IndianRingNeck.com

Since the forum I belong to for african greys isn't nearly as great as this one, I figured I'd post my question on here....

How can I tell if my CAG is molting? Over the past 2-3 days, I've seen a lot of his front and down feathers on the bottom of the cage (I've seen him even "shake" some off...) Here's a little background info- he's a little over a year old and he's a "picker" and have seen him pick out some feathers and chew on them...

Also, while I'm on the molting topic, do IRNs molt? If so, when can I expect this and what should it look like?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!

xoxo-
Nicole (me), Mojito (CAG), Merlot (IRN), and Margarita (IRN)

O yes, IRN's certainly do moult!, we usually find a wing feather here, a tail feather there and lots of little fluffy feathers everywhere. Eventually Sanjay looks really motheaten with little white cuticles all over his head. Then he picks the cuticles off and a new feather appears, rather like taking the cover off a brolly and shaking it loose. Sanjay moults once a year in spring, and is given "Feather Up", the vits and minerals keep him cheerful and speed up the jacket growth. Your African Grey is probably cuticle picking.

Thank you for your replies! I will try changing the toys around more often and spraying him more (he's water-phobic lol)... Do you think that sour apple spray might help?

Yes, and when I spray Sanjay I add a drop of pure glycerin and a drop of pure rosewater to the water, as they are skin conditioners and help with excess powder and prevent scaly foot. Then I dry him with a hair dryer set on cool, he absolutely loves it!.