Plucked Quaker

have had my Quaker Clotil for about 6 years. When I got her she was about 6 months old and was not hand tame anymore. We have always had a hard time taming her. Unless she comes out of her cage willingly there is no handling her. She will let you hold her but that's about it. She will try to bite if you try to pet or play with her. She likes to be on her cage so we just let her out there. She was once a loud, Playful & Destructive girl. Now she is quiet and is content with plucking all her feathers out. She attacks herself. I heard her screaming yesterday and when I went to check on her she was bleeding on her wings and biting herself. I had a hard time getting her to stop. I went to the pet store to get some advice because this is my first Quaker. They gave me some spray for molting and we changed her food. Got her a new cage with new toys and she was not interested in any of it. I just want her to feel better again. IDK what else to do. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Before

After

Please, Avian vet ASAP!
You need to eliminate the physical possibilities first!

Oh dear, poor little girl! Do you remember when she started behaving differently? And what you started to notice first? Birds are very complex and it could be lots of different possibilities as to what has caused this.

Flboy is right, the first thing you need to do is find a good avian vet that will be keen to get to the bottom of the problem before it results in tragedy.

I wish you luck and encourage you to keep us updated on your little quaker.

Yes, vet time, urgently, please.
I'm so sorry that you and she are going through this, whatever it is.
You may also need to look at diet issues, which can cause or contribute to so many problems.
You sound like a loving and sincere owner.
Good for you for reaching out.
Best of luck!

Yes..i agree with what the above members said...PLEASE take your little girl to an AVIAN vet asap! There could definitely be physical problems with her
Did she start plucking all of a sudden? How long ago did you notice this?
The poor girl plucked herself so hard she screamed! OMG I have tears rolling down my cheeks for her!

And THANK YOU for reaching out to us! PLEASE keep us posted on her condition!!!


Jim

Yes, the vet. Quaker Mutilation Syndrome is apparently a thing.

Yep, there are four things that cause Quakers to pluck:

1. Stress
2. Parasites
3. Poor diet
4. Lack of bathing.

Bacca had all of these when we got her. The problem is, that even if you fix these, they become habituated to doing it, so the prognosis is not good.