Desparate for help

[joeversking]

We have had our GCC Malibu for 14 years, and in the last week he appears to have lost the plot and has plucked himself bare. He is eating however now he is bare looks very skinny and seems his usual bouncy self, so sad to see. He is seeing a spe******t tomorrow however I am so puzzled as to why such a hardy little bird has suddenly gone down hill so fast.

 

[Robert Gift]

We have had our GCC Malibu for 14 years, and in the last week he appears to have lost the plot and has plucked himself bare. He is eating however now he is bare looks very skinny and seems his usual bouncy self, so sad to see. He is seeing a spe******t tomorrow however I am so puzzled as to why such a hardy little bird has suddenly gone down hill so fast.

Has anything changed in hisurroundings or diet? New pets or loss of an old pet?

Interesting that c.i.a.l.i.s, (the drug) was removed from your word.

 

[joeversking]

if you put C.I.A.L.S back into the rest of the word you will see he is seeing an avian s.p.e.c.i.a.l.i.s.t vet tomorrow. Nothing has changed however saw our usual vet last week when this all started and she has changed his food because he was so skinny, he is eating it tho. and I only gave it to him this morning for the first time, he had done all the damage by then. My partner seems to think he has gone mad. I am wondering if the following is the problem. We have a female Eclectus who hates all the men in the house. she makes their lives a misery by screaming at them all day. My partner and son are driven out of the house by her. My partner regularly slams the door on her when his temper gets the better of him. Malibu has his cage by the door and probably senses the tension

 

[suebee]

that could be it malibu might think its him thats causing tension, but then again being next to a slamming door is very alarming

there is one thing in the house nut is scared of thats the hoover! infact we have 2 an both are different, but as soon as she see's either one, she's in a flap, i made mistake of hoovering when she was in her cage! big mistake an big clump of feathers chewed later! but as soon as she chewed her feathers she seemed ok

funny thing is, if i hoover in next room she is fine, she just don't like the look of it, or being in same room as the hoover

so sudden slamming doors and another bird screaming constantly would get on my nerves

poor malibu i hope the special-ist finds a solution and its nothing health related

it maybe you might have to get your eki use to men? if she knows screaming makes them leave then she is going to do it all the more

 

[Pedro]

I would think it something else the Vet will pick up. Maybe he is in some sort of pain. If Malibu is used to the eclectus screaming i wouldn't think he would suddenly start pulling his feathers out.

 

[Printer bird]

We are still working with our GCC who is a bit of a rescue but didn't pluck until he came to us. he is not bare but has a few patches that are. Our vet thinks he's hormonal (and maybe a she) and that we have provided a superior environment for him and now he's ready to breed of course we don't want that so we are limiting any behaviors that encourage hormones. Diet of course is another factor, I've read that some birds can be sensitive to wheat/corn (and a few other things) that can make their skin itchy. It has also been unseasonably cold here for quite a few weeks so the air is really dry and we can't turn up the humidifier as it causes massive condensation on the windows. So we are trying aloe spray (pure juice, food grade 50/50 or a bit more with water) to soothe his skin in case that is part of it. However, Charlie is quite a bit younger than your guy so I would imagine the hormone thing has sorted itself out already and that its some sort of environmental change whether its a skin issue, something internal or something causing stress. Good luck at the spe******t, I hope that they can give you some things to try. It is very frustrating and disheartening to have a parrot who is plucking despite your best efforts to provide a healthy environment with lots to do (funny, our guy seems to only pick at night or occasionally when we are around but not during the day when we are out and not in his cage when he wants out but can't come out - like when we are cooking. Opposite of what you would think!). Good luck with your guy. Keep us updated, I'm always on the lookout for things to try and help Charlie too.

 

[MikeyTN]

For now, you should move malibu's cage AWAY from the door. slamming of the door freaks him out and puts him over the edge. Birds WILL pluck when they get overly stressed. If you don't want to use a humidifier, place a pot of water somewhere in the room. It will put some moisture in the room better then a dry room which isn't good for the bird. What type of diet do you have him on right now?