Is my bird's preening anything to worry about?

Hi,

I've been posting in the cockatoo forum about my experiences with my new galah, but there's an awful amount of panicky essay writing in my posts there and wanted to throw out a specific question.

Having read a lot about plucking, I'm naturally very nervous at the sight of any feathers floating around the cage, and I want to be sure her behaviour with preening is reasonable given the circumstances. It may well be this is exactly what to expent, but my nerves are so frazzled this week it would be a big help to confirm, or to have an idea how to progress if it is anything to be worried about.

I've had her three days and she seems to be preening a huge amount. I've just counted the feathers from the last 18 hours and it's about 20 feathers big enough to have shape (mainly pink chest or under wing), plus maybe a dozen little fluffy bits. She has a noticable number of pin feathers in various places so I wonder if she may be coming up to a moult anyway - I'm trying to get hold of the seller to see if he has an opinion about that. I've not tried a water spray yet, worried it might be another source of stress for her. I can't see her pulling at feathers, just what looks like normal preening. She has four big preening / shredding toys in the cage with her and has had a good play with all of them, so she has distractions in there with her. She's not eating great, most of the fresh stuff I put out ending up on the cage floor so it's nuts, seeds and apple until she gets a little braver.

I know it's early, she's every right to be stressed and out of sorts and I'm happy going at her pace, I just don't want to feel like I'm missing anything that could be a problem. Hopefully I'll look back on this week's posting activity and laugh in a few months...

Jay, I'd sit back & not worry so much...while 'toos do have a bad reputation for plucking & mutilation, it is breeding season for most parrot species & with breeding goes moulting, though normally the moulting preceeds breeding so that the birds can strut their new finery before getting down to business.....

Also, since feathers serve as a bird's transportation, heating & cooling system...and...method of escape, many birds spend hours a day preening.....think teen aged girl enamored with her hair.....and.....if a particular feather does not lay just right or maybe gets bent or otherwise damaged, the bird will often just pluck it out & a new one grows back in its place.....

With moulting, most parrots do so twice a year, so, based on what you've said, it sounds like normal behavior.....