GCC Pulled out tail feathers.

[brittanyanne]

My GCC pulled out all of his beautiful red tail feathers. He is eating, drinking, bathing, normal. Seems healthy besides the missing feathers. Clean him once a week.

I interact with him almost everyday for a few minutes or more. He is perching, talking, and everything in between; Just seems happy!

Can anyone explain why he would do this? There has been somewhat of a small change in the house. Babysitting 2 extra dogs (yippie SOB's!). Any ideas?

[Valo's Moirana]

did he actually pull them out, or did they break off? sometimes young birds damage their tail feathers easily.

you might want to try to bathe him more often than once a week (if that's what you meant when you were referring to cleaning him). also, a little more interaction than only a few minutes daily might be necessary. at least one hour out of the cage time per day would probably help.

does anybody smoke in the house?

if you can't figure out the origin (as it might be health related), bring the baby to an avian vet to have him checked out and maybe get some blood word done

[fluffy_stitch]

well they should grow back with time if they just got pulled out,it happened to my bird recently and nearly gave me a heart attack and i got lots of great advice here wich really helped!!,follow Valos Moirana's advice and hopefully everything will be fine :-)

[brittanyanne]

I clean the cage once a week, I give him baths as he needs it. Meaning, I put his dish in there every morning for a few hours and usually he will bath or go on his merry way.

We do smoke in the house.

I am not sure if his feathers are broken off or pulled out. I could not seem to find any trace of feather for some odd reason.

[brittanyanne]

My bird also does not perch for more than a minute at a time. It's work in progress and the only time he steps out of his cage to the high perches on top is when I clean it. He doesn't seem interested otherwise, though I try and treat him for encouragement.

Also I forgot to add we've had him since June 2006 and he was in a pet store for 2 years. So since the time we've had him, we've been smoking in the house just not near him. So wouldn't this of happened earlier for this reason if the case?

I just feel bad he is missing his tail!

[Valo's Moirana]

well, smoking around a bird will lead to nicotine precipitation on the bird's feathers, and this has been linked to the bird pulling its own feathers (I've once heard that 60% of all plucking birds come from smoking environments). So, that might be an explanation for the missing tail feathers. Often there can be a delay from cause to effect... if it is a result of the smoking you'll see many more feathers go. The best thing to do would be to NOT smoke in the house. I personally smoke as well, but never in the house around the birds, and after smoking I wash hands and face before handling the birds.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean that he doesn't perch for longer than a minute - you mean outside of the cage or in general? He doesn't fall, does he? (if so, trip to the vet is the only thing i recommend)
He has to want the interaction meaning that it has to be interesting for him. Play with him, provide toys, incorporate him in your every-day routine when you're home. Valo is out with me almost all the time when I'm at home... no matter what I do (except cooking, doing dishes). Also, try to make him understand that being outside is safe for him - he probably thinks that his cage is his safe haven, since nobody can hurt him there. Just slowly introduce it to him that sitting on your fingers doesn't mean danger, but positive reinforcement instead (a piece of apple, banana chip, sunflower seed or whatever his favorite food is)

Talking about food - what does the little guy eat? That could relate to the feather issues as well....

[gbird]

Totally agree with Bee.

Maybe do some research on what exactly owning a parrot involves.

[chucky]

OMG i think he needs a vet visit to make sure it's smoking not mites,Depresion,or anything worse as GCC dont generally act like you describe and TRUTHFULLY i've never heard a GCC pullin his feathers so do some research indeed and DEFINATELY do some checking on the cause and until then no smoking in the same room with the bird if not in the house at all.This sorta reminds me of a lady that showed me her GCC today and all it did was stay puffed up like a ballon and she didnt think anything was wrong.Fix your baby and you'll be happy with him for a long time to come!!Bee is right tho listen to her im a babbler.

[brittanyanne]

Bee -

As far as perching and so forth... I ment... He will perch on my finger, but not on the outside of the cage for more than a minute... he's right back in. I did try and give positive renforcement. He has toys and gets a mixture of attention. I'm just worried why it's taking literally over a year to get him to where I can just take him everywhere around the house. He is excellent for wings and nail trimmings. He actually goes for that tomorrow. So when I go I'll talk to them about him and his issues and what they suggest. As far as smoking goes for in the house. We rarely smoke and if we do it is in the other room, but smoke does travel! His diet has been constantly changing. I have him right now on Fiesta Parrot. I've been changing to find something he eats alot more of. So far he seems to just dig in for the sunflowers. Any other types of parrot food you guys can suggest either in store or online. Let me know! I just don't want him to eat souly sunflowers. He loves all fruits and some veggies. Loves his kitchen sink I make him! Adores peppers!

Right now I noticed his feathers are okay. There isn't anymore missing that when I first took glance. I hope it was just a phase. But I do need a little help trying to figure out a proper bird food. I've tried everything from the cheap stuff to the expensive. He's a picky eater!! (Well Iam too but this is nuts!)

[Valo's Moirana]

i have mine on zupreem and harrison pellets (the first you can get at almost any pet store, the second i buy at the vet or special bird stores). don't feed too much seed...