Please help. Is this normal for African grays?

Anecdotal observations here... I had a lifelong plucking grey for a long time.
[First, definitely check with your avian vet and go with what he/she says.]

Judging by the rough edges of the grey feathers bordering the bald patch, it looks like overpreening/shredding/plucking. Again, just going by the pictures, your bird's feather's look a bit dull (not glossy). You may want to get some red palm oil and add it to his pellets, Greys seek the oil out in nature. Also, if you don't have one, you may want to get a bird UV light to help your bird get UV rays necessary to properly convert vitamin D. Make sure you get the BIRD bulb and not the reptile bulb.

If you don't have one already, get a suction-cup shower perch and thoroughly shower-soak your bird 3 or more times a week in the shower with a shower perch and lukewarm water (just water no soap or additives). After shower, use 100% Pure Aloe Vera Juice $10/gal at Walgreens and a small cosmetic misting bottle. After the shower mist your entire bird, it helps with skin and reduces pin-feather irritation.

The spritzer bottle I use is super small, probably 3-4" tall, fits in the palm of the hand so only the nozzle is visible under the thumb, e.g. http://www.quietfiredesign.com/byhandproducts/rubberaccess/spritzerbottle.jpg. It's also not a very powerful sprits more of a light mist, you'd be suprized what a great job it does of misting a bird in about 2-3 mins.

Plucking greys require HIGH PROTEIN because they tend to try to replace feathers faster. We feed Harrison's High Protein Course and Volkmann's Super Hookbill (GREAT SEEDS w/o Sunflower). Fresh greens and pastas (in moderation) are good to add too.

Make sure your bird has a bunch of interesting toys and perch options. If you haven't yet found them, check out California Bird Nerds (they're closed until Jan). They sell crinkled cut colored paper strips, perfect for stuffing into cardboard boxes with any number of nic-nacs. Every cardboard box you get becomes a cheap new bird toy. A huge bag is $10-15 and it's great fun. You can see it all over the bottom of Ollie's cage in this photo: https://i.sli.mg/4ZJmZM.jpg.

Enrichment activities and planning your bird's time is pretty important with pluckers. You can leave a radio on a talk station at a low volume in the room while you're gone. I like to leave a laptop near Ollie's cage playing videos of greys, Whiskey being Whiskey is a good place to start and I'll just let the video run from there.

The specific area your bird seems to be overfocusing on is the typical allopreening area, and may be an indication of wanting more socialization and touch. Here's a great guide from the Gabriel Foundation.

Another thing that may be worth evaluating is how much of your living space your bird has access to and how often your bird goes different places in your space and what it means. Does he spend all of his time in the cage? Is he fully flighted? Do you have an Upstairs/Downstairs--if so how does he move around the space and on what schedules? Changing that up can have a big effect on helping your bird feel a more expansive experience within your home. Is there a window he can see out of? What's his view of the world outside?

If she's Aviator Harness Trained, taking her on a walk through the neighborhood is another great way to combine enriching experiences with the proper establishment of mutual respect. Harness training is one of the best things you can do for your CAG! Opens up so many experiences. For travelling, the Pak-O-Bird (Kinda pricey but worth it) is great, but keep an eye on it, even with the Congo-Grey protection they can still damage the zipper.

Another strong recommendation is work in weighing your bird several times a week. My routine is open the door, step-up, "Let's check your WEIGHT!" He steps down on the scale's perch (typically he'll poop here which is convenient). Again, check my post history. But knowing your bird's expected weight and having a sense of acceptable fluctuation is one of the best indicators of health.

If you haven't tried it yet, you might want to check out "Captive Foraging" Harrison's sponsored putting it online for free: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/captive-foraging-video-watch-it-here-for-free/ It's basically a bunch of ideas for hiding food from your bird and making them work to eat like they would in the wild.

GOOD LUCK!

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