Almost no feathers left!Help

[chicco]

Hi everyone im new here and joined because my grandma has an african grey called Chicco who is plucking feathers from his (well we presume he's a he) chest, neck, wings-everywhere.He's almost bald and looks a mess.
Chicco is 9 years old and the plucking has been happening for about 4 or 5 months.
He has been to the vets and after a small fortune my grandparents are none the wiser as to why he is doing this and neither is the vet.
They have tried nibble deterrent and anti-mite and insect spray, and Davinova C calcium concentrate in case it was calcium deficiency-nothing has worked.
He has a very good diet and in my opinion is spoilt (i call him 'the brat' ) he has lots of toys and still enjoys ripping them to shreds too including really thick rope toys.He most certainly isnt bored!
Nothing has changed in his environment and he even plucks himself when he is out of the cage so its not just happening inside the cage.
Any advice would be most appreciated as my grandparents are at their wits end with it and are getting embarrassed to take him with them when they go away for weekend breaks etc.

[Lisa B]

can you post a pic? usually plucking on the wings and or tail is more behavioral. when its on the body, its usually medical. There are EXCEPTIONS to this tho. Its only an observation among many grey caregivers, after being cleared of medical issues.
What tests did the Dr's run.
I can tell you my Sydney started to pluck before I was diagnosed with an Illness. So, he knew I was sick before I was. I spent mucho bucks to get a clean bill of health on him, only to be diagnosed myself.
I do believe they are very much in tune to us.
Even if they are pluckers, the most important thing, is that they are healthy.
I had a grey, who was in absolute perfect feather and a stunning boy. He looked like that till the day he died. you would never have looked at him and seen a gravely ill bird. So he was increditably georgous bird, who was dead.
Thus, my thoughts, on even tho plucked,,,the most important thing is that they are HEALTHY.

i would stay away from the topical sprays and bitters. Look more into dietary needs and foreging ideas.
Does he has FS lighting or get any natural sunlight?
he can be on the best diet, but if he is unalbe to absorb the nutrients needed (thus the sun or FS) diet really means nothing.

Same with humans. I have Fibromyalgia. usually people with FM also can not absorb vitamin D. I am on 100,000 mgs. of Vitamin D in perscription strenth to help my body absorb it and was asked about how much sun I get. While I live by the shore I dont get there often, and the only additional sun I get would be from the FS lighting I have in my house.

your grandmother is welcome to call me at the store if she would like to talk about her baby. 609-698-0001

[Dana64]

Hi there... I certainly agree 100% with everything Lisa posted. After you have been able to secure a clean bill of "physical" health from your avian vet... then I would try a product called "Pluck No More"... I used it on my CAG who didn't pluck his feathers but he broke them off... so he always had a "downy" look on his chest. The breaking of his feathers was a "mental health" issue not a physical health issue for my CAG, and the best way to describe the Pluck No More product is that is acts like "prozac" for parrots... it's a 100% natural product... made up of herbs and extracts, etc. It calmed Mackie down and he stopped breaking his feathers.

I'm not saying it's the answer for you, but it's worth a try... it worked for me...

Hope this helps and good luck with Chicco....

[chicco]

Thanks for the replies In answer to the first reply i can post a picture if i can work out how to do it but i wont be seeing my gran until next week so wont be seeing chicco until next week either and the only pics i have right now are before this all started. Also its very nice of you to add a phone number to give to my gran to chat to you with im sure she would appreciate but i dont recognise the layout of the number we are in England and im guessing its not a phone number for England? Chicco doesnt have false lighting at all but he does get a lot of natural light from outside and even when he is in his cage he still gets natural lighting as he is situated at the window.
To the 2nd reply-where did you buy the 'pluck no more'? and rouhgly how much does it cost? maybe i could pick some up for my gran on my way to see her next week-anything is worth a try.

[Dana64]

Hi there... you can buy it online from kingscages.com - I'm not sure if they ship internationally... I'm sorry, I did not know you are in England... (my husband is from Manchester, coincindentally)...

[Lisa B]

I am in the USA. If your Grandmother prefers, she can email me.
theplatinumparrot@verizon.net

I would see if kings would ship internationally . They might.

[Pacosmomma]

The light thru the window doesn't count as natural light. You need to get a full spectrum light bulb.

[Shelley]

Well l have kept all parrot types for a good number of years and l hafto say IMVHO-
it's a handling thing, there are some birds who enjoy being petted more than others.
Some need handling a lot to keep them contented, (human contact), whereas other's are quite happy with toys etc. Sometimes a mirror will help.
Females are worse at plucking! Not in all cases but males preen less and are not so fastidious. l have found females do it a lot when they broody. IF you can find them a mate it can sometimes become a thing of the past, but sad to say - once a bird starts to pluck it rarely ever stops altogether.
Try certain distractions, like a talk based radio left on, try not to leave bird on its own for very long, (this is one of the major problems with plucking). People who work and own a bird will find this commonplace.