How to stop a bird from plucking?

[AkridChaos]

Hello everyone. Some of you may remember me from the conure or parakeet forums. Looks like as of last week, I am in the parrotlet forums too. My house just became an aviary @@;

Lily (parrotlet) was an old bird of mine. However, due to unfortunate circumstances while I was in college, I had to get her out of my parents’ house asap. So a friend of my brother took her in, and his girlfriend fell in love (bless her soul). So she (and her old lap dog) were bonded to Lily for quite some years (Lily was going to be hers to keep). However, it seems Lily took it upon herself to start plucking her feathers. She apparently was plucking her chest feathers for a long time (about a year and a half), then finally she stopped for over a year. But then the lady whom she stayed with had gone on a 5 day vacation away from the house and had someone come and change food/water. I think maybe she broke down with some sort of separation anxiety? Because after that, Lily apparently hasn’t been the same. She’s gone crazy with feather plucking. She plucks everywhere she can reach. Her chest and neck are bare, her legs have no feathers, her back is going bare, and she’s ripping out her tail feathers. The lady caring for her didn’t know what to do anymore, so she asked me to take Lily back for her own safety, even though she regretted having to give her up (I know the feeling).

Lily looks terrible. She’s happy and chipper, but something is wrong where she just has to pluck her feathers out. I haven’t seen her at it yet, but I did notice she ripped out another tail feather while I was at work (she had two, now she has one -_-). I want to ask for advice on ways to get her to stop this bad habit of hers. I’m not really sure what the cause is. Boredom? Just habit? I’m not sure how she’d be stressed (other than the move, but she was plucking with the woman she stayed with too, so it wasn’t stress related I don’t think). She was never abused, so that’s definitely not it either. Any helpful tips and advice are welcome. I want to help get Lily in healthy form again.

Hopefully Snowball (parakeet) will be of some help. They’ve taken a liking to each other already (they’re out together when I get home, along with Warbeak, but Warbeak has to stay on me away from them both because otherwise Lily scares him and it puts him in threat mode where he feels he has to attack to defend himself. He’s never gotten near enough to hurt her, and I’m not about to chance it either. But I can understand how a bird with no feathers would freak out another bird. It’s not all that different from seeing another person who’s ripped off their skin or something. I’d be freaked out too I guess).

Thanks in advance for your help! I’d post a picture of her but I’m not kidding, she looks horrendous. So don’t be upset when I say for the sake of others, I don’t want to post one.

 

[SailBoat]

I'm short of time at the moment, will try to comment later tonight!

Have you had your Parrot into see an Avian Vet? Everything starts with that visit, sooner rather than later! FYI: Not a standard Dog and Cat Vet, but an Avian Professional.

Will need to look at changes in food, changes in the past and current home!

Time line would be helpful also!


** I'll check back for your comments tomorrow!

*** Just saw your Post!

 

[AkridChaos]

I am currently in the process of scheduling a visit for both Warbeak and Lily (Snowball already had his checkup a few weeks back). Sadly I had a busy schedule the past few weeks (a bunch of things were screwed up in this house I bought and I’ve had people through my home warranty in and out early in the mornings to fix them, so sleep has been scarce for work). And I know an avian professional is necessary lol you don’t take a bird to a cat doctor. XD

Honestly just looking for tips in the meantime until I can get her checked out, to help me understand better why she’s plucking and ways I can stop/prevent it. Knowing ahead of time before I go to vet makes it easier (in my opinion) so I can ask the vet the most recommend method(s).

I think the lady who was caring for Lily just bought the standard bag of seeds, which is unfortunate. I was not given any pellets when my brother dropped her off for me, just seeds, a bag of sunflower seeds, and a few treats. I don’t know the brand of seeds (I’m not home currently to check, second shifter here) but it wasn’t the usual stuff I like to get and swap/mix with pellets. So she’s definitely lacking in the health department I think. Not sure if she ever fed Lily fruits/veggies/etc either. I put some apples in there and she avoided them, as well as any dry fruits/veggies I’ve tried putting in there. That tells me she doesn’t know what it is and doesn’t want it, which means she likely was never given anything but seeds. (Please don’t be mad at the lady who cared for her. She’s older and I don’t think she knows much about birds when it comes to nutrition and behavior. At the very least, I can tell she loved Lily as she always had her out and about with her. I don’t think she retained a lot of the information I told her about the day she got Lily, as it was information overload).

