not good

[LaManuka]

What a wonderful improvement, I hope Lincoln sticks with it!

 

[Owlet]

Is it maybe he's sad you're working now? He could be adjusting to the change.

it's a possibility but I started early September and this is a new development and if anything I've been working less the past week.

 

[WakaWaka]

We are sorry to hear that Lincoln is picking his feathers again and screaming.

If you haven't already purchased a humidifier, we would like to offer this suggestion.
We keep our humidity between 42 and 47 %, it seems to be comfortable for us and Arika.
We purchased an Air-O Swiss humidifier many years ago and it still works fine today.
It has auto controls, timer, and a built in Demineralization cartridge that is refillable.
They were purchased by another company and are now BONECO (we have M# U650) but they have larger / smaller sizes. Sold in many places including Amazon. A little pricey but I think we've had our for 6 or 7 years. We really like that we don't have to use distilled water and the cartridge refill is fairly easy if you follow the instructions
Just make sure to clean the humidifier regularly and dry completely when storing for the summer.
Our best to you and Lincoln hoping you find our what is causing his picking and screaming.

 

[Owlet]

and a built in Demineralization cartridge that is refillable.

Does that mean I could use tap water in place of distilled water? Bought I think 4 gallons worth of distilled water today and it was around a dollar a gallon I think and i believe the machine I currently have could hold around a gallon and a half and use that in a day when on high. So that means I would be spending a dollar a day on water which isn't too much short term but long term it's really gonna add up.

 

[noodles123]

We are sorry to hear that Lincoln is picking his feathers again and screaming.

If you haven't already purchased a humidifier, we would like to offer this suggestion.
We keep our humidity between 42 and 47 %, it seems to be comfortable for us and Arika.
We purchased an Air-O Swiss humidifier many years ago and it still works fine today.
It has auto controls, timer, and a built in Demineralization cartridge that is refillable.
They were purchased by another company and are now BONECO (we have M# U650) but they have larger / smaller sizes. Sold in many places including Amazon. A little pricey but I think we've had our for 6 or 7 years. We really like that we don't have to use distilled water and the cartridge refill is fairly easy if you follow the instructions
Just make sure to clean the humidifier regularly and dry completely when storing for the summer.
Our best to you and Lincoln hoping you find our what is causing his picking and screaming.

^Thanks! good to know!
I usually do 50-55% --I have read that above 60% is where mold starts to occur. I just turned mine on today because it is getting much colder and I can feel it in my nose too! Mine doesn't have a filter (very basic, from baby aisle at Wal-Mart, so distilled is needed). I am guessing yours is much nicer lol. I wonder if the cartridge takes care of the chlorine etc. Do you know?

 

[chris-md]

Owlet sorry I’m just getting here. I of all people know what you’re going through. Keep your heart strong here, though it’s not easy .

You know Parker barbers. He’s going through his heavy annual molt now, and usually leaves the feathers alone until Christmas. This year, he’s decided to start now, 2 months early, DURING his molt. Imagine the heavy groan and sigh I let out when I saw this this afternoon. I’ve been desperate to get back to flight training, which was cruelly halted in April when he destroyed ALL flight and tail feathers. This has been killing me today, thinking my patience and hopes may possibly dashed for at least another year and a half, before they even started. (It’s no guarantee he’ll attack flight feathers, he seems to have a different MO every year. It’s a waiting game at this point to see just how far he’ll go).

Few people, even those advising on this thread, will truly understand what this is like or how truly complex it is.

I have a ton of questions, but to avoid piling on to everything already posted, they all lead to and culminate in a single question: do you see a seasonality to this?

 

[Owlet]

Owlet sorry I’m just getting here. I of all people know what you’re going through. Keep your heart strong here, though it’s not easy .

You know Parker barbers. He’s going through his heavy annual molt now, and usually leaves the feathers alone until Christmas. This year, he’s decided to start now, 2 months early, DURING his molt. Imagine the heavy groan and sigh I let out when I saw this this afternoon. I’ve been desperate to get back to flight training, which was cruelly halted in April when he destroyed ALL flight and tail feathers. This has been killing me today, thinking my patience and hopes may possibly dashed for at least another year and a half, before they even started. (It’s no guarantee he’ll attack flight feathers, he seems to have a different MO every year. It’s a waiting game at this point to see just how far he’ll go).

