Hello everyone, i don't browse this website and have maybe only visited and posted a handful of times over the last few years, but would like some help from a community far more knowledgeable tan myself.
I have owned my green cheek conure for approximately five years now and and up until now everything has been great. Heartbreakingly however he has begun engaging in feather destruction. I'll just list off relevant information and i hope someone may help me. There are surely many people here who know more than I about this stuff.
Factors that I think could be at play:
-I have not bought him new toys in quite a long time, he seemed so content with just climbing around that I neglected to do so. I fear boredom may be a cause and have ordered new toys on amazon in hopes to eliminate that as a factor.
-A year ago his companion passed away (a budgie with whom he lived and spent every day with). Perhaps the grief could still be taking a toll.
-He had not had adequate bathing opportunities for some time (many things in my life recently distracted me and I forgot important things such as these)
-Vacuum cleaner stresses him out beyond belief
-I am now pretty much always with him every day due to quarantine, I read that this might trigger hormones (+ recent mating season)
-His cage is in my room, due to quarantine I have been gaming a lot more which has lead to a lot of yelling on my end. Me raising my voice around him never appeared to have bothered him before but given what is happening I am no longer going to allow myself to do so in case it is a stress factor for him that i simply didn't notice.
-I have stopped feeding him anything else other than pellets, we have been strict with food in the last few weeks so maybe a bland diet may be a factor
-Over the last month I went through a dramatic heartbreak, he has always sensed negative emotion to an extent so who knows maybe that was a stressor as well
-Due to the shape of my room, none of his cage walls is directly against a wall.
Those are all the reasons I can think of. Unfortunately I can not take him to a vet at this time due to quarantine. My parents are getting quite old and forbid me from leaving the house in fear of bringing home the virus. Nonetheless so much has changed in his life (and some, such as toys, has not changed enough) that I highly doubt this is medical. I am very worried about him, i see him plucking and it makes me feel very helpless knowing no amount of me asking him to stop could ever work. I hope this community may help me and him, i hate to see my boy go down this path
I have owned my green cheek conure for approximately five years now and and up until now everything has been great. Heartbreakingly however he has begun engaging in feather destruction. I'll just list off relevant information and i hope someone may help me. There are surely many people here who know more than I about this stuff.
Factors that I think could be at play:
-I have not bought him new toys in quite a long time, he seemed so content with just climbing around that I neglected to do so. I fear boredom may be a cause and have ordered new toys on amazon in hopes to eliminate that as a factor.
-A year ago his companion passed away (a budgie with whom he lived and spent every day with). Perhaps the grief could still be taking a toll.
-He had not had adequate bathing opportunities for some time (many things in my life recently distracted me and I forgot important things such as these)
-Vacuum cleaner stresses him out beyond belief
-I am now pretty much always with him every day due to quarantine, I read that this might trigger hormones (+ recent mating season)
-His cage is in my room, due to quarantine I have been gaming a lot more which has lead to a lot of yelling on my end. Me raising my voice around him never appeared to have bothered him before but given what is happening I am no longer going to allow myself to do so in case it is a stress factor for him that i simply didn't notice.
-I have stopped feeding him anything else other than pellets, we have been strict with food in the last few weeks so maybe a bland diet may be a factor
-Over the last month I went through a dramatic heartbreak, he has always sensed negative emotion to an extent so who knows maybe that was a stressor as well
-Due to the shape of my room, none of his cage walls is directly against a wall.
Those are all the reasons I can think of. Unfortunately I can not take him to a vet at this time due to quarantine. My parents are getting quite old and forbid me from leaving the house in fear of bringing home the virus. Nonetheless so much has changed in his life (and some, such as toys, has not changed enough) that I highly doubt this is medical. I am very worried about him, i see him plucking and it makes me feel very helpless knowing no amount of me asking him to stop could ever work. I hope this community may help me and him, i hate to see my boy go down this path
