He was doing so well....

Wrangler has been making amazing progress over the last 8 weeks. He's grown in a lot of feathers and is more green than grey these days. Not a full secondary feather coat, but a decent covering. That was until today. I got home from work and found nearly a dozen of his new feathers scattered on the bottom of the cage. I am crushed! there are obvious newly revealed grey patches of down feathers on his right wing and between his shoulders. He has a new wood chew toy in his cage but it's untouched...I do everything I can to give him distractions and toys---he even figured out his first multi level foraging toy. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Hi, what about a preening toy as well as the chew it up toys? Hoping he will preen and pick that and not himself?

I have no advice... only empathy and support and admiration for taking on the dear little bird.
Hang in there and please know you're doing a wonderful thing for trying so hard and caring so much.

I am so sorry to hear that Wrangler has plucked more feathers. Ekko will go for a long while, then suddenly start plucking a few. Have you read through this thread? You probably already know most of the things in it, but it is worth a read.
I so hope that he will leave them alone and that maybe this will be a one time thing. It is so heartbreaking to find those feathers on the bottom of the cage.
http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html

Yup, a toy he can pull threads or fibres or straw from, obviously he likes doing this activity. Good luck and keep us updated!

I have no advice, just wanted to offer my support for your efforts, and hope that a preening toy will do the trick. Best of luck and please keep us updated.

Poor Wrangler. Try the preening toy, and just try to think about the fact that he was doing good, so even with this small setback, he can do good again.

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I'm very sorry to hear Wrangler is having a plucking episode, I know how it feels to see feathers off your baby and on the floor. Sometimes, rearranging the cage and play area can refocus an overpreener's attention. Maybe Wrangler would appreciate easily shreddable toys, paper mache or rattan, some birds prefer leather or cotton chew toys. I hope this is a a minor setback and will resolve itself soon. Please keep us updated.

I was reading that sometimes vitamin D is needed for birds that pick. Where is the birds cage? is it near a window does he get lots of sunlight?

My aunts bird picked all his feathers in one night. Why the only reason they could come up with was it was a stormy night and a branch hit the house making a very loud scary sound. That stress and freak caused the bird to pick. His feathers have all grown back since. But do you think something could be stressing him out?

Is the bird all alone in a quite house? Birds do not like quite. Do you turn on a tv or radio from him?

Thanks for the support everyone--even though I expected a setback, I didnt realize how disheartening it would be. I know I shouldnt take it personally, but it's hard not to. There were some smaller red feathers in the cage this morning, but not the mass annihilation that I saw yesterday. He seems happy--he beak grinds and is fairly social, even though I still cant touch him. He can touch me...but Im not allowed to pet (stinker!)

I had given him some shreddable packing paper tied to the cage but he was actually eating it, not just shredding it, so I took it away. He had a large shred toy in the cage but largely ignored it and has a hanging hemp mat with toys, including colored tissue gift packing in a paper tube...so plenty of things to pick at. I had a cotton rope and block toy in his cage for a few weeks that went untouched. Still learning toy preferences and not giving up--but have been focused mostly on his hormonal issues. Every time he's out of the cage (which is pretty much all the time if Im home) he heads to the "hump bunny". Then he'll feed the knob on the top of the cage, and then finally wander over to say hello. Not ideal, but it has helped with his frustrations and I credit it for helping with his feather regrowth. He gets outside (patio) time several mornings a week and was outside almost the entire day Saturday while i stripped down and cleaned the cages and perches. His cage is next to the window, so he has plenty of visual distractions during the day as well.

As far as stress goes, the only thing that i could think of that may have triggered it was that the dog has discovered that dropped food is a free snack, and while i was at work she pulled the paper liner out of his cage and shredded it, which means she was probably right next to his cage for a good while, and making noise. He is not fond of the dog (with good reason) though he doesnt cower when she is around---he's out of his cage climbing around knowing she's lying next to me so her being next to his cage hasnt really been an issue before now. Liesl's cage is about 3-4 feet from his, and they have come to accept each other and the animosity has abated and I can have them both out of their cages at the same time without problem, but they still arent allowed to be in contact. Last night I took Liesl upstairs with me to hang out and he was doing flock call almost the entire time--that was a first. I did rearrange his cage after cleaning but the new elements in it are all familiar to him ( I gave him things I know he likes, plus one new perch and one new wood toy). The perch/branch hasnt been a problem, he'prefers his ropes to it, but has been on it and chewed it some. The wood toy is ignored...so Liesl will get it soon. Ive already added a block toy he had shown some interest in back into the cage in case he wants to chew something. He really prefers being out of the cage, and while he's clipped it isnt a problem. I try to give them both as much out of cage time as possible along with one on one time with me.

Food wise he gets his veggie chop in the mornings along with either palm or coconut oil and a sprinkling of hemp/flax seed and whatever else I can find in the fridge. This morning it was mashed potatoes...that was a big hit. He tends to pick at the evening fruit--clearly a savory guy, so i throw in some harrisons pellets for carbs, or give him granola dust (the granola at the bottom of the jar that has no raisins, no one wants granola without raisins!)

