My african grey is only 10 months old and now start of winter he started plucking his feathers...WHY??? HELP!!

Question

He has toys in his cage, he gets so much love and attention. He does not bite. He is not closed in his cage, he can walk around freely in our house. He talks, he gets healthy food. What could possibly be the reasond that start of winter he stars pulling his feathers? His cage is clean. Could it be because of winter time? I heard from someone that you get a dust mite spray that you should also use now and again but is this effective and could this maby be the reasond. We have moved the cage, if its not cold we take him outside for some sun. We are now clueless what this could be. Any ideas please reply to my question.

Answer 1

there were a lot of good answers to this question for another person here

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

you should take your bird to the vet, the vet can make sure it is not a *medical* problem like nutrition or mites.

maybe you can find an answer among all the answers to above question.

i feel your frustration. when i got my grey, i thought i was such a bird expert, i could not accept for months that i had a feather-picker. not MY grey!

my grey was picking because he was moving back and forth between my house and my dad's house, and with me he was alone all day while i worked and he couldn't handle that. i think mine picked cuz he was too smart. he THINKS too much. like a teenager cutting themselves after worrying if the universe has a plan or not, this grey thinks too much about everything humans do and gets all nervous and picks feathers.

hmm, since yours picks in the WINTER, i think maybe you need to get a humidifier? dry air (which it is in the winter) makes 'em pick.

or so say boooks i've read.

didn't work for our grey.

our grey got better with TV and after we let his wings grow out. he actually flies food over to the top of his cage where he watches TV and eats it while watching TV. birds like cartoons and kid shows. my theory is that greys pick because they are too smart and TV kills their extra brain cells.

also i read that greys, cuz they live so long, may be removed from their parents too young, causing them not to know how to preen their feathers correctly and makes them emotionally insecure.

i think ours does not know how to preen correctly. he gets irretated at his feathers adn beats his wing-feeathers with his beak like he beats at his toys. they irritate him but he doesn't pull them from base to tip like even my pet cockatiel knows how to do.

good luck. having a picking grey made me much less judgemental. i went through a phase of "not MY grey! i'm a good bird owner!" but accepted it and gave the bird to my dad.

i hope a humidifier works for you. maybe for you (winter?) it is just air dryness making your bird pick. it is hot and humid where they come from!

it cant' hurt to take the bird to a vet to make sure it is NOT medical or nutritional. also vets can give good advice.

Answer 2

I will tell you my experience with African Greys:  ONE  WEEK. I would be pretty distressed if mine started to pluck its feathers. I read that it is due only to boredom.  Yours appears to have a good life so it's a puzzle.  I would do something different.  Instead of allowing him the free run of your home, try spending a lot of time with him on your lap.  Mine loves it.   I get a towel, place him on top of it and wrap him in it, even covering its head.  MINE LOVES THIS....  I sit in front of the TV, caress him and spend about an hour or two a day doing this.  My son does the same.  They say also that you should feed him at least once a day with potato puree (mashed potato) or other boiled but cold vegetable puree. This  reinforces the bond between him and you.  In short, I would try to focus your attention more on him. That is what I do.

Answer 3

it could be he is bored, sick, pretty much anything! Do you feed him all seeds? That is unhealthy for birds. 80% of their diet should be fruits/veggies/and pellets and only 20% or less should be seeds. Take him to the vet, but in the meantime bath him in lukewarm water or a special bathing spray for birds. Give him toys and attention. Look around. Is there anything that could be scaring him? Take him to the vet if nothing improves!

Answer 4

okay how long have you had those toys in there how often does he play with them becuse if he doesn't play with his toys it could be a sighn of bordom