- Dec 18, 2013
- 22,301
- 4,211
- Parrots
- Maya (Female Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Jolly (Male Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Bixby (Male, red-sided eclectus. RIP), Suzie (Male cockatiel. RIP)
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.
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.