I hope this addresses most of the questions and suggestions. Thanks again for your support! If you see anything Im not doing, or shouldnt be doing, feel free to point it out--after all, Im still new to this.

one more thing I want to add.

I have to admit. I too have a Neurotic self mutilating issue at times. I am a bit like a bird that picks feathers. I bite at my thumbs to the point that I make them bleed. Yes it is weird. I know. After years I know what triggers it. Stress and if I am nervous mainly. My teenage years I picked the most. It distract me from stuff that makes me sad ,fearful, or Nervous. I stay busy I have lots to do but I will still pick. It is a distraction. What helps me most is exercise. The more I exercise the more relaxed my mind is. I am not a bird but I kind of get why they might pick.

Don't take your birds plucking personally. It probably has nothing to do with you. Things that stress me out don't bother my husband at all. What you might see as no big deal could be a real issue for your bird.

You will figure it out and your bird will be fine it just takes time.

snowflake311 said:

I was reading that sometimes vitamin D is needed for birds that pick. Where is the birds cage? is it near a window does he get lots of sunlight?

My aunts bird picked all his feathers in one night. Why the only reason they could come up with was it was a stormy night and a branch hit the house making a very loud scary sound. That stress and freak caused the bird to pick. His feathers have all grown back since. But do you think something could be stressing him out?

Is the bird all alone in a quite house? Birds do not like quite. Do you turn on a tv or radio from him?

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Definitely worth considering but unfortunately being by a window will not provide any Vit D - you need to be outside in the sunshine or use a lamp.

So sorry this happened especially as you were doing so well but as you say set backs are to be expected and sometimes nomatter what you do some birds will pluck...I have no experience of pluckers but I can imagine that perhaps you may identified what triggered the last bout maybe if the dog was tugging at the cage liner that would certainly unhinge any of mine...I never have any of my parrots where the dog can reach them especially when Im out. Is there a way you can segregate them at least when you are not there? Maybe if you try this for the future there might be a chance that if this was the cause of this bout that maybe it wont happen again...if it was such a simple solution it would be wonderful. The other thought I had was the new chewy toy that he is not touching...is he scared of it...I know that I have to very slowly introduce new toys as Mr Biggles is scared of them at first and needs to get used of looking at them for a while before they go inside his cage...again if this is contributing to the feather plucking then its another thing that can easily be solved for next time those lovely feathers grow and they will grow again hopefully and next time perhaps there will be no plucking. Also you mentioned about having a preening shredding toy on the outside of the cage that you had to remove because he was eating it, perhaps it might be a good idea to find a safe replacement for this tiy of a similar nature but safer as it seemed to give him a lot of pleasure. You did a wonderful job to get him to the point you got him to and even now though he has plucked he is still way ahead in other ways to what he was when you got him so though the feather loss is a heartbreaking set back you have a whole lot of other accomplishments to be proud of. Maybe in time the feather plucking problem will fade and be a thing of the past and maybe it wont and will always remain with you but the feather problem doesnt define your relationship as you have develloped and are continnueing to devellop a wonderful bond and friendship and the proof of that is that he now comes to touch you. Thats what I call Great Progress ...Well Done

If he was actually eating the papery shredder toy, what about trying to make one out of something he can eat, like kale? Granted, it couldn't be available to him long, but it could be something you could throw in there before you leave to give him something to do while you're gone.

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OutlawedSpirit said:

If he was actually eating the papery shredder toy, what about trying to make one out of something he can eat, like kale? Granted, it couldn't be available to him long, but it could be something you could throw in there before you leave to give him something to do while you're gone.

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This is a good idea, kale, popcorn and any other goodies that he can eat or just shred

Hang in there Coopedup you are doing so well with him. I understand as had a friends 'too here during a plucking incident and I felt devastated to see feathers on the bottom of his cage. Be strong!

I know you've been working so hard to get past his plucking issue, and after so much progress I can understand why this would be so deflating. But keep in mind that sometimes these behaviors become ingrained long after the original cause has been removed from the equation. As such, ofttimes it really comes down to trying a bunch of different tactics... throwing everything you can think of against the wall to see what sticks. You know?

That said, the situation with your dog stands a good chance of having been the trigger for this particular episode. Even if Wrangler doesn't exactly cower in front of your dog, her very presence by the cage might be a source of stress. Add to that the fact that she was disrupting Wrangler's home by pulling out the lining - which would stress most any bird - and you have the kind of scenario that could very well lead to a plucking episode.

My advice would be to try and find a way to keep Wrangler and your dog more separated. Perhaps the absence of that stressor would help Wrangler get back on track.

Oh! And Outlawedspirit's idea about the kale was an exceptional one. Kale, dandelions... or Plumsmum's idea about the popcorn might all serve as great distractors.