Feather plucking and diarrhea

Pancho13

New member
Jul 8, 2020
1
0
Parrots
Cinnamon conure, green cheek conure and parakeet
Hi everyone!

I am a feather mom of three. I have a green cheek and cinnamon conure and a budgie.

My green cheek has always had light feather plucking issues that never fully go away. He gets better then goes right back to plucking.

I’m spending quarantine with my parents and they live in WA where the climate is very dry and there’s all sorts of new pollen that my birds haven’t been exposed to.

In the last two weeks the pollen has been super bad and pancho (green cheek) has plucked SO many of his feathers. I’ve never seen him this bad. I’m really upset and have bought Pluck No More by King’s Cages and have been adding some to his water and spraying him throughout the day as instructions state.

With that said, I noticed today he has green diarrhea. I haven’t noticed it before today but I honestly don’t know if it’s been longer than a day.

My question is what have you all done to help with plucking?

I’m wondering if the climate is causing his skin to feel dry and he’s more inclined to overgroom and pluck?

The diarrhea - could it be from the pluck no more liquid I’m adding to the water?

I feel so bad for my feather baby.

I’ve cleaned his cage, added new toys and have looked into all sorts of anti plucking remedies.

Also considering avian calm hemp to help calm his nerves. He’s a naturally anxious bird unfortunately.

Any advice is greatly appreciated
 

Ava.rg

New member
Jun 27, 2020
18
0
California
Parrots
Pineapple Greencheek Conure: Hilo (hee-loh) 8 weeks :)
I wish I could help. Hope your baby feels better! :)
 

LaManuka

Moderator
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Aug 29, 2018
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Queensland, Australia
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Fang ({ab}normal grey cockatiel), Valentino (budgie), Jem (cinnamon cockatiel), Lovejoy(varied lorikeet), Peach (princess parrot)
Welcome to the Forums to you and your three babies!

I'm sorry your green cheek is having some plucking issues. I've never had a plucker, but I can imagine how gut-wrenching it would be to watch any of mine doing that to themselves and feel powerless to help.

Like I mentioned to another new member with a plucking issue, we have had a number of members report that their birds are exhibiting some strange behaviours since many household's routines have been disrupted by COVID-19 and the associated quarantines and lockdowns. As you mention you are spending some time with your parents, presumably away from your own home, and if your bird is naturally prone to being a bit anxious this may have set him off again.

I wouldn't add anything to his water to be honest. You can never be so sure how much he actually winds up ingesting and it can easily foul the water. I've heard mixed reports about AviCalm, some say it works wonders and some say it works for a while but then their bird goes right back to their old behaviours.

I've included a link for you which may give you some ideas or insight into plucking...

http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html

I don't know if it's possible for you to contact your regular vet while you are with your parents, even if you are able to speak to them by phone to get some advice it may be better than nothing. I've also included a link which might help you find some assistance closer to where you are now...

https://www.aav.org/default.aspx

Unfortunately plucking can be a complex problem with few easy answers. Thank you for reaching out and I hope you are able to find some relief for your little one.
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
Parrots
Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
I do not think it is from the Pluck-No-More---when was he at the vet last? Sometimes a sick bird will pluck due to internal pain/swelling etc. I am not saying that is the only reason, but the fact that it intensified and you also noted changes in his droppings seems like cause to get him to a vet to make sure he isn't sick.

In terms of behavioral plucking---
make sure your bird is getting 12 hours of solid sleep and establish a set bedtime/wakeup routine
make sure you aren't giving too much sugary fruit
remove access to any shadowy spaces in or around the cage (hammocks, tents, under pillows, under blankets, under furniture, boxes, drawers, low shelves etc)
pet on the head and neck/avoid touching your bird in a sexual way (under wings, back, cuddles etc)
try not to attend to the behavior when it is happening
provide replacement activities if you can find any---my bird likes to twiddle those plastic c links that they sell on Amazon for rats etc.
check the humidity in your home---shoot for around 50% if you can
provide opportunities for regular bathing
make sure he is getting lots of activity and opportunities for enrichment
cover the cage at night only (never partially during the day and never for behaviors like screaming---only for sleep if you cover)

The Kings Cages stuff says to spray them with it and add to their water-- I did it for Noodles originally and I spent a small fortune. I am not sure that it did anything for me, but lots of people review it highly....I too have reservations about adding things to water for the reasons stated above, BUT that specific product can't really be used without that component...If you add it to food straight, your bird could get too much (because the instructions are to add to water and no bird drinks that much water).

I guess what you COULD do is get a water dish the same size as what she has in her cage (or just measure how much water one of her dishes holds), add the cupful of the Kings Cages to that volume and mix it up outside of her cage (separate from her regular/plain water). THEN take a medicine dropper and suck out a bit of the mixture and put that into some wet food, like plain oatmeal. That would keep her from getting too much (because the water to mixture ratio would be unchanged and then you couldn't have to mess with her actual water).
 
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