How many feathers are too many?

Wrangler is/has been a plucker. Up until now it was attributed to poor diet, stress (caged for 5 years), and other factors that were a result of his neglect. Brittany took over his care in April/May and made great strides in turning his situation around, most namely a proper diet and work on socialization. He has acquired a pretty health coat of down that has gradually turned from light grey to dark grey as it matures. It was noted in his pre-flight health exam that he still had some plucking issues/bare patches on top of his wings and a few other areas but that in general he was looking very good, considering. Brittany also thinks he is molting.

I have tried misting him but short of chasing him around the cage with the mister and terrorizing him I finally took him outside this week and set the hose on mist. While he wasnt a fan of the bath, he didnt have much choice, but he did appreciate the blow dry afterwards. (yes, it was on a low heat setting and at least 2 feet away--dont want to scortch him or dry out his skin too much) The next day there were several down feathers scattered around the cage. I thought possibly this might be due to the recent bath and a stress reaction (my dog always dumps a ton of fur after a bath or vet trip) or just more vigorous preening than usual, and he's VERY vigorous. This morning I watched two more feathers float down--not primaries, still down, but what is normal? 5 feathers a day? a week? a month? When does it need to be addressed by a vet? Up until this week I hadnt noticed any feathers in the cage and now I can easily see at least 15. Is this part of the hormonal issues?

Might find this interesting, hope so

Eclectus Parrot Problems | Birdtricks.com

http://www.eclectusparrots.net/featherdestruction.html

May just be that time of year. Parker leaves down feathers everywhere seemingly all the time.

Aww I don't have any advice for you Gracie being a grey drops a ton of down feathers daily. I do hope you get some answers. It can be so heartbreaking, I have to watch Gracie since she tends to barber her feathers.
I did find an awesome mister that might help.
https://www.amazon.com/CoreGear-Misters-Personal-Mister-Bottle/dp/B007SNX7GG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1466536243&sr=8-3&keywords=misty+mate+hand+held+mister

Good luck!

Take photos for yourself if you can, compare them day to day to see if Wrangler has more/less bare spots. This method has helped me a lot.

If he allows you to blow on his feathers, you can check for bald spots this way. It's really helpful for the chest/belly area.

Ekkies are known to go through a heavy molt if their poor diet is changed to a healthy one. It's like they suddenly want to get rid of the old worn out feathers. Out with the old and in with the new! If Brittany has only been caring for Wrangler for a month or two this could be the cause which means no problem (except for cleaning up a lot of feathers). My ekkie would drop a lot of grey down feathers every summer so it is pretty normal.

Although Wrangler is not a fan of getting sprayed, I find getting them wet is a good way to see what is going on with feather condition (being wet exposes new feathers comming up that you could normally not see).

If you have not already tried, and wrangler is happy sitting on your arm, you could try giving Wrangler a shower. My two love showers, but hate having a sprayer sprayed at them. I find they prefer a lukewarm temperature. It might not be something he suddenly loves doing (especially if he is not used to being in the shower), so it might be a slow introduction, but I find this to be an easy way to wet my two (well except that Gizmo thinks my shirt, neck and hair are a towel to be used several times during the shower process)

If Wrangler is moulting he is more likely to appreciate a shower, my two insist on regular showers during moulting (flying to the bathroom if I forget)

Have you tried bringing him into the shower with you. I set his shower perch high and have small chew toys hanging from his perch. I shower while he plays and chats. We have profound conversation during this time. Anyway, it might make your fella more comfortable around water and then eventually enjoy being under the shower water himself.
I've also read that blow drying may not be advised...I could be wrong. But what I read indicated that they clean and preen their feathers after their baths while they're still wet.
Drying them defeats the purpose.
As for the down feathers, Uglow doesn't pluck but he drops a lot of down feathers. I panicked at first too. Wrangler may be plucking but he's probably losing down feathers naturally as well. I like the suggestion of photographing him daily to monitor his progress. Best of luck.

Uglow said:

Have you tried bringing him into the shower with you. I set his shower perch high and have small chew toys hanging from his perch. I shower while he plays and chats. We have profound conversation during this time. Anyway, it might make your fella more comfortable around water and then eventually enjoy being under the shower water himself.
I've also read that blow drying may not be advised...I could be wrong. But what I read indicated that they clean and preen their feathers after their baths while they're still wet.
Drying them defeats the purpose.
As for the down feathers, Uglow doesn't pluck but he drops a lot of down feathers. I panicked at first too. Wrangler may be plucking but he's probably losing down feathers naturally as well. I like the suggestion of photographing him daily to monitor his progress. Best of luck.

Click to expand...

We havent progressed to showers yet. He doesnt perch or play outside of his cage -- he's solely focused on his hormones (IE Getting to Liesl) when he's out of cage. Because of the constant upheaval that his life has been in the last 2 months (4 owners/homes, and 3 cages with me in 2 weeks) Im taking things at his pace. Ive tried taking him to other rooms and I get a quaking mass of feathers so I think the shower is a bit too much right now. I bought a mister but of course he just runs around the cage to avoid it and I dont think that does much for the trust bond.

The blow dry was just one time, mostly because he was shaking from cold and has no real insulation I only commented on it as the reward part of the bathing experience, much like outside time is for now. Yesterday he got to dry outside in the sun (and shade) and preen..that's my preferred method with him, and it was plenty warm out. Im very careful to make sure he's comfortable since he is not fully feathered. I keep a heatpad in his cage as well, which he seems to like. He's got to have more baths--I know this--it's just how to do this without losing ground. He's inherently a nice bird, he's just had more than his share of turmoil and Im determined to not rush him. Fortunately Liesl appears to love water..she'll start showers this week most likely.

Thanks for all of the encouragement and input, it reallly helps, especially since Im not sure what "normal" is with two VERY different birds.