IRN owner with an African Grey molting question

[enigma9888]

Since the forum I belong to for african greys isn't nearly as great as this one, I figured I'd post my question on here....

How can I tell if my CAG is molting? Over the past 2-3 days, I've seen a lot of his front and down feathers on the bottom of the cage (I've seen him even "shake" some off...) Here's a little background info- he's a little over a year old and he's a "picker" and have seen him pick out some feathers and chew on them...

Also, while I'm on the molting topic, do IRNs molt? If so, when can I expect this and what should it look like?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!

xoxo-
Nicole (me), Mojito (CAG), Merlot (IRN), and Margarita (IRN)

[sanjays mummi]

O yes, IRN's certainly do moult!, we usually find a wing feather here, a tail feather there and lots of little fluffy feathers everywhere. Eventually Sanjay looks really motheaten with little white cuticles all over his head. Then he picks the cuticles off and a new feather appears, rather like taking the cover off a brolly and shaking it loose. Sanjay moults once a year in spring, and is given "Feather Up", the vits and minerals keep him cheerful and speed up the jacket growth. Your African Grey is probably cuticle picking.

[enigma9888]

Thank you for your replies! I will try changing the toys around more often and spraying him more (he's water-phobic lol)... Do you think that sour apple spray might help?

[sanjays mummi]

Yes, and when I spray Sanjay I add a drop of pure glycerin and a drop of pure rosewater to the water, as they are skin conditioners and help with excess powder and prevent scaly foot. Then I dry him with a hair dryer set on cool, he absolutely loves it!.