A short while ago I aquired a young "female" cockatiel. Given the amount of whistling and mimicking I think she is a he.
When I first got the bird he didn't have any long tail feathers. They had all been broken off leaving a ragged stumpy tail. I assumed that this was due to being left caged by the previous owners.
I have since discovered that he is chewing the feathers off himself once they are fully grown in. He finally grew in a single feather and then shredded it and chewed it off.
Any suggestions on how to deal with this as I have no idea.
Quick back history if it will help
He was bought to be a companion bird to an older bird as a freshly weaned hand reared bird. The two got along for a couple of months OK then the elder bird flew away.
A new baby was bought to replace the lost bird that they had owned for years. New bird was spitting image of the lost bird. They didn't get along so they stopped getting the bird out and just interacted with the replacement.
After a month or so of being left locked up the bird was put up for sale which is where I came in. I have to assume that this is a behavioural issue caused by what he has been through. Oh and he would be around 7 or 8 months old. Age I was told was a bit vague so I can't be too precise.
When I first got the bird he didn't have any long tail feathers. They had all been broken off leaving a ragged stumpy tail. I assumed that this was due to being left caged by the previous owners.
I have since discovered that he is chewing the feathers off himself once they are fully grown in. He finally grew in a single feather and then shredded it and chewed it off.
Any suggestions on how to deal with this as I have no idea.
Quick back history if it will help
He was bought to be a companion bird to an older bird as a freshly weaned hand reared bird. The two got along for a couple of months OK then the elder bird flew away.
A new baby was bought to replace the lost bird that they had owned for years. New bird was spitting image of the lost bird. They didn't get along so they stopped getting the bird out and just interacted with the replacement.
After a month or so of being left locked up the bird was put up for sale which is where I came in. I have to assume that this is a behavioural issue caused by what he has been through. Oh and he would be around 7 or 8 months old. Age I was told was a bit vague so I can't be too precise.
