B&G Plucking leg feathers

[Johnny Pleasant]

Greetings

I have a B&G Macaw hes about 9 years old. In the last six months he has started plucking his leg feathers. He hasnt plucked anywhere else. I havent been able to catch him doing it but it is aparently they are plucked.

He is on a mixed diet seeds and pellets and safe table foods. He is out of his cage alot in a bird safe room with my other birds- Mollucan Too, Senegal, Lesser Sulfer Crested Too and a Medium Sulfer Crested Too. The Med Crested was a rescue bird who plucked at his old home. His feathers are growing except his back.

Could the Macaw be copying the plucking Too?

[The Outlaw]

Johnny:

I will forward your questions to Wendy Craig, our macaw expert. I would like to mention this, however. Its EXTREMELY dangerous for your BG macaw to be housed near your cockatoos. BGs have a lot of respiratory problems that don't immediately present, for up to 5 years, and then they can get deathly ill. There is NO cure for this disease and the treatments offer very little relief.

Please remove your bird from your cockatoo area immediately. Ideally, you should have at least one good air cleaner in the cockatoo room and another in the macaw room. Houses share ductwork and the dust will eventually make its way to all portions of your home. JMHO

[The Outlaw]

Here is Wendy's advice:

A couple of things could be going on here. Are you sure your Blue & Gold is a male? Many hens will pluck their leg feathers during breeding season. It may also be allergy related. Many Blue & Golds are sensitive to Cockatoo dust and you have quite a few in the room with him. You can try more cleaning, vacuuming, dusting, along with more showers and running a HEPA Air cleaner.

There could also be a lot of other reasons, but those are the two places I'd begin with.


Wendy

[Winged_Victory]

Hi,

A good picture of your bird, description of his cage, diet and sleeping habits would be helpful. This information may give us something to go on as far as the whys of what is happening.

There is a good chance you macaw is irritated by the Too dust. Another reason for plucking would be boredom or possible bacteria infection. My suggestion would be to have seperate rooms for the Too and your macaw. If that is not possible I would get a couple of hepa filters for the room and keep the cages separated. Check you cages and look and see if the birds have enough toys. Some macaws like puzzle toys and others just like to chew. I found that showers every couple of days seem to help with keeping feathers in place, a good spritzing of georges aloe has also help my birds when they look like they itch.

Gary