Plucking

[WaywardFlock]

Hi everyone, I finally adopted my first pi!
She is a beautiful white cap. 10 years old. Her family loved her very much but could no longer keep her. When one of them moved away she started plucking. Now that I have uprooted her life and moved her, she has been plucking more. Took her to the vet, ran full blood work. Everything came back perfect. She is a hormonal mess though.
Her last owners cuddled her tons, so when they moved away it was like getting divorced for her. She honks at me constantly and demands head scratches all the time. I was catering to her in the beginning, but the vet ordered me to stop. Told me that I am causing her sexual frustration more. But she has gotten much worse since I have stopped scratching her head. I have tried to get her into more foraging toys, but she wants nothing to do with them. So I started trick training her. She is wicked smart and can now in a few weeks wave, turn around, and do big eagle. But she is still plucking.
I don't know how to help her.
I feel like she is unhappy here and feel awful.
She is on harrisons pellets, gets plenty of fresh air and sunlight and more than enough uninterrupted sleep.
What do I try next?
Her cage was in the midst of the action of my house and I just today moved her somewhere more quiet thinking maybe there was too much action going on and stressing her out?
She ALWAYS wants to be with me. If I even leave the room for a moment she will come running after me.
How do I help her be more confident and ok here?

 

[MonicaMc]

You've taught her a bunch of new behaviors.... what about going back to teaching her how to forage using the techniques you used to train her to do new behaviors?

You can start simple! Cover her food dish with paper of some sort and put a hole in the middle of it - large enough for her to see through, if not put her head through. Each day, make that hole smaller and smaller so hopefully she learns to tear through it to get to her food!

Wrap food up in a paper muffin cup! Tear some open so she gets the idea and let her have at it!

Get tiny dishes! About 5-6? Place them all around the cage! Then, separate her food to as many dishes as she has in the cage. Might even try putting something different in each dish! That way, she has to go around the cage to each dish to see what's inside!

You could also get some large pebbles and try a dish of pebbles with her dry food mixed in!

Get Nutriberries and put those into toys! Heck, you could even take a block of wood, drill some holes in it and stuff the holes with the Nutriberries! Or stuff them inside some paper coin wraps or finger traps! Be creative!

Got any safe trees where you are at? Try cutting some branches down, with leaves, and giving it to her whole! She may enjoy stripping the branches of leaves and bark!



You can also check out this website for some easy enrichment ideas!


Parrot Enrichment

 

[WaywardFlock]

Oh thank you! So many great ideas I never would have thought of! This is my first parrot.
I have only gone so far as to put food in those little wicker balls, and inside folded up paper towel rolls. She starts but loses interest in them very easily. She chews the rolls up as toys so I never thought she might not get it yet. I poked holes in the sides of them and stuck treats sticking out of the whole thing so she can see it. Maybe the muffin cups are better! softer and easier. I think I was making it too complicated trying to make her brain work harder but I guess I only discouraged her.
I also see those clear foraging wheels. Do you guys have experience with those? are they worth it?

 

[WaywardFlock]

So is foraging the only problem here? Will that really redirect her hormonal issues? She doesn't do it out of boredom. I'm home with her all day. She has plenty to do. She does it after honking at me

 

[MonicaMc]

Foraging can help. It will give them something *to do* to help preoccupy their time. Changing the diet, cage, cage location, the foods you feed, hours of day/night and perhaps even the temperature are some other things you could try changing as well.... and of course discouraging the behavior by trying to now allow it to happen.... i.e. if she becomes hormonal and nesty in the cupboards or underneath furniture, you restrict her access to these areas.


I do have a foraging wheel, but haven't had it for very long, and the bird who has it hasn't quite figured it out yet... she took to the foraging carousel faster, however she has only figured out two of the four boxes so far.

 

[SilverSage]

I love that you already know to be trick training, I think that will help a lot. Since she is already used to being touched all over I would try harness training her. I really like the Aviator Harness and all the info that comes with it on how to teach her to wear it. Ultimately taking her outside is one more thing for her mental and emotional health, not to mention her physical wellbeing!

