feather munchies?

Sarge

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Jul 18, 2011
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Germantown Ohio
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Blue and Gold bundle of dynamite macaw
Ok so my rescue Capt. Jack was / is a feather chewer?
I say was is because he has more feathers than before (when I got him) but not all the feathers make it. He has lost quite a bit of nasty looking feathers but appears to still be chewing on his feathers despite the changes in diet and environment.
My question is for birds such as the Capt. How much preening is acceptable before I should step in and raise the ā€œwhoa there Nellie ā€œ flag?
Thanks for the help
 

GaleriaGila

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That "Whoa there" is so reinforcing/rewarding to most birds.
I vote for just making all the environmental/etc. changes...
Let's see what others think.
Annnnnnnnnnnnd... you're a hero in my books, always.
:)
 

Sunnybirb

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You could try giving him some foraging toys, and maybe do some fun games of hide the treat, just stuff to keep him busy. Have you seen him chewing his feathers recently? They may just be coming in kind of wonky. I have this problem with Sunny. She had a poor diet before she came to me---just seed and nothing else---and you would swear looking at her that she chews her feathers or something. She has some that stand every which way, and she just had a molt. If you can bathe him it might help too, they'll get more in order and maybe that will help keep him from overdoing it?
 

SailBoat

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All barbering (feather chewing) starts at your Avian Vet's clinic to determine if there are any underlying problems. Normally this would include an extensive blood screen. This will define any chems that maybe out of normal.

Bathing wants to increase in warmer weather and decrease during cooler weather, keeping a very close eye on any signs of dry sign.

Parrots can easily get into reacting to an unintended reward cycle if you are verbally cueing when the activity occurs. Its the double edged effect of attempting to halt the activities.

There is no easy or specific answer. One simply keeps trying and loving your Parrot!
 
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Sarge

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Heā€™s been to the vet, hes got foraging stuffs. I think itā€™s a touch of the crazies from being in a small cage in his last house. He bathes reg. I know youā€™re supposed to decrease in the winter but he loves it so he gets it. Me thinks itā€™s because he may have not had many baths before. The house is dry and I do have humidifiers going but I just figured Iā€™d ask if it was worth an ā€œinterventionā€
Thanks for the suggestions maytees
 

Kentuckienne

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Sometimes the feather chewing becomes a habit, and persists even when the original stimulus (boredom, itchy skin) is gone. I hear some people have luck with preen-type toys, things with (safe) strings that the parrot can chew on instead.
 
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Sarge

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Thanks Kentuckienne, I figured itā€™s prob more habit than unuusality, but I donā€™t think heā€™ll sit still to let me tape the toys on his back. �� just kidding. Maybe in a few molt cycles heā€™ll straighten up. Iā€™m doing my best to not put him on anti crazy ness meds. I know I wouldnā€™t want to be on them.
 

SailBoat

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Take care, may have to request that you provide a 'Notice' when you are about to use 'Dry Humor!' :D

Those meds tend to be short term products at best and have been know to at first provide some help, but then require every increasing amounts to just maintain. My CAV will only use them for up-to thirty days.

Easy to say, very difficult to make happen; Distraction is the key!

NOTE: If your Parrot is Barbering regularly, assure that you are working on either a 9 month or 15 month cycle of having full blood screening. Our Amazon is on a 9 month schedule, as he is a plucker! We find that small variations in his chems will show as part of that schedule and we can adjust diet, etc... prior it becoming problematic.
 
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Sarge

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Hi guys just an update to the munchies...Its molting time, but not standard molting, munchie molting. I was surfing on the ol' inter webs trying to find some supplement to help calm the good captain down (maybe he misses the 7 seas lol ) and I finally landed on an herbal supplement, no I know, I know some people disagree and what not but this stuff seems to really help calm him down. It helps him just preen his feathers as opposed to munchie buffet. He has shreddable, and things to keep him occupied and I spend prob way too much time with him and nothing seemed to help. I would walk with him to distract him but he would be back at it in a few minutes after. he has a great diet and good humidity
so anyways the stuff is called "Herbal Bird Rx relaxation and calming formula Anti-Stress" made by AVITECH. I'm no fan of snake oil and I have been taken a few times, but between this and water spray baths it appears to be working. Ill keep you all posted on progress.
here is the link
100% Alcohol-free herbal extracts
 

sweetpeamusic

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I've read about little vests that have strings on them that birds can play with instead of plucking at their feathersā€¦ Maybe if your bird is harness-trained and is okay with it you can try them out: FeatherProtectors | Avian Fashions
I don't own a bird myself yet, let alone had to take care of one that has plucking issues so I'm no expert at all, but just wanted to let you know that "toys that tape to his back" do exist XD
 

YUMgrinder

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My tiel, Jazz, chews his primary feathers off one side. ALL of them. Does your fid ever show any discomfort with those feathers? Jazz will chew and when he gets a tender spot he squeaks. When I see him doing it I clap or something to get him to stop. When he tries to fly he often holds his wing out or up and complains about it so I know something is tender. Lately he has let a couple grow and they are darker and aren't as soft or pretty as his other primary on his other wing.

So yea, could be an issue your vet can help with, but I'd say your best bet is to distract as much as possible. Either that or put a cone on him? I thought about that for my jazz but decided against it.
 

Violet_Diva

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I aquired a plucker a few months ago, I found he was usually doing it to express frustration, (which can happen alot when you can't get from a-b without human help because you've chewed your wings off!)
Anyhow... I thought I'd been bathing him and misting him plenty, (as I was bathing him more than my other 2 non-pluckers). But just recently I've been thoroughly soaking him in the shower at least every other day (plus misting him multiple times a day) and this has seemingly reduced the itchiness of his broken feather shafts and new pin feathers coming in and has reduced the plucking. He's actually let about 10 big secondary feathers grow in to a length of a few centimetres without snipping them yet! Hiw frequently do you bathe your birdy?
 
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Sarge

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Blue and Gold bundle of dynamite macaw
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Thanks for the replies folks.
I bathe him with a spray bottle one heavy one day and light misting fo two days. Then repeat.
I have a water softener so I donā€™t bathe him in the shower anymore due to the salt in the water. He never complains about sore spots, I think itā€™s habitual now from when he was in the shelter. He has a few primary feathers growing and since two days on that formula I bought heā€™s let them alone. So far so good.
What to do what to do. Lol
 
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Sarge

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so update:
the oil extract worked ok for a little while. then he wa back to his shenanigans again.
there was a time there for a while where he was losing weight and not eating, not related to the extract (according to the vet) and i made him an appointment.
the vet said that all in all he looked ok but had an unknown bacterial infection that could be causing him indigestion.
so he prescribed some azithromycin, now as you may have guess i have to towel him to give it to him, and of course that stresses him out and makes him pluck more.
i don't know what else to do folks, it seems that caps flapjack may be a streaker. it just breaks my heart knowing that he would want to barb and clip his own feathers. he has a good diet, toys, attention, fresh water, baths, veggies, fruits, cleanliness, humidity and basically he went from cage bound to not wanting the cage unless he's in it at night to sleep. its frustrating how someone could neglect these animals and bring them to this point.
i guess ill just keep him wet with the sprayer, see how that goes.
thanks for listening folks. its just frustrating
-Sarge and the Capt.
 

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