Timeline? I’d say Lily is around 6years old. I left to an out of state college when she was about 2 for 1.5 years (I came back during breaks), and explained to my mom how to take care of her and another bird I had at the time (another parakeet, she grew up with him and were bonded). Things were fine until something happened with one of my brothers and he had to move back in with mom&dad from out of state because things with his fiancée ended abruptly. This is the brother who always saw birds as stupid, and he was staying in that room. So when I came back for one of my breaks, I was really confused as to why my birds were afraid of me. Then I saw him purposely scaring them one day and it all made sense (he was waving his arms about and making them fly because he thought it was funny they were scared because they’re stupid). Of course it resulted in a huge argument between us, once again. He never did respect my birds growing up and I’ve always had to argue with him. So that’s trauma number one in Lily’s past (brother never physically touched the birds, but doing what he did was enough to make them scared of all humans. I was so angry). But he moved out a month later (he was there for maybe 5 months? Plenty of time to scare them -_-). Then shortly after he left, my dad decided that was his room, and he’s the type of person who knows everything, even about birds, even though he’s never raised one. So that’s when things went downhill. Enter era of birds out unsupervised, and doing the exact opposite of everything I told my mom to do, because he knows better. Long story short, his carelessness caused a very unfortunate accident, resulting in the death of my beloved parakeet. He could’ve been saved had my mom called me sooner (I’m not angry at her, it’s not her fault. Birds are good at hiding when they’re ill or hurt). A lot of things happened and well, I had no choice but to put him down because he was broken, both in spirit and in body (quite literally). So Lily had to get away asap before my dad let her go outside (trust me, he threatened. Because I wouldn’t get another bird buddy for her. Like I would logically do that after he just killed one of my birds -_-). So that was trauma number two and three for her (that is including the move to the lady who cared for her until now). So that was around age...3? 3.5? Because she plucked for about 1.5 years after (didn’t know until recently after my other brother talked to the lady who cared for her), which would bring her to 4.5-5years, then she stopped for a good year, so 5.5-6, then started back up after she went away for 5 days. So maybe even 6.5-7 years she could be (forgive me, my memory is a bit foggy).

So I’m thinking maybe the first year or so of her plucking was indeed stress related after her traumas while I was at college (still so angry it all happened like that in such a short time away). But it was only her chest from the sounds of it and I guess it wasn’t “bad” (of course any plucking is bad). But it’s the most recent plucking I’m worried about. Because it’s not stress or abuse related, and she’s going crazy on herself. Malnourishment? Boredom? I can’t say she’s depressed, because she’s always so chipper. I just don’t get it. Previous owner going away for 5 days shouldn’t have caused her to break down so hard like that. Unless it was that timeframe she maybe switched brands of food too? Or maybe the person changing food/water did something nobody knows about. I am completely clueless, and upset it’s even happening. I don’t even know if anyone or anything is capable of getting her to stop at this point. It’s so bad. But I still have to try my best and do everything in my power to make her healthy again. That way if I really can’t stop her, at least I know I did everything in my power to try and I can’t be disappointed in myself.

 

[SailBoat]

Well, it is surprising that your Parrot has Feather one on its body. That is a life time of stress.

Understanding that although your Parrot started plucking before returning to your home. It is likely that returning to your home added a combination of Stress, both in losing another home and returning to a home that was loaded with Stress from the past.

- First, moving to a healthy diet is important to assure that your Parrot can physically maintain the constant need to replace Feathers.

- De-stressing your Parrot's life! Its a long path of hourly assuring that only good things happen when 'any' Human is around, which will take years to assure. I want you to understand the importance of the word: ANY! Today, your Parrot has no reason to trust any Human.

- Bathing /Misting regularly - to the level that your Parrot is comforted! And, the temperature and humidity in the home is reasonable, i.e. the Parrot is warm.

- Use a comforting product between Bathing /Misting. We use 'Soother Topical Spray' (an active aloe vera, which contains a antipruitic and anti-inflammatory) available at most Avian Professional Clinics. Do not use multiple products!!!

There is always the likelihood of a Medical bases problem and that must be determined by your CAV.

