Why does my african grey pull some of his feathers?

Question

he is 8 yrs old and he only pulls out his tail and wing feathers when he was 2 yrs old he got away for a week but found his way home ever since he has been afraid to fly he will let his wing feathers grow some but not his tail feathers as soon as they come in he pulls them how can i change this behavior

Answer 1

Are you spending as much time with him after he came back as you were before his vacation? Most feather plucking is neurotic. In a very few cases it is a vitamin deficiency.

Answer 2

usually stress related or mites if he is not cleaning himself

Answer 3

Your best bet would be to take him to the vet who may be able to shed some light on the exact reason.

It is a common problem and the causes are often boredom, stress, irritation, fear and loneliness.

It is a very hard problem to fix once it has started, so the sooner you get him looked at the better for your bird.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Is he lonely in a small cage?

If so... its stress. Big birds have to be out of there cage pretty much 24/7 if they have a small cage. Take him out and let him sit on your shoulder all day he'll feel SO special

Answer 5

Well the main question is "why is he picking his feathers?" It's because he's going through so much stress because he flew away. He's scared or doesn't want to because he's scared to. He doesn't want that to happen again. A tip I would give you is go to your local bird or pet shop and buy some molting treats even though he isn't molting. Try putting as many fruits and veggies in his diet as possible. Spend time with him and talk softly to him. He may slowly gain his confidence again. Another tip is to get his wings clipped. No matter what people say it's not cruel. He may have an injury on his wing.

Hope I helped.

Answer 6

Usually any sort of neurological behavior such as screaming or plucking is caused by lack of mental and physical stimulation. This can include spending time with his ir her "flock members" meaning you or the primary caregiver of the bird as well as plenty of metal enrichment such as lots of hands on training time with you, lots of interactive toys that can test a greys intelligences and many other things. Greys have a huge rep for being intelligent but what many ppl don't realize is that greys also have tendencies to become very stressed very fast and also if not given the  amount of time they require, a minimum of 4 hours of one on one time with you, they might resort to behaviors that are unwanted and harmful to you or themselves. When he starts plucking his tail feathers try to draw his attention to something that would be more desirable such as a chew block or a strap of untreated leather and praise him for it. Nothing is better for a grey than lots of attention and love and if you direct his behaviors to something more productive like destroying toys and not feathers, than im sure you will see improvement with him eventually. The trick is to just be patient and kind to him and he will come around eventually. I hope this helps!

oh and also keep his wings clipped for right now or at least while your training him. Even though im a strong advocate of letting birds fly free(i own a flighted lovebird myself), your bird has already gone through enough trauma when he flew away and in any case its best just to keep them clipped for right now for his safety and possibly yours.

Answer 7

I ran across a fairly new product called "pluck no more" on the King's Cages catalog. Supposedly it has no side affects. I HAVE NEVER USED THIS PRODUCT, however King Cages is a very reputable business as far as I am concerned. I would recommend asking an avian vet if they have heard of it or try to find someone who has actually used it before getting a bottle. If anyone out there has had success with this product, please let us know.  You can find more info on the product at:

www.kingscages.com -or- www.plucknomore.com