My Senegal is Plucking

[LuisaSammie]

Hi everyone,

Sammie is an almost 7 year old Senegal I have had since he was a baby. He has been a happy guy, fully and beautifully feathered, until this past January 1st! I woke up to find his chest and part of his back plucked. I was devastated, but since it was an isolated incident, I felt he may have been frightened by something, perhaps the fireworks from the night before.

Then cam April he plucjed again, same way...I woke up to find him plucked front and back, all grew back again without incident. OK so now I was worried, but afraid to admit anything was really wrong.

This past Monday I saw a cpl of feathers gone from his chest, very minor. I spent an extra amount of time with him that night, and woke up he was still the same. I went out for a few hours and came home to find him mid plucking. I took him out of his cage but he was frenetically plucking pluckin plucking. I called the vet and took him right in. Unfortunately it was pretty late so he couldnt do the necessary testing. He sent me home with hydroxyzine. Sammie has always been on Roudybush and/or Harrisons pellets. He doesnt like many veggies, but will have an occasional pea or corn. He like brown rice and eggs from time to time.

Thursday came and he plucked more by then. I left him at the vet for xray, fecal smear and bloodwork. I came back to get him that evening and he looked worse. Vet had him in a cone, said xray came back pretty normal except for a tiny granule in his gut which he wasnt concerned about. Fecal showed a bacterial infection which could have been from the plucking. Sent me home with Baytril and a tank to keep him in.

Sammie went ballistic, flailing about in the tank, wetting himself from the water and getting food and water all over himself and the tank. I called the vet and we put him in his cage, shortening it from the bottom (its a very large cage) He seemed better in the cage but i was worried Sammie woudlnt make the night. He did, but not happy at all, very depressed looking barely eating

Fast forward to today. He seems a bit better, perkier chirping more. He takes his meds better (something I had to get used to as well) and even let me fix his collar only to find out the collar was too heavy with tape edging and take the tape off and put tiny strips. OY its been an ordeal for both of us.

This has been a totally traumatic experience for Sammie and myself. Witnessing the plucking made me fall apart. I am heartbroken for Sammie, heart broken to see him in the cone and unhappy...just HEARTBROKEN

Blood test are showing inflammation, tissue damage and muscle damage. The numbers are off the charts. When I say he plucked HE PLUCKED RAW...not mutilated...but BADDDDD plucking. bile level is high. Vet says it shows liver damage and he put Sammie on Lactalose with Milk Thisltle. I hear that this really helps reverse the liver damage. My question is.....Can this liver damage be what made him pluck? Is there hope for him to not pluck anymore? I honestly cannot see him having to live with the cone forever...it breaks my heart.

 

[Dinosrawr]

I'm so sorry that you have to go through this incredibly difficult ordeal It saddens me to hear these stories. But to answer your question about internal health causing plucking, yes. In fact, internal illness is generally the main cause of plucking aside from boredom.

I'm sure if treated properly it could be prevented if it is purely medical and not behavioral at this point. If you haven't already, I would work on enriching his cage with foraging toys and shredding/preening toys in case it is behavioral.

I'm just curious though, when he plucked did you ever happen to take him to the vet or is this the first time?

 

[thekarens]

I'm so sorry! I don't have any answers for you, but my heart goes out to you. Hopefully someone who knows about plucking will come around soon.

 

[RavensGryf]

My concern for you and Sammie at this point is that the plucking is the result of something going on internal. Especially all of a sudden and out of the blue.

Poicephalus parrots are very resistant to plucking, and aren't realky a species who pick from boredom.
Also, even though he doesn't eat much fresh food, the pellets are good enough that it shouldn't be a factor in causing a Poicephalus to pluck. Eclectus yes, Poi no.

