Young Caique Barbering - Solutions???

[WBCaique]

Hi everyone, I have a few questions regarding our white belly, Dino. He is about 9 months old but in early January he started barbering the feathers on his belly. Now most of whats left on his belly is the grey fluff that is underneath feathers and he has done the same to much of his back, in between his wings.

When this started we took a lot of steps to try to fix whatever was causing it but he still barbers some of the feathers on his back so we don't think the problem has been fully corrected. We have gotten new toys and switched out old ones, added a full-spectrum light, taken him out more, given him more baths, and added more foraging toys. He doesn't seem stressed out or unhappy so we are really baffled by what could be causing this. When he is actually picking at his feathers it seems compulsive.

We are looking at possible options and one of them is maybe getting another caique to keep him company while we are not home. Any thought on this? We don't want to cause him anymore possible stress by going that route. Our biggest concern is that he is so young and already barbering.

Any advice would be extremely helpful. Thank you!

Camilo

EDIT: I should add, he has a fairly large cage and is on a pellet diet but refuses anything fresh, he is a very picky little guy.

 

[thekarens]

Has he seen a vet and had blood work done to see if there's a medical reason?

 

[WBCaique]

Not during the time this started. We took him to the vet in September when we first brought him home and had full blood work done but everything came back negative.

 

[Irishj9]

I have a birdie who plucks and he has 7 playmates in an aviary.

I have tried everything except voodoo to cure him, thats next!

But for now I am sticking to logic. I have imprisoned him in a 6ft tall * 4ft wide flight with his mate and lots of toys, because I believe he is eating something in the aviary which he should not eat. ie paint off the walls.

His feathers have improved substantially in the last two weeks since I implemented this strategy. But this is the crux period. With new feathers appearing every day, will he let them grow or not?

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd259/Zipp_it/Igor_Feb22_2015006.jpg

 

[Irishj9]

will he let them grow or not?

/QUOTE]

Answer: Yes, but not quite back to normal form yet. His mate who is with him 24/7 has perfect feathers. He still has one small bald spot under his right shoulder.

So he stays in his comfy jail.