African Grey Concerns

[seekingsuzan]

I have an 11 month old CAG. He is very active, playful, talkative (oh my) climbs all over his cage inside and out, enjoys his toys, destroyed a few, etc, etc. In addition, he is out of his cage for most of the day, either on my shoulder or wandering into my other birds cages.

I would like to know at what age should they begin to molt? He is currently preening I feel too much and I am afraid he is picking. He has approximently five tail feathers. Some he chewed off. In addition he has chewed at his clipped wings. Cheeko is clumsey and when he tries to fly, he crash lands on the floor.

Is this normal? I have not had him to a vet yet, but I intend to bring him for a visit this week.

Any information would be appreciated.

[kellywess]

Sometimes the first wing clips can be stressful for birds. Its best to start the wing clips slightly so they can glide a little and then gradually cut them back shorter. I learned this the hard way with my Blue Crowned Conure. She plucked her chest and belly until her wingers grew back. My vet said my cutting her fully grown out wings back so short threw her balance off and stressed her out. In addition he could very well be molting... it is springtime! As long as you can see pin feathers coming in he should be fine. If he is plucking youll know it... trust me. Dont panic... be patient. If there is a problem it wont take long for it to present itself and in this case youll be able to recognize it. But I wouldnt worry, it is molting season.

[Lisa B]

Greys are pretty ungraceful fliers. specially babies, and certainly if he has his wings clipped. He should have started to moult prior to this.....what you want to do is see if he has alot of pin feathers coming in. That will let you know for sure if its moulting or picking.
Babies(and yep he still is one) have pretty messed up feathers from playing, falling, flying etc. so looking kinda ratty is to be expected before his moult.

however with that said, best thing is a vet visit to see that all is ok and going as scheduled.

let us know the update.

[seekingsuzan]

Thank you everyone for your help. Cheeko thanks you also!

Whether he is molting or picking we love him dearly and want only the best for him. We have a blue & gold macaw, jenday conure, nanday conure (rescued), yellow collared macaw and a mexican red head amazon. We love them all, but our cag, how he took over our home is unbelievable. He bosses the others out of their cage with the exception of Ozzie, our blue & gold as he is just too big for cheeko.

All birds socialize since cheeko came in October. He creates joy and fun for all!

I certainly will let you know.

Thanks birdboard!