a bird that size I'd use the children's socks sized for 3-5 year olds.

Have a very sharp pair of scissors and a towel nearby in case you must cut the sock sweater off of him. Of course stay calm and be careful not to cut the bird. It's normal for them to flop around like they're being eaten by a snake the first time you put it on.

Before you do the sweater, weigh the temperament of your bird in your mind. If the sweater is going to be too traumatic, it might have a negative mental effect which might make plucking worse. Our cockatoo, I can't describe it, but I "knew" she wasn't going to suffer any significant mental trauma from the sock.

[Nevermore]

Ya...I can tell you right off the bat it wont work. Not for Jack. He likes enclosed spaces...but only under HIS terms. And he doesn't like pressure on his wings.....I can see that going very, very badly. For both of us.

[Nevermore]

So; I took Jack to the vet today. And aside from his male pattern baldness, he passed his physical with flying colours.

Anyway the vet had a good look at him, and since his plucking is mainly around his crop, she suggested that he could have a yeast infection, or some kind of infection in his crop that could be bothering him. So I had her do a crop-wash, and it came back positive for bacteria....either gram positive, or gram negative. Can't remember which. Anyway; whichever one it was, it was the not-so-bad kind. And most likely caused by too much sugar in his diet. So she has told me to put unfiltered, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar in his water. She also said to cut back on the amount of sugar he gets; so no raisins, and less fruit.

She also said that his hormones aren't helping. Since he's around 3 years old, and has apparently fell in love with one of my dad's beer bottles (with a green label), we should start putting him to bed early. The same treatment for laying females.

So theoretically, poor Jack should be OK.

Yay!

[rebeccaturpeinen]

poor little Jack

but great that it wasnt anything worse than that, no?

even with his bald spot he looks absolutly beautiful

[Nevermore]

So. I'm away now; and Jack is in the care of my parents. I received an update today on his condition.

His chest looks like it is slowly starting to regrow some feathers; there are some spiky bits. But at the same time, he has started plucking out the feathers on his back. My parents managed to get him into the vet today, and he told them that Jack is perfectly healthy....but is probably suffering from a combination of a vitamin A deficiency and stress from watching me pack and abandon him (my poor bebe!)

A quote from the e-mail I received...

"In short, no sunflower seeds, millet, corn, lettuce, summer squash, white potatoes, white grapes, bananas, apples, oranges or tomatoes.

He should be eating blueberries, broccoli leaves, carrots, sweet potatoes, butter or cheese, egg yolks, mangos, papaya, black berries, raspberries, etc., etc."

[TheNzJessie]

have you checked hes hes got some sort of mite? do you use newspaper for the floor of his cage or do you use a type of bedding. has this been changed recently? have you changed his diet? have you installed anything deodorizers like perfume plug ins. are you using any pots or pans around him that might give off a fume thats irritating his skin?