plucking problem ??

[Emmilyy]

Hello, so i just recently got a couple of parrots for christmas, mine is a yellow sided green cheeked conure named Cookie, and my sisters is a green parrotlet named Toc. We got them from a Lady who had gotten sick and couldnt look after them anymore, and they are two years old. Before me and my sister got the pair for christmas, they had spent a month at a friends house before being brought to my house, and the friend says that he didnt notice any problems while they were there.

Toc is a little.. rough. according to his previous owner she rescued him from an over stocked breeder. He was all alone in a small cage with no toys, and had picked up the habit of plucking. since then his feathers havnt grown back, but they are starting to get better i think. he kind of looks like a little fizzy baby chicken. We thought that plucking was in his past, but a few weeks ago we notices that cookie has fathers have been thinning out in her head, and my sister thinks that tocs been plucking himself again.

We noticed a few days ago that Toc is currently molting, we can see new feathers growing in on his tail, but we're not sure if the missing feathers on Cookies head is from molting or From Toc plucking him, which was what we thought.

Anyone know what the problem is, or if COokie is just molting? how would i tell?

Oh, and another thing is that these birds have lived togther for a few years now, but i was thinking about separating them, to make them better pets and maybe stop Toc from plucking Cookie if thats what hes doing, because i love my Cookie and dont want his head to be pluccked to bad. We' are pretty sure that Cokkie would be fine separated ffrom Toc, but we're not so sure that Toc could handle it. Hes pretty attatched to COokie.

Does anyone have any suggestions/ ideas????

THanks!

Emmilyy


* the picture attatched was taken beforwee Cookie started to lose faeathers, i dont have any really recent ones, sorry!

[Monica]

The parrotlet is definitely plucked! Can you get recent pictures? As well as a picture of their cage? You can certainly separate them however it may be best to keep the cages next to eachother.

Have they been taken to an avian vet to rule out medical problems for plucking??? (overpreening another bird wouldn't be medical, however) What is their diet? Can you be as specific as possible?

[Emmilyy]

I just got some recent pictures that i'm going to try and add, of them and their cage.

Im pretty positive that the parrotlet is plucking the conures head, but im not so sure that he's still plucking himself. Their previous owner told us that he plucked when he was younger, and that his feathers havnt grown back properly. but im not sure whether or not thats true, either.

For their diet we've kept them on the same foods that their preious owner had them on . They always have one bowl of small parrot seeds for the parrotlet, a conure seed mix ( they both have sunfolower seeds in them ) and a mix that has lots of stuff in it, not many seeds. like peanuts and peppers and sunflower seeds and fried fruit maybe. I've tried giving them some fresh fruits but they don't seem very interested in any of it.


The first picture attatched is another one taken a few days after we got them. The second picture is of their cage. The two pictures atfter that are pf the parrotlet Toc, the one where his back is wo you i dont know if you can see his new feathers that just grown in, and they look like he's been picking at them. and the last picture is of Cookie the Conure. you cant really tell how he's missing feathers on his head in thes picture very good. but if you compare it too the picture of him when we first got him you can tell his feathers arent as full.

[Monica]

Great cage! And yes, it looks like the parrotlet is overpreening the conure. I recommend separating them. You might want to try a different seed mix without sunflower seeds and peanuts. Also, get them on fresh foods. Offer them in a variety of ways. Chopped, diced, sliced, weaved in the cage bars, hanging from the top, mixed into bread, mixed with cooked grains and pulses, etc.

Separate them.

Take them to an avian vet for a full workup.

Get them on a healthy diet (no pellets for the parrotlet! doesn't matter what the vet tells you!)

[Emmilyy]

Thanks ! . Separating them is what i thought too, we're just scared that the parrrotlet wont be able to handle it, we were told being alone was why he pluckedv that first time. But its worth a try ! .

[Lori~D]

Yes, he is plucking himself and the conure! Lots of toys for him - of the shredding type and some soft things to preen on. My birds like to preen on strips of polar fleece!

[Emmilyy]

We know that he is definatly plucking the conure, but we dont think he's been recently plucking himself, his feathers just havnt grown in yet. They have lots of toys, but I'll go shopping sometime this week to find some for him to shred ! thanks .

[Monica]

If you separate them, but put the cages next to eachother! That way, they can still be "together."

As for the feathers themselves, well if the feather follicles have been damaged then he may never regrow those feathers and will remain a fluffy parrotlet! Plucking is usually caused by medical conditions, boredom, or irritants... such as lotion or nicotene on peoples hands, which is then transferred to their feet and feathers, and causes irritated skin.

I have one cockatiel who has been overpreened, so his head feathers look rather funky! I don't know if his mate or another bird overpreened him, but if we assume his current mate, then we can say that she hasn't overpreened him in years, thus no reason for separation. However, if his mate started to overpreen him, then they would be separated.

[Emmilyy]

Yeah, thats what i was thinking, and then maybe slowly start moving them further apart, because another thing is that one is my sisters and the other ones mine, and when i move out im going to want to take cookie with me, but my sister will want to keep Toc, and it wpould be great if they were separated but we wouldnt do that ifit would be bad for them .

Toc's previous owner said that she rescued him from an overstocked breeder, he was all alone in a small cage with no toys, and apparently thats when he started plucking, but he's stopped, his feathers are just still messed up. And its only in the past 2-3 weeks, we think, that he's been over preaning Cookie, so hopefully if we separate them, the next time Cookie molt's his feathers will all come back.

Could stress be a factor as to why Toc's been over preening Cookie? because in the last 2 months or so, they've been in three homes, (this will bbe their last home, though) So could all the changes in the environment be a reason for the over preaning / plucking do you think?

[Monica]

It's very possible that the stress of moving and being in neglectful homes caused plucking.

I don't know if you'll be able to completely separate them as this could stress them out even more. I will say it is possible, however.

I've gotten two cockatiels because their mates died. I rehomed one 6 months after taking him in. He was doing *SO* much better in my home than in his previous one, but I knew he could do even better in a different type of situation, and indeed, he has! The other tiel I still have, and she's not even the same bird as in her previous home! She isn't tame, but she is still a sweet bird!

I also got a family of 4 cockatiels. I rehomed both siblings to separate homes because I was sure they could do better in a different type of setting than the one I had. Both new families love their new tiels!