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Some reasons a bird could be plucking:
Boredom in the very intelligent parrots.
Insecurity, Stress, or Nervousness (can be caused by a change in daily routine, a new environment, remodeling, other pets, or a new owner).
To small a cage.
Sexual frustration in a mature bird.
Inadequate bathing facilities and low humidity,
Provide plenty of toys, some of which can be destroyed, since birds find great satisfaction in tearing things up. Try cotton rope, natural whiskbrooms, newspaper torn into strips and hung in the cage, and soft woods that can be chewed into pieces. Rotate toys every couple of weeks. If your bird is afraid of new toys, lay them on a nearby surface for a couple of days, then hang them on the outside of the cage away from food and water dishes.
Occupy your bird's time by making it work to find food inside of a specially designed "treat hiding toy", or put food inside a box that your bird has to chew thru, foraging is great for any bird.
Leave on a television or radio for the bird to listen to. Many owners say that their birds enjoy programs geared toward small children.
Make sure your bird is caged where it can be involved in the household rather than shut away in a back room. However, avoid placing a nervous bird where there may be unexpected things happening in every direction. Many birds feel more secure in a corner where they can't be approached from all sides. Some birds enjoy looking out a window, while others may be scared of something outside.
The bird should be getting 10 to 12 hours of quiet sleep each night. You may have to move the cage into a nighttime room to ensure this if people are up late watching TV. The bird should also get plenty of exercise every day outside of the cage. Try teaching it tricks like riding a remote controlled car or playing fetch.
Allow your bird to bathe as often as possible in a dish or in the shower with you. If he or she won't take a bath, use a spray bottle with plain water every day. If you are using water bottle, also have a bowl of water.
Ignore the feather plucking behavior. Birds are much like children and will sometimes prefer negative attention to no attention at all. Your attempts to distract your pet bird from feather picking may actually become entertaining to the bird. Your first responsibility, therefore, is NOT to draw attention to the picking in front of your bird.
Deluted chamomile tea sometimes helps to calm, the flowers are feed also.
Eliminated hemp from any seed mix, brings on the homones.
Low self-esteem because is not flighted, they say to stop clipping wings on a plucking bird.
Soy and corn along with hemp makes birds horney sometimes. They also say it can cause itchy.
Give a good diet with plenty of fresh food. Do not give warm food, make sure it is cool, again having to do with homones.
FS lighting, glass takes out the UVA and UVB rays.
Some believe changing routine, don't do the same thing everyday, mix it up. Others will say routine is the way to go.
Let's face it, what works for one may not work for another, if there was on thing fix, we would not see plucked birds. Even if you fix what started the plucking, it could have become a habit, habits are really hard to stop, like nail chewing, over eating, smoking. Get it to stop and something can start it right up again.
Wish you the best of luck. Know it is not an easy thing to deal with. Molly, Goffin's cockatoo, was/is a plucker, keeps me on my toes all the time.
Jane
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