Chewing tail feathers

[Atwell]

I have a cinnamon green cheek named Tiki that I adopted from a rescue last summer. He’s settling into our home very nicely, but he seems to chew 2-3 of his tail feathers. He grabs them in one foot and starts chewing, it’s kind of like he’s sucking his thumb. I try to give him plenty of toys in his cage and have him out 3-4 hours each day. He doesn’t only do it when he’s bored either, sometimes it’s when he’s content. My worry is we’re not giving him enough activity so am thinking about getting a 2nd gcc (in a separate cage) to keep him company when we’re away for the day. My thought is with another bird around, they can chat back and forth, eat at the same time (if they choose) and provide mental stimulation.

Any advice on limiting the tail feather chewing or whether a second bird is a good idea will be much appreciated!

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[Artchic528]

In the same boat….. following.

 

[SumitaSinh]

Are you giving him bath regularly? My hahns is doing the same thing, but if I mist him he'll just get busy with normal preening.

 

[haze]

My rescue conure does the same. I don't think they necessarily do it to mutilate on purpose, it could be that they just get too involved in preening themselves and it causes damage. What I've been doing is making plenty of shreddable toys for him to chew on instead, and it seems to keep him distracted from feather chewing.
You could try giving him one of these bamboo foraging perches if he doesn't seem interested in playing with actual toys. It allows them to sit directly on the "toy" and chew which I think is a good option if your bird is hesitant to use hanging toys.

Overall, distraction from the overpreening is the goal. It could also be possible that your bird is not getting enough calcium, I have heard that a calcium deficiency can cause feather picking as well. There are calcium supplements to aid with this if there is not enough calcium in his diet. I don't know if any of this will 100% fix his problem, but it's a good place to start.

 

[Atwell]

My rescue conure does the same. I don't think they necessarily do it to mutilate on purpose, it could be that they just get too involved in preening themselves and it causes damage. What I've been doing is making plenty of shreddable toys for him to chew on instead, and it seems to keep him distracted from feather chewing.
You could try giving him one of these bamboo foraging perches if he doesn't seem interested in playing with actual toys. It allows them to sit directly on the "toy" and chew which I think is a good option if your bird is hesitant to use hanging toys.
View attachment 428882
Overall, distraction from the overpreening is the goal. It could also be possible that your bird is not getting enough calcium, I have heard that a calcium deficiency can cause feather picking as well. There are calcium supplements to aid with this if there is not enough calcium in his diet. I don't know if any of this will 100% fix his problem, but it's a good place to start.

Thanks for the advice. I love that perch toy! I’ll look into something like that and just keep switching up his toys.

 

[BumblePea]

I highly recommend a read by Pamela Clark on feather destructive behavior. It’s helped me so much with my rescues and I know by mentoring with her that she’s really put a lot of time and research into her articles.

I believe it’s the 5th PDF down on this page:

Pamela Clark, CPBC

pamelaclarkonline.com

 

[SumitaSinh]

I highly recommend a read by Pamela Clark on feather destructive behavior. It’s helped me so much with my rescues and I know by mentoring with her that she’s really put a lot of time and research into her articles.

I believe it’s the 5th PDF down on this page:

Pamela Clark, CPBC

pamelaclarkonline.com

Thank you so much... Hope it'll help me with my hahns.

 

[Wardy]

Do you have any pics of the tail feathers ? This may not be destructive behaviour it might just be preening they can be quite heavy beaked when preening, is there any visible damage to the feathers ?

so am thinking about getting a 2nd gcc (in a separate cage) to keep him company when we’re away for the day. My thought is with another bird around, they can chat back and forth, eat at the same time (if they choose) and provide mental stimulation.

This was my thoughts after i got my first Cheekie Mojo so i got another gcc KiKi and dont regret it they mostly get along,both caged seperately and have been for two years.

However if your bird is barbering then the addition of another bird may make the situation worse.
Pics of your cage would also be helpfull also what is your birds diet ?

From your description i wouldnt be massively worried my birds clean there tails like that.