for how long?

Question

My friend is in the hospital and Im taking care of her African gray and it is molting is this normal and if so how long do they do this and how often im doing exactly what she said to do for taking care of it and i noticed it was doing this so i asked someone what it was doing and they said molting but other then that they too knew nothing about birds but other then that i dont know anything about birds

Answer 1

When my african gray molts i notice it lasts for at least 2 weeks. its nothing to worry about. you might want to get a spray bottle and spray him down with warm water. they usually love getting a bath. mine likes to jump in the shower with me!! but you must make sure its nice and toasty in your place because he'll catch cold quick!
you can even get molting and condition food from Kaytee. you can find this item at a local petstore.
i feel like i'm repeating the other answer before mine about the plucking...if he has bald spots you might want to call a vet. (they can give you some pointers) Its caused by nervousness or bordom, change of scenery, lack of attention, or even it can be a health problem. it can be hard to break. make him feel comfortable. he should have toys, treats, and you should spend lots of time with him. they love to be held and talked to.
african grays are one of the most intelligent birds out there. they have an amazing volcabulary. they live for over 80 years. (mine's in my will!!) i would never give mine up for anything!!

Answer 2

Molting is perfectly normal parrot behavior. It occurs usually twice a year, in the Spring and Fall. But because our parrots live in a different environment then their wild cousins, molting can occur at other times of the year. Various changes in temperature can trigger a molt.

The length of a molt varies bird to bird and molt to molt. Some birds will molt for a week or two, others will molt for longer. The best way to handle a molt is to offer lots of baths and to increase the amount of protein in the birds diet. African Greys are known for their love of cooked chicken! Which is a great source of protein. Cooked eggs are also a very good source of protein.

During and after the molt, you may notice little poky white things (called pin feathers) sticking out from the bird. This is normal. They are new feathers growing in to replace the other ones that have molted out. If your bird allows you, you can gently preen the pin feathers by rolling the white sheath (keratin) between your fingers. Remember, be gentle as the pin feathers might be sensitive.

Answer 3

Molting is definitely normal and many animals do it. It's like a dog shedding its fur or a snake shedding its skin. The parrot loses some scruffy feathers and grows nice new feathers in those places. It occurs probably every six months and lasts a week to two weeks, as I've experienced.

However, if you're seeing bald patches come up on the bird or you can see the parrot picking at himself harder than normal, he may be plucking. The stress of his normal owner being gone, ill, and in the hospital may be scary to him and birds have few outlets to express this. They tend to act out of their regular behaviour, like scream, pluck, become destructive or mean, or lethargic. If you do notice bald spots, you can ask your friend how to deal with her individual bird's plucking. If she's never dealt with it before, swap some toys in his cage around, spend lots of time with him, offer showers to him often, and offer some wood or shreddable toys. You may want to look into taking him to an avian vet to see if it could possibly be a health problem, or if it's not, a vet would give great advice on how to deal with it. http://aav.org/vet-lookup if your friend doesn't direct you to a vet.

Answer 4

make sure you feed it vegetables and fruits everyday untill the molt is over. they need these more then ever during a molt.
make sure you spend time with it or leave thet.v on.
even just being in the same room as it makes it feel secure.

Answer 5

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww20e.htm
Here is an excerpt from the web link above:
Molting is defined as the natural process for the gradual replacement of old, tattered, or damaged feathers with new feather growth.

I encourage you to read this site and others to learn more about this special animal you are babysitting!

Answer 6

Moulting is when they get rid of all their feathers and get the new ones. they do this as a natural thing. Don't worry about it it's 100% normal

Answer 7

yes it normal it could last a week to a month.

Answer 8

It's normal she could do it until she feels right