Feather Chewing GCC (only chews when we're out of the house or he's in bed)

[Printer bird]

Hi all! I haven't been on the forums for awhile but have posted before about our rescue GCC, Charlie, that we adopted in November. Some background:
We adopted him from a gentleman who kept him in a filthy cage with only one small toy and did not socialize him well. We put him in a larger cage with lots of toys and got him going on a better diet (took months, though). A few weeks after we got him, he became very ill and spent a couple days at the vet. We never determined the official cause but was likely due to the poor living conditions at his old house. After he started getting better, he started chewing his feathers. So off to the vet we went and they thought maybe we were now seen as his mates and he was sexually frustrated. We were to have him sleep in a sleep cage (in a quiet room), no shouldering, no dark hidey holes (like nesting), etc. We followed this advice, the chewing improved (with ups and downs) and then he started in again fairly seriously, just after his tummy was starting to get red again. So back to the vet, changed a few things and he seemed to be OK again (with some slips) but is now back to chewing his feathers, including his wing shoulder on one side (now just downy grey - all green is gone in one patch). We are doing absolutely everything we can think of for this guy, great diet (pellets, veg, beans etc), tons of toys, lots of attention, regular baths and sprays, lots of sleep, a window to look out of, radio on when we're gone, a natural light next to the cage and forays outside in his travel cage (for the sunlight).

We are out of ideas and are hoping maybe someone on here has a similar experience that either went away over time or perhaps a suggestion that we haven't tried. He ONLY chews when we are out of the house or when he's in his sleep cage. Sometimes when we are gone he doesn't chew, sometimes we will have been home all day and he will chew when we're out of the house for only an hour. He is quite attached to us and the vet says he seems high strung for a GCC and he will yell for us if we're out of the room (as all parrots do) but he sounds like he's being tortured sometimes he's so upset. We don't respond to the yelling but have taught him to whistle and we'll whistle back. We think he's just super anxious when we're not around and don't know how to combat this (again, lots of toys that are rotated and a variety of them - we also put food in different places in his cage).

Sorry for the novel, we are just hoping that there is something else we could be doing for him beyond the usual tricks for feather chewers. Other than this, he is well-behaved (lots of tricks and words), steps up and seems to be a happy, playful little guy. We love him lots and want to do what's best for him and feel like we're falling short. Thanks for any support or advice.

 

[suebee]

firstly do not feel bad or that you are not doing enough! it could be habit

nut chews her feathers, and i try to ignore it, but it is heart breaking when i know she is chewing a new feather, grrr her feathers came back after molting, as she really only had her flight feathers at the start of this yr, and even they where chewed.

when we are out i try to leave telly on, but have you tried dvd of flocks of birds?? nut will sit an watch these with interest, only problem is when the flocks are flying she tries to fly with the flock lol anything with natural bird sounds etc she will watch so that might be worth a try

 

[Auggie's Dad]

It sounds like you are doing everything just right. It may just take (more) time.

Could you tell us more, though, about the bath routine? How often does he get bathed, etc.

Have you used, or your vet recommended, any sprays or cremes? You can get an aloe lotion (pure aloe, not any of the cosmetic junk that is often sold at pharmacies) and put some on the areas he's picking. It's probably largely habit, but it can be a habit that is reinforced by the sensitive skin. This is the danger of chewing/plucking: once they start that area of skin feels odd, so they pick at it more - it's like that problem tooth, or removed tooth that your tongue just wont leave alone.

Working at both the behavior level (which it sounds like your doing well) and the medical level of soothing the skin is often the only way to make progress.

I suspect there are many other good sources of aloe or soothing products for birds, but if you don't find others I've used Avix before to good result - like the "rain" and ointment here:
AVIx Avian Care Products at World Of Birds

 

[ChristaNL]

I hear you, same here...
(even though there are other parrots around, I always leave radio/tv on etc.)
If I disappear longer than 6 hours a day - the next day there will be a demolished large feather...


One of the petshops came up with an anti-anxiety-machine (low frequencies or something like it -> RelaxoBird from the RelaxoPet series. Never heard anyhting about it before but I am almost desperate enough to give it a try/ even though it is probably cowsmanure!)