Jasper is destroying his feathers :(

[Bobbie]

Hi there.

I think the last time I posted was possibly 2 years ago now, from when we first got Jasper, and we were having problems with aggression, but soon after he settled in he was and has been the most adorable chap who we love and adore. No biting, screaming, he just loves to be with us all the time.

We did have a conure too who was jaspers friend up until xmas 2012(more on this in a minute) last year we adopted another male eclectus, he wasnt quite a year old when we got him, hes fantastic and so outgoing, he loves everyone.

About 3 weeks ago now Jasper started to loose a few feathers around the neck, we put it down to him starting a rough moult, then 3-5 days passed and his bald patch got progressively worse, going around the back of the neck. then after about 10 days all around the crop and down his back were going, we could see him doing it, he breaks the feathers off at the base, chews them and drops them. His skin doesnt look red or sore and he isnt scratching.

He showers with either of us (my partner and I are the only people in the house) He still eats really well. as soon as we realised what he was doing, i got online and got him a range of pellets, harrisons high potency and animal zone plumage enhancer, if you think these arent the best please say so and I will get something better. He has a seed mix there to pick at, and also has his fresh fruit/veg, we try to feed his fresh stuff whole so it keeps him occupied for longer anyway.

He has never been one for playing with his toys, though he has plenty in and around his cage, Ive made him a few new toys to try and distract him but he isnt interested in them.

Now just before xmas, jasper attacked and killed his friend, Spice the conure. soon after this, we had brought one of our dogs inside for when she had puppies, we kept jasper and the pups apart, but he did see them from time to time in the distance, we could always tell he was jealous of the puppies, but he coped with it well, or so we thought, he had all the attention he used to have. soon after the puppies left, he started to get on the floor and walk around and come to our feet and sit and look at us as if to say pick me up, he would often sit n coo at us too. we thought it was cute as he had never really liked to go on the floor.

Thinking on it now, was this him feeling like he had to act like a puppy to get even more attention? With this in mind, is his feather destruction a sign that during the time we had the puppies inside he was infact very stressed, and the destruction has taken its time to come to the surface. Or could it be something else we have done and not related at all?

Is there anything we can offer him, or try with him to help him break out of this pattern. I have tried to read up what i can on it, and cant help feeling it is all our fault, our poor boy just looks terrible..

A huge Thankyou in advance x

Before:

http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/p206x206/377507_459728247413300_1727831882_n.jpg

Now:

 

[Riio]

I have no advice. Just wanted to say sorry y'all are going through this.

 

[sodakat]

I'm concerned that there may be something going on that resulted in the event with the Conure as well as this feather destructive behavior. I suggest you join EclectusPetOwnersGroup : Eclectus Pet Owners Group so we can get several expert opinions.

The area he is working on is typical of birds who become pluckers/barberers because it is easy to reach while they are sitting resting. But, I think you should get an x-ray to rule out some foreign object in the crop and even have them look for any physical abnormalities including congenital problems. Because he is also plucking down his back I rather doubt this, but I think it's important to check.

The other thing you probably should do since this started suddenly on a healthy bird is have a culture done on his skin and maybe even a skin biopsy.

This is where I would start anyway.

--Kathy

 

[Peeker]

Oh, I'm so sorry this is happening. It's such a frustrating problem for any bird owner. It sounds like Jasper has had a lot of changes in his life...the dog coming in and having puppies, the conure incident...and no idea whether it was an accident or not--still he could be missing her. Now a new bird in the house. Also at two years old perhaps Jasper has a hormonal surge as well?

The very first thing to do is have him in to see the vet to be sure it isn't some sort of health concern. I would avoid pellet completely if it were me and would offer a wide variety of sprouts, fruits and vegges along with a good base chop mix. I would increase showers for him and get him more shreddable toys. Change his toys out for some new things to try and interest him in playing.

How long ago did the plucking start? How long ago did you add the new bird?

And congratulations on your new fid even though this isn't the most joyous of times for you.

 

[CathnPoe]

I am so sorry to hear about it. I can only imagine how stressful this must be for you and Jasper, especially with your poor Conure.
My condolences.

 

[khaiqha]

I would definitely doing a vet check up immediately to rule out any biological concerns. Assuming there's no physical causes, I would document exactly what is going on when he plucks. Does he do it the same time each day? Is there something present in the room when he plucks? Does he only do it when he's alone? Etc.

I am just coming down from a scare I had with my alexandrine. He's barbered his tail a handful of times since I've had him, and I just attributed that to him being silly and a baby. Then last week he did it three days in a row, and it was bad. He also started to mess with his wing feathers. He would even do it while he was sitting on my shoulder.

I didn't know what caused it at first, and it still could be multiple factors. My roommate's gf just moved in, and they both got dogs. One of my roommates moved out. I switched rooms. I didn't think anything was wrong though, especially since I do most of my work from home, so I'm always there.

Turns out, he only barbered his feathers when I was on the computer for too long. He does play with toys, but not as near often as he used to. I've learned that if I lock him in his cage which is loaded with toys while I work, that he plays with the toys instead of messing with his feathers. This has worked for the past few days and I hope it will work permenantly.

So in the end, you may never know what caused the behavior, but your best plan of action is to try and change it by giving it a healthy habit to do instead.

 

[drlisaort]

I'm sorry to hear about your Jasper and your Conure. So sad. My last bird plucked most of his 23 years of life and now knowing what I know the changes started with a puppy who stole all of the attention and our son then was 3 years old and I feared our cockatiel would fly out of the door when he played outside or get eaten by our new Pug so I started to leave him in his cage more and more to the point he didn't come out at all because he became so aggressive. Also, I went back to work around that time and my then toddler started pre-school. I had no idea that our feather friends "feel" the changes in the household. Sounds like your Jasper is feeling the changes too. Or as many noted it may be medical and not psychological. Wishing you the best with Jasper!

 

[Chikoo]

I know its not a permanent or true solution, but I've been placing a bird collar around my female at night, while she sleeps. I never notice her plucking during the day, although I have seen her pull out one or two feathers a few times in the past 6 months. But nothing major at all occurs during the day. It's all happening at night, because I uncover her, and there are all the feathers at the bottom, and she looks like a wreck, with barbered feathers, and misshapen feathers, and feathers in all directions, etc. So now she sleeps with the collar on, and does fine with it. She has adapted to it so well, she can even fly with it on. But during the day she doesn't have it on. Just a suggestion, because it may slow down the horror until you can find out what's wrong...