Poor feather condition

Hi all

I have an african grey called Jasper and he is healthy, talks, sings etc but the tips of his feathers are starting to go bold. He has never been a feather plucker but he obviosly does preen like any other bird. I feed him on good quality food and has fresh water every day. I also give him the Calcivet Vitamins in his water and put the powder on his fruit and veg.

Along with his feathers his red tail isnt of good quality either.

Any advice would be great.

Joe

Try reading this article here: Feather Plucking: Some Causes and Cures

Im still trying to get to the bottom of my african gray plucking her feathers, shes always talking, well feed etc but the front of her is completly blad, i've been looking for months now into why shes doing this but i've still yet to find the anwcer.

Thanks LiquidIce i think Jasper may need more moisture after reading the link you gave me. Ill spray him twice a day and see how i get on. I think i may need to let him out of his cage more too, i work full time so find it hard for him to be out all the time. I think when he is flapping in his cage when im at work this may be causing the poor condition too.

have you tried aloe vera gel/juice? not sure about the mixture (or if you even have to mix it with water, but people spray it on the feathers to moisturize. birds can also eat aloe vera spears.

have you tried offering toys specially made for feather-pluckers? just rotate the toys every 2 weeks or so for added stimulation.

when you are away from home, try leaving a radio on for your bird. some people even leave the tv on for their bird (ive heard a lot of people say that their birds like the cartoon network. :-/ )

jasper - what "high quality" food? does that mean pellets? if so, i would stop the vitamins for a while. if your parrot is a normal healthy parrot who is on good quality pellets, there is no need for added vitamins...AND there is such a thing as "too much of a good thing is bad". if the vitamins were NOT suggested by a vet, try eliminate the vitamins for 2 weeks to 3 weeks and see what happens.

Hi Kate

Jasper isnt a plucker, its just the tips on the end of his feathers that are bold. the actual stem, (i cant remeber whats its called) is there but there is no fluff attached if you know what i mean. I think he may just need more moisture ill get some aloe vera for him and spray it on him.

Ill try and stop the vitamins and see if that works.

His food is Johnson and Jeffson pellets, im in the united Kingdom so you may not of heard of it.

Many thanks for the advice


Thanks you

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