How can I stop an African Grey parrot from plucking feathers??

Question

Yesterday I gave a parrot a home because its current owner had a young baby and could no longer spend the time she used to with the parrot. The bird had been plucking its feathers and the vet says there is nothing physically wrong - it is heathly.

We brought the poor bald bird home and set up its cage in the conservatory so it can see outside and it appears to be contented.

I am looking for advise on a couple of things (I have had cockatiels and budges so have plenty of experience of looking after birds).

How do I stop him pulling out his feathers - I've never come across this before.

And he has been a free flyer up until now, however he poo's everywhere. Is it okay to let him out for a while then put him back in his cage?

The previous owner had the bird fully checked by a specialist before she decided to look for a new home for him and he is not ill.

I would never do anything to make the bird worse and I spent ages researching before I agreed to take him on.

I just wanted pointers and tips to help me along.

Thank you to everyone so far.

Answer 1

"fenlandfowl" has the most comprehensive answer here, really.
I attended an Aviculture Federation convention last year. One of the speakers was Dr. Susan Clubb who has been doing research on feather plucking. The discovery of subcutaneal bacterial and fungal infections was found to be a major player in many instances of initial plucking. After the initial problem has been addressed, the "habit" of plucking might still remain.
As is the case in just about anything, ruling out a clinical issue is job one.
After that, you have to start working on the diet, and then the environment.
As for the diet: go very heavy on the dark green and dark orange vegetables: broccoli, kale. yams or sweet potatoes, turnip greens, carrots etc.
Get him a vitamin supplement: ProVital makes a good one. A calcium supplement is good as well.
I don't know where you are located in the world, but this link to "The BirdCare Company might be able to help you out with the plucking:

http://www.birdcareco.com/

There is also a technique known as "packing the cage". This simply means putting all kinds of things in his cage that he can play with: branches, wood pieces, anything he seems to prefer to chew, and put a lot of it in there. If your Grey is occupied with playing, climbing, chewing, etc., he is not plucking his feathers. Every minute he is doing something else, is one minute devoted to staying clear of his feathers. The object is to break the habit by keeping him totally absorbed with learning to chew and play with things other than his feathers.
I have found one thing that seems to help and you aren't going to believe this:
Shoelaces.
The plastic sheaths covering the ends of shoelaces are called "aglets". I have found that parrots absolutely LOVE to work on these things. It keeps them occupied forever, and if you keep him stocked up with shoelaces, if might help. It gets a little expensive so you want to get the shorter ones as you are mainly concerned with just the aglets. Simply tie them onto his cage bars...a LOT of them.
One more important thing: Make sure he is getting enough sleep. Make his bedtime dark, quiet, uninterrupted and at least 10 hours in duration.
Also, consider getting him a play gym or parrot stand. Natural wood is best, and see that it has eye hooks so you can attach toys to it. Time out of his cage might be very helpful.
Just for some comfort: I took in a rescued and neglected 15 year-old Grey in August that was almost bald. She is well on her way to being fully recovered and is busily growing feathers back. She doesn't pluck at all any more. Part of her problem was that she simply wasn't getting enough sleep. With a solid 10 to 12 hours a night, a good diet, some trick training that boosts her self-confidence and a lot of time out of her cage every day, she is coming along great!
It can be done and I wish you luck....

Answer 2

he is plucking his feathers out of boredom.give him plenty of things to do lots of toys.i would say its ok to cage him then let him out let him out lots of times though as he is used to being out all the time.hope this helps just try to keep his mind off of plucking his feathers
u wrote this;
Yesterday I gave a parrot a home because its current owner had a young baby and could no longer spend the time she used to with the parrot. The bird had been plucking its feathers and the vet says there is nothing physically wrong - it is heathly.

We brought the poor bald bird home and set up its cage in the conservatory so it can see outside and it appears to be contented.

I am looking for advise on a couple of things (I have had cockatiels and budges so have plenty of experience of looking after birds).

How do I stop him pulling out his feathers - I've never come across this before.

And he has been a free flyer up until now, however he poo's everywhere. Is it okay to let him out for a while then put him back in his cage?

Answer 3

My dad had two African Greys. When you say he was a free flyer, do you mean he was kept in an aviary but now he is kept in a cage. If so it sounds to me as though your parrot is bored. Try eniching his environment. If you only have standard perches in the cage try putting a small branch in at an angle. One he'll be able to climb up and down it and two he will chew on it. Try putting some toys in the cage, mirrors, bells etc. It's ok to let him out as long as he is tame enough. African Greys have a hell of a bite. I know, I 've been bitten enough by them. They also have a habit of chewing their way through any cloth or material like curtains. You will find that he will go back in his cage of his own accord when he has had enough. Do you spray him with a water mister. They enjoy that as long as you don't blast them with a solid jet of water. In the summer, if you have a tree in the garden, hang his cage in the tree, making sure it is has an area of shade at all times. My dad's parrots loved it when they were outside however it can be quite disconcerting for garden birds. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Your vet is a fool.
Unless he is an avian specialist and has done a full blood panel he cannot know if it is healthy or has something like chlamidia , hypocalcaemia or anything else which is causing it to pluck. It is very very hard to stop the plucking. One thing you can try is to change the diet away from basis sunflower laden seedmix, to a diet rich in vegetable, calcium rich food and sprouted and cooked foods. African greys suffer from hypocalcaemia, but no doubt you are aware of this due to the research you did before you got him. You will also have found out that you cannot stop feather plucking, only find out what is causing it and change it. A conservatory is not the best place for it. It gets too hot in sunny weather and too cold at night. He will suffer and get ill in there. It is also too light and spacious for a bird which may have anxiety problems due to leaving it's old home. The ways in which you deal with plucking are too many to answer here. If you want to email me I'll give you my phone number and we can chat about what you need to be doing. Looking after budgies and cockatiels, will not give you the experience you need to care for a high maintainance bird like a parrot. Their needs are very very different. Kudos to you for 'rescuing' the bird, but really unless you know what you are doing, you should have told the owner to let the bird go to someone who really knows about parrots and has experience in dealing with plucking parrots before it leads to mutilation.
There is no single reason a parrot plucks. The person who finds a cure will be a millionaire. They pluck for any one of several reasons and all you can do is rule out each pssoble cause starting with a full blood testing. Since you only got hte bird yesterday I know that no such testing was done on the bird. No doubt the vet gave it a quick look over and pronounced it fit. From this I can tell that he isn't an avian vet.You MUST take him to an avian vet to rule out any number of diseases. If you cannot or will not do this, then perhaps he should be with someone who will carry the cost and take the time to do things properly.
If you let me know what part of the UK you are in, I will be able to tell you where your nearest avian vet is.

