over preening

My girl is over picking or plucking her neck feathers, i was looking at mysafebirdstore.com and they have this..

Feather Frazzle - CHOPPER'S TOYS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

But its out of stock ; and i cant find a local store with that toy, so i was thinking a feather duster maybe?? I looked in google i see some people are doing it , I need her to stop pulling those neck feathers out. She went in again for her 3rd vet check she did well today, she has feather growing in around her eyes again and she almost has all her hair back around those beautiful eyes, but she keeps picking those feather and pulling them out. The vet said to get her a toy she can preen, to curb the behavior.

She has tons of toys, though she doesn't seem to want to play with them alot.. her cage is open, she has a puzzle toy she could careless about LOL she showers in the mid morning , she also has a humidifier..

what are your thoughts on a feather duster? has anyone done this?

Any tips are so welcome, she had missing feather when i got her..she had some new feather grow in 5 of them and she pulled them out this morning ohhh goodness

Hi Trina, I have heard that it's safe to use a cotton mop head. Attach it to the top of the cage & let it dangle. Check out this link.
Foraging for Birds: Easy & Cheap

Now that looks like a great idea ty

Feather dusters are made of chicken feathers and usually dyed not sure that would be good for your bird . Most pet stores have Peacock feathers you might buy

Nah those cheap chicken feather ones i wouldn't dare use, they have ostrich ones i prolly should have clarified that, that is the type i was thinking..

Trina, is she over preening or is she feather plucking? I believe feather plucking has its root in stress, above everything else. But from your other posts, I don't get the impression that your birds are stressed, or have a chaotic environment. Is that right?

No she is not stressed, when i got her, she had feathers gone on her neck, I assumed very small cage = boredom = she plucked them

She is always i mean always cleaning and grooming herself always, and this is causing those feathers to come out I believe, i have never seen her with my eyes plucking her feathers and I am around her all day long.

I got a mop head and took the plastic piece off and made a toy with it with the strands, now she is after that toy..she is really not into playing with toys, unless i start playing with them..she didnt have toys with her previous owner..so i dont think she knows she is supposed to play with them

The mop head is the only toy i have seen her play with on her own. I tied some loose knots on some of the stands and she is constantly touching that mop..I believe is from preening way to much the vet thought so to, because she was there cleaning herself in the travel cage LOL

Our alexandrine was overpreening her feathers to the point that the color was starting to fade in some of them! The only thing that seemed to get her to stop was giving her a phone book. Now she ritualistic shreds some of it first thing every morning and hasn't barbered her feathers since

That's funny. I wonder why parrots over preen? Boredom?

IcyWolf said:

Our alexandrine was overpreening her feathers to the point that the color was starting to fade in some of them! The only thing that seemed to get her to stop was giving her a phone book. Now she ritualistic shreds some of it first thing every morning and hasn't barbered her feathers since

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I should try this with mine. He doesn't overpreen but he does looovveeee to shread.

I think it starts out as boredom, then becomes a habit.

Emmett came to us in Feb. missing feathers around his neck too. I often see him preening that area. I have given him many toys and he shows no interest in them. I have finally given up on buying more toys b/c I've spent so much and I don't think it's a matter of finding the right one. Hopefully he'll show interest in something soon. I change out the ones I've already bought from time to time. perhaps I should try the phone book... Are the inks safe?

My bird just started plucking/overpreening. When I got her, she already a history of doing this. But her previous owner had her for two months, and never saw her pluck. Apparently, it was the owner before her who she plucked with. I've had her since late June, and not a sign of plucking. Nonetheless, a day ago, I walked to her cage as per usual routine to remove her in the morning, and there were feathers at the bottom. Later, I noticed her actually removing them. The day after she did much better, and I didn't notice any evidence of plucking. Later today, she started again. She doesn't have enough toys, so I am getting some more foraging toys and such.

Her previous owner told me the vet told her it was hormonal plucking. She had been sleeping in her snuggle hut here in my bedroom and her sleep was getting interrupted, on top of being provided with a nest. She was scratching in there a lot, and showing signs of clear nesting behavior. That probably got things going. The day before she started picking, I went to remove her from her hut, and she bit me for me the first time. She is just mostly picking her chest area. Any suggestions? I took away the hut, so she is back in her cage away from where I'm sleeping so she has no disturbance at all. I cover it at 8pm and uncover it at 6:45am. Should I cover her earlier? Is this the age when she is going through hormonal things? It is also worth noting that she is being a bit more than nippy on my thumb or fingers sometimes after she steps up on me, which she never did before. She has been more aggressive ever since the snuggle hut incident when she bit me. Also worth mentioning that there is a male Eclectus nearby that she can hear occasionally, which may trigger hormonal stress for her.

I went a bought a cheap string mop and disassembled it removed the wire and plastic piece, and tied sisal rope in the center then i tied some knots on some of the strands.. she really likes this mop LOL she cleans it all the time..She is leaving her feathers alone and only after her shower do i see her messing with her feathers, she has some new feathers in now she hasnt touched yet i seriously hope the mop does the trick.

When i gave gitana that bag , she played with it but then she wanted it and badly if i went to take it ohhh she got mad and yes she would bit me i am sure, i had to be sneaky to get it away, as Pedro said during that time her attitude changed drastically. She has been a good bird most of the day, she is on the back of my office chair and doing good. The only other toy I found that she likes is this Paradise Vibrant Cluster Medium - MEDIUM BIRD TOYS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE
its really colorful and bulky to she likes it.

I am not going to let her walk on the floor anymore. Because today I had her cage door open so she could get from play area on top of the cage inside her cage, she climbed to the floor and came in the kitchen when i was cooking with a bit of an attitude, so Pedro is right no more open cage door for her. That over-sized bag prolly triggered this behavior.

I wouldn't think you need to cover her earlier, I cover gitana at 9pm normally at 7am she is waiting for me in front of her food bowl. My bird learned my schedule quick LOL

Thanks for sharing, Trina. I really appreciate it. I will definitely try the mop. I just had to spray down Chikoo with aloe vera spray, she doesn't like being sprayed at all, although she likes showers. But I just can't stand watching her pull the feathers out. She stops for quite a while once I spray, because I understand the aloe vera is astringent.

I'm also considering getting a collar. I looked at the bird capes at mysafebirdstore but Chikoo is a flighted bird, so that wouldn't work. The collar may at least prevent her from plucking until all the feathers grow back in, and give enough time for her to settle down from her recent hormone triggers. Has anyone tried this?