chewing

[Pharoh]

I have a 4 year old U2 and in march of this year he started chewing on the
tops of his wings. He don't pluck he jus chews on the tops of his wings.
But i'm afraid this chewing may lead to plucking.
No matter what I do or change he still keeps chewing.
From everything I have read, I have come to the conclusion that these
parrots are born feather chewers or pluckers.
I believe there is the rare occasion when one will get a too that does not
chew or pluck.

He is on a health diet, I have took him to the avian vet, he has a huge cage
as well as an out side enclosure that measures 10ft. x 20ft. x 10ft. and lots
& lots of toys through out the house and in his outside aviary. I do not know
anything more i can do for my U2, to stop him from chewing on his wing
feathers. The avian vet said "thats what too's do" and he told me to give
him a soap bath using dawn dish liquid.
My U2 don't have any feathers missing, they jus look very, very raggy.
He looks like he has the mange across his shoulders.

[KimBear]

I think it may be wise to seek a second opinion from a different vet. You say the vet you saw was an avian vet, yet you didn't mention what tests were done. The vet's remark of "that's what toos do", to me, seems dismissive and to recommend bathing in dish soap is unusal. It's normally not suggested that parrots be bathed in anything other than plain water, unless the bird has been in an oil spill!

Chewing along the tops of the wing may be a stress-related thing, but there are certainly other possibilities. Even just assuming it is a behavior issue, the problem for you will likely be identifying what is stressing to your bird.

I'm including a link to my website's articles page, where you'll find some articles about feather problems. You can see how complicated the problem can be, and the articles may give you some ideas as to what to look for when talking things over with another vet.

http://www.toolady.com/www/business/.../articles.html

In the meantime, do some careful observation and see if you can establish a pattern to the chewing behavior: When does he do it? What's going on at the time? And so on.

Also be sure no one is unintentionally reinforcing the chewing by responding to the bird when he chews. You don't want him to learn that he can get attention by chewing.