Neurotic GCC please help

Hiro

New member
Dec 30, 2018
1
0
Hello Everyone,

I have 2 female Green Cheeks (Rava & Kali). They are sisters and nearing 2 1/2 years of age. Approximately 1 year ago we moved into a new house and since then Kali has become a neurotic feather picker. Despite having plenty of toys, foraging foods and ~4hours of time with me per day (we spend all morning together since I work evenings), she has taken to picking her feathers as her go to time waster. Literally, her picking is audible with a “click” as she shears the feather off. She doesn’t bother her fluffy down, but she seems to be in a constant state of regrowing feathers. I have transitioned her to Harrisons High Potency to provide some added nutrition to help with feather growth, but as soon as the new feather grows in fully and is no longer a blood feather she nips it off. It has gotten so bad that her chest is all white down feathers with everything else looking vibrant and unscathed. Approximately 3 months ago the girls had to be separated because Kali took to nipping off Rava’s feathers and nearly nipped her head bald with in a week.

At this point I have tried everything. It seems like she doesn’t even know how to preen for a few moments before I hear that “click” and see a little feather waft down to the floor. It breaks my heart. Meanwhile Rava is stunning and happily plays with all the new toys (I buy and make doubles so that they are always equal).

I’m hoping someone can give me some advice to help my little buddy.

Best wishes,
Hiro
 

Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
Parrots
Full house
Hi and welcome. Sorry you have a plucker, it is a little more rare for a GCC that plucks though it does happen. .. start with a vet visit.... it's a frustrating condition...do they take baths? I got a lot of paper fringe toys for my plucking quaker and it helps for sure. Can you post a picture? An easy way is go advanced button under text box and click the paperclip to upload.they are thumbnail that appears under your text when you post but can be clicked on to enlarge
 

EllenD

New member
Aug 20, 2016
3,979
65
State College, PA
Parrots
Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
I agree, the very first thing you need to do when a bird starts plucking is get them to a Certified Avian Vet for a full "Wellness-Exam" that includes a complete Fecal culture/microscopy/gram-staining and then routine blood-work to check for infection, anemia, liver and kidney function, and nutritional deficiencies. You have to first rule-out a physical cause before you can go on to trying to treat a psychological cause.

Also, you moved right around what would have been puberty time for your birds...Have they been DNA-tested for gender? If not, that's something that should be added to your bird's blood-work so you know for certain. And most CAV's can counsel you on things you can do for plucking, but without first ruling out a physical cause then it's hard to narrow-down what the cause might be. Birds hide all signs of illness and pain so well and for so long that it could be something as simple as a systemic fungal/yeast infection that is making her constantly itchy. Those are the things you need to rule-out first, because you would not know if your bird had a lot of physical ailments that could cause this without cultures and blood-work otherwise.
 

Scott

Supporting Member
Aug 21, 2010
32,673
9,789
San Diego, California USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
Parrots
Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Welcome to you, Rava, and Kali. Sorry to hear Kali is a plucker, but as previous commentary suggests, it is possible for a medical issue to be the cause. For many, it is behavioral, and plucking is one of the more vexing aberrations. This thread provides great overview and many helpful ideas: http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html
 

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