Feather Problem not sure what you call this.

[Falcon690]

Seems like my Macaws feathers have started to clump together in sections or dry. He is itching and every time this year starts plucking. The clumping or drying of feathers is also on his wings.


My dad added a branch which I think could be the culprit, or the area may be dry we added a humidifier - 2 days it’s been running and I don’t see an improvement.

Any one have an idea what it is?

 

[wrench13]

When was the last time he had a real good soaking bath or shower? I mean really wet?

 

[Falcon690]

Yes it’s been a while since he had a soaking bath. It’s tough to do it in the winter. We will try that tomorrow and hopefully it resolved it. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Lisa999]

I’m wondering if the branch that was recently added is safe for your parrot? What wood is it and is it from an untreated/not sprayed tree? I don’t know what it is in your case but if I added something to the cage, these are the questions I would ask.

 

[Clarin]

Try giving it a bath

 

[Falcon690]

Yes that branch has been there for 2-3 weeks, it was from a random tree from the woods, I think it fell in a recent storm. She’s been chipping away at it. I’ll have to take a closer look at finding out tree it was from.

Definitely giving her a bath tomorrow morning lol

 

[wrench13]

As one of our most senior and experienced members said recently, feathers need to be clean in order to "zip" back together when your Macaw preens them. Thanks 'Boats. Now this might not be the issue with your macaw, but at least eliminate this as a cause.

As far as this branch, Wood lying on the forest floor might be good for a camp fire, but if its been there for an unknown length of time, it could be infested with all sorts of tiny bugs or even spores and bacteria. I would remove it and, if its a safe type of wood, put it in your oven and bake the hell out of it at 350degF for an hour or longer. There are other ways to sanitize it whch I cant remember, but its under the bark that is the high concern area. Soaking in a bleach solution works but it would need a lot of rinsing to make sure all the solution is removed.

 

[ToMang07]

Agreed. Only use fresh, sanitized wood that is on the "safe" list.

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[Falcon690]

Shower completed which was fun for our macaw lol, and feathers returned to normal. I can’t believe the color difference when they dry from the shower lol.

Thank you all for your help