mallon@hsi86.hsi.com (Dan Mallon) (01/09/91)
First, I'd like to thank all of the people who responded to my plea for help. We still give the birds seed, but we're also adding fruit and veggies to their diets. We've also been spending more time with them. Freddie has feathers starting on his chest again, so hopefully, he'll let them stay this time. Second, I've included a summary of all the responses I've gotten. I tried to respond to each person who emailed me, but I had a really hard time getting in touch with John Crossley. My mail bounced everytime I sent it. I tried two different addresses, but to no avail. From hubler@tomcat.lerc.nasa.gov Thu Jan 3 07:18:38 1991 In article <2830@hsi86.hsi.com> you write: > >I have a pet parakeet who plucks out the feathers on his chest and back. Did either vet actually see any parasites on the bird or its cage? Certainly a vet that can examine the bird is the most qualified to judge what is wrong. Off the top of my head I would guess that the bird is sexually frustrated and therefore getting a mate was a good choice. Once a bird starts this behavior it is difficult to stop. I had a cockatiel who was half bald and awfully ugly from this. Once they have pulled the feathers enough times the feathers cease to regrow. I believe the follicle actually dies and does not ever grow feathers again, leading to permanent baldness. I don't really have any good answers, I was not successful in curing the cockatiel. I did not get it until long after it was bald. I can only suggest allowing the birds to nest and breed. Picking the feathers indicates it is trying to build a nest perhaps. In conjunction with the breeding I would try to provide some type of nesting material that the bird can work with or take apart and use to build its nest. Good Luck! From ccengtv@prism.gatech.edu Thu Jan 3 16:30:42 1991 If your keet is a male, (you can tell by the solid blue cere with no white around the nostrils) by a female (blue cere with white around the nostrils or a brown cere). If it is a female buy a male. It would not hurt to buy another pair of keets and set them up for breeding. You may also switch foods. he may not like what you are giving him to eat. I would also try soaked seeds or sprouted seeds. Make sure that they get greensonce a week (NO LETTUCE). I also give my birds whole wheat bread and boiled eggthat is boiled at least 15 minutes. I have over 10,000 pairs of keets and to have one that plucks like that happens occaisonally. Keep me informed as to the condition of the bird. From motsps!spica.sps.mot.com!crossley@uunet.UU.NET Thu Jan 3 17:56:40 1991 Dan you have one of the more difficult bird problems. The suggestions your vet gave you are appropriate for starters but freddie is going to be intractable. I am not a vet but have kept birds for some years. I'm thinking this is really a behavior problem - but lets rule out some possible factors that may be at the root of his feather plucking. diet - keets need some variety in their diet besides seeds. is he getting vitamin supplements? try to add some greens and fruit morsels to his food. does he have a mineral block or parakeet grit available. water - change every day - always fresh, parakeets like to bath, he will need a dish or bath large enough to splash in. activity - keets are very social - you got him a mate but perhaps it's another male, keets are best paired male - female. watch for fights - i'm assuming you got a younger bird so this may not be a big deal. keets love toys - things that move and are shiny and mirrors and so on can keep them occuppied for hours. although you have got him a pal you are most likely to be his pal. you didn't say how old freddie is or whether he is tame, try spending more time with him. many birds enjoy riding around on your shoulder. it can be messy but it keeps them happy. you don't have to do this for hours, frequency is the goal. birds also need to have light and a good sleep period. dont put his cage in a gloomy spot. even temperature without drafts is important - It's not uncommon for birds to pull at their feathers. but if freddie does not stop doing this he may not regrow his feathers. or the ones that do regrow will be misshapen or small. if the above factors seem in order - It's possible that this behavior is is related to passing into adult-hood, birds often engage in odd behaviors at this time. most likely is that the feather pulling is a sort of nurotic pasttime and after 6 months this has become habitual. but you indicate that some improvement occurred when you introduced another bird. that suggests that freddie might have been left alone too much. you say that you took him to another vet who has birds - he may be knowledgeable in general about birds but find a vet who deals with birds more or less exclusivly - they are far more likely to determine possible causes for your birds behavior. it may be that he does have a skin sensitivity, dont give up on that approach. many pet stores stock sprays that have soothing properties. if the feather pulling is considered to be habitual or nurotic, you may need to hand him over to some one who is able to stop the behavior through training[this can work but it can cost]. finally in this same vein a stay at a friends house - change of enviornment might change his habits. goodluck! From ccengtv@prism.gatech.edu Sat Jan 5 09:40:14 1991 Young males can have a pink cere or a blue cere. females generally blue cere with white around the nostrils when they are young or not in breeding condition. As they come into breeding condition they females cere turns a dark brown that is very smooth and looks slightly