A Zeus and Hera- Feather Plucking Update: CBD Oil
🙉 Ah, Pluck It!
Sorry about the pun, how could I resist?
Besides, I adopted pluckers and — they pluck! Who would have thought?
Ok, yes, I knew 2 things when I adopted Zeus and Hera: 1) Once an African Grey has plucked for a month, it is extremely difficult to get them to stop. 2) Once an African Grey has plucked enough for feathers to come in as red feathers, as in Hera’s case, they are NOT red factors. They have sustained enough damage to their follicles that the color alters. Unfortunately, I was correct, Hera had plucked long enough to have damaged her follicles, my distinguished avian veterinarian agreed.
🌴Nevertheless, I Try!
Am I a glutton for punishment? I did have to consider this possibility… I’m asking the impossible, or close to it. But, life is short and it stirs my soul to think that I am helping heal my parrots. What if I could help Zeus and Hera stop plucking? How amazing would that be? I’d feel like a million feathers!
And, as long as I am a parrot-person, as long as I’m passionate about parrots and I’m writing about them, I’m going to work towards helping them out.
So, I’m Trying CBD Oil 🕶️
We’ve created Tink’s CBD Oil because our Green-cheeked Conure had seizures (caused by nerve damage, which is why she was given to us). You can read about Tink and how the CBD oil has helped minimize her seizures here.
CBD oil is to be good for helping parrots that are hyper or nervous: maybe they have separation anxiety when you go to work the way some cockatoos can. The idea is to give them just a drop or three, depending on the parrot’s size/weight, in order to assist their coming back to balance.
Tony Silva Has Found That CBD Oil Is Helping His Hyacinth
This is a photo of my mentor, Tony Silva, my daughter Xelha and I. Tony is using Tink’s CBD on his Hyacinth Macaw, who he rescued and who had plucked his feathers. Now, if I was as good as Tony then I’d probably have more parrot magic ✨ and my African Greys wouldn’t be plucking – his Hyacinty is doing well! He looks pretty close to ‘normal!’
One of the things that I like about the CBD oil is that African Greys and Macaws require oil in their diet anyway, so using the correct, indicated amounts can compliment their diet. Oil is not beneficial for parrots who are prone to Fatty Liver Disease and should avoid fats or oils. However, if you are having issues with your Cockatoo, Galah, Quaker or Eclectus, you may decide that getting your parrot to stop plucking or reducing their anxiety is, temporarily, more important. In small amounts the effect of the oil should not be huge or too noticeable and you can correct their diet once they are emotionally healthier. In the meantime, an anxious or plucking parrot should be put on a strict diet anyway to help them balance as much as possible.
Need to get some CBD oil for your parrot? Please be sure to follow the directions – CBD oil is not the same as hemp oil, which is beneficial as well but not medicinal, the way CBD is. Message me and let me know that you need to get some and we’ll arrange it for you.
Here’s to happy, healthy parrots!
By Kalyn
Author, The Parrot Bliss Bond, available on Amazon Books & Kindle
Join Us on FB at https://www.facebook.com/ParrotBliss/
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Hello I’ve adopted two African greys I need help to try and stop their feather plucking. I have tried a wide range of techniques and it’s starting to really upset me that I can’t improve things.
Thank you for any help
Holly
Hi Holly,
How old are your AG? How long have you had them? Did they always pluck?
Unfortunately, once they start for a month, it is hard to reverse. We started a CBD oil in hemp oil because of our GCC, Tink. She had neurological damage that inhibited her control over her own body; she couldn’t fly and had a hard time walking.
CBD oil is also used to calm stress-related behaviors, like plucking.
I have 4 AGs and 3 of them I adopted as pluckers.
What has helped reduce stress for my guys is a combination of several things- outdoor time, CBD oil and a good diet.
Check to see what is causing your AGs stress. It may be being in their cage, their cage’s location or lack of sunlight (most windows block the UV/UB light they require) and diet- must be fresh vegetables, pellets and nuts/nut fat (not a seed-based diet).
Keep me updated, I hope that helps,
Kalyn
Hi, love to see that you are helping parrots, God bless you for that.
I have a wonderful African Grey named Noah. She is 22 years old. Ive had her since she was 6 weeks. The breeder I got her from wasn’t great, I noticed he had the parrots in his garage. 🙁
Noah has been very well taken care of by me. She is a happy bird but high strung. She started plucking feathers at around 2 years old. I have tried everything and chalk it up to genetics, but if I see something that might help her I am totally willing to try it.
Could you help me get some appropriate CBD oil for her please?
I am a retired RN and definitely think its worth a try..
Noahs diet is Harrisons pellets, fruits vegetables, a variety of healthy foods. She has toys, including foraging toys, she gets sun, talks a bunch, seems very happy, just plucks her feathers from her chest. 🙁
Thank you, Diane
Hi Diane, Noah sounds fabulous. Yes, plucking is very difficult to resovle once a parrot has plucked for more than a month. It becomes a habit and breaking habits is hard, as we all know.
I used to sell CBD for parrots- we used good oils and it helped our Green-cheeked Conure who had seizures. It is worth a try. It sounds like you have tried most remedies. One of the things that I feel helps is having more than 1 parrot. They have companionship that offers more that we can, since they relate with one another. I’ve seen it be a better fix than anything else. Perhaps Noah would like a friend?