Feather plunking/biting off.. I need help..

[Conurebirdie]

Hii there! I'm new to this platform..

I adopted a conure in December of 2022. He was clipped by his previous owner (didn't know when I bought him and noticed it when I was already home..) , already had some bitten off feathers on the neck area. She said he was healthy and all (she said more and she definitely scammed me cuz I got 2 at the same time.. ) that but end February something was off. He started plucking and biting his feathers. He looks like a nakey lil chicken now and im devastated and so upset.. I went to the vet like 3 days ago. He removed wing feathers that caused pain and itching for him. And he wanted to give him a lil sting or pill for like hormonal (i don't see hormonal things with him or i don't recognize them.. my other birds are definitely hormonal) issues if it was not fixed after a month.. at this stage I think he will be fully naked at the end of the month.. (I will contact the vet again tomorrow since it's now 03.17 am) I don't know why and how to stop his plucking/biting off his feathers.. he bites them off in lil chunks until nothing is left other then where the feather grew. He chews on them a bit and drop them. He mostly will do this out of the cage. His diet is TOP's pellets, a lil bit of seeds (no sunflowers cuz that are treats) daily chop, dried veggies like carrots, Brocolli, bell pepper and more and some fruits like pear, apple and or mandarin. I also give them walnuts and almonds and some extra all vitamins powder in their water (just a bit) and maybe 2 or 3 times a week (always new water when dirty). We also have his cage standing against another wall (cuz we thought maybe it was caused cuz of the other 2 conures I own and they are fine standing next to each other in the cage but yet not outside..) He has lots of toys in the cage (he loves cardboard) He is active and lively he can't sit quiet he is a very hyper bird, loves to make noise!

The only thing I know in his past was that he had a lil partner but he didn't accept her anymore and went being mean to her. They seperated them and I guess he was set to be alone? He couldn't be with the flock and he got stressed out and then she introduced my other bird (he was tested on heath and he is healthy but yet I don't got the papers from her yet.. and I payed for them. She ghosts me now..) I got from her within 2 days and put them in one cage immediately. (Personally read that it has to take time and you can't just do that instantly.. but this is my first time having more then one bird) she said he was 3 years old (his ring says 21 and the size and something else but there is a rule that the year has to be a number.. so tbh I don't believe her..)

I also wanna know if it's okay to give a bird a new name (maybe not now since there is a lot going on now with his preening behavior) I think he deserves a new name and not his name from the past since it doesn't seem like the most happiest times..

Maybe someone had the same and maybe knows why or what it could be.. and has some tips or things that can be an improvement.
I'm very desperate and it really breaks my hearth to see my lil chicken destroying himself to his skin.. I want him to be healthy and happy soo badly.

There is a picture, he is more nakey now then that..

Thank you for reading..

 

[Terry57]

Welcome to the forum!
My Crimson-bellied Conure was a plucker. There was no illness causing it, and my vet thought he could be missing nutrients from when he was handfed, but that was only a guess. I think you can rule that out because the other one you adopted is fine.

We tried everything we could think of to stop Phoe's plucking, but we eventually realized that he was happy just as he was and we just let him do what he felt like he needed to.

If your baby is causing pain to himself, that's not possible, however.
If that's the case I hope your vet can figure out how to help him.

This was my Phoe:

The number on the band can mean anything, it isn't required that any of the numbers represent the year they were hatched. It's also possible that your breeder just used some old bands so they didn't go to waste

 

[Conurebirdie]

Welcome to the forum!
My Crimson-bellied Conure was a plucker. There was no illness causing it, and my vet thought he could be missing nutrients from when he was handfed, but that was only a guess. I think you can rule that out because the other one you adopted is fine.

We tried everything we could think of to stop Phoe's plucking, but we eventually realized that he was happy just as he was and we just let him do what he felt like he needed to.

If your baby is causing pain to himself, that's not possible, however.
If that's the case I hope your vet can figure out how to help him.

This was my Phoe:

View attachment 48283

The number on the band can mean anything, it isn't required that any of the numbers represent the year they were hatched. It's also possible that your breeder just used some old bands so they didn't go to waste

Hii and thank you for replying!

