Eclectus parrot chewing feathers....

[Hi mommy]

I have a question about my eclectus. He has been chewing his feathers for about 3 weeks. I find little feather strings on bottom of his cage every morning. He does it at night. I've taken him to two different avian vets. They both have said the same thing. He been treated with ivmiten? That mite medicine even though they said he has no mites or lice. They said it's ether stress or hormonal. He doesn't act hormonal and he doesn't act stress. He is o

ut of his cage first thing in the morning and goes in his cage when he wants to go to bed which is around 4:30-5 pm. I cover the cages up, black out certain. Vet said give Bach Rescue Remedy at night so I have. Hasn't helped. He eats fresh vegetables in morning and pettets during the day and Nutri berries as treats before bed. He is almost 7 years old. I have a 1 year old female eclectus also. They're is separate cages. He's getting very thin almost naked. I mist him every other day and bath him once to twice a week. He has a lot of balls places when I bath him I can see. He doesn't lose any features at all just the tiny strings. He's very sweet. Not regeratating or rubbing. He's talking and eating good but has lost about 2 to 3 g of weight a day for a week now holding at 367 grams down from 400 gm. He's not sick. This is my birds cages they are huge and they have a huge jungle gym covered with toys jungle gym is 11.4' x 4' x 6'. 11. I have two Double king size cages with the deviders in them. So do you have any idea what could be causing him to chew all his feathers off? His pellets is a mix of Roudybush, Zupreem Natural and Lafeber pellets.

 

[nkrbkr]

Hey there. Has he had any bloodwork done?

 

[LaManuka]

I have a question about my eclectus. He has been chewing his feathers for about 3 weeks. I find little feather strings on bottom of his cage every morning. He does it at night. I've taken him to two different avian vets. They both have said the same thing. He been treated with ivmiten? That mite medicine even though they said he has no mites or lice. They said it's ether stress or hormonal. He doesn't act hormonal and he doesn't act stress. He is out of his cage first thing in the morning and goes in his cage when he wants to go to bed which is around 4:30-5 pm. I cover the cages up, black out certain. Vet said give Bach Rescue Remedy at night so I have. Hasn't helped. He eats fresh vegetables in morning and pettets during the day and Nutri berries as treats before bed. He is almost 7 years old. I have a 1 year old female eclectus also. They're is separate cages. He's getting very thin almost naked. I mist him every other day and bath him once to twice a week. He has a lot of balls places when I bath him I can see. He doesn't lose any features at all just the tiny strings. He's very sweet. Not regeratating or rubbing. He's talking and eating good but has lost about 2 to 3 g of weight a day for a week now holding at 367 grams down from 400 gm. He's not sick. This is my birds cages they are huge and they have a huge jungle gym covered with toys jungle gym is 11.4' x 4' x 6'. 11. I have two Double king size cages with the deviders in them. So do you have any idea what could be causing him to chew all his feathers off? His pellets is a mix of Roudybush, Zupreem Natural and Lafeber pellets.

Welcome to the forums, @Hi mommy, but I'm so sorry for what you and your sweet boy are going through. I've never had a parrot who had feather chewing or plucking issues, (though I did once have a quaker with some rather bizarre preening habits), so I can only imagine how distressing this situation must be for you. While I can't personally offer you any solutions, perhaps the following articles may help you gain a little insight as to why it happens in the first place ...

Thread 'Plucking: A Search For Answers'

Mar 10, 2015

If you've spent very much time with parrots you've probably heard the term or seen the results of plucking. Plucking is disturbing and complex, in many cases the reasons are difficult to pinpoint. There are no easy answers or explanations.

It's a terrifying event to discover a pile of feathers in the floor of your bird's cage. It's even more shocking to see a bare patch of skin or a bleeding wound on your beloved pet. Each case is different and the reasons are numerous.

Parrots don't pluck in the wild. Consider that for a moment. Wild parrots face stress in their natural environments...

• Allee
• Replies: 57
• Forum: Plucking, Feather Destruction, and Mutilation

• 
• 

Unraveling the Truth of Feather Plucking

Greetings, friends! Here at Garuda Aviary, we rescue parrots from adverse, even desperate conditions. So unsurprisingly, we see a lot of parrots exhibiting plumage destructive behavior, also known …

garudaaviary.org

I hope that someone with a bit more personal experience with these behaviours will weigh in with some advice for you soon. I'm so glad you found us, and please don't forget to tell us your boy's name, will you?!

 

[Hi mommy]

Hey there. Has he had any bloodwork done?

Yes, everything looked good, heart and kidneys are good.

 

[nkrbkr]

Yes, everything looked good, heart and kidneys are good.

Was he tested for metal toxicity? Sometimes metal toxicity can cause parrots to barber/pluck feathers.

 

[Hi mommy]

Hey there. Has he had any bloodwork done?

He's had a complete blood panal done.

 

[Hi mommy]

Was he tested for metal toxicity? Sometimes metal toxicity can cause parrots to barber/pluck feathers.