Few people, even those advising on this thread, will truly understand what this is like or how truly complex it is.

I have a ton of questions, but to avoid piling on to everything already posted, they all lead to and culminate in a single question: do you see a seasonality to this?

I honestly don't know. It's really hard to tell because I only got him 2 years ago and he never really had feathers up till last April. I haven't had a lot to go over to find any form of pattern.

 

[EllenD]

Oh Owlet, I'm so sorry this is happening again. I just now saw this thread, and it's like it never ends. I've never had a bird that displayed any Feather-Destructive Behaviors, but I can't imagine the frustration, especially if he's also biting you now...He's never bitten you before like that, has he?

***If I recall, I think this was you and forgive me if it was another Ekkie owner, but I believe you were the one who not too long ago made a post about "cycling through" a different chop recipe for him every month or two, because he would stop eating one after a month or two, and I believe a possible resolution that we came-up with was for you to preemptively just switch-up the chop you were feeding him BEFORE he stopped eating it, as to avoid it happening...If that was you, how did that work-out for you? Has that particular issue been resolved, or is that also still an issue with Lincoln? How about his diet/eating in-general, any issues there at all? With Ekkies who suddenly and out-of-nowhere start having behavioral, psychological, or neurological issues, I always FIRST rule-out a dietary/nutritional/metabolic cause. I'm sure you too always go there first, having had that be a problem prior (and pretty much will most Ekkies), but just thought I would get that out of the way since it's not been discussed in the thread yet...

****I won't pretend that I know much at all about the Eclectus species overall, as the only experience I personally have had with them has been at the Rescue I work at, and honestly in the over 8 years that I've been there, we've taken-in maybe 5 Ekkies total, not many more than that. I kind of consider them an entirely different type of parrot from all others when they do come in to the Rescue, simply because of their very unique dietary/nutritional needs, or more accurately the physical, psychological, and behavioral issues that they display as a result of their diet. So i can't offer much by the way of dietary changes that might help Lincoln, however I don't think this is an issue related to his diet, based on what you're describing, not unless you tell me he has been also having issues with his eating...

***Regardless of species, this time of year in-general is just a b**** for all parrots. You've got hormones raging, you've got the seasons changing and the temperature dropping which dries out the air completely, there is no humidity at all (your climate in Colorado is basically the same as mine here in central Pennsylvania, the only difference, depending on where you live in Colorado, is that your temperature change may be even more drastic than mine here)...Also this time of year is a typical time for regular molting, so it's just a triple-whammy on all pet parrots. I can tell you that all 4 of my larger birds, along with my Budgies, are ALL MOLTING like crazy right now. I actually was quite alarmed 2 days ago when I went to let my 8 Budgies out of the aviary for their daily time upstairs with me...I have 7 males and one female Budgie, who are siblings all from the same clutch that I bred and hand-raised. The lone-female is in breeding-season right now, with the crustiest, darkest-brown cere I've ever seen on a Budgie, lol, so this is the time that I keep her separate from her brothers in her own cage right next to the aviary, and I notices that she was molting pretty badly and had some pin feathers coming in...However, when I let the 7 males out and they came upstairs, all 7 of them had nothing but pin-feathers all over their entire heads and faces, along with their necks and bellies! They are just molting like crazy...And then my Senegal has been in a full-body molt for the past week and a half or so, and he's grumpy as all hell right now...

***So assuming that the extra-dry air, the cold temperature, and the regular molting-season are all combining to make Lincoln's skin extra dry and itchy, I think this is probably playing a huge part in why he has suddenly started plucking again. I'm sure that he is at least a bit hormonal too, and adding another hour of dark, quiet sleep for him is a good idea as it can only help, I think most of what is causing this is probably related to the dryness in the air and regular molting...I know that with Lincoln you automatically worry crazy because of his plucking history, and you think that he's "full-on plucking" again just to pluck, as a psychological behavioral issue, but I wouldn't worry yourself to death just yet thinking that, as this may simply be a short-term, temporary issue that is actually normal and to be expected based on the ambient temperature, dryness in the air, and simply just regular molting...

