African Greys

[MelonCoops]

I have inherited an African Grey parrot which unfortunately has been neglected and arrived with an almost bald chest after persistently plucking itself. She seems happy with us and has a nice new cage in which she sits and chats/whistles away. Is there any possibility that her feathers will grow back now she is in a happy stable environment?

[londondave]

Congrats on adopting this poor fellow.  We also have an African Grey.

I suggest you join a message board called Tailfeathers and post all your questions there.  It is full of experienced parrot keepers and people who also rescue and adopt birds.  http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/community/

I suggest you take this bird to an avian vet for a full check up, because feather picking can be caused by health related problems as well as behavioural problems, and it is worthwhile to rule out diseases like psittacosis.  Make sure that the bird is on a good varied diet of good quality seed mix, with minimal sunflower seeds and peanuts, has access to pellets and daily fresh fruit and veg.  Make sure he has planty of tiys to chew and things to do.  As long as he hasn't damaged the feather follicals, there may be a chance that the feather grow back of you can break the plucking behaviour.

My girlfriend is a veterinary nurse, and is a moderator at Tailfeathers.  She and many others will help you there.

[honkytonkman]

As an aside, my Aunt has an African parrot that's about 30 yrs old and he happiest when the door to his cage is left open and he can wander at will. He seems to have forgotten that he can fly, but is amazingly happy and healthy and thrives on interaction with people. (And her 4 dogs - he waddles about the floor with them.) It breaks my heart to see birds in cages who are largely ignored... They are social creatures, as much of part of family as any cat or dog, and deserve plenty of attention.

[londondave]

Agree with you totally honkytonkman.  Our  Grey "Rhoobarb" is out more than in, he has a huge cage anyway with lots of toys. The cage is steam cleaned regular and the layout and toys changed frequently. He comes in the bath with me and loves the water. They need lots of interaction/stimulation

Another reason for deather plucking is being around people who smoke! When tjhey preen the feathers, they taste the cigarettes, do not like it so rip it out.