|
The only thing I can think to help is if you see them start to pick, try and direct their attention away to something they can shred instead (a piece of paper, a toy, etc.) I don't know how much of shredders Conures are, but I think if you can teach them to shred something other than their feathers, they will be much happier birds. Just make sure you aren't messing with them when they're trying to preen, be positive that they're plucking or biting first.
I have a cockatiel who has been a plucker since we got him (I don't know when he started, but when I adopted him the underside of his wings were bare and he was missing the flight feathers on his left wing), and it has taken him a long time (almost two years!) to start calming down about it. He still plucks, but as soon as I hear him starting I try to get his attention on one of his toys so he can mess with that instead. It's helping a lot more, and so is letting him out of the cage a lot. He LOVES being with people, and will ride around on my mom's shoulder almost all day some days. Other times he'll hang out with my sister, or he'll sit on the back of my chair while I'm at the computer and wait for a head scratch. I'm trying to break his habit, but it really is hard :( just keep persevering, whatever you do :)
|