It is important for you to understand that today and moving forward, your Parrot may never become a non-plucker! Can you accept that? You will have too!

This will get your started!

-

 

[AkridChaos]

Ah no this is actually a home she has not been in yet (sorry for the confusion, newly bought house that I own). But yes I do understand moving is stressful, but I must add that I haven’t seen her pluck at all, other than knowing she yanked a tail feather out while I was away at work two days ago.

DEFINITELY working on changing the diet to healthy. I’m hoping Warbeak eating pellets in front of her (as well as Snowball, that stubborn little birdie who refuses lol) will help get her (and Snowball) on board with it. I have also been having Warbeak eat his apples in front of them these past few days (since apples sat in both Lily’s and Snowball’s cages untouched).

I think there is a little confusion in the regard to not trusting humans as well. While I was away in college, yes she was afraid of humans due to the circumstances of how things unfolded while I was away. While in the care of... Jane Doe I will call her, she did indeed show Lily love. Lily has been very open with me in the week I’ve had her so far. She has no problems being on or around me (actually, she was the first to come unexpectedly jump on me as I was changing her food). So her trust for humans is indeed there. She knows I’m not there to hurt her, and I can tell she was loved a lot in her previous home (malnourishment aside). Now whether or not the 5-day caretaker while Jane Doe was away did something to Lily or not, is unknown. I doubt it, but it’s always a possibility for her need to rip out everything she can reach.

I always keep it warm for the birds. Lily and Warbeak are good in the showering department (well sort of, they use their drink water while I’m at work. Bad habit of theirs) ): but at least they try. Snowball is the dirty bird that has to take showers (I don’t have a spray bottle, so I put him in the travel cage, bottom off, and put my legs in the tub. My shower head detaches, and I spray my legs with the water when it’s optimal temperature so spray is created and Snowball can run up to it and do his thing. He seems to enjoy himself that way).

Never heard of the Soother Topical spray. Will look into it! Hopefully that’ll help Lily out since she’s practically bare-skinned.

*crosses fingers* I hope she has no health problems. But it could be possible due to malnourishment of only seeds and treats. But I can still hope for the best.

And yes, unfortunately I am aware she may never stop at this point. It hurts knowing that, but I still have to at least try. Doesn’t mean I’ll love her any less for her bad habits. But it will be a strain on the mind knowing she may not be able to be helped in this regard.

 

[AkridChaos]

Thanks again SailBoat for the Soother Topical spray tip. Just looked into it and ordered a few bottles. It might actually help out Warbeak too I think. I was noticing he itches a lot, and saw a lot of dandruff on him (not lice) and has a lot of new feathers coming in too. Should hopefully help him stop being so itchy, as well as help Lily stop plucking in the future *fingers crossed* can’t hurt to use it on Snowball too. Should conserve on my water bill (lol). Hoping they all enjoy it. ^^

 

[SailBoat]

Thanks again SailBoat for the Soother Topical spray tip. Just looked into it and ordered a few bottles. It might actually help out Warbeak too I think. I was noticing he itches a lot, and saw a lot of dandruff on him (not lice) and has a lot of new feathers coming in too. Should hopefully help him stop being so itchy, as well as help Lily stop plucking in the future *fingers crossed* can’t hurt to use it on Snowball too. Should conserve on my water bill (lol). Hoping they all enjoy it. ^^

Thanks,

I would not use the Soother Topical Spray on a Parrot that does not have a specific issue.

Regarding its general use: Never spray at the face of a Bird! That is even more important with any spray that contains supportive products! In addition, the bottle creates a very fine mist, which is great for providing a light coverage over a fairly small area. This allows you to define areas to target with the mist.

Again, it is not for general use!

As with any product, it will build-up with usage and volume. This means that you will need to Water Mist and/or bath your Parrot(s).

The product is designed to sooth and comfort the Parrot for a given time period. That provides a level of relief and allows the Parrot to live more normally.

The goal with any wetting, regardless of whether it is water or product is to never have a Parrot that is wet 24 /7. Your Avian Professional will provide you guidelines as to how often, based on you're Parrot's needs.

At present, we are between one and four times per day, based on observed needs.

