mallon@hsi86.hsi.com (Dan Mallon) (01/03/91)
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. We went to a vet who
gave the bird a shot for some type of parasite. The shot did no good
except make the bird woozy for almost a day. He said the shot was the first
thing to try, then there were other approaches if it didn't work. A week
or so later when we went back, we saw a different vet who owned birds of his
own. He looked at the bird and suggested that the bird was pulling out his
feathers due to being itchy possibly from mites, so he recommended a spray
for us to use on him. After this failed, we went back again. This time
the vet recommended getting a second bird to keep the first one company or
putting a collar on the bird that would prevent him from pulling the feathers
out. He felt that using the collar would only fix the symptoms and not the
problem. 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?
Thanks,
Dan
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Dan Mallon mallon@hsi.com
3M Health Information Systems {uunet,yale}!hsi!mallon mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach) (01/05/91)
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. -Mary and Blake's Birds (Liberty's Wings!)