# african grey plucking



## Fletch1988 (Apr 11, 2012)

We have a african grey parrot named harley he is about 7 years old we have had him for about 1 year now first 5 months were ok then after that he started plucking him self on is top flanks wings mainly on his chest downwards you can see them coming back but then he just sits there plucking them out we took him to a avian vet he gave him a vitamin injection and hormone injection still no differance in him still plucking he talks and is happy in himself we feed him parrot food and fruit daily i now trying uvb bulb above is cage switch it on for 8 hours aday.


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## arvey (Jan 3, 2008)

Hi 
He needs a blood test for a body profile. Ionised Calcium must be included in the profile as this is a common deficiency in greys. There are soother sprays available which may help. Conversion to a pelleted diet is usually required as well as a course of anti inflammatories to prevent mutillation caused by itchiness as the new feathers grow.


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Did anything change just before your Grey started plucking? 

Buy some Aloe juice from a health food shop & add a few drops to warm water to spray the Grey with. This will help to soothe the skin & encourage growth.


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

I have recently started working with ann from The Bird School by Ann Castro she is a parrot behaviour author and has a very popular parrot educational website in German and English.

It is well worth heading over to her website, there is a ton of info on there.

All the best

John


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## Sarah-Jayne (Jul 4, 2007)

African greys are very prone to plucking their feathers. Does your parrot get lots of attention and have lots of toys/things to do? Is it plucking all the time or just when moulting?

My African grey has been rather over enthusiastic with her preening lately and her feathers ended up looking awful. She now has aloe vera juice in her water and gets sprayed with a herbal feather spray for parrots twice a week. She also has new toys to preen instead of herself and it has helped a lot.


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