a little advise needed

[rebel]

ok i have a congo african grey named oz 1 yr old i have has him just going on 4 months and i love him to pieces

but i am concerned because he keeps pulling his red tail feathers out when they get to a certain length ive put plenty of toys in his cage he is out most days i spend alot of time with him through the day although i cant get him to sit on my hand yet but im getting there.

what else can i do to try and stop him doing this to him self

[birdlady49]

Is it only the tail feathers or is he pulling feathers from his chest and back ... wherever he can reach?

Tell us about his diet and how much daylight he gets. Tell us about where his cage is located, how big it is and what toys you're offering. What about spray baths?

Do you have other furry or feathered companions in the house? Tell us about the other humans in your house and how they interact with your baby.

Did your baby get a clean bill of health from your avian vet shortly after you brought him home?

[rebel]

hi thankyou for your reply so quick

oz is pulled his feathers from his tail also we have found wing feathers on the floor of his cage which we never see him do which tells me he does it at night after we have gone to bed.

his cage well i would say a mansion is big enough to house 2-3 parrots in toys he has 1 bell 1 mirror 1 log swing with rope hanging of it with wooden balls on also a toy with like plastic shapes in a line all diff , also he has apple branches 2 of also a cement stone perch and also 3 wooden perch,
his cage is in the dinning room which has plenty of light and sun there are no other birds in the house he is the only one,
there is my 2 daughters which both tickle him and talk to him every day also my girlfriend which she tries to tickle him and talk him but he just doesnt like her bless but she said she is not going to give up on him.and the only time i can really get close to him is when my partner is out the room.

[rebel]

also we spray bath him every other day which he seems to enjoy his diet is fruity parrot mix, he will only eat apple if you hold up to the cage and ive taken a bite out of it first,we also have 2 cats which dont go near him what so ever he was given a health check before he left the shop on the day of pick up.

[Lisa B]

oohhhhhhhhhh my sydney did that as well. any red feather, was pulled out. now for NO reason, we have butt feathers.
He went through a battery of tests to see if it was medical. almost $1500 later, we found out its anxiety seperation.
Now he rips out chest, leg and neck feathers....but he has butt feathers.

Has anything changed in his area lately?

I would also take out the mirror. It might be aggrivating him that, the "other bird" is in his space.

[birdlady49]

Originally Posted by rebel

also we spray bath him every other day which he seems to enjoy his diet is fruity parrot mix, he will only eat apple if you hold up to the cage and ive taken a bite out of it first,we also have 2 cats which dont go near him what so ever he was given a health check before he left the shop on the day of pick up.

Health check by whom? The shop owner or a veterinarian? Based on what you've written, it sounds like the store personnel gave him a health check, which is all well and good, but it's your obligation to have him thoroughly checked by an avian vet -- looking at his poop under the microscope and taking some blood to see if there are any infections etc. The blood tests would also tell you if there is a nutritional deficiency in his diet. If so, that can lead to feather picking.

It's important to eliminate medical reasons for plucking before reviewing the home environment, toys, interactions with humans and furry critters, etc.

It sounds as though you're in a position to "nip this in the bud" since he has just started plucking and I hope you'll have an avian vet checkup and do what's necessary.

[Nazir's]

Hey, Clover has just started bitting his tail feathers too. He has bitten three and has--I believe six to eight more remaining. But he has not bitten them lately and those remaining 6-8 have remained for the past two weeks now. I have not actually wittnessed him biting them but they look bitten in half because the other half of the feathers and shaft all still remain. What gives???
He doesn't pluck or bite any where else. He's fully feathered, besides the three missing ones on his tail (which you'd never notice until he flies). poohie!

[Xray Susie]

Yes, I was thinking remove the mirror.

[LyndaM]

Hi guys. I just read something interesting recently. I read that one of the main reasons that captive birds pluck is because their roosting/sleeping cage is the same as their play cage. It seems that parrots in the wild don't play where they roost, and they are very secretive about where their roosting spots are. This behaviorist believes that parrots who are sleeping where they play, are instinctively nervous because it's unnatural for them. You could try getting a small (literally just big enough for the bird to sleep in) cage or use a current travel cage and see if that helps the situation.