I got mine both out of a bird sanctuary (someone at their home was doing that but I am very skeptical if she is even allowed to do it on how she handled them and gave them to me.. I didn't had a good experience.. sorry I vent a lot about it cuz it bothers me soo much) so I think it's still possible that he misses nutritions from when he was handed if thats possible since my other bird came from a different person but they brought them there (on my lil plucking birb papers he came from a petstore that also breeds birds of all kinds. It's a rule here in my country that they need to have the year on their ring so I hope they gave them the correct ring and not an old one )

The vet said that the clipped wings caused pain and irritation (cuz the pin of the feathers got sharp) he removed the feathers causing that so new feathers can grow in faster. I noticed a bit of improvement on his behavior on that but atm not the plucking itself.

Thank you for your beautiful story, you have two absolutely adorable lil birbs!
Did the plucking eventually stop and how does he look now? And how long did it take him to stop or do it less?

I also might let him do his things if I'm sure that he hasn't any illness or other. Cuz I don't know what to do then just letting the vet check him out again. My bird looks happy and fine and he is as hyper as always.

 

[Terry57]

Hii and thank you for replying!

I got mine both out of a bird sanctuary (someone at their home was doing that but I am very skeptical if she is even allowed to do it on how she handled them and gave them to me.. I didn't had a good experience.. sorry I vent a lot about it cuz it bothers me soo much) so I think it's still possible that he misses nutritions from when he was handed if thats possible since my other bird came from a different person but they brought them there (on my lil plucking birb papers he came from a petstore that also breeds birds of all kinds. It's a rule here in my country that they need to have the year on their ring so I hope they gave them the correct ring and not an old one )

The vet said that the clipped wings caused pain and irritation (cuz the pin of the feathers got sharp) he removed the feathers causing that so new feathers can grow in faster. I noticed a bit of improvement on his behavior on that but atm not the plucking itself.

Thank you for your beautiful story, you have two absolutely adorable lil birbs!
Did the plucking eventually stop and how does he look now? And how long did it take him to stop or do it less?

I also might let him do his things if I'm sure that he hasn't any illness or other. Cuz I don't know what to do then just letting the vet check him out again. My bird looks happy and fine and he is as hyper as always.

Private sanctuaries and rescues can be awful, and I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but I'm really glad you got your sweet birds out of there.

I apologize for assuming you were in Canada or the US about the bands, and I'm glad that there are guidelines that have to be followed where you are!

Thank you for asking about my Phoe, unfortunately we lost him to an infection just over 4 years ago. The infection wasn't related to his plucking, he'd been bald for three years by then and had been vet checked many times. He never stopped plucking until his feathers stopped coming in, but he was a happy boy right up to the end.
In the early days with Phoe I tried using a collar to try to reverse his obsession with plucking, and he was miserable. Some birds take well to one, but he wasn't one of those. In the end, sometimes all we can do is let them do what they need to do and love them anyway.
By reading your posts I can tell how much you love him, so that won't be an issue no matter what.

Please keep us updated on him! BTW, what are your birds' names?

 

[Conurebirdie]

Private sanctuaries and rescues can be awful, and I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but I'm really glad you got your sweet birds out of there.

I apologize for assuming you were in Canada or the US about the bands, and I'm glad that there are guidelines that have to be followed where you are!

Thank you for asking about my Phoe, unfortunately we lost him to an infection just over 4 years ago. The infection wasn't related to his plucking, he'd been bald for three years by then and had been vet checked many times. He never stopped plucking until his feathers stopped coming in, but he was a happy boy right up to the end.
In the early days with Phoe I tried using a collar to try to reverse his obsession with plucking, and he was miserable. Some birds take well to one, but he wasn't one of those. In the end, sometimes all we can do is let them do what they need to do and love them anyway.
By reading your posts I can tell how much you love him, so that won't be an issue no matter what.

Please keep us updated on him! BTW, what are your birds' names?

I'm also very happy that I got them eventhough the experience was not that great.

No need for apologizing! It's very understandable.

I'm so sorry to hear that your lil Phoe isn't there with you anymore he for sure had a beautiful happy and loving life with you. I'm happy that he was always a happy lil birb eventhough the plucking.
I will look into a collar like that for my bird and maybe it will work for him. If it would not work and he is a healthy birb I would also let him be doing his thing.

In the end, sometimes all we can do is let them do what they need to do and love them anyway.

