Darn my little red-head's fiery temper!

Anansi

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So, around two weeks ago I noticed that Maya had sprouted a plethora of pins all at once. Now, I've had Maya for over 4 years now (she's six), but I'd never seen a molting on her like this. Most times, you can barely even tell that she's going through a molt. A few pins here and there, but nothing truly noteworthy.

But this time she truly looked like a little feathered hedgehog or porcupine! It looked hilarious.

Yeah, not so much the next day.

Maya was obviously infuriated by all of these pins coming in at once, and in a fit of rage proceeded to rip EVERY SINGLE ONE out from her back, chest, under her wings, between her legs and wherever she could reach on her neck! She threw them with such force that they all stuck to the wall behind her cage. Hundreds of them!

Sigh...

I of course took her in to the vet and he checked her out thoroughly. Ran a battery of tests, including Liver function, cholesterol (lipid) screening, wet mount fecal exam, Gram stain and protein electrophoresis. Everything came back perfect, and her white blood cell count was normal, indicating no infection or inflammation. He also checked her skin, and noted no irritation there, either.

He did observe, however, that she was not engaging in feather destructive behavior on any of her existing feathers. Her old feathers are all fine and well preened, but she won't allow any new ones to grow in. As such, his thought is that it's not likely psychological so much as just an extreme reaction to the discomfort of this uber molt. (Thus far)

But she was VERY thorough in removing virtually all of her pins. And since the old feathers fall out to make way for the new, it's begun to show. But my real concern here (and the vet's as well) is that she'll develop a psychological behavior that springs from her reaction to her physical discomfort. As I've told many members here before, and am now reminding myself, habitual plucking sometimes begins with a physical or medical issue as an initial cause before developing into something more. The endorphins they experience at the moment of plucking can become addictive.

So we're hoping to cut off the cause before the behavior becomes ingrained. To this end, the vet prescribed Celebrex (anti-inflammatory) in the hopes of easing her discomfort. The problem is that the plucked pins will likely all begin growing back in another few weeks... and likely all together since they were all plucked at the same time. So will she react the same way? I pray she won't. Might have to look into giving her a little poncho or something to get her past the initial growth period.

Ah, Maya. I love you, you little feathered wolverine. But darn that fiery temper.
 

noodles123

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How is she removing the pins without bleeding? Is she plucking them? My bird is less inclined to mess with wet feathers, so if you can spray her (not it a punishing way) then that might a help a bit...I know you can't keep her sprayed all day lol , but just a thought.
 

charmedbyekkie

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Oh no! Poor thing :( That must have been so terribly uncomfortable for her to resort to that behaviour.

Hoping the celebrex helps with the feather regrowth!! Has the vet suggested anything else (maybe even topical) to help her?
 
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Anansi

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How is she removing the pins without bleeding? Is she plucking them? My bird is less inclined to mess with wet feathers, so if you can spray her (not it a punishing way) then that might a help a bit...I know you can't keep her sprayed all day lol , but just a thought.

Yep, she's plucking them. No blood, because if even a blood feather is plucked swiftly enough it closes right up... which is why a broken blood feather usually has to get plucked, as it is almost like a direct tap.

As for wet feathers, yeah, I think that would help, too. Thing is, we can only bathe/spray her when we are home. But that doesn't help during the day when we are at work. (Believe me, your thought of keeping her sprayed up all day is not exactly unappealing to me at the moment. Lol!) Normally this isn't a problem, but she apparently has no patience for all of these extra feathers coming in at once. (Kinda wish I could install timed misters or something for during the day.) But

Oh no! Poor thing :( That must have been so terribly uncomfortable for her to resort to that behaviour.

Hoping the celebrex helps with the feather regrowth!! Has the vet suggested anything else (maybe even topical) to help her?

Thanks! I hope the Celebrex helps, too. But no, he hasn't suggested anything topical at this time.
 

noodles123

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My Too really likes spinning plastic linking c-links around. Maybe something like that would be a good distraction.
 

Laurasea

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Dang! That would worry me too! What a great work up she had!!!
 

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Oh Maya you naughty little red she-devil you, don’t go yanking out your beautiful feathers that your daddy has so carefully helped you to cultivate and worry everyone to bits! I do agree with the theory about the plucking causing a small endorphin rush though so it must be very important to stop that cycle before it gets too entrenched. No doubt she is getting the Gold Standard of care from everyone concerned.

I hope she recovers soon, and you too Anansi!
 

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A typical fiery redhead Stephen :02:


Jim
 

chris-md

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Naughty indeed!! Dang Stephen, sorry this is happening! Crossing fingers for the Celebrex!