Heavy metal poisoning is ONE OF THE MOST COMMON ailments in pet birds, and A TOP REASON THEY PLUCK. Many vets who treat birds don't even realize this. Not saying that is it, but that it should be looked into. My Robin doesn't pluck, but he is being treated for long term toxicity. I thought "not MY bird" after all, I keep a CLOSE eye on my birds whereabouts so they don't get their beak into things they shouldn't, but even then, they found lead in his blood and pieces in his gizzard! This exclusive expert avian vet says it's very common, and COULD cause plucking in birds who otherwise wouldn't.

Also, how about Giardiasis? Avian Gastric Yeast? I've heard these can cause plucking too.

GOOD LUCK! :41:

 

[Allee]

I'm so sorry to hear you are going through this.

Excellent suggestions in the above post. I would definitely start by ruling out possible medical issues and go from there. Best of luck to you and your little one.

 

[LuisaSammie]

Thank you all for your kind replies.

Sammie has never plucked until January of this year. We originally felt it could have been from fireworks the night of new years eve. He subsequently let all his feathers grow back in and was fine for almost 5 months. Then again he plucked, not so bad of course, and I was worried, but in denial. I felt that maybe I could enrich his environment, added full spectrum lighting, added coconut oil to his diet and he again let all his feathers grow back in. That was last month. This past Monday I noticed a couple of feathers missing, only a few. Tuesday is when he started frentically plucking and I took him to the vet that same night. We have done a few tests....XRAYS, BLOODWORK AND FECAL SMEARS.
Xray showed a teeny tiny granule in his gut... vet felt it was of no great significance.
Fecal smear showed bacteria, which may be attributed to the plucking
Bloodwork showed HIGH AST (1800) EXTREMELY HIGH CPK (15,741). Both of these indicate liver disease but ALSO he tells me this is from tisseu and muscle damage. Makes sense since he really plucked himself raw, short of mutilation. Hematocrit is LOW at 35. His BILE ACIDS are at 104.2 which is in the highly suspicious range for hepatic disease (liver damage).

He is currently on Hydroxyzine, Baytril and just yesterday, Lacalose with milk thistle. All 3 2x a day. I also have a cream to put on 2 sore spots on his wings called Healx soother plus.

He has ruled out Giardia, but has not ruled out Chlamydia yet. He has some blood put aside to send for a metal toxicity test, but has not yet. We are waiting to see how he does with the milk thistle. He will also be adding Omega 3 meds that he has ordered. He has sent away for sexing, but no results yet.

He is a very picky player. I have bought and continue to try new toys, but he does not like many. His favorite is the Yucca chews and he tears them apart. He used to like the paper tape, but not too much now. He doesnt touch foraging toys, I tried a couple to no avail. Even with his favorite treat inside, he doesnt touch it. He is in a very large cage with plenty of room, but he prefers the top portion.

Currenlty, we have raised the floor on the cage, using a piece of plywood, only have one low lying grapevine perch so he doesnt hurt himself if he falls and all water and food bowls are low enough for him to reach from the floor. Water and fod are filled to the top for ease of access to them. I hand feed him egg and bits of his food and treats. He can no longer hold his food to eat due to the cone so I think he feels very frustrated eating. He has been sleeping alot, which is good, he needs to heal, but it makes me worry. I dont think hes out of the woods yet I spend some time with him, then when hes sleeping I leave him alone to rest. I try to put on calming bird sounds for him throughout the day. I have not put the a/c or fan on in the room he is kept in.

On a positive note, I see some new feathers coming in. Good thing he has the antihistamine to stop them from itching somewhat.

The cone is a source of fret for him. He chews on it, I tape it per vets instructions and he chews that off. I think we will need to see vet by Tuesday for a new cone as he has frayed the edges. I put some heavy duty tape on, but then realizes it weighed the cone down too much so the poor thing had to endure me picking of the tape. Such a heartbreaking time for me and I realize its been so so difficult for Sammie. I dont know how long he will need the cone, but my sense is, it will be for a month or two or more. My hopes is he c an take it off once hes feeling better. I dont think I can let him live with this cone on forever, its torturous for him.