Yes! if he will always be plucking I will always love and care for him definitely.
And awee thank you so much! And yes I will and the same for you with your lil angel birb Phoe! ❤

I would love to keep you guys updated and I will! I already love this platform so much since peopll are here to support and care for each other instead of being uneccecary rude and spread hate.. I'm so happy I found a loving platform like this! ❤

Thank you for asking for their names!
I have 3 gcc named: Kupo, Nacho (he is the one in this thread) and Ollie(also adopted him with Nacho)

 

[Terry57]

Thank you so much for your kind words about Phoe, I appreciate it so much.
I'm hoping that Nacho won't join Phoe in the bare birds club, but it's obvious that he is in the right hands no matter what

I found this site that offers many different kinds of collars:

https://birdsupplies.com/collections/how-to-choose-unruffledrx-bird-collars

The style below was what worked best on an Umbrella Cockatoo who self mutilated that a friend had, she would concentrate on trying to chew the different layers and it didn't seem to bother her. This is one of the styles I tried with Phoe, but he was so uncomfortable with them all

https://birdsupplies.com/collection...fledrx-fleece-parrot-collar-velcro-attachment

I love all of your bird's names! Did you name them or did they come with their names? Either way, they're adorable!

I'm so glad you joined us here, you are a perfect fit I've been on other forums and FB bird groups, and was shocked at some of the nastiness. We consider ourselves a family here, and I'm so happy you're now a part of it

 

[Conurebirdie]

Thank you so much for your kind words about Phoe, I appreciate it so much.
I'm hoping that Nacho won't join Phoe in the bare birds club, but it's obvious that he is in the right hands no matter what

I found this site that offers many different kinds of collars:

https://birdsupplies.com/collections/how-to-choose-unruffledrx-bird-collars

The style below was what worked best on an Umbrella Cockatoo who self mutilated that a friend had, she would concentrate on trying to chew the different layers and it didn't seem to bother her. This is one of the styles I tried with Phoe, but he was so uncomfortable with them all

https://birdsupplies.com/collection...fledrx-fleece-parrot-collar-velcro-attachment

I love all of your bird's names! Did you name them or did they come with their names? Either way, they're adorable!

I'm so glad you joined us here, you are a perfect fit I've been on other forums and FB bird groups, and was shocked at some of the nastiness. We consider ourselves a family here, and I'm so happy you're now a part of it

I'm also hoping that Nacho won't joint the bare birds club, but as long as he is a healthy and happy boii I'm happy. Awee Thank you soo much for your kind words

Thank you soo much for all the information and links! I will look into them. Hopefully it will help a lil bit when I have one (if it is needed) I'm happy that your friend's bird did well with the collar and that it didn't bother her. Wish that it also worked on lil Phoe..

Awee I'm happy that you like all my bird's names! I only chose Kupo as one of the names and I will consider maybe changing Nacho's name to a different one since I would love a new start and different name that will fit him more. (if you have any name suggestions I would LOVE to hear them)

I'm also glad that I joined you guys here on this platform! Thank youu! I also been on other forums (reddit) and It's not the most friendly platform (not all peopll are like that but there are a lot..)
I lovee that everyone is a family here it's soo lovely! You guys created a wonderful and loving community and I'm happy to be a part of it and thank youu again I appreciate you a lot!

 

[Terry57]

I'm also hoping that Nacho won't joint the bare birds club, but as long as he is a healthy and happy boii I'm happy. Awee Thank you soo much for your kind words

Thank you soo much for all the information and links! I will look into them. Hopefully it will help a lil bit when I have one (if it is needed) I'm happy that your friend's bird did well with the collar and that it didn't bother her. Wish that it also worked on lil Phoe..

Awee I'm happy that you like all my bird's names! I only chose Kupo as one of the names and I will consider maybe changing Nacho's name to a different one since I would love a new start and different name that will fit him more. (if you have any name suggestions I would LOVE to hear them)

I'm also glad that I joined you guys here on this platform! Thank youu! I also been on other forums (reddit) and It's not the most friendly platform (not all peopll are like that but there are a lot..)
I lovee that everyone is a family here it's soo lovely! You guys created a wonderful and loving community and I'm happy to be a part of it and thank youu again I appreciate you a lot!

You're very welcome! My friend owns a rescue, and the cockatoo had been surrendered because of the self-mutilation. It was awful to see the pictures of what she'd done to herself
My friend and her husband go on a "parrot" cruise once a year along with a large group of parrot lovers, where there are different speakers as well as stops where they can see parrots who are being bred and then set free. It's a really cool thing, what I wouldn't give to go sometime!
Anyway, when she had Lucy (The 'too),her mom came to stay at her house to care for all the birds. She asked me if we would take care of Lucy, just in case she got her collar off and hurt herself.

