Too much dander......

External Since: Jun 28, 2003 Posts: 3

I have several problems with my African Grey:

1. Her dander gets all over the house. Is there any way to reduce the
amount of dander she has - or to get rid of it before it proagates
throughout the house?

2. She has eaten all her red tail feathers off - and looks rather shaggy
all over. My vet says she is perfectly healthy - but has no explanation for
her feathers.

3. She has a rather large cage - but is spoiled and insists on being
outside the cage when anyone is at home. If we leave her inside thcage, she
squeaks constantly. The squeaking is very annoying. Also, although she has
a perch on top of the cage, she'd rather perch on the edge of the cage and,
therefore, she poops on the floor. She has become far too much "work" to
keep and it is embarrasing when someone pops in unexpectedly.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to "fix" any of these problems?
Thanks........

External Since: Jun 28, 2003 Posts: 36

I think you have a number of problems, one of which being your apparent
inexperience with large birds. I am not saying this to sound 'holier than
thou' but just to state what appears to be a simple fact.

1) read my next post on "dust"

> 2. She has eaten all her red tail feathers off - and looks rather shaggy
> all over. My vet says she is perfectly healthy - but has no explanation
for
> her feathers.

She may be healthy but seems bored to me.... maybe lack of personal time,
or lack of toys, or poor diet, or all or any of those. is terms of time, you
need to plan to spend at least one half hour per day in a personal
relationship by which I mean petting, talking to the bird, etc. Your bird
also need to know you are 'there' at least 4 hours per day, meaning that
although you are not actively talking to or petting your bird, the bird can
see and hear you and be a part of your life. In terms of toys, your bird
needs some permanent toys which are usually made of unbreakable plexiglass
and also it needs some disposable toys such as wood and rope chew toys. In
terms of diet, your bird needs basically a diet of bird pellets,
supplemented with raw fruit and vegetable. Clean water and a clean cage at
all times..

Unless, of course, you are mistaking 'eating' her red feathers for normal
moulting of the feathers. If that is the case, you should soon see your
bird losing more feather... ie. the other grey feathers, then the downy
feather. these will be replaced in a natural way. Your bird's diet need to
be good at all times, but it is even more important at moulting time.

If/when the time comes that she is too much bother or too much work, you and
she both will be better off with another owner.

Lorraine