How much fluff and feathers in the bottom of the cage is normal?

[FloorCandy]

I know I am paranoid, but the issue of plucking greys has me terrified, My tiel always had feathers and fluff in his cage, but he was very very active, and prolly knocked them out. I notice 2 or 3 new little feathers in the bottom of the cage most days, and a bunch of fluff. Henry does not look bare, and I do not see him plucking at all. I have no idea when he last molted. Since I got him he has grown 1 tail feather, and 1 flight feather. He will probably molt soon as his tail is destroyed (and seems to have been that way for a while) from being in a too small cage for so long.

[pippy]

All three of my Greys are currently moulting, particularly Mojo and Shinda the two youngest. Every morning the bottom of their cages and the floor surrounding them look as though someone has burst a feather pillow!

[FloorCandy]

How about when they are not molting?

[pippy]

Well Mojo and Shinda have been moulting pretty much non-stop since they were about eight months old but yes, even before then there were a few feathers every morning in the cage.

Also, if the weather warms up, or if you put your heating on, they will loose a lot of the downy feathers as it's like their underwear! when they feel it's too hot they take their underwear off!

[FloorCandy]

Thank you, that puts my mind at ease. I watch him preen, and he doesn't seem to be plucking. like I see when he pulls a fluff out, it seems like he wasn't pulling, just preening and the fluff happened to come along. With all the talk about plucking greys, and the horrendous care he received previously, I just worry a lot.

[Fiver]

Yeah, I became paranoid about grey plucking when I adopted a grey. There were feathers at the bottom of her cage, too, but like Pippy said, it's natural. It took me some time to breathe easy about it, though! I read somewhere once that if your grey doesn't look like it's plucking itself, it's probably not plucking, and whatever feathers it is losing is probably natural and fine.

[pippy]

Originally Posted by FloorCandy

Thank you, that puts my mind at ease. I watch him preen, and he doesn't seem to be plucking. like I see when he pulls a fluff out, it seems like he wasn't pulling, just preening and the fluff happened to come along. With all the talk about plucking greys, and the horrendous care he received previously, I just worry a lot.

Oh I absolutely understand! I was, and still am, paranoid about plucking too!

I love to watch them preening out the little fluffy feathers, i don't know about our bird but mine get really cross with them and try and fling them across the room!

If ever you're concerned about particular feathers you find the best thing to do is to take a very clear, in focus, close-up photo of the feather, including the complete shaft, and post it for people to see. It's possible to tell if a feather has been plucked rather than just fallen out as part of the moulting process.

Another tip. Keep ALL the flight feathers your bird moults! The day may come when you need them for a procedure called 'IMPING'

I know a lot of parrot owners in the US clip their birds but if you don't then it's something worth remembering should your bird ever have a problem with it's flight feathers.

Mojo and Shinda have now reached the stage in the moulting process when they are losing and replacing flight feathers and I've now got a fine collection of flights which I've safely put away

[FloorCandy]

Wow that imping article was great! I never heard of such a thing. I do keep Henry clipped, because I have dogs, and I fear he will fly over the baby gates and get in trouble (he did once). But only half of his flights are trimmed, so the others are perfectly healthy.

[pippy]

Originally Posted by FloorCandy

Wow that imping article was great! I never heard of such a thing. I do keep Henry clipped, because I have dogs, and I fear he will fly over the baby gates and get in trouble (he did once). But only half of his flights are trimmed, so the others are perfectly healthy.

It's an idea I found on another forum and I've been collecting their flight feathers ever since! Once I've amassed plenty I'll then donate any future flights they moult. Yes, you really CAN donate them! Such a great idea!