He had a complete blood panal done. I don't know what all they check for but everything was fine I was told. He's not around any metal and he's only been in a brand new cage from company. Most all of the toys I have made and they are safe. He has put on 20g yay! I added a new picture of his poop and feathers I just took this morning. It went in the middle of the writing for some reason. I couldn't move it to the rest of the pictures. This morning there was tiny feathers like little new feathers that comes in on the floor. So now there's little fussy feathers with the string feathers.

 

[Any Name You Wish]

Uglow used to barb like that. He mostly did it at night or when he was alone. This happened on/off for a long time.

It can absolutely be stress, hormones, or other issues like allergies, vitamin deficiencies (or even too much of a nutrient).

How long has he been on the Nutriberries? And are the pellets he eats during the day enriched with anything? This is the one thing that stands out to me. I make a monthly chop for Uglow and would be happy to share the recipe. I can't give him too many pellets or his behavior changes.

 

[Any Name You Wish]

He had a complete blood panal done. I don't know what all they check for but everything was fine I was told. He's not around any metal and he's only been in a brand new cage from company. Most all of the toys I have made and they are safe. He has put on 20g yay! I added a new picture of his poop and feathers I just took this morning. It went in the middle of the writing for some reason. I couldn't move it to the rest of the pictures. This morning there was tiny feathers like little new feathers that comes in on the floor. So now there's little fussy feathers with the string feathers.

They will likely be checking liver and other organ function, glucose levels, vitamin levels, etc. They pay close attention to organs since Ekkie's have a problematic liver history (though it's better now that we understand their diet better). Again, happy to share the chop recipe that has served my little guy well over the years. If you need more support/info please feel free to reach out.

 

[Hi mommy]

Uglow used to barb like that. He mostly did it at night or when he was alone. This happened on/off for a long time.

It can absolutely be stress, hormones, or other issues like allergies, vitamin deficiencies (or even too much of a nutrient).

How long has he been on the Nutriberries? And are the pellets he eats during the day enriched with anything? This is the one thing that stands out to me. I make a monthly chop for Uglow and would be happy to share the recipe. I can't give him too many pellets or his behavior changes.

He's been on nutri berries for 4 nights He's had one nutri berrie each night with 4 drops of Rescue Remedy on it before bed.
His pellets is Roudybush, Zupreem Natural and Lafeber pellets all ground up with a large mixture of different kinds of varieties of free dried vegetables and freeze dried sprouts and a small amount of freeze dried fruits. The Lafeber pellets and Zupreem Natural was just added a week ago. They get fresh chop all day then at bedtime they get one nutri berrie and a 1/4 cup of pellet mixture for the night to eat if they want it. Most of the time it's all gone by morning and sometimes it's not. But there ready to eat there chop. I have so many veggies and spouts and greens in the chop for them along with a tiny bit of hemp seed, chia seed, flex seed and I alternate days with a couple of drops of red palm oil and coconut oil in with the chop. All my birds eats the same food and they are all beautiful even my female Eclectus. He's the only one. This just started 3.5 weeks ago. Could it be a hard molt. I'm starting to find one feather a day from my female Eclectus now. I think she's starting to molt. Her first one. She'll be 1 years old December 30.

 

[Hi mommy]

These are all of my birds male Eclectus Jeffrey, female Eclectus Jasmine, African Grey Conco Oscar, violet Indiana Ringneck BeeBee, Cockatiel squeaky

 

[Any Name You Wish]

I'm not a vet, but I recommend going back to the basics for now. Make his monthly chop (veggies, light on the fruit, starches, etc) and stop the enhanced fillers for at least a few weeks. If he's getting enough 1:1 time with you, sleep (10-12 hours/nightly) without disturbance and in full darkness, there's no mold or other issues in the place you live - like loud noises, TV, lights from devices, etc. while he's sleeping, I would then look for a second vet opinion. Focus on vets with avian experience. I don't know you or mean to be reductive - if you know all of this, I'm sorry. Just covering bases.

 

[Hi mommy]

I'm not a vet, but I recommend going back to the basics for now. Make his monthly chop (veggies, light on the fruit, starches, etc) and stop the enhanced fillers for at least a few weeks. If he's getting enough 1:1 time with you, sleep (10-12 hours/nightly) without disturbance and in full darkness, there's no mold or other issues in the place you live - like loud noises, TV, lights from devices, etc. while he's sleeping, I would then look for a second vet opinion. Focus on vets with avian experience. I don't know you or mean to be reductive - if you know all of this, I'm sorry. Just covering bases.