 

[AkridChaos]

Ohhh so it’s only for a bird like Lily then (feather plucker) or potentially Warbeak (scratcher because new feathers and dandruff), not Snowball. I misunderstood when I was reading it then. Thanks again for more of your tips! And of course you don’t want a bird wet 24/7. Same applies to a human. I hope nobody thinks that’s ok o.o

Edit;
And I will hold off using it until the vet visit, to know how often I should be using it on either bird.

 

[SailBoat]

Ohhh so it’s only for a bird like Lily then (feather plucker) or potentially Warbeak (scratcher because new feathers and dandruff), not Snowball. I misunderstood when I was reading it then. Thanks again for more of your tips! And of course you don’t want a bird wet 24/7. Same applies to a human. I hope nobody thinks that’s ok o.o

Edit;
And I will hold off using it until the vet visit, to know how often I should be using it on either bird.

I have on several items made points that you and I see as 'common sense.' That said and sadly, it commonly is not! I tend to write for not only your specific needs, but for the vast number of non-members who are also reading the Forums.

I would consider using it on Lily now. Not more than twice per day, like during the morning and evening. Once your CAV see's Lily, follow their recommendation.

Shake the product prior to use. Target plucked areas only.

NOTE #1: Be very careful to keep the mist way from the head and most importantly the Beak! The mist is a very dense ball of product and fills the air in that ball! It's my concern that it would be like a misted ball of water that I would not want to inhale and clearly not want my Amazon to inhale.

NOTE #2: Always check the location of the misting head. Getting a face full of the mist is an unexpected possibility! Yup, have done that more than once. I always either hold the bottle correctly or place it so I can pick it up correctly prior to getting my Amazon to step-up.

NOTE #3: One push of the pump head per location!

 

[Teddscau]

All I can say is that I'm amazed your birds are still alive. Or willing to trust humans. Honestly, scaring birds like that...in my opinion, it's as bad as putting out cigarettes on a baby. I know some may be upset by that image, but it's important to make it clear just how traumatic that experience would've been for your birds.

To get her on the right track, make her this: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/63942-most-nutritious-birdie-bread.html

I'd also buy Nekton-S vitamins for her (buy online). I tend to use half the recommended dose, and I mix it into their daily servings of mash. Here's what you should put in her mash (all organic):
Chia
Brown rice
Flax
Peas
Amaranth
Quinoa
Millet
Sunflower seeds
Pine nuts
Macadamia nuts
Pecans
Wild rice
Kamut wheat
Oats
Barley
Buckwheat
Lentils
Mung beans
Chickpeas

After I cook everything, I freeze everything into portions that can be eaten in three or four days. Before feeding, I sometimes like to put a bit of powdered kale, powdered grain grass (wheatgrass, oatgrass, etc.), and/or cayenne in it.

I'd feed her Totally Organic Pellets as the base of her diet. Also, crinkle plastic bags to keep her in a good mood. I'd also clicker train her, then target train her. Then, I'd teach her other tricks and do daily training sessions. This will help improve your bond, increase her confidence, and give her something to do.

As for a dry seed mix, I'd buy her Goldenfeast Petite Hookbill Legume Blend, and Goldenfeast Conure Gourmet Blend. I also feed Goldn'obles III to my guys. Try to get her to eat leafy greens (spinach, chickweed, Swiss chard, and Romaine are a good place to start).

 

[AkridChaos]

@Teddscau

I’m so glad people on the forums are like-minded. I feel like I’m some sort of insane sometimes trying to describe to people what’s wrong to do to a bird. Seriously, you have no idea how hard it is arguing with people that it’s wrong to scare your birds like that because they no longer want to associate with you. And then they’re so stuck on the idea of “bird brain” and can’t move past that and always come to “who cares? It’s a stupid a** bird anyway” -_- well you wouldn’t go around scaring a cat or dog like that because you understand the stress it would cause for it. How does the same not apply to the bird, or any other animal like a mouse or a rabbit or a salamander etc.? I just don’t understand how it’s so hard to explain to someone to not scare your beloved pet -_-