She was one of the sweetest birds I've ever met, and I did think about adopting her. Every morning I was terrified when I'd go into the bird room, so scared that she'd hurt herself. Thankfully, she was fine for the two weeks she was here, but it didn't seem fair to my other birds to adopt her.
She ended up being adopted not long after that, and is a happy only bird. They were eventually able to take off the collar, and Lucy hasn't hurt herself since. All her feathers grew back and she is gorgeous. She is such a wonderful success story and I love it when I get a chance to share it

Kupo is a great name, I don't think you need any help when it comes to thinking up names
Sometimes I think it is a good idea to give them a new name for their new start in life. What I've found worked well in changing it was to put the old name with the new one. We changed my YCA's name from Rolly to Dexter, and we called him "DexterRolly." It was only a few weeks before we could drop Rolly completely because he had learned that Dexter was his name.

I also use Reddit and checked out the parrot sub, and yikes! So many people were attacked for asking simple questions. I hate that so much, the one who ends up suffering from it is the person's bird. If I had been treated that way I don't know if I'd have ever gotten the courage to ask questions anywhere else.

Thank you so much, I'm glad you're here and you are also appreciated very much!

 

[Conurebirdie]

You're very welcome! My friend owns a rescue, and the cockatoo had been surrendered because of the self-mutilation. It was awful to see the pictures of what she'd done to herself
My friend and her husband go on a "parrot" cruise once a year along with a large group of parrot lovers, where there are different speakers as well as stops where they can see parrots who are being bred and then set free. It's a really cool thing, what I wouldn't give to go sometime!
Anyway, when she had Lucy (The 'too),her mom came to stay at her house to care for all the birds. She asked me if we would take care of Lucy, just in case she got her collar off and hurt herself.

She was one of the sweetest birds I've ever met, and I did think about adopting her. Every morning I was terrified when I'd go into the bird room, so scared that she'd hurt herself. Thankfully, she was fine for the two weeks she was here, but it didn't seem fair to my other birds to adopt her.
She ended up being adopted not long after that, and is a happy only bird. They were eventually able to take off the collar, and Lucy hasn't hurt herself since. All her feathers grew back and she is gorgeous. She is such a wonderful success story and I love it when I get a chance to share it

Kupo is a great name, I don't think you need any help when it comes to thinking up names
Sometimes I think it is a good idea to give them a new name for their new start in life. What I've found worked well in changing it was to put the old name with the new one. We changed my YCA's name from Rolly to Dexter, and we called him "DexterRolly." It was only a few weeks before we could drop Rolly completely because he had learned that Dexter was his name.

I also use Reddit and checked out the parrot sub, and yikes! So many people were attacked for asking simple questions. I hate that so much, the one who ends up suffering from it is the person's bird. If I had been treated that way I don't know if I'd have ever gotten the courage to ask questions anywhere else.

Thank you so much, I'm glad you're here and you are also appreciated very much!

Aww poor baby.. I can understand that it is horrible I wish birbs didn't do self-mutilation it's so awful and sad to see.. That cruise sounds like a dream, I would also love to go there some time even though idk if they have that here. Would also be fun to meet some peopll who also love birds.

Awee that's so sweet that you took care of her for a lil bit so she wouldn't hurt herself, also Lucy is a beautiful name. I'm also happy that she didn't hurt herself when you checked on her. I can understand that you didn't want to adopt her cuz it didn't seem fair for you other birdies. I'm happy that she was adopted soon after that and that she is a happy little birdie now without a collar and didn't hurt herself anymore that's soo wonderful to hear! AAh yes! I'm happy that you told me the story it is an absolutely beatiful story with a happy ending. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you so much! I still have a bit of stuggles with names since I got Kupo from FFXIV.. So if you by any chance know a name I would love to hear them. Yes I feel the same way with Nacho, I want a new start for him with a new name. That is a great idea how to let them get used to their name so I would use that definitely when I have a new name for him, Thank you!

Yeah reddit is just a no go.. Only if you wanna feel horrible after your post it would be a perfect place. Yes, many birds will suffer cuz some peopll don't give any advice and just turn you down with other things they wanna say.. Some things are good to say to some peopll (I saw some horrible cages and filthy and stuff) I posted there a few times but some peopll are just rude.. idk some peopll think they are experts. My brother also said yeah reddit is a no go cuz some peopll thing they are brain surgeons (ofc not everyone but some peopll here and there) So I will not use it anymore. It also doesn't do me any good.. (I also was scared to post here too cuz reddit)

Awee thank youu! it means a lot to me!