You might also consider an avian tea to supplement the regimen. Greywood manor has a few options for a calming tea with stuff like lavender and chamomile. Or just straight camomile tea from any grocery store could also do as well.
 

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Discuss a topical anesthetic like lidocane with your vet. If the pain and scratching of a massive molt is triggering a plucking session, that might help. But do it soon before it becomes habit. Good Luck!!
 

ChristaNL

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Oh, poor you! :(

I agree, the larger the amount of pinfeathers, the worse the tempertantrums about them seem to be.
(Sunny was *no* fun for a few weeks as well, but thankfully she did not molest most of them / this time anyway)

Chris already said it: soak her in cammomile (and get her to drink it as well).
(I've tried the aloe-- but that just annoyed the <excrement> out of my birds here, but chamomile-tea works just fine.)

I would not blame you if you put some kind of collar on her then next round- she will be as annoyed as she can possibly be anyway ... but if semi-forcing her through that phase prevents future misery I am all for it (tough love etc.)
 

chris-md

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Well, to be clear I meant serve it in lieu of water, or to dress the chop with the dry leaves. With parrots showing feather destructive behavior - and especially those particularly known to be prone to plucking like ekkies - the last thing you want to do is introduce a new substance to the feather surface that attracts their attention further to the feather.
 
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Anansi

Anansi

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My Too really likes spinning plastic linking c-links around. Maybe something like that would be a good distraction.

Thanks, Noodles. I've actually switched around her old toys, added a foraging toy and put in a new one I made. She's tearing them to bits as usual. Problem is, hard to even know how well anything is working - even the Celebrex - since she ripped everything out on the first go around. I guess I'll have a better idea in a few weeks.

Dang! That would worry me too! What a great work up she had!!!

Oh, yes. She definitely has a first class CAV working her case. I only hope that proves to be enough.

Oh Maya you naughty little red she-devil you, don’t go yanking out your beautiful feathers that your daddy has so carefully helped you to cultivate and worry everyone to bits! I do agree with the theory about the plucking causing a small endorphin rush though so it must be very important to stop that cycle before it gets too entrenched. No doubt she is getting the Gold Standard of care from everyone concerned.

I hope she recovers soon, and you too Anansi!

Thank you, LaManuka. This was all so sudden and unexpected, but the entire household is pitching in to try and head all this off at the pass.

A typical fiery redhead Stephen :02:

Hahahahaha! I won't tell her you said that, Jim. That Diva doesn't accept being considered a typical anything. Lol!
 
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Anansi

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Naughty indeed!! Dang Stephen, sorry this is happening! Crossing fingers for the Celebrex!

You might also consider an avian tea to supplement the regimen. Greywood manor has a few options for a calming tea with stuff like lavender and chamomile. Or just straight camomile tea from any grocery store could also do as well.

Thanks, Chris. I've been leaning toward giving her some chamomile tea, actually. Though lavender isn't something I've considered. Guess I've got some reading to do. I'd never heard of Greywood Manor, but I'll look into their teas as well.

Discuss a topical anesthetic like lidocane with your vet. If the pain and scratching of a massive molt is triggering a plucking session, that might help. But do it soon before it becomes habit. Good Luck!!

Thanks, Al. I'll bring it up with him, but considering the sheer breadth of skin surface area any topical cream would need to cover, I doubt it will be a viable option. But that's just my layman's opinion. I'll see what he thinks. And yeah, I'll definitely be acting with some urgency.

Oh, poor you! :(

I agree, the larger the amount of pinfeathers, the worse the tempertantrums about them seem to be.
(Sunny was *no* fun for a few weeks as well, but thankfully she did not molest most of them / this time anyway)

Chris already said it: soak her in cammomile (and get her to drink it as well).
(I've tried the aloe-- but that just annoyed the <excrement> out of my birds here, but chamomile-tea works just fine.)

I would not blame you if you put some kind of collar on her then next round- she will be as annoyed as she can possibly be anyway ... but if semi-forcing her through that phase prevents future misery I am all for it (tough love etc.)

Thanks, Christa. I'm hoping the chamomile tea does the trick, but yes, if need be I'll give her something to wear that keeps her from getting to the feathers. Tough love, indeed.

Well, to be clear I meant serve it in lieu of water, or to dress the chop with the dry leaves. With parrots showing feather destructive behavior - and especially those particularly known to be prone to plucking like ekkies - the last thing you want to do is introduce a new substance to the feather surface that attracts their attention further to the feather.

Yep, I used to give my flock dry chamomile mixed in with their chop on a somewhat regular basis... but it's been a while since. I'll be starting this practice again, however, along with the tea.
 

HEEDLESS

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Oh Dear. Poor you and Maya.

Now I am worry since I have a baby girl with a fiery temper too. :eek:

Well.. She is flying in a short distance now. By the way she is now, she will be flying around in two months.

