plucking feathers

[angelbaybz69au]

Hi, I have a 5 year old Male cockateil that in the last week has pulled all his flight feathers out of both his wings. and last night plucked his smaller down feathers out from under his left wing and above his leg on his chest. so there is now a bald patch. just wondering if any one knows why he has done this? He is on his own and has been since ive had him, hes in a huge cage for one bird, has plenty of toys and different food and treats and is let out his cage regularly. ANy help would be appreciated

Thankyou[/b]

[Joel]

Best thing is to get him to an Avian Vet for a check-up ASAP, IMO. Otherwise I would make sure he is getting a great & varied diet, getting adequate direct sunshine each day or proper F.S. lighting, eliminate all stress factors in his area, make sure humidity is correct, make sure he is free of mites etc., spray him with warm water often, increase Vitamin A intake etc......If those things don't solve the problem then I personally also would recommend a large, long flight, say maybe 8 ft. minimum length IMO (I would not clip anymore, if he is currently clipped that is) and I would definitely give him a mate if possible. You could also throw in some different toys too. If there is no easy fix to his plucking problem then I believe it is better to make his life as natural as possible even if this means you may lose him somewhat as a pet. You could always adopt one or more of the future babies as pets to replace the void in your life by losing his past affections.

I have had birds in the past that were very bad pluckers when I purchased them and when I placed them outside in a huge aviary, full flighted with playmates & many toys and natural humidity & direct daily sunshine etc.....the plucking stopped and problem solved. Of course that was after I was sure they had no underlying health problems or creepy crawlies in or on their skin/feathers etc.....Good luck. :)

[TooLover]

:shock: Creepy crawlies? Gives me the willies....................... :!:

[angelbaybz69au]

Thankyou Joel for replying so quickly, He is not clipped and never has been as he is so tame and doesnt really fly much when he is out of his cage he prefers to sit with me and have his head scratched and stroked.

I dont think he has mites as he is 5 years old and doesnt have contact with any other birds. He has done this once before to his left wing but then just stopped and that was about 6 months ago or more.

As I live in australia and we are currently in the first stages of autumn i thought maybe he mite possibly be moulting and this had something to do with it. i have rung vets and pet shops that speacialise in birds and they just said its either Mites, Boredom or Stress.

I'll see how he goes over the next few days and if he keeps the plucking up i'll take him straight to the vet. Apart from that he is his usual self still singing and eating as normal.

[Monica]

I agree with Joel. I must say that you should try daily baths, different toys, or maybe he is not getting the attention he got a while ago and gets bored???

I may not have a cockatiel that plucks, however, I do have a conure that mutilates herself. To stop the mutilation, I gave more baths, a varied diet, gave her toys (she had one in her previous home that she couldn't even reach), and Noel ended up forming a friendship with my cockatiel, Casey. Together, they are inseparable. As long as I am around (daily, as vacations without Noel is a problem) and there is nothing stressing her in her area, she does not mutilate herself.

I'd suggest for you to possibly get another cockatiel, a type of grass parakeet, or a small conure to be friends with your current cockatiel. If you ever leave, the other bird would be company to him while you are gone, and they may form a bond. They would be able to talk to each other during the day so your cockatiel, hopefully would never get bored or stressed and start to pluck again, if he is otherwise healthy.

Good luck!

[angelbaybz69au]

Dear Monica,

Thankyou also for your reply any advice is helpful. I think he has stopped the plucking now. the weird thing was he actually started plucking while he was sitting on my shoulder the other nite but he was pulling them out then playing with them so i dont know what he was doing.

I've moved him in front of a window now and he seems alot happier and im also experimenting alot more with fruit and veggies too.

I asked the guy at the bird shop about getting him a female but he was against it as he said mine had been on his own for too long (5 years)
an is quite territorial over his cage but is fine once out of it. If I did get anoter one it would have to be put in a seperate cage and he was not sure if mine would interact well or attack the new one so he was strongly against me getting a second.

I know this might sound like a stupid question but I am an Aussie afterall and dont know much about exotic birds only the ones we get here in australia but what exactly is a conure??

thankyou once again for your advice

[The Outlaw]

Your question is perfectly legitimate. Conures are S. American, long tailed birds closely related to macaws, but much smaller. They are usually brightly and beautifully colored and can be wonderful little companions. However, the once negative thing about most of them is their screechy and often loud voices. With few exceptions, they are among the noisier species we keep as pets. They are also among the most often kept pets. Their beauty and size are just what many owners find perfect. Many of them are quite smart, speak fairly well and like humans. They are to pet parrots what small dogs are to pet dogs. A lot of bird in a tiny package.

There is a whole group of mini macaws, the Hahns and Noble being good examples, that fall somewhere between the conures and macaw family. Though technically macaws due to the facial patches, they are far more like their conure cousins.

When you hear folks refer to suns, jendays, blue crowned, nandays, Patagonians, maroon bellies, etc, they are referring to birds in the conure family.

THE OUTLAW

[angelbaybz69au]

Thanks for your quick reply outlaw,

I felt stupid asking the question but everyone seems to have one so i wanted to know what they were. I think Macaws are beautiful birds and would love to have one, but i dont think we get them here and even if we did they would be permit only birds. I also love the sulphur crested cockatoos which are beautiful birds....

[Monica]

Now I am wondering if he is plucking, or going through a simple molt... It does sound somewhat like plucking, however, if birds have loose feathers, they may pull them out...

If you were to get another bird (male or female) you would also have to buy another cage and quarantine the new bird... Five years really isn't that long, as cockatiels can live to be 20 or so years old.

Before I got Noel, she lived 2-4 years alone (there was a cockatiel that lived with her, but I don't know for how long untill the b/f took the 'tiel) and then Noel was placed in a home with another cockatiel, and budgies. She didn't take to Casey's friendlyness at first, however, after a few weeks, they were sleeping in the same cage (though still under close surpurvision). Now though, I can't separate them!

I'm saying that if you do get another bird, your cockatiel may or may not form a bond with the new bird, and he does have a right over you so he would come first. It is your decision though on whether or not you would like to get a second (it does not need to be another cockatiel, but it can be of course).

If you are to look around, you may be able to find some breeders of conures and macaws. I know for a fact that sun and jenday conures are bred in Australia.

You need not feel stupid, even though you may be an Aussie. Ever heard the phrase "American's are dumb"?

[angelbaybz69au]

Well he's at it again I got up this morning to find that he has now started plucking the feathers from under his right wing apart from the plucking he is his usual self and is eating and singing and screeching as he usually does so im asuming hes not doing it beacuse he is sick...

I have moved his toys around put new treats in there for him which he is eating like a little piggy.. and moved him next to the sliding door so he can get some sun and a change or scenery which he seems to be enjoying...
I dont know what else I can do to discourage him from doing this.