Budgie Pulling out Feathers?????

[Greywolf77]

Hi!!!! My girlfriend and I have a 5 year old female budgie. Since around January she has been pulling out all her feathers. First it started with the ones under her wings then she started to pluck the ones out of her stomach. We are not sure why she is doing this???? If anyone one has any ideas we would much appreciate it.

Thanks,

Daniel

[Monica]

To begin with, what is her diet? What size cage and where is it located? Does she have plenty of toys to play with of various types? Do you hanlde the budgie often??? There are so many reasons why a bird might pluck, though it's best to start with the basics...

[Greywolf77]

We are feeding her a Parakeet all in 1 food from Hartz. She has been using this for many years as has her mother. They have both had birds there whole lives. This is the first one that has been plucking like this. We also give her 8-1's Vitamin Treats, have a 8-1's Molting and Conditioning supplement we do mix in from time to time. We also feed her fruits and lettuce which she loves. The cage is in the same spot it has been in for almost 4 years. It is by a sliding glass door. She does not get direct sunlight but seems to enjoy being able to see outside. The cage is 10" x 12" x 16" high. She does have toys in the cage she likes. She has a set of rings with a bell on the bottom she just loves and plays with all the time. Not sure if this helps or not. Any other info you might have would be great.

[Monica]

The cage isn't too bad, though as far as the food goes, I could really care less about it. Hartz puts a lot of dyes into their seed mixes to 'entice' the looks of the seeds and make it look better. Some of the mixes hardly have any various amounts of seeds, HOWEVER, the type of seed that you feed should not matter if you feed fresh foods. Besides the fruit and lettuce, try getting her to eat carrots, carrot tops, cooked potatoes/yams, thoroughly cooked eggs (any way you prefer), celery, fresh parsley, broccoli, bell peppers, etc. Just really anything that you eat thats healthy (no alcohol, caffeine, carbonated drinks, avocado, chocolate, no foods high in salt, sugar, and fats/oils).

As far as treats go, you don't want to feed vary many as budgies are prone to obesity and cancer/tumors. More on the fresh foods and less on the treats/seeds. You might want to consider rearranging her cage and moving it to a new location that may be slightly darker or more around the family. Try checking out some petstores for some other petite toys that she might enjoy!

Beyond that, try bathing her more frequently (as in daily, try using a spray bottle, the shower, in the sink, or a small pan of water on the bottom of the cage), taking her outside in her cage (be sure she doesn't know how to escape) for a couple hours each day, and spending time with her.

[carriesb]

I'm really in the opinion if a bird starts plucking it's feathers it should go to the vet for a checkup there are to many diseases that can manifest in that way. Also I agree about the diet my thing with hartz is I don't know how fresh it is how long it sets on store shelves. Try some other brands maybe. And since she likes lettuce I asume you mean iceberg that is pretty high in water and not alot of nutrition try romaine and some other darker green lettuces to get her used to green food. But my budgie's favorite food is broccoli. And about the toys try rotating them every few days my budgie gets bored real easy so I change things up at least once a week. But keep us posted.

[birdsnthings]

Originally Posted by Greywolf77

Hi!!!! My girlfriend and I have a 5 year old female budgie. Since around January she has been pulling out all her feathers. First it started with the ones under her wings then she started to pluck the ones out of her stomach. We are not sure why she is doing this???? If anyone one has any ideas we would much appreciate it.

Thanks,

Daniel

Have a vet look at your bird. It could be a medical issue. I have only one customer with a budgie that pulled out his feathers and it was because the bird was left with someone else while they went on vacation. I would say the bird was upset over this one. I also have not had a budgie pull out feathers either.

[ParakeetLover92]

Are u shore that the pluking isn't just that she is getting out her lose feather like the ones that fal out that's what mine does sumtimes.