plucking

[hatzer@verizon.net]

My caique has started plucking himself. His chest looks bad and he is starting on his legs. I am upset and wondering if this is a caique thing because of their nervous personality. Any suggestions or should I take him to the vet. I think it is behavioral, but not sure.

[Monica]

You should take him to an avian vet to get full tests run. I don't exactly trust my avian vet, but that aside, one of my cockatiels had an infection in her wing (or at least I believe she did). She's had it ever since before I got her, and she'd occasionally mutilate the tip of her wing when it'd bother her... she wouldn't leave her wing alone for more than a few weeks at a time. I have no clue how long she's had the infection but it has got to be a long while because she now has follicle damage. About 2 1/2 months ago she underwent antibiotic treatments for a potential bacterial infection (vet didn't think it was worth it, but I was treating the entire flock just in case as I had lost a budgie to a bacterial infection not commonly seen in pet birds). She hasn't mutilated since, and she's probably feeling a lot better!

So find a good avian vet and do the tests to rule out medical problems! If it's not medical then you can look into diet, light, stress, behavioral, boredom, etc!

[mary313]

How long have you had him? Have there been any significant changes in cage, surroundings or anything like that?

[Freedomoflight]

What do you mean because of their nervous behavior? Caiques have to be one of the most confident, cocky, busybody birds I know. Nervous doesn't really fit in their category. Actually for caiques to pluck is rare, but I've been recently hearing more and more plucking stories. With caiques, the plucking seems to be largely tied to medical issues.