I have a CAG here who was brought to me by her owners . Right problem for me is this the bird is a plucker and has been tested by the vet the owners told me nothing medical which i believe as they are using the same local vet as i do.

Tonight the poor thing has pulled feathers and there is a bit of blood on his chest where they came from i need advice ive not dealth with this before

have u got first aid equipment ready?........corn flower i is a god send if they pull a blood feather to stop th bleeding, many people will come along with advice to help u im sure

Yes I have cornflour

As he isnt your bird you are going to have to assess it to see what is causing it to pluck try getting him into shredding paper, cardboard and get lots of toys to keep him entertained, position his cage against 2 walls to make him feel secure and safe and rotate his toys as much as possible. Baths are always good to make his feather and skin feel good also!

He may be an anxious grey so I would advise deciding on a few varied toys to see what he likes then slowly introduce different ones. He may freak at new toys. If he does try hanging them low outside his cage for a couple of days,then move them inside his cage,but keep them low and gradually move them higher. I have a grey in at the moment that likes toys left on the floor- he will go down and play with them when he wants.As Steve said put the cage in a corner, I have even put a cover over a cage so only the front is open for very timid birds then slowly uncovered them over a few days. There are also a few products such as feather up and avi stress that you can try. Just accept him for what he is at the moment and don't make a fuss about his plucking. Give him TLC and a good varied diet. If you are anxious about his plucking he may well pick up on this and it won't help. You may find he stops,you may find he plucks forever. If there is no medical problems just love and accept him for what he is.If his owners are deciding if they can keep him or not there may be underlying issues that have caused the plucking. Good luck.

The addition of Aloe vera to his bathing/misting water would also help, I have found with mine that it has a soothing and calming effect on skin irritated or sore, it will also help where he may have minor blood spots. There are many different recommendations for dilution rates, I use it at 20% in a pump misting bottle, I find the problem being that they remove or snip feathers, they then start to grow back, this causes irritation and draws their attention back and picking starts again!

Good luck

We sell a toy called the plucker too. i`m not trying to get business for myself, it`s only cheap, but we have found it does help with our pluckers.

You could try rubbing aloe vera gel into him too and make sure he has clacium supplements.

I wonder if the change is making him worse?
You have to remember plucking becomes a habit, so it doesn`t necessarily mean he is upset or anything.

I spoke to Paula last night (and took the opportunity to catch up too ). And I know that Margy had already given her sterling advice.

She is doing all the right things. She is trying to give him time to settle in to his new environment, good food, encouragement, toys, aloe spray washes, vitamins, calcium, milk thistle (as per Shaz's regime) and trying some camomile tea to help him relax.

His 'bleeding' is not severe - as Nigel says, a few blood spots where he has plucked on his chest, so no medical emergencies.

Paula's giving him TLC and letting him settle in gently and I'm sure with her love and attention he will settle well. (She has a talent with CAGs.) He is not a BL bird, his owners are considering whether or not to donate him, but I'm sure Paula will keep us all informed.

I have spoken to Paula today and he/she has settles quite a bit and is whistling, though she is expecting a tyrade of swear words as this is what she has been told!!!

No more plucking from last night before she covered him, eating bits, washing himself loads, so fingers crossed it was just the stress of riding in the car!!!

You are doing wonders there Paula

Well as Margy says she is settling there is that much going on here in and out of the kitchen dining room all day she doesnt get time to concentrate for long on the feathers she is very nosey watching and listening to everything. Singing goosey goosey gander to smokey and Monty see if they pick it up keep them busy lol.

All herbal things reccommended have been done also moved the cage to give her a bit of security and she is watching Smokey a lot who is getting very vocal as he wants attention lol which is no bad thing he needs bringing out of his shell.