Almost Bare Legged..

Evie

Regular Member
But not quite.


I know I spend 6 hours out of the house on a daily basis but the rest of the time, Im home.


When Im out, Ruby has the tv or radio and a light on,particularly if its dark on my return.


I try to give a good diet but shes picky.Table foods arent given, and I try to have her out as often as possible.Sometimes the whole day.


Ive never seen her pluck, but then I do see little tiny fluffy bits on the bars or whatever.


Shes always had bareish legs, not the full on trousers I like so much on Greys.


Shes fit and well, (touches wood), isnt clipped, no other bare bits.


She doesnt like taps or anything, but prefers her dog bowl for a bath,not keen on spray.


Any suggestions??
 
The fluffy bits on the bars are normal :)


Could just be a bad habit, but could also be that her legs are itching her for some reason. Has she seen a vet recently? Might be worth getting it checked out so you can rule out a medical reason.


Flint overpreens his neck and underarms. Its just a habit now but I do spraw him with Avix Soother every day and shower him properly every 2-3 days. Even if Ruby doesn't like a spray I'd do it daily anyway - its really important for them.


Flint is a bit fussy with food as well but I find if I puree things he likes along with things he doesnt like (but are good for him) he will generally eat it. What is Ruby's typical diet in a day?
 
In a day, I give Johnstone and Jeffs low sunflower for Greys.


I have tried desperately hard to give Harrisons and Tidymix but have lost the battle.Shes been with me almost 2 and a half years.Shes 10 in May.


She will have the seed and vegetables such as peas,cauliflower,swede,....perhaps too some banana,apple,pear,.cherries,a piece of cheese,toast,cucumber,


Im trying to add tomatoes,carrots, but not having much luck.
 
Doesn't sound like a terrible diet to me, great she eats some veg :). Could add some palm oil extract as well - its very good for them.


Does she eat the veg raw or cooked?


Also, does she eat everything in the Johnston and Jeffs? (I know Flint tends to pick out his favourite seeds and leave the dried fruits etc!)


I read somewhere that females when hormonal often pluck their legs, maybe some of the other will have some experience of this.


I'd still be tempted with a vet check, for peace of mind that there isn't a medical reason for it :thumbsup:
 
I have a male AG ( now approx 15 years old) that I took in as a rescue/rehome, when I first got him he was really quite plucked, pretty much only the head had full feathering, I have had him a few years now and he has grown his tail and wings ( My vet did a procedure called wing pinning, where donated feathers are pinned onto his own wings) It certainly helped him, but was a risky procedure, and in hindsight I would have liked to try other ways to sort the so called "problem". He still picks at his chest and from my observations it is certain things that trigger it, one thing I have observed is when a bee, fly or wasp is in his vicinity, something "alien" in his room which makes him very agitated (I apologise for such a long post, but I find this behaviour fascinating and close to my heart) anyway, another observation is his does not like being covered at night, or the cover being left on after sunrise, if he picks it always tends to be early morning when his cover is still on and he is waiting for me to "get up" and uncover him. I also know another Male AG that was expressing the same behaviour, my friend decided to not cover his bird at all, and it seemed to radically reduce the feather picking quite dramatically. I think observing your bird is really the key to finding out exactly what the problem is, and I cannot stress enough to keep a diary of every observations you make, its amazing when its all written down the patterns you can see in his/her behaviour. Be subtle with any changes you make to the environment and make a note of it in your diary. I also attended and passed the Susan Friedman professional course, it was the best money I have spent, It taught me so much, I still have a lot to learn, we never stop learning, but I am enjoying the journey and so are all my birds.
 
It may not even be a problem Yvette,maybe if you can post a pic?..Just looked at my two and Traff has a lot more feathery legs than Zuri, so I assume they do vary.


That's interesting Squid, we were talking about pinning on another thread, has Eric got his flights now?...also congrats on passing the course, hopefully we will learn a lot from you :thumbsup:
 
very interesting... i have sent you a message squid...


evie i dont know..mine are both still young but Baby has less feathers on her legs then luna


and baby is 10 months older then Luna
 
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It may not even be a problem Yvette,maybe if you can post a pic?..Just looked at my two and Traff has a lot more feathery legs than Zuri, so I assume they do vary.


That's interesting Squid, we were talking about pinning on another thread, has Eric got his flights now?...also congrats on passing the course, hopefully we will learn a lot from you :thumbsup:

I think you are referring to imping, not pinning. Pinning is where an internal, (permanant or temporary) splint is attched to bones. I had this done to my legs aftrer I was hit by a car. Imping is not invasive; it's just the attaching of donor feathersonto a bird's clipped/damaged flight feathers to protect them and restore flight immediately


Evie, your diet does not sound too bad at all; you might increase the amount of pulses for protien. Birds will often eat anything when it is served *warm and has a sloppy consistency*. This stimulates the 'gagging' response they use when taking warm regurgitated food from another bird. I use this method when I have to give medicines, as birds will then drink antibiotics from a syringe/spoon voluntarily.
 
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put your head on your right shoulder..... :)


Now you look daft but is it any clearer??????xxx lol
 
Doesn't look to bad to me, and her diet sounds like what Jenny has, she is a fussy eater as well as Ruby (from what you have said before). Have you tried Nature's harvest tropical mix, Jenny loves this, it has lots of good things in as well as hulled sunflower seeds (only a few, but makes it tasty for them). I know Scarlett sells big bags but if you want to try some i can always post you some. Also do you give her any supplements such as a calcium and vit D supplement as well as a broad spectrum vitamin supplement? She will need these as she won't eat pellets :)
 
Ive got some Calcivet.....but of course, always refused.and if I put it on anything, its refused..Ive tried palm oil..refused..same on toast...Ive tried birdie bread..have a freezer full...refused....Ive eaten the stuff myself!!
 
Jenny won't eat her supplements or palm oil, i put the supplements in porridge made with water or camomile tea and add a little honey, she'll now take it off a spoon so i know she has had hem, worth a go, but make it a game and don't add calcivet for the first few times :thumbsup:
 
Pics of legs........


Jenny ( plucker)


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Max's legs before and after he started plucking


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Hey, thanks for that photo, looks just like my Eric, you know on my thread I was talking about beaks hooked over more than some others, just an observation really, thats not extreme plucking at all really, but we can rule out the hooked beak being related to a liver problem, because Eric had the most thorough blood test available, and all was well, the only slight problem was a raise in what the vet called a "muscle trauma" the vet sort of explained it as an old wound or trauma which is making him ache sometimes?


Greg, yes, it was imping, its just my vet did call it pinning...its really very simple, cut the shaft of the existing feather, stick inside the sheath a small pre cut piece of cotton bud (about an inch) then cut the quill from the donated feather (about an inch) then push the donated feather over the plastic bit of cotton bud...simples.


I probably shouldnt really say this, but if you bird is used to being handled, you could easily do it yourself? There is no real aftercare needed, the new feathers growing through push the donated ones out, just like a moult.
 
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