Female cockateil. I need help

[Lucytielmum]

My Nala I’ve had her for about 5 months. We had issues where she used to make a loud uncomfortable sound whilst preening but was told by vets she isn’t in pain and is a little dramatic.
I gave her a good bath and she has a bald spot on her back below her neck, I’ve never seen this before. Is she plucking? How can I help her ?
Please help me im so worried about her

 

[Terry57]

Hi there and welcome to the forum, although I wish it was under different circumstances.

She could very well be plucking, but there may be a medical reason for it so I would recommend taking her to the vet to make sure she's okay.

I see you also have a male cockatiel. Do they share a cage? If so, he could be plucking her. Some males will pluck a female when they want to breed but the female doesn't.

 

[Lucytielmum]

Hi there and welcome to the forum, although I wish it was under different circumstances.

She could very well be plucking, but there may be a medical reason for it so I would recommend taking her to the vet to make sure she's okay.

I see you also have a male cockatiel. Do they share a cage? If so, he could be plucking her. Some males will pluck a female when they want to breed but the female doesn't.

Hi yes there is a male too. He wants to mate but she doesn’t. They have a few squabbles. If he is plucking her feathers how do we get them to stop?

 

[Lucytielmum]

Hi there and welcome to the forum, although I wish it was under different circumstances.

She could very well be plucking, but there may be a medical reason for it so I would recommend taking her to the vet to make sure she's okay.

I see you also have a male cockatiel. Do they share a cage? If so, he could be plucking her. Some males will pluck a female when they want to breed but the female doesn't.

Also, I forgot to mention above we cannot see her bald patch when she is dry only when she is wet. Is that normal ?

 

[Terry57]

Hi yes there is a male too. He wants to mate but she doesn’t. They have a few squabbles. If he is plucking her feathers how do we get them to stop?

The only way would be to put them in separate cages. If you decide to do this, I think it would be best to do it before they become any more bonded.

Also, I forgot to mention above we cannot see her bald patch when she is dry only when she is wet. Is that normal ?

It can be, it just means that the feathers that are missing don't show when she's dry.

 

[texsize]

As stated above separate the birds right away.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Also, I forgot to mention above we cannot see her bald patch when she is dry only when she is wet. Is that normal ?

Bald spots become much more obvious when the feathers are very wet and stuck together. Feathers are very fluffy when dry and bald or thinning spots are effectively concealed. If he's plucking her you need to separate them.

 

[Lucytielmum]

As stated above separate the birds right away.

Will I have to separate them forever? I haven’t seen any signs of him plucking her but I’m at work during the day

 

[texsize]

Will I have to separate them forever? I haven’t seen any signs of him plucking her but I’m at work during the day

If the feathers grow back in when the birds are seperated

 

[texsize]

Will I have to separate them forever? I haven’t seen any signs of him plucking her but I’m at work during the day

If the feathers grow back in when the birds are separated then you know the cause.
Cockatiels as I learned through experience don't have a breeding seasons the way most other parrots do. They are opportunistic breeders.
Whenever the situation is favorable, they will want to and try to breed.
adequate food and a safe environment are the two main things they look for.
But just because they are in separate cages doesn't mean they won't be company for each other with the cages close to each other but not close enough to reach each other.

The dynamic between my flock of Tiels has changed over the years and forced me to separate some who had lived in the same cage for 4/5 years.

Likes and dislikes occur in the wild I am sure but in those conditions they have choices not open to a captive bird.