overpreening african grey

Question
QUESTION: Hi Diana
I have 3 macaws which i hand reared 2.I haven't experienced plucking over over-preening. Friday a friend of mine who owns a wonderful bird shop called and asked if i would be interested in purchasing a 5 1/2 mo old male (sexed)grey. all the other babies are gone and he has started plucking. I was suprised to find a beautiful healthy grey that has pulled out all her tail feathers and her primary/secondary wing feathers. He has not bothered his legs or chest areas.I took him home and we bonded well. Even though he is weaned i did hand feed to increase the bond. He is eating seeds and lots of fruits and veggies. He's of course very unbalanced and difficult to carry around as he wants to be on my shoulder. I've included many preening toys in his cage and give his as much attention as possible.  I just had him on my shoulder and he became engrossed in preening my hair. He actually uses a scissors motion breaking my hair. I had to fight (gently)to get him away from my head. I'm concerned he doesn't know how to properlly preen himself.I have tried to preen him myself to teach him but do you have any other ideas? I know this will take time and i'm very willing to do what I can. Any help would be appreciated.

ANSWER: Hello Nikki and thank you for posting.
You are going to have to somehow keep his mind occupied so that he doesn't pluck his feathers out.  Try teaching him some words or tricks.  He'll get so engrossed in trying to lear the new things that he'll forget about plucking his feathers out.  Also, try giving him some rawhide puzzle type toys that he can take apart.  This will give his mouth something to do when he is not practicing his new words/tricks.  I also give my birds the cardboard insert from a toilet paper roll to chew on.  One of the pluckers that I had actually quit plucking to chew on the cardboard.
I really hope this helps.  Please keep me updated.

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks. I will try it. Sounds stupid but yesterday I got him used to playing w/ paper towel strips and then tied many strips to a large ring and placed one in his cage and one just lying on the top of the cage. Woke up this morning w/ a handfull of feathers in his water cup. I know he's really itchy and and just goes after his wings and back. I put some aloe vera on some bare spots of the back of his wings and today they look great. Do you suggest I bathe him daily to assist him?

Answer
Hello again Nikki.
You can try lightly misting him daily.  This will help to soothe the itching a bit.
Also, you might want to take him to the vet and have him checked for mites or other parasites.  You can't see mites with the naked eye, but if he has them, it will make him itch and even possibly pluck his feathers.

God Bless.
Dianna