I also am glad you have her on pellets, but I truly suggest adding fresh veggies and fruit. I try to offer chopped food mixed together, as well as big pieces that can be perched on like whole carrots and celery stalks, and things that can be picked up and held in a foot like pieces of broccoli.

Also, do every single thing that Monica suggested, all FANTASTIC ideas.

I suggest setting a strict bed time and covering that cage. Move it to a dark and quiet part of the house if you have to, but make sure she gets 12 hours of totally dark and quiet sleep time, part of what triggers the hormones is the extended spring daylight.

Restrict access to anything that could be seen as a nest hole or nesting materiel, and do not feed any warm mushy foods. You already know not to cuddle her, obviously.

My Maxi Pi's have just started learning to be parrots again after too many years as breeders in the wrong hands, it is nice to hear of a pi getting a loving home

In the end, hormonal behavior is to be expected during this time, and there is only so much we can do about that.

As for the plucking, I don't have experience with that, but I wonder if more frequent baths could be of help? I know all birds have different plucking habits and different reasons and triggers, but perhaps more baths could change the texture of her feathers often enough, or changer her focus as she preens, so that plucking may be less desirable?

You might also look into some kind of "birdie clothes" that could cover where she plucks until the problem goes away, depending on the bird, but keep in mind that this would not be a solution, just a temporary band-aid of sorts as you help her work through her mental and emotional issues. I again state that I do not have experience here and am just throwing out ideas here. I would love for those with experience to speak up on what I said.

I also think it is normal for her to be a bit insecure right now, and I don't see her running after you as an issue. My conure sometimes seeks me out, and I generally take the approach that she is allowed to come spend time with me, just not allowed to demand my attention. I greet her when she waddles into the room (she seriously looks like a lurking cartoon villain when she does this) and then allow her to climb up my leg and onto my shoulder. I know some people don't allow shoulder sitting, that is fine. We just chill together, she often takes a nap. She has her bird flock in the livingroom, but my Maxi's are not really "tame" yet and do not come see me. All that to say, maybe you should just let her follow you. Following you = exercise, and that is a GOOD THING I keep a few treats and toys in the office where I am often and if Flick gets to throwing her butt in my face I distract her with a toy or carrot or something so we can spend non-sexual time together.

Please keep us updated!!

 

[WaywardFlock]

All such lovely advice!
She is a stinker about her fresh food. We are working on it and slowly making progress. She will only eat apples and snap or snow peas, very rarely a bite of carrot, and I have to hand and hold them for her! She won't touch it if it's on a cobbob, small pieces in a bowl, NOPE! I have to slice the apple into medium sized pieces, then offer it to her and she takes her bite. If I cut them too big, she runs away, too small she takes a bite and flings it. She is SILLY! But it's progress, so I'll stand there all day handing princess her fresh food on a silver platter if it means she is eating some lol

She started plucking when her owner moved away. Could she still be grieving? I read today parrot can pluck in mourning. She was with this girl and extremely bonded to her for all 10 years of her life.
I have only had her about two months now.
She seems to like where I have moved her. It is more quiet and gives her her own little open room off to the side. She has a great view out a window with bushes around so nothing will walk by there ever and scare her. It gets morning sun so won't get too hot either.
She gets daily outdoor time in her second large full outdoor cage and plenty of baths. She seemed to take the move perfectly well. Maybe she just thought she was going on a trip and now realizing she isn't going back home? or am I anthropomorphizing this too much?
I just adore her so much and wanted the best for her. I feel like I am failing her that she is still feeling the need to pluck. It's heartbreaking.
I got several more toys today. She is getting the hang of those wicker balls. Although she more chews them up when she is in the mood than searching for the food in them. It all just ends up on the floor of her cage so I really have to watch how much she is actually eating of what I put in there to make sure she isn't going hungry. I also got lots of hanging dishes to place food in several places as suggested.
I know this won't fix overnight, but I sure wish it would.

 

[parrotlover1176]

I am so happy to hear you adopted a Pionus! They are such lovely birds.

