Ok so our house is being remodeled right now and it is sort of stressing my african grey (storm) out. He started sticking his head through the bars of his cage and it started making his feathers on his neck break off. now when he sticks his head through the bars he pulls the feathers off his lower neck, top back with his beak.
He doesn't really let anyone else hold him except for me, and I try to hold him as much as I can through out the day, but I can't hold him all day. As soon as i stick him back in his cage he starts doing it again. He by no means has a small cage and has tons of food water and toys. i give him treats occasionally.
What more can i do? I just feel really bad, hes like my baby and hes starting to look like a vulcan instead of a parrot!
2007-03-23 12:11:33 · 7 answers · asked by chelsea c 2 in Pets ➔ Birds
He is definitly NOT a she we have had him since 1990 and he has never layed an egg. our house is NOT noisey. I think what is stressing hi out is all the changes. so I don't want to change him to another room on top of that.
2007-03-24 14:17:04 · update #1
We went through a similar problem recently, and our parrot was quite stressed for a time. Can you move him to a different part of the home where he doesn't hear the noise, even if it is for part of the day? If he is in an area where there's high traffic (a lot of strangers coming and going past the cage), put a cover over part of the cage where the people walking past will not see him. He will know they're there, but he will be comforted in knowing they can't see him if he goes behind the cover.
He, also, needs plenty of sleep that is uninterrupted by noise. If it is possible, see if you can move him to a part of the home where he will have at least 10 to 12 hours of quiet to sleep. During this time, also be sure he has plenty of high-nutrition food and clean water.
As a second note, also, if he can pull his head through the bars of the cage, then the cage has the wrong-sized bars. The bars should not be wide enough for him to pull his head through--he could easily strangle himself. Seriously, not meaning to scare you, but the bar spacing is very important in a safe cage for your bird. The spacing you indicate, when you have an African Grey, sounds like a cage large enough for a Macaw, and that's way too large for an African Grey--in terms of the bar spacing, that is. Since he knows he can stick his head through the bars, then in the stress of the home remodeling, he may be trying to leave the cage for a less stressful refuge.
2007-03-23 16:40:49 · answer #1 · answered by birdybrain50 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think he's a she? If you don't know the sex of your bird for sure - ex. your bird was with another bird and the other bird laid "fertilized" eggs that actually hatched - then you don't know the sex of your bird. She is not having such a big problem with the remodeling. She's going through a phase, nesting herself and may even lay a 'dead' egg in her nest she's building. If she does, give her a day or two with it then take it away, she'll just continue to lay more and tear herself up to nest them. If she has wooden perches she will tear those up to nest also. My female lovebird is hideous, I know what you mean!
2007-03-24 11:01:44 · answer #2 · answered by dolphinroc 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My suggestion is to move his cage to a different room,The change may be enough to stop the feather pulling because he will be too interested in discovering his new area.Leave a radio with a talk show on or even better...A TV.
2007-03-23 19:53:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
If your bird can stick his head between the cage bars, you need another cage with more appropriate bar spacing. It sounds like you have him in a macaw-sized cage.
2007-03-23 20:20:35 · answer #4 · answered by Resident Heretic 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My friend has a bird, and he pulls out his feathers all the time. He is just stressed. If he keeps doing that, though, it might be best for you to take him to the vet. He might pull them to much and get sick or something.
2007-03-23 20:31:39 · answer #5 · answered by doggielova24 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take him to the vet. the vet may put on a collar so he cannot reach his feathers to pull them out.
Your vet could also check him out for diseases and allergies.
If he is pulling out feathers from boredom; you have a lot of work to do by training that behaviour out of him.
2007-03-24 08:22:44 · answer #6 · answered by Rev. Two Bears 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try taking him to your vet. They may be able to perscribe something for the short term to help him stay calmer. You do not want him to get in this habit, so do whatever you can.
Good luck!
2007-03-23 19:52:39 · answer #7 · answered by Christie D 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