cockatiel has started plucking, advice needed

[im_nick]

One person wants to know if you live in the US.

Another person asks….”Can you ask them if the bird has much downy feathering at all and if the bird is at all ever dusty? It does not appear to be dusty like tiels should be”

I live in Bulgaria. he does have downy feathers tho they do seem a little bit sparse in some areas. I'm actually not fully sure how much of them he should have though. he does drop plenty of them fairly often. as for dust, he is quite dusty some times but I'm not sure whether it's enough for a cockatiel, especially if he doesn't appear to be properly dusty in the current moment. I took his picture a little before uploading it here. he seems to make more of it whenever he preens himself, but he's been doing it less lately. he's still producing dust right now too but it definitely seems to be less than usual.

 

[JjEjFjF]

Before the pellets, what did his diet consist of?
Does he have any other birds that live with him in his cage?
His face feathers are rather sparse, have they always been like that?
Have you checked him for mites?

 

[im_nick]

Before the pellets, what did his diet consist of?
Does he have any other birds that live with him in his cage?
His face feathers are rather sparse, have they always been like that?
Have you checked him for mites?

before the pellets he's been eating mostly millet.
I don't have other birds, but sunny came from a pet store that had horrific overcrowding, i wouldn't buy from them but he was a gift from family. since he came here he hasnt had contact with other birds though.
when I first got him his feathering, including the face, was pretty much normal overall but his face feathers have been getting sparser along with his flight and tail feathers.
as for mites, I do recall seeing a few small mite-adjacent dots on sunnys head when I first got him but that was in 2021 and I haven't seen anything similar since. I remember not thinking much of it since I didn't really know a whole lot about birds in 2021

 

[JjEjFjF]

before the pellets he's been eating mostly millet.
I don't have other birds, but sunny came from a pet store that had horrific overcrowding, i wouldn't buy from them but he was a gift from family. since he came here he hasnt had contact with other birds though.
when I first got him his feathering, including the face, was pretty much normal overall but his face feathers have been getting sparser along with his flight and tail feathers.
as for mites, I do recall seeing a few small mite-adjacent dots on sunnys head when I first got him but that was in 2021 and I haven't seen anything similar since. I remember not thinking much of it since I didn't really know a whole lot about birds in 2021

I wish you were able to take him to an avian vet but i know you cant.
In the meantime check him well for mites. Please get him a vitamin supplement and or get him to eat some vegetables. He may be severally malnourished.
Im still communicating with other bird owners. I will pass along the info you provided.
If possible can you get a picture of one of his flight feathers that fell out?
Talk to you soon.

 

[JjEjFjF]

I forgot to ask, how long have you had him?

 

[im_nick]

I wish you were able to take him to an avian vet but i know you cant.
In the meantime check him well for mites. Please get him a vitamin supplement and or get him to eat some vegetables. He may be severally malnourished.
Im still communicating with other bird owners. I will pass along the info you provided.
If possible can you get a picture of one of his flight feathers that fell out?
Talk to you soon.

I honestly really wish it was possible too, I really hate that I'm unable to do much in that regard.
from general observations I can't see anything similar to mites on him right but I don't know if I'm looking for them right. do you have any tips?
I'll actually see if I can pick up a vitamin supplement tomorrow, and if not I'll be ordering one. I'm sure he'd benefit from vegetables too so I'll do my best to get him to eat some. i honestly didn't know malnutrition could be this detrimental to his feathering...
Im not able to get a picture of a flight feather since they don't really grow in right. they're very small and hard to distinguish, same goes for the tail feathers

I forgot to ask, how long have you had him?

I've had him since August of 2021, if I recall correctly

im really really grateful for the help and that you're taking the time out of your day to communicate with others on my behalf. really, thank you so much once again

 

[JjEjFjF]

Can you get a picture of any of the feathers that fell out or were pulled out? Most importantly the end of the feather that was in the skin.

 

[im_nick]

Can you get a picture of any of the feathers that fell out or were pulled out? Most importantly the end of the feather that was in the skin.

heres some that were around the cage. i apologize if the pictures don't show the detail sufficiently, I can try to retake them if needed.

 

[JjEjFjF]

To check for mites on a cockatiel, carefully examine their skin, particularly around the eyes, beak, and legs, looking for crusty areas, scaly patches, or signs of irritation; observe if your bird is excessively preening, restless at night, or has feather loss, as these can be indicators of mite infestation; for a more thorough check, use a flashlight at night to see if you can spot tiny moving mites on their skin.

 

[im_nick]

To check for mites on a cockatiel, carefully examine their skin, particularly around the eyes, beak, and legs, looking for crusty areas, scaly patches, or signs of irritation; observe if your bird is excessively preening, restless at night, or has feather loss, as these can be indicators of mite infestation; for a more thorough check, use a flashlight at night to see if you can spot tiny moving mites on their skin.

sorry for the late update, but thank you for this. I checked using these tips and I didn't find anything. the feather loss and excessive preening have been very apparent since the initial issue I posted about started, but I did not find any moving mites.

 

[JjEjFjF]

sorry for the late update, but thank you for this. I checked using these tips and I didn't find anything. the feather loss and excessive preening have been very apparent since the initial issue I posted about started, but I did not find any moving mites.

So far nobody in the other forums have an answer for what wrong with him.Its been suggested that he has mites or possibly PBFD. Beak and feather disease.
They gave information on avian vets in your area but im sure youre aware.

 

[JjEjFjF]

Others are saying severe deficiencies.
Have you gotten him any vitamin supplements yet? I know Youre switching pellets. That process usually takes weeks. They dont recognize pellets as food so they dont eat them right away. You need to do something.