Plucking?overpreening?molting?

Hey yall,

I just got an 8mo green Quaker about a week ago and noticed a day or so after I got him that he started to have some rough patches of feathers.. I attributed it to stress from leaving his previous owner but I've been noticing some additional areas of concern. ... anyone have experience with this? Advice? Help!!

Hello and welcome and thanks for reaching out!

There may be some stress-related overpreening here. Having said that I once had a Quaker who I thought was plucking/overpreening but it turned out he was storing pellets in his shoulder feathers to snack on later! I took him to my vet to make sure we nipped any trouble in the bud, and he went on to tell me he had a macaw patient who liked to store pellets in his armpit ... the macaw’s that is, not the vet’s!

You are probably best to get him checked out by a specialist bird vet to be on the safe side anyway. Again, welcome aboard!

Hi GunnyQ,

nice to meet you here.

I am not sure if 8 months is where they go through their first *huge* molt, but I know for sure your little chicken is adorable!

Thanks guys!! Hes pretty adorable and I've researched when then go through molt and hes on track but I've not had a Quaker before so I just wanted to see if anyone had this issue before. Our vet met him the day after I got him and of course that was when he started showing the bare grey areas so coincidence or not I dont know.

Thanks for the warm welcome!!

Welcome to the forums! Your Quaker is adorable! Are you positive he’s a he? I ask because of the age, it’s possible the classic over preening is hormone related, even more likely if your bird is a hen. A combination of stress and hormones could easily trigger plucking behavior in a Quaker. The feather pulling doesn’t look too bad at all but with quakers it can escalate fast and lead to a lifelong problem. I suggest a thorough exam by a certified avian veterinarian to possibly pinpoint the underlying cause or causes, it could be a variety of things.

Do you know anything about your bird’s background? A common mistake a lot of folks make with quakers is treating them like a small species, I blame the pet stores for this, they encourage new owners to buy small cages and a seed based diet. Quakers love seed if given a choice, think candy to a toddler but they are much healthier with fresh vegetables as the main course with added grains, a high quality additive free pellet and a small amount of a good seed mix. A large sturdy cage with lots of perches and plenty of toys will make your bird happy and hopefully distract from the plucking.

Congrats, quakers are amazing! Please keep us updated.

Right now is molting-time for all of them, my Green Cheek looks a mess right now, so does my Senegal...Looking at the photos it actually looks like he's been barbering himself for a while, so this isn't anything that just happened in the last week since you've brought him home...

At 8 months old he is coming up on the time for his big molting that will shed his baby feathers and grow-in his adult plumage, so he's going to be a mess for a while. You'll know when his first molt starts, because he'll be patchy and there will be feathers all over his cage and your house, lol. Once he gets through his first molt he should look pretty good, and you'll have had some time for him to settle-in to his new home and for you to also earn his trust and for him to feel comfortable and secure in his new home...In the meantime, make sure that he has many different types of toys to play with at all times (chewing toys, shredding toys, foraging activities, etc.) and that you're spending as much time as you can with him each day, so that he doesn't become bored or lonely and he keeps busy. It's good if you give them a job to do to keep them busy, something like giving him a paperback book that you hang-up in his cage to shred apart (they love that, I buy cheap, thick paperback novels and put a metal food skewer through them, and hang it inside of their cage, and start it off for them by ripping a page up so they get the idea, it will keep them busy for hours and hours). Also, hiding their food/treats inside of things and making them actively forage for it is another great way to keep them busy and keep their brains working.

So he came from someone that had him out all day every day and what seems like he got to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted... wasn't too keen on veggies or fruits... been with the old owner since November.. I believe old owner had him DNA tested Male but I cant remember, I guess well find out if he lays an egg haha!! Today his chest looks to be getting new growth and I've noticed some pin feathers on his head.. was on I'd say 45/50 pellets to seed ratio but I've got him on roudybush pellets primarily with lafaber seed/pellet as a treat that I'll put one ball in each food in the morning.

Truly appreciate all the input guys!!

Welcome! I love quakers! Cute fellow!