In another thread I was asked how I got a plucked parrot to be feathered again. I can only tell the individuals story, as no two pluckers are alike or needs the same things- however there are some common denominators.
First off is Sofus:
He wasn't a bad plucker, he just ate his down and left all the green feathers. Sofus arrived here when he was 5 and I was his 8th home. He had been moved so often, he was really stressed. He was also toe tapping and wing flipping, when he got here. He was on a coloured pelleted diet, when he got here.
First thing was to change his diet to a fruit pate, supplemented with as much fresh fruit and veg I could get him to eat. I also added hemp seed for protein and good fatty acids and an oat specially designed for pluckers, which is covered with beta-keratin (not beta-caroten).
Sofus' habit changed after about 3 months, but his habit was not too bad and mainly due to bad eckie diet.
Second was (Des)Tino:
Tino was also on a horrible diet of bird seeds and dog food, when he got here. He could not fly due to a broken wing and a spine so tight he had problems moving. Tino was a bit of a hard case and we did so much, I might not list all of it- if so, I'm sorry.
Tino got physiotherapy, at pelleted diet, sepia shells, hemp seeds, beta-keratin, lot and lots of exercise, a protective sock and a nylon collar during the first 2 months.
After the first 2 months the collar was changed for a smaller collar, as he liked biting the collar, when he got frustrated (before he would bite his bare flesh) and he was wearing a protective sock for about 8-9 months before he finally kicked the habit.
Then there's Mambo:
Mambo was actually fed quite well and he came from a big nice aviary, where he had a girlfriend. However Mambo is a timid guy, who did not do well in a large place with lots and lots of other birds.
Most of Mambos rehab was basically showing him, that the world is not out to get you- so lots of love and training to get his focus away from what he finds scary. Mambo today lives with another BG and an amazon.
Lullu:
[ame="https://youtu.be/UCm7RgsYS7o"]https://youtu.be/UCm7RgsYS7o[/ame]
Lullu on the left.
Lullu came from a zoo and was basically well taken care of, however she did not do well with the constant activity and a mate, who would beat her up from time to time (once in a while quite severely). However she had started to pluck, she had started break the skin and she had 3 lacerations to her chest.
Lullu also got the oats, the sepia shells and hemp seeds. She also got a protective sock to protect her skin from her beak. She wore the protector for 3-4 months before she kicked the habit. However a lot of her feather follicles are damaged due to long time plucking. Her legs are still featherless and there are 2 bare patches in each side of her wings on the thin skin between her shoulder and wrist (don't know what the right bird terms are). The skin in the bare spots used to be very dry and grey. Even though she might never regain feathers in those places, her skin is much healthier and is a nice pink colour as it should be.
James:
I've only had James for about a year now and he is definitely the worst case I have worked on yet. He gets the oats, the hemp seed and the sepia shells, along with a protector. This has given a lot of down, but almost all the feathers were still being eaten.
About 5 weeks ago James started his medical treatment of Haloperidol and he has not plucked a single feather since. As this is a relatively new thing, I cannot tell you if this works on the long run. I'll have to keep you updated on James.
I all the cases they all get a good varied diet, parrot friends and during summer, they all get to go in large outdoor aviaries and play. All of them all had test taken for PBFD and APV prior to starting and all had a full vet check also.
Every plucker is a new case and the key is to figure out 1. what made them start plucking and 2. what is keeping them plucking. It may sound like the same thing, but often that is not the case. I tend to see, that the start is due to some psychological trauma, but the reason for keep plucking is often because of the physical deficiencies made by constant feather production and/or the mental reward of the endorphins, when plucking.
The reason I mention this is no amount of extra food/supplements will help a parrot, who's addicted to the endorphins and no protector can help, if the bird is deficient in the things the feather eating gives it.
There is probably hundreds of things I have forgotten to mention, but now I have started to share, what have worked for me and I will try to respond to the best of my ability to any questions you might have
First off is Sofus:
He wasn't a bad plucker, he just ate his down and left all the green feathers. Sofus arrived here when he was 5 and I was his 8th home. He had been moved so often, he was really stressed. He was also toe tapping and wing flipping, when he got here. He was on a coloured pelleted diet, when he got here.
First thing was to change his diet to a fruit pate, supplemented with as much fresh fruit and veg I could get him to eat. I also added hemp seed for protein and good fatty acids and an oat specially designed for pluckers, which is covered with beta-keratin (not beta-caroten).
Sofus' habit changed after about 3 months, but his habit was not too bad and mainly due to bad eckie diet.
Second was (Des)Tino:
Tino was also on a horrible diet of bird seeds and dog food, when he got here. He could not fly due to a broken wing and a spine so tight he had problems moving. Tino was a bit of a hard case and we did so much, I might not list all of it- if so, I'm sorry.
Tino got physiotherapy, at pelleted diet, sepia shells, hemp seeds, beta-keratin, lot and lots of exercise, a protective sock and a nylon collar during the first 2 months.
After the first 2 months the collar was changed for a smaller collar, as he liked biting the collar, when he got frustrated (before he would bite his bare flesh) and he was wearing a protective sock for about 8-9 months before he finally kicked the habit.
Then there's Mambo:
Mambo was actually fed quite well and he came from a big nice aviary, where he had a girlfriend. However Mambo is a timid guy, who did not do well in a large place with lots and lots of other birds.
Most of Mambos rehab was basically showing him, that the world is not out to get you- so lots of love and training to get his focus away from what he finds scary. Mambo today lives with another BG and an amazon.
Lullu:
[ame="https://youtu.be/UCm7RgsYS7o"]https://youtu.be/UCm7RgsYS7o[/ame]
Lullu came from a zoo and was basically well taken care of, however she did not do well with the constant activity and a mate, who would beat her up from time to time (once in a while quite severely). However she had started to pluck, she had started break the skin and she had 3 lacerations to her chest.
Lullu also got the oats, the sepia shells and hemp seeds. She also got a protective sock to protect her skin from her beak. She wore the protector for 3-4 months before she kicked the habit. However a lot of her feather follicles are damaged due to long time plucking. Her legs are still featherless and there are 2 bare patches in each side of her wings on the thin skin between her shoulder and wrist (don't know what the right bird terms are). The skin in the bare spots used to be very dry and grey. Even though she might never regain feathers in those places, her skin is much healthier and is a nice pink colour as it should be.
James:
I've only had James for about a year now and he is definitely the worst case I have worked on yet. He gets the oats, the hemp seed and the sepia shells, along with a protector. This has given a lot of down, but almost all the feathers were still being eaten.
About 5 weeks ago James started his medical treatment of Haloperidol and he has not plucked a single feather since. As this is a relatively new thing, I cannot tell you if this works on the long run. I'll have to keep you updated on James.
I all the cases they all get a good varied diet, parrot friends and during summer, they all get to go in large outdoor aviaries and play. All of them all had test taken for PBFD and APV prior to starting and all had a full vet check also.
Every plucker is a new case and the key is to figure out 1. what made them start plucking and 2. what is keeping them plucking. It may sound like the same thing, but often that is not the case. I tend to see, that the start is due to some psychological trauma, but the reason for keep plucking is often because of the physical deficiencies made by constant feather production and/or the mental reward of the endorphins, when plucking.
The reason I mention this is no amount of extra food/supplements will help a parrot, who's addicted to the endorphins and no protector can help, if the bird is deficient in the things the feather eating gives it.
There is probably hundreds of things I have forgotten to mention, but now I have started to share, what have worked for me and I will try to respond to the best of my ability to any questions you might have