****I would definitely run the humidifier, not a ton, just a bit to add some moisture to the air, as a "trial" to see if you notice it helping Lincoln...If it is actually helping him,
you should notice his plucking/over-preening slow very soon after you run the humidifier, it will not completely and suddenly stop his plucking/over-preening, but you should quickly notice it happening less-often. If that happens then you have your answer, and you can go from there in adding more humidity, or rather creating an environment around him that is consistently a bit more humid. Just as Noodles already mentioned, you don't want to add a ton of moisture to the air, because that can cause different health issues and issues in your house. Rather, if you do notice that simply adding some humidity to Lincoln's environment slows his plucking/overpreening pretty directly after you've done it, then you want to simply make his environment consistently contain a bit of humidity, so he's no-longer exposed to this very dry air.

*****You do not need to buy Distilled Water to run in the humidifier, as yes, it costs I believe $0.88 a gallon at Walmart, that's as cheap as I've seen it, along with gallons of spring water, purified water, etc. All you need to do is fill the empty gallon jugs with regular tap-water, and let them sit out at room temperature for 24-hours. This will allow all of the added-chemicals to dissipate out of the water, and allow the unwanted minerals in the water that can cause your humidifier to become gunked-up to settle to the bottom of the gallon jug. It's the same principle of letting regular tap-water sit out for 24-hours before you pour it into your fish aquarium, as this removes all of the chlorine and other added chemicals from the tap water, as well as allowing the extra minerals to settle to the bottom of the jug. Make sure that when you get to the bottom 1/4 of water in the jugs you've left-out for 24-hours, that you leave a bit of the water in the bottom of the jug and dispose of it, so that the minerals in the bottom don't make it into your humidifier...Also, be sure that you rinse-out each jug very well before again filling them up with tap water and then allowing them to sit-out for another 24-hours, as you don't want to not rinse out the jugs and allow minerals to accumulate in the bottom over-time. That will at least solve that issue for you...

 

[EllenD]

****Something that I forgot: I would not start bathing him a lot, because all that is going to do is dry his skin out even more, make him much more itchy, and potentially cause him to pluck/preen himself even more aggressively. I would bath/shower him no more than once a week right now, that will serve to freshen him up and remove the dead skin/dust in his feathers from the molting and the dry skin, but that's it. And honestly, and this is just my opinion, but I think that your CAV's suggestion of using Vitamin E oil on him is a good one, especially right after he does take a bath/shower; The reason that your CAV suggested this to you in the first-place is because Lincoln must have very dry skin anyway, and that's the best way to combat it. You don't want to apply it heavily, nor do you want to apply it more than twice a week at most, once right after his weekly bath/shower and then once again 3-4 days later. While it's true that certain substances, like oils, can weigh down their feathers and bother them, we also need to keep in-mind that all parrots naturally apply Purcellin-Oil from their Preen-Glands to their feathers every day. So as long as you are not applying it more often than twice a week, and you're only applying an extremely light amount of it directly on his skin, then it may actually be a solution; you won't know until you try it. At the very least, if you haven't already tried it since Lincoln started plucking again, I would try it for at least a week or two, two would be better as it would give you a better gauge of whether or not it's helping to slow/stop Lincoln's plucking. I would apply it twice weekly, as already mentioned once directly after his weekly bath/shower and then again 3-4 days later, for two weeks, and then watch Lincoln closely and take-note of whether or not his plucking has noticeably slowed or even stopped. If it has, then you have your answer as to what is causing him to start plucking again and you know how to stop it, if not then you know that this isn't the issue and you can move-on to ruling-out other causes. I don't know if your CAV gave you a specific Vitamin E Oil to apply to Lincoln, but if not, I would check-out Ecotrition's "Molt-Ease" spray, which you can buy in any Petco, and it's only $10 for a huge bottle of it that will last a very long time...The reason that I suggest trying the Ecotrition spray is because it not only contains natural Vitamin E oil, but it also contains all-natural Purcellin Oil, a synthetic form of the same that they produce from their Preen Glands and spread on their feathers naturally every day, along with a small amount of natural Aloe Vera, and then just Distilled Water. That's it, that's all that is in it. It's great for treating their itching due to regular molting, as it naturally hydrates the keratin sheaths around the pin-feathers that cause them so much discomfort. You could also just buy a bottle of human-grade, organic Vitamin E Oil capsules/gel-caps, puncture them, and apply the oil directly from them. Whatever you choose to use, if you do, be sure not to use very much at all, you just want an extremely light coating on his feathers, specifically the areas where is spending time plucking/preening/digging at himself.

