Hey Kimbear! It's been awhile, but I have a weird question....

[Luckygurl78]

Lucky's been settling into his new digs rather well. The screaming has gone down CONSIDERABLY and it seems as though he likes my bf more than he like me! LOL! My question is this....ever since I got him about 12 or so years ago, he has always had the strangest habit...he'll pluck his chest feathers in the fall/winter months and then grow them out again in the spring/summer. What would cause this? Is this some sort of birdie seasonal depression or something?

I'm asking 'cause it's just plain weird. He started plucking last month when the weather out here in Chicago really changed. So now, he's kinda ugly. He leaves all his other feathers alone, it's just the chest feathers that he plucks.

Just wondering!

Thanks!

Misty

[KimBear]

In the winter months, the air in our homes is often quite dry, so it might be that Lucky gets dry skin and this is why he picks a bit. It could be hormonal instead, but the odds are you'd see some other indications, like if he was overly moody and more territorial, for example.

You can't do much about a bird's hormones, but you can raise the humidity in the room he's in, or try bathing him more often to see if that helps.

For a proper diagnosis, however, a vet check would be a good idea. There could be any number of things going on.