Assistance required with two macaws feather plucking

[s.milner63]

I am a volunteer at a safari park & zoo located in Thailand (ref volunteer for more about this program) and I have taken on the role as team leader for the macaws as there simply wasn't anyone else who could or would.


The person who started the program (prior to this was one of the local Thai workers and the care given wasn't anywhere near what is now) has moved on and left me with some resources and a decent program to follow however I have no experience.


We have two Macaws (out of 36 in total) who have been placed into a reasonable size aviary/cage as they have lost quite a lot of feathers. They follow each other around however we would obviously like to improve their situation and are not sure what to do next. We can either split them up by having one located in a smaller rear section so they will be close to each other but not together, remove one entirely from the area, place a different Macaw (there are 35 in total here) in there making 3 in total or swapping with one, or do something completely different.


What would you recommend to do as a next step if you were in my position?


Any assistance is greatly appreciated.


Regards,

Steve Milner

 

[getwozzy]

Have the two had any vet work done recently? Plucking can be caused from stress, they may be plucking each other, or it may be a medical/diet issue.

Have you observed them to see if they're plucking themselves, or each other??

What is their diet?

 

[weco]

By vet work done, it is always best that it be done by avian experienced veterinarians and you being a zoo facility I'm sure your resident veterinarian is avian qualified, however feather plucking is a very subjective subject, with there usually being more questions than answers.....

We do have the benefit of a couple of members around here with zoo experience, one active and one retired, who might see this thread & pop in and respond here.....there are also various threads on plucking & plucking by 'toos, though most of those threads are probably going to be about 'toos living in residential settings.....

Good luck in your quest & welcome to the forums Steve, hope you stick around & find some information/help you'll find useful.....

 

[Jumpingtadpoles]

What is their diet?
Are they displaying nesting or hormonal behaviours?
What other types of simulation (toys, branches, ropes, that such thing) do they have?
Do they get enough oils and fat in the diet?
How often are they misted?
Where are they plucking?
I know a woman on Facebook that specializes in feather plucking. She has helped hundreds of birds.
She has given me advice, and three weeks in, and I see significant feather regrowth.

Oh, and do they have access to toxic metals, at all? Metal toxicity can cause feather lose

 

[Pinkbirdy]

I wouldn't split them up [they sound bonded]. So many different factors can cause this. As said,if not illness or diet . Keep them together ,try to be real positive and consistent. Interact with them on a regular schedule . Observe what they like and don't like [were they someones pets at one time?]

 

[Birdman666]

If they are a bonded pair, splitting them up might make it worse if it's psychological, unless one is plucking the other one I wouldn't if I could avoid it.

I really didn't work with that many pluckers. I was not that good with them. (Plucking is hard!) Screaming, and biting, and discipline issues are easy comparatively.

I've tried a wide variety of toys with pluckers, someone else has had success using a towel as a preening toy...

Bathing, attention, out time, and improved living conditions tend to work wonders with macaws. Then find a way to teach them to chew on toys, and not themselves. Then hope for the best. I wish there were a protocol that stopped plucking every time, but there really isn't.

 

[Jumpingtadpoles]

It's me that's turning to toys for help with over preening.
I take my old towels and hang them with a plastic baby link.
I also hang pine cones, and I've heard of successes with corn husks. Dried, tied together, almost like a broom. Anything they can chew. Think of the over preening as something can be an oral fixation.
Diet, metal toxicity, hormones, and stress also factor in.
If they were pets at one time, the flock mentality could be negative for them.
Pleas pm me if you want the contact info for the lady via Facebook.