We have a 17 year old aftican gray parrot he completely plucks his feathers out. My grandparents gave him to use a few months ago and they were heavy smokers which might be the cause.

He also does not get to go outside or walk around the house because he is so mean. he will crawl along the floor since he cant fly and bite our feet. And he bites very hard. He has a good sized cage and he gets to walk on top of the cage we leave the door open. He wont let us pet or hold him either.

Same with my grandma only my grandpa was able to handle him. He is very nice to my grandpa and even will leave his cage to climb on my grandpa while he is sleeping.

Any help :/

Hi CoCoAfGrey,

Thanks for your message. You’ve mentioned several issues here relating to behavior, health and general care. I would suggest that you read some of the excellent articles found in the reference library grouped by subject area at the bottom of this page: http://www.parrots.org/index.php/allaboutparrots/. In particular you may want to review articles in the Beginners Guide to Parrots, the Behavior and Enrichment, and Health and Nutrition sections.

You may also find some great advice by review the questions and answers in the Ask an Expert section http://www.parrots.org/index.php/forumsandexperts/askanexpert/.

I’d recommend reading information from Susan Friedman, EB Cravens, Phoebe Green Linden, Steve Martin, Jim McKendry and either of the veterinarians listed on this pages. 

Hope this is a helpful place for you to start.

Best,
Steve-