I have a Maxi Pi whom I adopted from her second home at the age of 8. She is a plucker as well, but her reason for plucking is probably more physical than emotional. She had a rope toy accident that injured her right foot and wing, so she plucks that side around her leg because it still hurts her. She does take medicine for it on days that it seems particularly bothersome.

And, not to be discouraging, but please be aware that plucking is one of the most difficult parrot issues to remedy. It may improve with time and love, but it may not. I am not saying to give up, just don't beat yourself up over it. There are a lot of very experienced parrot people who have pluckers who never stop plucking.

Also, my pionus came to me literally only eating sunflower seeds. Her diet transition has been VERY slow. It may take time with your girl to get her to eat a larger variety of fresh foods, but just keep trying! My girl is still picky, but she will now eat pellets and several fresh foods. In just the past few days I finally got her to eat carrot! I have had her for a year and a half and we are still working on the diet!

One more thing, not to go against what your vet says, but I don't know why petting her head would be off limits. Head grooming is a social, not sexual thing. As long as you aren't petting her back I don't see why you can't occasionally pet her head. But, that is just my opinion. I am certainly no expert.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that it sounds like you are doing an excellent job and you obviously care about your girl. Just relax and get to know her, things will improve with time and patience.

 

[WaywardFlock]

Thank you for the encouraging words =)
I am starting to wonder if she is doing it from dry skin also. She gets regular baths. Daily or every other day. Some days she just isn't into it. But she starts looking dingy and dusty quickly. I am not sure how often she got them at her other home, but it took her quite a while to get into it here. She has a shower perch I set at the bottom of my shower and run the faucet at a warm temp and use my hand to deflect the water towards her. at first it took her several attempts to even lift a wing, now she goes nuts for them! hanging upside down flappling like crazy under the water. She's like a 20 minute shower kind of girl. She seems much happier after a shower to. She focuses more on toys. Now I'm not saying this is the only reason. I know she's a hormonal mess, (She's cage aggressive at the moment) but I am wondering if it is a combination of things agitating her.
To get to the point, has anyone ever used a spray like this to help sooth skin?
Bird Grooming Products: Bird plumage and skin conditioner at Drs. Foster & Smith
I'm so worried about most products out there, especially ones she will ingest when grooming or plucking.
are there better natural solutions maybe?
I just want to rule out any and all possibilities to try and help her.
If I get a great combination of things going, I am hoping to cure this

 

[WaywardFlock]

And to add, we are making great progress on foraging! =)
I got some coconut shell halves with holes drilled in them I have hung around her cage like little bowls. I have filled them with shreddings, block toys, ect. so she had to chew and dig to find her food. I have also started breaking her food into smaller pieces so she has to move and dig more rather than get one big chunk get to a perch and munch on it. She has the harrisons adult lifetime course pellets. I think I am going to buy the fine version next time. Less will be wasted as well which is good for my wallet =p

 

[SilverSage]

My Pionus started out being crazy picky eaters. Just to encourage you, today they had a chop of Kale, spinach, carrots, purple cabbage, radishes, squash spears, and bok choy. They also has a mandarin orange only partially opened (I am trying to teach them to open it themselves), about 1/4 of a kiwi, and some apple spears and toast. They have been with me since October, but just this month they have really started to eat what I offer. It was months of rejecting food day after day, but now they have begun to show rapid progress. They have also made the switch from peanuts to almonds as their main treats.

One thing I found helped was to offer veggies in the morning and leave them there or switch them out through the day, offer fruit as "toys" more or less, and offer pellets only for about an hour or two in the evening. That makes sure they have access to food when they need it, but will be hungry enough to "explore" their new food. Early on I mixed the pellets in with the veggies so they more or less tasted them by accident, and it also taught them that what I offered in the morning was their meal, so they knew to eat it. You dont want to just withhold food if you dont know they know that what you are offering IS FOOD.

 

[MonicaMc]

A bird bath spray may help, but likewise, it may also make things worse. Birds aren't meant to have stuff on their skin or feathers, so in theory, it could make the problem worse because the birds are trying to remove it from their body.

If you are going to use something other than water, you don't want to use it any more often than every other time..... i.e. alternate between pure water and solution every time... or within every 5 bathes, use the solution once.