feather picking

[GeneG]

I have a 3 year old male GCC who about a month ago started pulling out (or rather nipping off) his feathers on the chest, legs, and back. He's never done this before but now this seems to be his favorite activity, and you can only distract him from it with a treat or a water spray. He is out of his cage pretty much the entire time we are at home, has toys all over the place and gets a lot of attention from us. We diversified his diet, brought in different toys, tried to spend even more time with him, but nothing seems to help. Our vet says there could be a hundred different reasons for why he's doing it (gee thanks for the great insight!) and I'm about to start tearing my own feathers out. Has anyone had to deal with this? What else can I try?

[Sashagirl]

Was it an avian vet and did they check for other causes?I am owned by several parrots and 1 of my B&G Macaw's who is a rehome now 14 years old they ruled it habitual after 4 years.Not saying that's what it is.Try giving it more bathes and spraying it with aloe vera spray can help.Can it be diet related too?One of my Eclectus is allergic to certain foods so I can't give it to him.Start keeping a food diary and see what happens.I also have a Cherry Head Conure that came to me plucked but there was nothing to be done about her she damaged the follicles.Are you possibly using something that may be irritating it's skin?

Marcia