by merlin » Sat May 05, 2012 12:55 am
Dear Maggie,
Anytime you have a grey with feather picking problems, it always is a good idea to have your parrot vet checked before doing anything. That's because so many of the feather picking problems come from some physical cause. I'm sure since it has been 2 years, you have had her vet-checked. Peanuts could be a problem and does cause picking for many greys. What is her diet like? She may be missing certain nutrients. A nutritional profile through a blood test with the doctor could determine if there are nutritional deficiencies issues, plus giardia, aspergillosis, zinc poisoning, and so on. So that is always the best thing for you to do first.
Travel without being prepared for it could also trigger lots of stress, which is a big cause of picking. I know you have looked at many things in your home. How is the stress between you and other household members? Stress can play a big role in feather problems. We know that wild greys "drop" their tail feathers when they are caught in Africa and are under stress. This is similar to other ground feeders, such as doves, that eject their feathers when they are caught by predators. This may be nature's way of trying to help them escape the predators. They may be able to get away if the predator grabbed the feathers.
Therefore, I personally believe that being partial ground feeders, all greys' nervous systems (wild & pet) probably "loosen" their feathers when they are under stress. For example, when my Merlin has a night fright, she loses feathers. This may be a problem that lots of pet greys that are stressed out go through. Possibly, their nervous systems are stressed and the nervous system slightly loosens the feathers in the quills, which feels funny and irritates the bird and then makes it pick. This is another theory of what may be happening. Therefore, lessening stress is very important in a grey household.
Also, since your bird has been picking for 2 years, it may have turned into habit by now. This is much harder to break. You may consider some positive reinforcement technique where you praise and reward her when she is NOT picking.
The hard part is pinpointing the problem. After you have exhausted exploring possible physical problems, you may want to pursue some kind of positive reinforcement tactics to see if you can help her alleviate the habit. Also, try in your mind NOT to see her as a picked bird, but overlooking it.
Good luck. This is ONE of the hardest things to do... you may want to Google-search many different remedies that have worked for others.
Please keep me posted. Hoping this note was a little helpful.
GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-
www.AfricanGreys.com