And psst. I noticed the plural on your “it’s amazed your birds are still alive”. Lily is the only one of the bunch who was scared like that (along with my yellow ‘keet who did pass thanks to Mr-Know-It-All who had to do the opposite of everything I asked my mom to do while I was away, where Lily had to be rehomed asap). Snowball is a different story from different people (he’s actually my niece’s bird that I’m caring for now. He was in a worse situation than Lily ever was. Poor boy). Warbeak came from the pet store. He has no traumas in his life (except when I leave his sight and his world falls apart lol) and I’m looking forward to not having to worry about anyone ever doing anything to any of them now that I have my own place. ^^

And thanks SO MUCH for that recipe. I’ve been trying to find recipes to cook nice things for my birds. I bought some bird bread mix from harrison foods to try out a while ago (haven’t gotten around to it because stove is currently broken. Trying to replace it through warranty). If you have any other recipes, I’m open to them! (And I have pellets I’m trying to slowly incorporate with her. She’s picky like Snowball in that regard. I got lucky with Warbeak. He eats anything.) interesting that you say conure blend though and not parakeet. I always thought you get a parrotlet parakeet food and mix in pet store sunflower seeds. Is conure seed diet the better option for parrotlets? I’m assuming the parakeet size pellets are the way to go with parrotlets. I will look into your suggested brands but I do like the Zupreem and Sun Seed brands.

 

[Teddscau]

No problem! If you'd like to learn more about how animals think and view the world, I'd recommend buying "Animals In Translation" by Temple Grandin.

My birds loved that birdie bread recipe, but it turns out certain little budgies (i.e., all of them) are allergic to sweet potato. I also like buying mash and birdie bread mixes from Avian Organics. However, this is a Canadian company, so it probably wouldn't be feasible. Although, I think a lot of Americans have gotten spoiled with all your "free shipping", "no brokerage fees", "no tariffs", and "blow taxes". It costs me an arm and a leg to care for my critters (I buy almost everything online for them).

Have you tried the Goldn'obles III or TOPs yet? Noah was fed nothing but cheap seed his whole life, but within a week, I had him eating sprouts, veggies, birdie bread, and pellets. The Goldn'obles are really easy to get them to try. As for Zupreem, I know a lot of people like it. However, no offense, they use artificial colours, which makes a company poor quality in my books. I mean, if they really want to make their pellets colourful, they could use natural colours like turmeric and beet juice. I'm a fan of TOPs and Goldn'obles because they use whole, human-grade ingredients. They don't use artificial flavours, colours, vitamins, or minerals. I understand wanting a guaranteed nutritional analysis, but that's where the mash with 50% of the recommended dose of Nekton-S comes in. Sometimes I'll even use just a third of the recommended amount of vitamins.

As for conure vs parakeet food, conure is more appropriate in my view. Budgies are adept at eating grass seed, grains, and small amounts of leaves. However, conures and parrotlets have beaks that allow them to also eat nuts (sans shell), pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dried veggies, etc. In the wild, they feed on nuts, grass seed, fruits, fruit seeds, cactus, flowers, leaf buds, leaves, and ocassionally insects. Like conures, their beaks are stronger and more versatile than budgies'.

 

[AkridChaos]

Hm well I tried the spray earlier to try it out with Lily, and I must say I don’t know if I should continue to use it. I understand the purpose of using it, and I’m sure it works great for its purpose, but it scared the crap out of her. I thought ahead and had her on the floor when I was using it, just in case it really was going to scare her and she’d try jumping around in the cage and hurt herself. I’m glad I did that, because she kept freaking out and running away and trying to fly off (her wings are clipped currently). I did do my best to continue until she was thoroughly wet, but I felt so bad doing it because she was terrified. Usually she steps up for me immediately, but after she was done getting wet and I put my finger out, she ran off. I’m not sure whether it’s wise for me to continue spraying her like that if it’s going to ruin whatever bond we were starting to build. I can’t see her getting used to it and enjoying it.

 

[SailBoat]

Hm well I tried the spray earlier to try it out with Lily, and I must say I don’t know if I should continue to use it. I understand the purpose of using it, and I’m sure it works great for its purpose, but it scared the crap out of her. I thought ahead and had her on the floor when I was using it, just in case it really was going to scare her and she’d try jumping around in the cage and hurt herself. I’m glad I did that, because she kept freaking out and running away and trying to fly off (her wings are clipped currently). I did do my best to continue until she was thoroughly wet, but I felt so bad doing it because she was terrified. Usually she steps up for me immediately, but after she was done getting wet and I put my finger out, she ran off. I’m not sure whether it’s wise for me to continue spraying her like that if it’s going to ruin whatever bond we were starting to build. I can’t see her getting used to it and enjoying it.

