Chewing his tail off

[DynamitePsycho]

Ziggy has chewed his tail feathers in a similar fashion (he's now 16 months old). I know he's just doing it because it's itchy and his first major molting. Mist from above, like it's been said. Definitely make it a game. We've made shower time a game for Ziggy, and now he'll perch on my hubby's shoulder in the shower instead of trying to run away.

[sootykitty]

Just got back from the Vet. Turns out that Ozzy had an impacted tail feather and his preening gland was inflamed. The Vet thinks that the discomfort from those things resulted in him chewing his other tail feathers in an attempt to relieve the pain. Poor baby! He is on a dose of antibiotics for two weeks, some supplements, and an anti-inflamatory. Those will all be oral challenges. lol I'm just so glad that I got him in there to find out what was going on. Also, the Vet drew blood and will do a full work-up to insure that we don't have some other hidden problem. While he did that he gave him an injection of Vitamins A and D3 to give him a boost. I am having a DNA test run too since the blood was drawn anyway.

Thanks to all of you who offered your input and support. I'll keep you posted of any further changes.

[UnPoquito]

I'm not a grey owner, but have a parrotlet that has been a plucker. I can't emphasize enough how important the misting is. During a molt or periods of feather chewing/destruction/pulling misting 3 times a day is recommended. I use distilled, bottled water in the mist bottle. My parrotlets hates to be misted also, but all parrots need this, and esp. one with a feather issue or going through a molt. Try holding the bottle level with your bird, but point the nozzle straight up into the air, so when it falls, it truly is a gentle mist (like the rainforest). My birds seem to prefer this. Also, a visit in the shower a few times a week is helpful - or at least to perch on top of the shower door to get all of the humidity, and you can gently splash a little water onto your bird. A warm mist humidifier near the cage is also helpful.

Other causes to rule out:
Giardia (common cause of feather problems in parrots)
liver/kidney problems (blood work will rule this out)
imbalance in diet (bloodwork can also analyze this)
stress (any kind of change in routine or environment -even a new toy)
Cage placement

We found that with our parrotlet it was a combination of stress (cage placement - her cage was near windows, and this apparently stressed her out), and dietary - she used to only eat seeds - we've got her on a pelleted diet now, in addition to other good foods, and seeds make up a very small amount of her diet. She's doing better, knock wood, but she can go from fully feathered to bald around her chest, tummy, and back in less than 2 days...so knocking wood again!