Thee food is the same from the time I got them. They are covered up in total darkness with blackout certain top, and sides as you can see in pictures they're attached to the jungle gym. I drop the certain s down at night and throw on top in morning. Bedtime 4:30-5pm morning 10am-11am. Everything is turned off. I use headphones when I watch TV. I drive 2 hours to the only avian vet we have and we have two vets that sees birds that are half hour a way. I used to breed birds a couple of decades back raising from eggs even out of the incubator. Parakeets and canaries. I've had my Grey's for 14 years one Timneh Grey passed last August DeeDee from seizures it tore me up and still it hurt so bad. .
Anyway these eclectus are new to me. The female is big and shiny and beautiful doing great. It's only Jeffrey that has the problem out of all 5 birds. This is what it looks like when they're covered up. Now Oscar is up a lot though the night talking and playing. He a night owl even though he's an African Grey. He up 3 to 4 times a night. I tell him go to sleep, shoot and he laughs at me. He says where are you, what's u doing, meow, quack quack quack, woof woof woof, pretty bird, come here, he coughs, he laughs, makes other noise trying to be as funny as he can. I sleep in the same room with them. I want to be sure I hear them if anything happens.

 

[Hi mommy]

They will likely be checking liver and other organ function, glucose levels, vitamin levels, etc. They pay close attention to organs since Ekkie's have a problematic liver history (though it's better now that we understand their diet better). Again, happy to share the chop recipe that has served my little guy well over the years. If you need more support/info please feel free to reach out.

I plan on taking samples from both of my eclectus next week and sending them off to get them both tested for everything there is. I did it with my IRN and it cost me $300
So I'm looking at $600 for the testing. I just spent $500 on 2 different vets and gas telling me the exact same thing. It's stress or hormonal. I'm going to hate cutting there toe nail to bleed and butt swab and pulling feathers from there chest. Not so bad on him but her she's going to HATE me. I'm just now getting her to kiss me and step up from the floor only. It's been a long process. She won't trust me for sure after I do that to her.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

They will likely be checking liver and other organ function, glucose levels, vitamin levels, etc. They pay close attention to organs since Ekkie's have a problematic liver history (though it's better now that we understand their diet better). Again, happy to share the chop recipe that has served my little guy well over the years. If you need more support/info please feel free to rea

They will likely be checking liver and other organ function, glucose levels, vitamin levels, etc. They pay close attention to organs since Ekkie's have a problematic liver history (though it's better now that we understand their diet better). Again, happy to share the chop recipe that has served my little guy well over the years. If you need more support/info please feel free to reach out.

I would love your chop recipe Any Name You Wish...it's always good to see what others are serving.

 

[Hi mommy]

I use a food processor to chop up my birds food.
Stuff I put in the chop is all organic:
Kale, red, yellow, orange bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, sprouts, peas, carrots, sweet potato, parsnip, broccoli, spinach, Brussel sprouts, beets, asparagus, cauliflower. I buy a lot of my veggies from Natural Grocers store. I freeze it up in sandwiche zip lock freezer bags and take one out every night for my Eclectus. I warm the veggies up for they like it warm. When there food is gone I give them more as the day goes on.

 

[Any Name You Wish]

I use a food processor to chop up my birds food.
Stuff I put in the chop is all organic:
Kale, red, yellow, orange bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, sprouts, peas, carrots, sweet potato, parsnip, broccoli, spinach, Brussel sprouts, beets, asparagus, cauliflower. I buy a lot of my veggies from Natural Grocers store. I freeze it up in sandwiche zip lock freezer bags and take one out every night for my Eclectus. I warm the veggies up for they like it warm. When there food is gone I give them more as the day goes on.

That sounds like a good chop. I do the same with the baggies/freezing. Mine has Kale, rainbow swiss chard, wild rice, quinoa, rolled oats, flaxseed, lentils, chia seeds, cumin seeds, farro, red bells, jalapenos, sweet potato, butternut squash, acorn squash, corn, turmeric, carrots & carrot greens, sugar snaps, snow peas, dragon fruit & kiwano (sometimes I have to sub kiwis for kiwano).

 

[Hi mommy]

That sounds like a good chop. I do the same with the baggies/freezing. Mine has Kale, rainbow swiss chard, wild rice, quinoa, rolled oats, flaxseed, lentils, chia seeds, cumin seeds, farro, red bells, jalapenos, sweet potato, butternut squash, acorn squash, corn, turmeric, carrots & carrot greens, sugar snaps, snow peas, dragon fruit & kiwano (sometimes I have to sub kiwis for kiwano).

Yeah I forgot that. I add chia, hemp, and flex seed and turmeric to my chop also and these small finger size halapenos that comes in a bag they're fresh but I don't remember what kind of a hot pepper they are. It took a week for the hotness flavor get of my fingers. Every time I eat and I happen to lick my fingers clean whoee that's hot. I stopped liking my fingers. Lol

 

[Any Name You Wish]

Yeah I forgot that. I add chia, hemp, and flex seed and turmeric to my chop also and these small finger size halapenos that comes in a bag they're fresh but I don't remember what kind of a hot pepper they are. It took a week for the hotness flavor get of my fingers. Every time I eat and I happen to lick my fingers clean whoee that's hot. I stopped liking my fingers. Lol

Haha - I use gloves when I cut the jalapenos!

 

[Hi mommy]

Haha - I use gloves when I cut the jalapenos!

I'll remember that next time, lol