feather eating

ambros1a · Post by **ambros1a** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 11:09 pm

ok, just wondering if anyone has a big feather eater? :shock:

i dont mean just the pretty little fluffy ones, or gettin stuck in/on her beak, but she will actually bite off, and eat the bigger feathers too... :shock:

i understand this may happen in the wild.. but it can happen a lot sometimes.

should i be using the shell grit i got? coz ive been told they dont need it and i havent seen it mentioned here, maybe its a digestive kinda thing? i have so many ideas, no solutions, google hasnt given me much

iaowings · Post by **iaowings** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 11:46 pm

I don’t use grit as it is bad for some parrots (my ekkie especially). I don’t know about eating feathers but George will pay with the ones he looses. He lost a tail feather (it fell out one day) I had the hardest time getting that away from his so I let him have it. I like to save tail feathers. Well he chewed it and played with it. he had these game were he would throw it into the air and try to catch it in his beak or something not sure what he was doing but it lasted for three days. Then Carmen broke a tale feather and he got to it first so I didn’t get to save Carmen’s first lost tail feather. Are you sure that you bird is eating them or just chewing on them.

I hope you don’t mean that your bird is plucking its feathers and then eating them. I have never heard of a bird eating feathers, weird. If it is actually eating them and is plucking to eat them maybe a vet trip is in order to do a blood test to see if there are any major nutritional deficiencies or God forbid illness you don’t know about.

ambros1a · Post by **ambros1a** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 12:01 am

well, its not so much plucking her feathers, just when shes grooming, once in a while you see her actually eat it, and if u try take it off her - shell fight ya for it, if it snaps, shell simple chew on the piece she has, try take it from her mouth and your askin for it :shock:

CatsChair · Post by **CatsChair** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 6:59 am

what if you give her something else (like a peanut or pepper) as a trade?

xo Missi · Post by **xo Missi** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 7:50 am

Do NOT use grit with parrots. Only if the bird is on an all seed diet.

fiona · Post by **fiona** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 10:02 am

I buy undyed turkey feathers from a craft store and Fiona loves tearing them up as she does with her own feathers. However, I wouldn't say she's actually ingesting them.

Bird crazy · Post by **Bird crazy** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 9:39 pm

I think they do use them like toys. And maybe because it came off the bird
they are a little more "attached" to them and not so likely to give them up.

Nila got a small fluffy feather loose yesterday when he was preening and it stuck to his face at his eye and then his foot and then his beak. He was so frustrated he was growling and trying to shake it off his head. Everytime I tried to help he would nip at me. like it was my fault. So I let him figure it out himself. When he finally got rid of it he did this big like sigh, fluffed all his feathers and shook them and squated down to rest with the maddest look on his little face. I just laughed at him silly bird.

I think it's normal for them to play and chew the feathers they lose. It's part of their preening. Not a scientific view just my observation.