More Chatboards | Print | Share | Report Post

Post: Plucking chest feathers

Posted by John O on 11/30/08

Hi and thank you for the response. Malcolm is, we
believe, a male. This is what the breeder told us when we
purchased him five years ago, but they did say that
Malcolm might be a female. His/her diet consists of a
commercial food product known as Vitakraft Premium Menu.
Malcolm also gets unsalted peanuts, grapes, and some
veggies. He bathes every so often by going over to his
drinking container and splashing water all over himself
(and everything else). He does this several times a
month.Malcolm has never been to an avian in his life. I
probably should have acted on this behavior of the
plucking sooner, as Malcolm has been doing it for several
years now. I have located a local avian vet and will be
taking Malcolm there next week. Also, Malcolm was moved
from the kitchen area where he was able to get out of his
cage everyday, which he did, to our bedroom where he is
now. We had obtained a large dog, English Mastiff, and
were afraid that he might pounce on Malcolm, so that is
why he was moved. Since being in the bedroom, Malcolm
will not come out of his cage. He's been in this area for
about one year now and he just will not come out of the
cage, no matter how hard we coax him and how much time the
cage door is left open. Malcolm has a number of toys and
we've just purchase several more for him but I do not feel
that boredom is the reason for this. He continues to talk
up a storm, mimics the phone, calls out my son's names all
the time, responds to us when we get home, says "hello"
when the phone rings, calls out my name and my wife's name
to the point that it is hard to tell who is doing the
calling. Literally talks to the dog and tells him to "come
here" and seems to actually use barking sounds. Malcolm is
an amazing bird and we all love him, even if he sometimes
comes out with some nasty words that have upset the
neighbors in the summer when the windows are open. Upset
to the point that they have asked us to close the windows
when they have company over for outside meals. Malcolm
acquired this language, we assume, from our two teen aged
sons, who are no longer teens and have, more or less,
admitted their errors
in judgment. Regardless, Malcolm is a dear soul and we
want him to be better. Any suggestions that you have will
be much appreciated! Thank you. JohnO
----- Original Message -----
From: "GreyLady" [email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 8:16 AM
Subject: Re: Plucking chest feathers


>A response to your posting on the Greys Chatboard
> has been posted on Birdmart.com! The complete response
is
> included below. If an email address was provided, you
can
> email the person who posted this reponse by hitting
> "reply" to this email.
>
> Please tell a friend about Birdmart.com!
>
> POSTED AT:
http://birdmart.com/chatboards/greys/topic4826/11.30.08.05.
16.26.html
>
> MESSAGE:
> ========
> On 11/29/08, John Oakes wrote:
>> My Africian Grey continues to pluck out all the
feathers
>> on his chest. He has come to the stage where there is
pink
>> skin showing and he seems to be biting his skin. He has
>> several toys, is 5 years old and talks continuously. He
>> seems content and happy, eats well and is a great bird.
>> Could this be because he is bored? Any suggestions on
how
>> to stop this activity? Thank you.
>
> John. More information is needed for us to try to help
you.
>
> Describe his diet.
> Are you sure it is a male bird?
> What are his bathing habits?
> When was the last time he had a check up with a good
avian
> vet?
> Describe the surroundings of his cage.
> How often, and for how long, is he out of his cage?
> How long has he been doing this plucking?
>
>
>
>
>
> Remote-IP: 64.12.117.16 Sun Nov 30 05:16:26 PST 2008
> ©Birdmart.com 2000-05. All Rights Reserved.
>

Posts on this thread, including this one

Plucking chest feathers, 11/30/08, by John O.

Re: Plucking chest feathers, 11/30/08, by karen.

Re: Plucking chest feathers, 11/30/08, by GreyLady.