Help! Xander chewing his feathers

Terry57 · Feb 26, 2014

So we have had Xander for just over a week now, and he is still chewing his feathers

He has toys, he is eating veggies like crazy, and I am not sure what to do. He isn't plucking, just chewing the heck out of his feathers. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do? He hates baths as I think his previous owners used water as a punishment. He is now allowing me to mist him a little since he has seen the other birds enjoying that, but he is not getting wet to the skin.

JerseyWendy · Feb 26, 2014

I am not experienced with feather destructors, but have a few ideas.

Could you give him some pine cones, or fluffies he could preen? Perhaps if he has something to preen OTHER than his feathers, he'll leave his own alone?

Here is a whole list of things MSBS offers for over preeners/pluckers:
PLUCKERS/OVERPREENERS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

Terry57 · Feb 26, 2014

Thanks Wendy, I have wanted to place an order from there anyway, and now I have a good excuse to just do it

thekarens · Feb 26, 2014

Be sure to surf their site. They always have some kind of discount code.

Terry57 · Feb 26, 2014

Where would i look for that? Is it just in different places, or in one usual spot?

thekarens · Feb 26, 2014

Terry57 said:
Where would i look for that? Is it just in different places, or in one usual spot?

Unfortunately they like to move it around. Let me see if I can find one for today

thekarens · Feb 26, 2014

If this is your first order you can use the promo code FIRST for 10% off.

Terry57 · Feb 26, 2014

Yep, it will be my first order from them

Thank you so much for the heads up about the discount!

thekarens · Feb 26, 2014

You're very welcome

MomtoPercy · Feb 26, 2014

The poor dear

I hope you can resolve the feather chewing soon.

ParkersMom · Feb 26, 2014

The code bluebird usually gives 10% off

Terry57 · Feb 26, 2014

Thank you for that, I will try it tomorrow when I place my order

I am so excited to finally be ordering from there, also want lots of toy parts!

thekarens · Feb 26, 2014

Terry57 said:
Thank you for that, I will try it tomorrow when I place my order I am so excited to finally be ordering from there, also want lots of toy parts!

Be warned, it's like an addiction. You start watching for emails and FB postings announcing sales so you have an excuse to buy something.

Terry57 · Feb 26, 2014

That's just what I need is another addiction

But this one kind of goes hand in hand with the birds, so maybe we could call it a ..hmmm...co-addiction? Or maybe the Deluxe version of a bird addiction?

Allee · Feb 26, 2014

Lets NOT call it an addiction just yet. Those of us with MBS don't need to complicate our syndrome with an addiction. If you think about it, preening toys are actually meds for pluckers. I've seen good results with preening toys. Chamomile tea in Xander's water might help too. Does he like taking baths? You can offer him the aloe water in a bathing dish, if he will get in the water, it's better than mist because he will get more water directly on his skin.

You would think when you remove a bird from the situation that caused his plucking he would stop, unfortunately that's not always true. If it has become an ingrained habit Xander may continue to pluck for weeks, months or even longer. If it's really severe there may be an underlying medical reason. It's a complicated problem for birds. It can also be shocking to see if you haven't witnessed it. It's best to stay calm and walk away if you can.

I'm so sorry you and Xander or dealing with this but I know now that he's with you, his plucking will start to improve now or in the near future. Hang in there. You are doing a wonderful job with him and all his new flock members.

Terry57 · Feb 26, 2014

So far he has not wanted a bath at all. I have a big dish on top of his cage when he's out, and one in his cage for when he's in. He is eating all the good things I give him, and I hadn't seen him do this until today

I will keep trying with the baths. Reg brought home a couple of new toys tonight and he said Xan didn't bother his feathers at all, just played. So I am thinking that these preening toys may be the ticket

Praying it helps, anyway.

lisascannell · Feb 27, 2014

Terry maybe you could yet take him in the shower with you? The first few times perhaps hold him on your hand and see how he reacts to it. My birds love the shower

Terry57 · Feb 27, 2014

Thanks Lisa, I will give that a try!

lisascannell · Feb 28, 2014

Hey Terry have you had a chance to try the shower?

Terry57 · Feb 28, 2014

I tried that today and he completely freaked

I think he enjoys being a dirty bird

On the up side, he did duck his head into his water dish after that, so maybe he will see that water is not the enemy. It makes me so mad when people use water as a punishment

Help! Xander chewing his feathers

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