Question:
Hi Diane,
I purchased a collar for my African Gray, Spanky, and she’s been wearing it for about a month now. I’ve had her confined to the bottom of her cage since she doesn’t seem to be able to climb on any perches and I’m afraid she may fall.
She just had surgery under her wing since the treatments for her mutilation have not totally worked. We’re afraid that she might have to wear a collar all of her life (she’s already chewed the velcro at the top) and I’d hate to think that she won’t be able to ever be on a perch up high again.
Could you tell me your thoughts on this….. Will she ever be up on her perch, has any bird ever been able to not wear a collar after mutilation, is there a way that the collar won’t get in the way of her feet?
Thank you,
GL
Answer:
Thanks for your question about needing help for your self-mutilating African grey Parrot. I've done a ton of research on feather plucking, but since I am not familiar with your particular case, I can't really offer an opinion for Spanky. What I do know is that hand-reared parrots are especially prone to self-mutilation problems. Parrots are very smart and highly social. African Grey's are flock animals, making them a higher at risk for plucking problems. When hand-reared by humans, young parrots actually miss out on critical developmental milestones about how to preen, how to calm and entertain themselves. This angst turns into emotional turmoil that causes the bird unbearable anxiety.
Let me know what you think!