I just plucked few of her broken feathers on her left wing and the left side of her tail (it took only two weeks for it to grow out).
Yes, I plucked them myself since her doctor has put her to sleep three times. I don't want that again, From now on, I will be plucking any broken feather with a forceps.


Anansi. Kise will go see her doctor in two weeks, is there anything I need to tell her doctor or any concern that I do not know and need to ask/tell him??

Please and thank you Sir,

 

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Maya, Noooo! Why would you yank those pins before they could release those gorgeous feathers?

Doc, I'm shocked to hear this, I know you're girl is a diva and demands everything in her kingdom to be perfect but really, that was a bit dramatic. I think the chamomile is a great idea and the extra toys to keep her busy and distracted will be helpful. I'm glad to hear her health is excellent. Hopefully with her vet's help, when the new pins come in Maya will be in a calm enough state to allow the feathers to come in.

Please keep us updated, I feel so bad for Maya and for you.
 

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Poor Maya, what an unfortunate response to a major molt. Wish I had experience to offer advice, but this may be a seminal moment to stave off an ingrained tendency to p----. (don't wanna even say the word!) I have no doubt you'll find an effective solution.
 
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Anansi

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Oh Dear. Poor you and Maya.

Now I am worry since I have a baby girl with a fiery temper too. :eek:

Well.. She is flying in a short distance now. By the way she is now, she will be flying around in two months.

I just plucked few of her broken feathers on her left wing and the left side of her tail (it took only two weeks for it to grow out).
Yes, I plucked them myself since her doctor has put her to sleep three times. I don't want that again, From now on, I will be plucking any broken feather with a forceps.


Anansi. Kise will go see her doctor in two weeks, is there anything I need to tell her doctor or any concern that I do not know and need to ask/tell him??

Please and thank you Sir,


Is the vet that Kise is going to see in two weeks the same one that you'd said was always putting her under with anesthetic and plucking out her flight feathers? If so, you should definitely look for another CAV. And then you should ask the new one about all of the broken feathers that Kise is getting. You shouldn't have to pull her feathers with anywhere near such frequency. Honestly, you really should only have to pull broken blood feathers, as doing so could save her life. Just to give you an idea of how out of the ordinary Kise's situation is, I've kept birds for around 22 or so years now... and I have yet to pull a single feather.

Also, if you haven't yet done so... or haven't done so recently, you should get a complete blood panel done, as well as a Gram stain and fecal test.

Maya, Noooo! Why would you yank those pins before they could release those gorgeous feathers?

Doc, I'm shocked to hear this, I know you're girl is a diva and demands everything in her kingdom to be perfect but really, that was a bit dramatic. I think the chamomile is a great idea and the extra toys to keep her busy and distracted will be helpful. I'm glad to hear her health is excellent. Hopefully with her vet's help, when the new pins come in Maya will be in a calm enough state to allow the feathers to come in.

Please keep us updated, I feel so bad for Maya and for you.

Thanks, Huckleberry. Yeah, this was waaaaaay more dramatic than I'd have expected from Lady Maya. But hopefully between the Celebrex, rearranged and new toys, and the calming teas, we can head this off.

I'm really wondering why her molting was so intense this time around, though. Seems so random.
 
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Anansi

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Poor Maya, what an unfortunate response to a major molt. Wish I had experience to offer advice, but this may be a seminal moment to stave off an ingrained tendency to p----. (don't wanna even say the word!) I have no doubt you'll find an effective solution.

Thanks, Scott. (Sorry I'm just seeing your post. Looks like we posted at almost the same time.) I'm thinking the same thing about this moment being pivotal. It's such a difficult habit to break once it becomes ingrained, and I feel like I have a rare opportunity here to get out ahead of things. Most members here with pluckers don't get a chance like this. (Due to the fact that I have a defined reason for the behavior at the start that I can focus on.)

Hopefully my choices turn out to be the right ones.
 

Scott

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Poor Maya, what an unfortunate response to a major molt. Wish I had experience to offer advice, but this may be a seminal moment to stave off an ingrained tendency to p----. (don't wanna even say the word!) I have no doubt you'll find an effective solution.

Thanks, Scott. (Sorry I'm just seeing your post. Looks like we posted at almost the same time.) I'm thinking the same thing about this moment being pivotal. It's such a difficult habit to break once it becomes ingrained, and I feel like I have a rare opportunity here to get out ahead of things. Most members here with pluckers don't get a chance like this. (Due to the fact that I have a defined reason for the behavior at the start that I can focus on.)

Hopefully my choices turn out to be the right ones.

Without a doubt, you'll find the best choices! Hopefully this is a one-off response to a major molt.
 

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