enlarged. The difference in the colors is just a difference in colors. There are many color variations. you can tell more by the color of the cheek patch which can be several different colors and this is how you tell the difference in colors between greens, grey greens, olives, blues, opalines, etc. A good book is the handbook of budgerigars. It has all the color plates in it. I feed kale, spinach, turnip greens, broccoli. do not feed lettuce. It is mostly water. To sprout seeds take a couple of paper towers lay them flat and wet them thoroughly. spread a layer of seeds on the towel and cover with more wet towels. Keep the seeds moist and they will sprout. You can just soak them in a jar of water to get them moist. I use this for young birds. If you have any more questions just let me know and I will try and answer them. Good luck. From jlevy@cbnewsd.att.com Mon Jan 7 00:36:39 1991 I have a colony of budgies (usually about 20-25) and have never seen this problem - and this may be a clue. I would doubt very much the parasite theory and would tend to believe that this is either a nutrition problem or a behavioral problem that developed while the bird was living alone. I have heard that birds may begin feather plucking from stress, and it is stressful on budgies to be alone (no humans or other budgies). Even though you got another bird, the habit may be ingrained now. If it were my bird, I would first of all be sure the diet is nutritious (include fresh vegetables, corn, cooked rice, hard-boiled egg, even meat scraps). Then provide more distractions for the bird - a larger cage, more birds, move the cage near a window, etc. Good luck. From duane@cbnewsj.att.com Mon Jan 7 00:36:47 1991 most likely, the bird is bored. give it objects to keep its attention: brightly colored toys, etc. also try foods that consume its attention like peas in a pod and green beans and wet spinach. take the bird out of the cage periodically. some folks have been known to take their amazons for a ride in the car to cure the blues. it's not easy being captive, you know. sometimes, unfortunately, there's no cure. From uunet!wuarchive!dinorah.wustl.edu!mary Wed Jan 9 09:06:03 EST 1991 In article <2830@hsi86.hsi.com>, mallon@hsi86.hsi.com (Dan Mallon) writes: > > I have a pet parakeet who plucks out the feathers on his chest and back. > He began this type of behavior about 6 months ago. [Long sad story about vets deleted.] First thing you want to do is find yourself a real, live AVIAN veternarian who is a member of the Association of Avian Veternarians. The second thing is to subscribe to Bird Talk magazine, which covers things like feather picking. > The reason for us to get another bird is that the bird is generally > left alone for the whole day and sometimes into the night. We got another > bird, but that didn't help either. The bird (Freddie) didn't pluck himself > as much as he had previously, and occasionally, he even lets his feathers > grow back, but within days, he begins plucking them again. > > Currently, the bird is almost featherless except for his wings and head. We > are worried, because we were warned that he could cut himself and scar that > could cause him problems. Has anyone ever had this problem? Does anyone have > any type of suggestion to offer? What happened when this started? Was there any change in the bird's environment, food or routine? Has the bird changed his personality? Feather picking is usually a behaviour problem (and in you case, I think it definitely is) that results when the bird is bored, feels unloved, or undergoes some kind of change that upsets it. Avon, the Kamekaze Cockatiel (tm), has taken up chewing his feathers up. He doesn't pluck them yet, and has only started on this. The theory is that during Christmas holidays I was home all of the time because of the weather, and gave the birds more than usual attention. Then I went back to work, and Avon, the people bird, just couldn't take it. My vet prescribed daily bathing to stimulate preening all over (and distract the attention from the ragged areas) and spending some more time with the bird to make him feel loved. Last night was the first installment of the treatment, and Avon, who loves baths and attention, has decided he loves his vet. ;-) This morning he is clean, and the ragged feathers are smoothed against his body, so he at least LOOKS better. Time will tell if this helps the feather chewing. The vet also said that in a week and a half he should be used to my new (old) schedule and stop the chewing on his own. The fact that your bird is still plucking seems to mean either whatever caused him to start is still bothering him, or he has developed a habit. Bird Talk has mentioned it is very hard to stop a feather picker, and there is no one thing that will stop every bird. One person stopped his bird, a larger parrot, by taking him for daily rides in a car. I guess the best you can do is figure out what started it and correct the situation, or provide him distraction. When he plucks may be a clue too. Best of luck. Though my problem is new, I sympathize. Avon is young, he should be able to correct his behaviour and become a pretty bird. At least I don't have to deal with the broken blood feather problems that Cally, the Precocious Cockatiel (tm), had when she was his age. A feather picker is unsightly and needs to be kept warm, but is probably not in any danger to his life. If I hadn't gotten Cally's blood feathers pulled in time, she could have bled to death on several occasions. Thanks again to all who responded! Dan -- Dan Mallon mallon@hsi.com 3M Health Information Systems {uunet,yale}!hsi!mallon