over preening and babering

[cockie]

hi guys, is there anything i can do to bud the habbit at start?

he lives in a large cage with 8-9 toys. rotated regularly

he is on a playstand in the house for 3-4 hrs a day and i go to his cage/room 2-3 times a day and talk to him and play with him for 10-15mins and he sits on my shoulder then.
i play music for him when he is in the room as well.
he is not a huge fan of playing with all toys and he only loves his pellet. he now dabbles with fruits veges kebabs and some goldenfest seed fruit mix in the playpen
he is under a year old. and i saw some babering on his 2 tail feathers. even when we watch tv together he likes multi tasking (preening and watching tv)


any advice is much appreciated hi guys, is there anything i can do to bud the habbit at start?

he lives in a large cage with 8-9 toys. rotated regularly

he is on a playstand in the house for 3-4 hrs a day and i go to his cage/room 2-3 times a day and talk to him and play with him for 10-15mins and he sits on my shoulder then.
i play music for him when he is in the room as well.
he is not a huge fan of playing with all toys and he only loves his pellet. he now dabbles with fruits veges kebabs and some goldenfest seed fruit mix in the playpen
he is under a year old. and i saw some babering on his 2 tail feathers. even when we watch tv together he likes multi tasking (preening and watching tv)


any advice is much appreciated


hi guys, is there anything i can do to bud the habbit at start?

he lives in a large cage with 8-9 toys. rotated regularly

he is on a playstand in the house for 3-4 hrs a day and i go to his cage/room 2-3 times a day and talk to him and play with him for 10-15mins and he sits on my shoulder then.
i play music for him when he is in the room as well.
he is not a huge fan of playing with all toys and he only loves his pellet. he now dabbles with fruits veges kebabs and some goldenfest seed fruit mix in the playpen
he is under a year old. and i saw some babering on his 2 tail feathers. even when we watch tv together he likes multi tasking (preening and watching tv)


any advice is much appreciated

 

[cockie]

anyone? noone?

 

[Peppo]

I wish I could help you but Paco has been over preening too, I think. I understand about the multi tasking too. When he is on my lap, if I am not rubbing his head or we are not playing, he is preening. If he is not eating while on his playstand or playing he is preening! I have been thinking the same exact thing. I am starting to think it is the dry heat from the boiler and pellet stove. I am considering a humidifier for the winter months. Maybe that is your issue as well?

 

[Anansi]

I'm sorry to hear that your bird may be barbering. You mentioned in your post that your bird is under one year and that the damage you're seeing is to his tail feathers.

Younger birds can be rough on their tail feathers as they climb about the cage and such. Is it possible that your bird isn't actually barbering, but is actually just causing tail feather damage as he climbs about the cage? Or have you witnessed the barbering?

I'd say keep rotating the toys and work on teaching him to play with the toys that he doesn't use. Also, taking him in for a vet visit would also be a good idea. Sometimes barbering and plucking can be due to a diet issue or even a skin irritation. Best to be sure, I reckon.

 

[Scott]

In some cases overgrooming or barbering may be a personality issue. I have 3 Goffin adults, brothers from the same parents who live in the same room with their mother. Same genetic background, identical diet. Two of the brothers and their mother have perfect feathering, one significantly overgrooms.

Abby is the more hyperactive of the group with a bit more spastic personality. Whether alone on a perch, with other birds, or cuddling, he will often overgroom and doesn't like it when I redirect his beak! No plucking, just spends far "too much" time grooming. No health issues, therefore my conclusion, given his environment, that he is just a bit hyperactive. It is also possible he has a greater sensitivity to specific foods, but given that he is out of the cage much of the time and has access to all foods, selective change of diet will be difficult. But he is happy and healthy, so for now I just accept his tendencies.

EDIT: Wrote this when I awoke with too little sleep! Perhaps a more simple analysis of Abby is that he is just plain neurotic and that may be the root of his overgrooming. Yeh, that's the word - neurotic - like many Toos! Despite being hand fed from a few days of age like the others, he initially didn't like to be handled, but outgrew that stage quickly and gives/gets as much attention as his brothers.

 

[cockie]

thank you