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Re: Destructive Habits
Posted by GreyLady on 9/16/08

On 9/15/08, Pete wrote:
> I have a bonded pair of CAGs, the female(Gracie) will be
> two years old on 9/19/08 and the male(Luigi) is an older
> bird of unknown age. I realize that all Greys love to chew,
> but lately when I come into their room in the morning, I
> see that one or both have been chewing up the carpet. They
> are really chewing down to the backing of the rug and
> leaving quite a bit of chewed up pile around. I`m not
> worried about the rug, just them. Is this Normal behavior?
> Gracie is too young to mate, but could it be hormones?
> They sleep in separate cages with the doors open. The
> room gets very dark at night so I do not cover them. They
> get up with the Sun and have additional Full Spectrum
> Lighting from 10:00am until 8:00pm. Should I worry about
> the situation? Please Respond THANKS!! Pete

Yes, you definitely need to worry. But probably not about
what you think. They may be in real danger of being poisoned
by the carpet and/or the pad. Not only by the materials used
to make some carpets but by residue of a variety of cleaning
products that may have been used on it in the past, including
carpet sprinkles or any other cleaner. My suggestion is to
close those cages at night to keep them out of trouble. You
can only know they are safe if they are confined during the
night. What if you had a fire or some other reason you
needed to get them out of the house quickly? You must be
able to go right to their cages, get them into carriers and
get out. You may not have time to be chasing them down if
it's an emergency and they panic. Put a night light in the
room with them. Most birds get nervous in total darkness and
total silence, (during the day.) We have to remember that in
the wild, it's rarely if ever, totally dark like it can be
inside a home. Also, the only time it gets totally quiet is
when there are predators on the prowl. A night light, then a
radio with soft music or something during the day might make
a big improvement in their behavior. But, whatever it takes,
you must stop that carpet chewing. The same applies to wood
furniture, even it you don't care about the furniture. You
have to keep in mind the varnishes, paints, cleaning
products, etc. Good luck with them. GL

Posts on this thread, including this one

• Destructive Habits, 9/15/08, by Pete.
• Re: Destructive Habits, 9/16/08, by GreyLady.
• Re: Destructive Habits, 9/16/08, by Pete.
• Re: Destructive Habits, 9/18/08, by GreyLady.