***Out of curiosity, has your CAV ever checked-out Lincoln's Uropygial Gland (his Preen Gland) to make sure that he is actually producing Preen-Oil? That is always something that I check right away at the Rescue when I'm doing an intake of a bird that is plucked, as often times they either have a non-working Preen-Gland that does not produce any oil at all, or I can actually see a growth on the gland, usually these are cysts, or find that the entire Preen-Gland itself is swollen/enlarged, both of which can cause the gland to not function correctly and stop it from producing any oil at all, which in-turn obviously results in the bird's skin/feathers to be extremely dried-out. If your CAV has not ever checked Lincoln's Uropygial Gland for abnormalities and to see if it's producing Preen-Oil, I suggest that you mention it to them at his next appointment, OR you can easily check it yourself (if he lets you touch him) by simply taking your finger and putting pressure right in the middle of the gland, and then looking at your finger to see if you see oil on it. This can sometimes be a cause of Feather-Destructive Behaviors, Over-Preening, the bird developing severe allergies due to the enormous amount of excess dust/dead skin, etc.

 

[ChristaNL]

I just use cold/ luke warm chamomile tea (as strong as you can make it) as spray/bathing water.
It calms down a lot of the bad itchyness and is bird-friendly.

 

[Owlet]

oh gosh Ellen I don't even know where to start with responding.

- Yes I was the one cycling his food, so far it's working okay but I still need to add more variation. He eats pretty much anything I put infront of him at the point which I'm so happy for.

- I haven't used the humidifier yet because I haven't used it around Lincoln in general and I have emailed the makers to make sure it's free of Teflon and the like and I am wait a response

- With the vitamin e oil I take aprox a gallon of lukewarm water and put a couple drops of the oil into it and shower him with that. The oil I use is just straight up vitamin e oil, nothing else. Got a nicely sized vial of it from a nature grocer near me. Didnt want to venture into anything else and possibly make it worse. I believe I'm going to try showering him ever Tuesday.

- I don't actually know if they checked his preen gland, I'd like to assume so since they did an overall check of him but I can't be certain. Next time he goes in I'll be sure to mention it.

- Thank you so much for the tip with the water because I just kept running the number th rough my head and wasn't sure if I would be better off just buying an ameture distiller than continuing to buy jugs lol

I probably missed something but I have to head out now x.x

 

[Anansi]

Just seeing this, Owlet. I'm so sorry Lincoln is having this set back. Remember, though, that battles against plucking are marathons, not sprints. And unless there actually is a seasonal aspect to his plucking similar to Chris' Parker, something you did apparently managed to slow or even temporarily halt his plucking for months. That is a major victory. Don't forget that. Plucking is one of the most stubborn and least understood issues a parrot ever faces.

I know this doesn't make it any easier to see your baby mutilating or plucking his feathers. But I hope it does give you some context within which to frame both victories and setbacks.

All that said, I think there has been some very good advice given here. As Triggs mentioned, it could be any of a number of causes... or even a combination of factors. To my mind, the most likely culprits at the moment are humidity and hormones. Now, you know well the approach to hormones. The lighting schedules, less fatty foods, less high protein foods, less mushy foods.

As for humidity, I do echo the suggestions that you measure your home's humidity levels. And then, unless the humidity level is a bit on the high side, I'd increase his bath frequency as Terry suggested. What is often forgotten with ekkies is the habitat from which many of them hail. Namely rainforests. Humidity central. A bath once a week is exactly the bare minimum. Going twice or three times a week shouldn't be a real problem. But this adjustment can be made after checking out and, if necessary, tweaking the humidity levels to address the potential for Ellen's concerns.

With my ekkies, I've personally felt they worked best with a bath every other day. Unfortunately I can't always maintain that (my job schedule can be... arduous at times), but I try for a minimum of once or twice a week.

Another suggestion is something that worked rather well for Allee a few years back, which was the use of chamomile tea (cooled, of course. Lol) as a little drink for them. (Not as a replacement for water, just as something offered on a limited basis once or twice a week.) Chamomile soothes and calms, which helped counter the hormonal plucking of one of her birds.