Have you not misted your Bird(s) before?

Remember it was one pump per area she was plucking - at most with a Bird her size, it should have taken two, to a maximum of maybe three pumps.

The goal is not to make her thoroughly wet.

 

[AkridChaos]

No, I have never misted them before, because they all usually bathe on their own (exception Snowball, who requires shower and enjoys himself). Like I said, I did the best I could to get her wet. But she kept running. So I got probably maybe 4 full pumps (but each time it was only a slight press because she’d instantly run/fly off). A lot of it was wasted. Don’t think I want to continue with it if it scares her that badly.

 

[Cthebird]

I strongly recommend feeding your Parrotlet Harrison's Superfine pellets, with seeds as just a treat. If your Parrotlet loves millet sprays, get rid of them. Millet will surely be in the small seed mix I'd give as a treat. When I say treat, I mean 1-2 tsp max with almost 1/4 cup pellets, and maybe a seed as a training treat handed straight to their beak. I'd leave sweet seed blocks out of the cage. Or skip them altogether. If your bird has never eaten pellets, you may need to transition him to them with a little more seed initially.

The poster's suggestion to make mash is great. My Parrotlet ate heated mash every morning of the week. Do try to encourage fresh veggies/fruit, but if they don't like them, the mash should be sufficient. Occasional bird safe human food is desirable, too. My Parrotlet ate breakfast with my hubby and I every morning and some dinners. Mash in the morning in his own dish prevented some (not all) thievery of our food. Plus, it's together time. My husband and I think mash was the secret to my Parrotlet not plucking.

Stress can play a part in plucking, for sure. I'm glad you do have other birds. You don't cage the budgie and Parrotlet together do you? If so, try separating them.

Do check with the vet to be sure there isn't some underlying illness present.

Birds do require a lot of work/effort and love. Making mash may seem like a lot, because it is. But it is worth it.

 

[AkridChaos]

@Cthebird: This is a bit of an older post (though glad you took the time to respond). I came back for the bird bread and mash recipe. I’ve been chopping up chunks of fruit and freezing them in daily portion sizes, dethawing them overnight. Invested in some kale recently that I’m trying to coax them into since I hear it’s pretty good for them (I never heard of kale before. I thought it was a fish at first LOL). Veggies don’t seem to be a hit with any of the fids, so I needed recipes to make finally. At least I know their general likes/dislikes now. Going to mix pellets into the mash/bread recipes I think, maybe swap in a few things they like, or different veggies like carrots etc to give them a good variety of nutrition. My two little ones are just too stubborn about the pellets. I feel like maybe I didn’t do it right or something, all these other people can get their birds onto pellets, but Warbeak eats pellets fine so I’m not too sure I did it wrong, they’re just that stubborn.

When I got Lily in...October? November? She was almost completely bald and pulling out her tail feathers and all the down on her wings, etc. You can physically see her progress in the most recent post I made with her: Playing with Lily. Both flight and Snowball (parakeet) have helped her immeasurably. They were actually separate in cages until around when her flight feathers started coming back (maybe mid January). I thought since they got along so amazingly, maybe it would be good for her. Besides, she fought me daily to stay in that cage with him. I thought I’d do a trial run, see what happens. Well, feathers has happened. Not fully feathers, but feathers enough to tell she’s a bird again and not some weird mutated looking thing. They don’t fight, they get along well, keep each other nice company when I’m at work, and play together with me. Well, sort of. Lily plays, Snowball comes to tweet along and steal all of Lily’s treats. Lol. Now I’m simply working on seeing if I can stop the plucking altogether. Seems any time she gets her feathers all back, she rips out chunks uner her neck both front and back. She’s not nearly as bad as she first was, but still sort of plucking isn’t good enough in my book. I don’t want her to damage herself and those beautiful feathers of hers can’t grow back. Doing whatever little things I can to help her stop, if it’s possible. Just because she made this much progress doesn’t necessarily mean she will continue to move forward. For all I know this is the best she’ll be. Still worth a try though.