Answer 5

Hi Squiggle, You may not like this bird but YOU have taken the time to write your question and possibly find a solution to your parrots problem. So you obviously care about is welfare. I have two parrots (both Green Jardines) quiet the opposite of each other one is very friendly and funny and a pure joy and has been with us since he was just a few months old. The other parrott was nearly two years old when he came to us he had had several homes swore and was a nasty parrott. I was frightened to death of him. Trouble was so was everyone else so for a few days no one went near him. You have to question how responsible we are has humans for the state of mind of some of these animals. The bird had been shipped out to half a dozen homes in two years and moved on for the same reasons, he was nasty. Of course he was nasty he didnt know anyone his enviroment was changing all the time. Probably the only time he had contact was when some one threw something at the cage or shouted at him. Who knows. I had two choices with my bird join ranks with the other so called owners or be what he desperately needed which was a companion, friend, comfort, what ever you want to call it he desperately needed something. So i persevered with him i have had him 3 years now he doesnt swear any more. He his still nasty but he adores me and i know that he wouldnt hurt me. He cannot stand anyone else near him or his cage so hubby and son any visitors are told to leave him alone. We will have our little relationship, till the day he dies i will never ever give him away no matter what. May be he senses this i dont know Squiggle, all i know is your bird needs you to care just a that little bit more and he will get better. Let him out more be around him sit talking to him build up your relationship everday in time your courage will grow and so will is trust in you. good luck xx

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Answer 6

While he needs something to play with or chew on, you need to stop the plucking of the feathers first. Go to the large pet store and you will find a spray that you can spray your bird with, it is a bitter apple spray and the parrot will stop plucking at the feathers and start playing with the toys and chews

Answer 7

You have had some excellent answers, I for one am going to copy them. We have a blue and gold macaw who sits about four feet from my chair, an african grey who sits about six feet away the other side of the fireplace, and another young 4 month old. alongside his mum's couch. All share breakfast with us infact I am forth in the pecking order, they have toast, frosties or whatever, All get plenty of attention. Bandit the blue and gold comes out sometimes and is happy to sit on his cage, and goes back after an hour or so. Smokey, seldom comes out, though his door is open, if he does he stays put on the top, they have flown only about four times in two years. The new one was used to flying and got out twice, took off like concord and bashed the window , but after about a month has accepted he comes out for a cuddle now and does not try to take off. Never had any problems like you have, Prior to these I had another for 35 years, but remember she and they live with us as part of a family. I could imagine what sort of lounge we would have, if three birds were let loose to fly, and we don't have any smell from them. But putting them in a sunlounge is wrong, they arn't interested in looking outside they need you to be with them, if we go out they will not eat (although we always have a radio on,) until we come home and then they all show how pleased they are. The rest of the answers will help you, but I'm trying to impress on you it is company, toys, and bells to ring if they fancy what we are eating. Good luck.

Answer 8

Awww sounds like he didnt get much attention from his previous owner.. If he is healthy, then its a psychological problem. He may just need love and attention, some good Parrot toys, make sure he has fresh fruit, a good variety of food (as there very picky eaters, and tend to throw everything out to get what they want, I know, I have one too hehe) . Some pluck to get attention from the owner too, so keep a close eye on him.

I think it would be fine to let him fly around, make sure mirrors and windows are covered, as they tend to fly straight into them and can hurt themselves. If you have a cage that opens up at the top, it would be good to maybe put a perch across the top of the cage, if he poops it wont matter to much! :)

Hope this helps :)

Answer 9

boredom is a common cause of feather plucking if the bird is healthy...I have a quaker, now almost totally bald for the last 15 years. I should have gotten him a mate at the beginning of the plucking..now he lives with another bird and is happy....greys need a lot of attention and stimulation, toys to tear up and lots of veggies, fruit and nuts etc. also, a grey that is itchy can pluck..they need shower time daily, by spray bottle or reg shower to preen and keep the skin conditioned..this will cause itching if not done. good luck ps. they sell a flight suit dr foster pet store for catching the poop when flying around.

Answer 10

unfortunatly with any parrots feather plucking is very hard to stop once started and its usely caused by stress or boredom or change in its routine its quite commen but hard to stop you said it used to be free flying let it out as much as you can as being confined to the cage after being free flying can be the problem
has the cage got an open top and spar for it to perch on if so let it use it as much as poss keeping the cage open if not change the cage if you can I allways had my parrots free flying as well and they spend most of the time on top ofthe cage rather than in it. they dontfly about much and usually go back to poo so if it has access to get back to perch problem should stop when bird is settled