And feeding chamomile flowers is good for this purpose as well. (Just not in the same meal as milk thistle. We want him calmed, not comatose. Lol)

And please make sure you're not beating yourself up over this. You work really hard to keep Lincoln happy. Heck, those last few foraging pics have me smiling huge! You got him to start chewing wood AND foraging??? What a parront you are! Those two changes alone might make quite a difference. Exercise and mental stimulation definitely serve to help distract from the allure of plucking behaviors.

We're all here for you, Owlet. You're not in this alone.

 

[Owlet]

I tried chamomile tea and he wouldn't touch so sometimes I mix the powderized stuff into his food. I try not to do it often though so I don't want any negative effects. I'm really hoping his new toys come in soon since I think at least one of them will be a bit of a challenge for him. His condition doesn't seem to have worsened at all today even though I've been away most of the day. Really hoping it stays that way x.x but we will see...

 

[WakaWaka]

and a built in Demineralization cartridge that is refillable.

Does that mean I could use tap water in place of distilled water? Bought I think 4 gallons worth of distilled water today and it was around a dollar a gallon I think and i believe the machine I currently have could hold around a gallon and a half and use that in a day when on high. So that means I would be spending a dollar a day on water which isn't too much short term but long term it's really gonna add up.

Sorry for the late reply, but it's been hectic around here and haven't felt well lately.
Yes, use regular tap water, it goes through the cartridge befor hitting the sump in the bottom. We see a very tiny mineral build up but that is taken care of with rinsing with vinegar and then multiple flushes with tap water.
I don't recall what the cartridge refills cost but you can find them on Amazon along with the humidifier of choice.

Forgot to mention, this unit has a heater for warm mist but is very low temp. It uses ultrasonic to vaporize the water and a fan to blow it up the exit chute.
I did not see any mention of anything with teflon, but as always check with the manufacturer since things may have changes since we purchased our unit.

I hope this helps.

 

[TiredOldMan]

You can also mist your bird with chamomile tea. I do this as they will ingest it when they preen.

Sorry to hijack but what humidity is recommended. I try to keep mine between 50-60%.

 

[Owlet]

His chest looks worse today :/ I hope everything I ordered comes in soon, I'm hoping some comes in today... regardless I'll be spending most of the day making more toys it looks like.

anyone have any tips for UV / full spectrum lighting and lamps/bulbs I can/should get?

 

[Anansi]

His chest looks worse today :/ I hope everything I ordered comes in soon, I'm hoping some comes in today... regardless I'll be spending most of the day making more toys it looks like.

anyone have any tips for UV / full spectrum lighting and lamps/bulbs I can/should get?

I don't have any personal experience with full spectrum lighting, but from what I've read one must pay close attention to the distances advised. Apparently, having one up near the ceiling, for instance, greatly reduces the effectiveness of the light provided.

If I remember correctly, (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, anyone) the light needs to be maybe 18 inches away from the cage top. And there should also be a shaded area so that he can get away from the light whenever he'd like.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Owlet]

Having the light ontop of his cage might be problematic as then it won't reach inside of the cage because of the newspaper tray ontop. hmm

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

This is just NOT fair! One of the prettiest/most amazing birds that I have ever seen...and one of the most problematic I have ever read about!

Between Lincoln,and Jasper and Doodles...sighhh..
C'mon FIDS! you can beat this thing!




Jim

 

[Owlet]

More of a vent here than anything, but I feel like an absolute failure to Lincoln. I'm trying everything i can think to make him happy but he still just screams and picks. I'm still waiting for toys to be delivered, some are scheduled for late tomorrow but with the weather we are having I wouldn't be surprised if there's a delay. I keep thinking "hes just hormonal, you always get distressed during this time, just wait it out like you always do" but I can't help but always feel like it's more than that, that I should something more to make him happy even when he's hormonal but I'm not sure what I can do. I'm far from giving up on him, I'll never give up on him really, but I'm just at an absolute loss.

I'm addition I've been really struggling mentally and I'm not really getting the help I need in that aspect. I have a therapy appointment on Thursday though and gonna talk to my therapist about possibly getting additional help and what my options are but they're a limited due to past issues. Ugh. I'm really hoping I can find some solution though so I can be more emotionally equipped and grounded to handle this rather than break down every other day lol