Hi, this is the first time ive posted in the bird section and im sorry if its in the wrong place, i recently (about 10 weeks ago) rescued an african grey as the owner was going to put him to sleep, when i got him he had no fethers apart from on his head and a few very chewed wing and tail feathers, he had been kept for 2 years in somones dining room and only fed parrot complete food what looked like dog biscuites, i dont think he had ever seen fresh fruit and his lack of talking makes me wonder if hes had much human contact.
now ive managed to get him eating parrot mix and he will try a few bits of fresh food with alot of tempting, hes got lots of human company and toys now and has started to talk, my worry is he still strips his feathers out constantly, does anyone have any other ideas of how to help him stop this. thanks x

try spraying him with tepid water to encourage preening not plucking,and like your doing plenty of fresh fruit and veg,good luck ...tim
(mydog)

We've recently rehomed a blue fronted amazon (her previous owner had stuck her outside ina garage on her own ) She's made such brilliant progress in the last few weeks, she comes out of her cage now, sings, talks, whistles, etc.

I know nothing about birds so it's all new to me, just wanted to wish you luck 7 hope you can resolve this issue

It's not very often that a parrot that plucks will stop whatever you do with it

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thank you for your replies, i will give spraying him a try, its so sad as he lets the feathers start coming through and then will just strip them all in one go, as long as hes healthy and happy i dont mind if he has the oven ready look, just wanted to do everything i can to help him and make him feel better.
thank you cleo, i also dont have bird knowlage, infact im a little scared of them, i have to put a brave face on and act like ive done it all before to him so he doesnt sense im scared, his last owners couldnt even touch him, hes now letting me stroke his head but not happy with anything else but at least its something, ive read everything i can find on care and that of birds, so im just hoping im doing it all right, hope your bird continues to get better and least its nice to know theres someone in the same situation as me x

LOL, I must admit that I'm a bit scared of her beak - it looks like it's going to really hurt if (when?) she bites me!!!

Our parrot has never been out of her cage in 6yrs although she has done now for the past 3 wks. We just left the door open & gradually she has gained the confidence.

Last night she really wanted to climb on to my hand but was unsure a bit, we have plenty of time for her to decide if she wants to do this.

Its a behaviour that he has learned so its hard to stop a bird plucking. It makes them feel better in a bad situation aparently.

Distraction when plucking might work. when you see it happening offer a toy or agrape to distract the behaviour.
Its like smoking i presume. Even when you've packed in its what to do with the hands. So even though the bird is happier it still has the habit.

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Grandma to Jinja Dog, Mum to Tilly the Cavalier, Tattycat, Moomy, Choo, Sonic, Niven Mc Twisp and Lawna the rabbits and 1 guinea,17 budgies, 4 Cockatiels, 8 Goldfish.

It is very difficult to break that routine of them plucking once they have been doing it for a while - luckily this is not something we have ever experienced with Merlin. I always make sure he has like a shredding toy near him on his swing where he loves to sit so he plays with that alot, also he loves rope toys where he can undo the rope (apparently it's like a preening motion for them). I also spray him everyday.

If yours now has different distractions to what he used to and now eating healthy fruit & veg hopefully you might be able to get him to a point where he doesn't complete strip himself bare.

Keep us updated with his progress.

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Harvey - Beagle 4.5 years old
Willow - Old English Sheepdog x - 2.5 years old
Merlin - African Grey Parrot - 6 years old

RIP our Beautiful Girl : Zoe (Collie x) 1992 - 2006....Gone but never forgotten xx

The bird will take time to trust you.But I would not let it on your shoulder,keep it away from your face.Good luck with the plucking ...it's not easy to stop them kick the habit.

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oh i wouldnt dare let him on my shoulder..lol, he seems very hand shy and has only been stroked on his head as he comes to me when trying to change his food and water and rubs his head on my hand, its going to take a while for me to build up confidence too, hes the first bird ive ever touched, he seems a funny thing though,with his oven ready look and one of the only things he says is Charlie be a good boy... and thats cos i say it when i put my hand in to get the food bowl..lol think we are both on a learning curve and just wanted to check what im doing is right for him x