 

[Conurebirdie]

Also lil update on Nacho:
He is still actively destroying his feathers but not as much as before. Also some new feathers are coming in on his belly/neck part and he didn't touch them yet and hopefully he won't touch them at all.
I can also pet him a lot more and he likes my hand more now then before and he will lean against it for a lil chill. He is still a happy lil bean and eats well but... I just noticed that he is playing with his carboard toys and idk if he is literally eating some bits of the cardboard. I removed it and he can only play with it when it's with me at my desk and If he really is eating I will alarm the vet immediately.. cuz it can be that I didn't look at it enough and that he still spitted it out cuz smoll pieces and there are also snips at the bottom too so... I'm still saving money so I can give him a bigger cage too so hopefully I will have the upgrade soon.

Still need to find a new name for him we had some names but I can't choose ''Croky, Tuby'' is what we have atm. Croky is a chip brand here, Tuby is from one of the Teapot birds in Genshin Impact.

 

[Terry57]

Also lil update on Nacho:
He is still actively destroying his feathers but not as much as before. Also some new feathers are coming in on his belly/neck part and he didn't touch them yet and hopefully he won't touch them at all.
I can also pet him a lot more and he likes my hand more now then before and he will lean against it for a lil chill. He is still a happy lil bean and eats well but... I just noticed that he is playing with his carboard toys and idk if he is literally eating some bits of the cardboard. I removed it and he can only play with it when it's with me at my desk and If he really is eating I will alarm the vet immediately.. cuz it can be that I didn't look at it enough and that he still spitted it out cuz smoll pieces and there are also snips at the bottom too so... I'm still saving money so I can give him a bigger cage too so hopefully I will have the upgrade soon.

Still need to find a new name for him we had some names but I can't choose ''Croky, Tuby'' is what we have atm. Croky is a chip brand here, Tuby is from one of the Teapot birds in Genshin Impact.

That's great news that Nacho has slowed down on his barbering! Hopefully he continues to go in that direction
It sounds like your bond is growing stronger, what a wonderful feeling that is
My birds chew the cardboard down to tiny gooey pieces, some almost too small to find, and Nacho may be doing the same. Hopefully you'll be able to tell with him only having it while your supervising. Always better to be safe than sorry.

Croky is a cool name, and it kind of goes with Kupo and Ollie I think. But then again, Tuby is a cool name too.
I'm of no help, I like them both...

I'm so glad that you posted here, despite what you've seen on Reddit. Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to get that first post in, and I'm so happy you did

 

[Conurebirdie]

That's great news that Nacho has slowed down on his barbering! Hopefully he continues to go in that direction
It sounds like your bond is growing stronger, what a wonderful feeling that is
My birds chew the cardboard down to tiny gooey pieces, some almost too small to find, and Nacho may be doing the same. Hopefully you'll be able to tell with him only having it while your supervising. Always better to be safe than sorry.

Croky is a cool name, and it kind of goes with Kupo and Ollie I think. But then again, Tuby is a cool name too.
I'm of no help, I like them both...

I'm so glad that you posted here, despite what you've seen on Reddit. Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to get that first post in, and I'm so happy you did

He slowed a bit down but we will look into the collar thing atm. Since we can't buy them (cuz we live in Europe) we will make them instead with their patterns they sell on the site, I'm sooo happy that there are patterns and thank you so much for sending the link!

Yess the bond is growing stronger, it's indeed a wonderful feeling! He is also bonding a lot with my mom too (She loves him so much but she is sad to see him like this, she is scared that he won't live for long. Nacho will also just run to her when he sees her it's soo cute!) we will prob go to the vet soon as well and we don't think he is doing this cuz of hormones..( at least I don't see any of those signs) His weight is also 59 grams, I think that's a bit low? He is the smallest bird of the 3 though and their weight should be around 60-80 grams if google is correct. I also noticed that my other bird Kupo is way too chonky cuz he is 90 grams... so I will ask my vet if that's okay or that I need to let him lose a lil weight.. And Ollie is fine at 75 grams.

I also like both names so I will let other peopll choose for me instead

Thank you soo much, yes it does and I'm also happy that I posted here!