Quacker Parrot Chewing

Question
I wrote earlier about my Quaker Parrot Chewing under her wing.She's pulled the feathers from her leg now.She does most of her chewing at night after we all go to bed.I took her to the Vet and he said there wasn't nothing we can do because they all chew.He gave us some Mupirocin Ointment to put on once a day.He also put her on Pellet Food.He said the seed food and she would eat some of what we eat was killing her.We didn't know that because we were giving her what Pet Smart said would be o.k..We bought her there and trusted them.I was wonderig if she's not feeling good from the seed food would that make her chew?Is there some way we can stop her from chewing at night?I thought about trying a bandage but afraid she will chew it at night.Is there something else we can do?I gave her a bath today.Hopefully that will help.Any suggestions will be appreciated.Thank You..Chris Burton

Answer
Hi, Chris.

Diet affects everything with our birds.  If they are on a poor diet, particularly an all-seed diet, many health and behavior issues can exist.  Birds need to be on a healthy, nutritious, varied diet, including pelleted food, with seed left as a reward/treat.  Notice I said healthy and nutritious.  This doesn't mean food from McDonalds, fried food, sauces, salt, sugar, caffeine, etc.  This could be one reason this birds chews itself.  Chewing can also be attributed to boredom.  If this bird doesn't have enough toys, human interaction to keep mentally stimulated, chewing can result.  Chewing can also be caused by nonfrequent bathing, dry skin, low humidity, etc., etc.  It's usually a process of elimination to find out the underlying cause.  Diet change would be first, but this has to be gradual so as to not upset the digestive system and stress out the bird.  Ensure your bird has enough mental stimulation.  You might need to add humidity to your home or at least near your bird.

Pet stores don't always have knowledgeable staff.  You have to be very careful when dealing with pet stores.  I don't necessarily agree with this vet....hopefully this is a certified avian vet because a regular cat/dog vet won't do for a bird.  Chewing can be stopped if you can find the underlying cause, which isn't always easy to do.  

If your bird is only chewing at night, perhaps you need to move the cage to a different location, change out all the toys in the cage, perhaps get a larger cage.  If the cage is too small, this can result in stress and chewing.  Your bird also needs 12 hours sleep per night...is she getting enough?  Allow her to bathe daily, either on her own or spray mist her yourself using hot water (by the time the spray reaches her, it will be warm).  Try adding Aloe Vera to the spray water, but don't spray near her eyes.  Some people find Bitter Apple spray effective.  It's a type of spray that is supposed to taste bad when a bird tries to chew.

Try some of the above and see how it goes.  You need to nip this in the bud early or you may end up with a feather plucker (and a bald bird).

Chrys