my conure is plucking itself!!

[jmigs]

My conure is plucking please help

My Cinnamon green cheek conure a year and a half ago was brought to the vet for sorta chewing on her feathers by her crop area. I was told she had yeast by the crop and she was given antibiotics and another medication to help keep her calm. It was cured and she stopped nipping at her feathers. Well I recently moved to another state and she was originally put in my bedroom with me before I moved. She now has her own room. She was always put next to my other conure in the bedroom, which she still is. I set up the new room with the same furniture and the same set up for them. I went out of town during the day and stayed overnight. I had left two bowls of food and water for her. I came back today and her chest feathers are completely plucked out. There is bare skin! Feathers were all over the bottom of her cage and all over the floor. I am completely startled since she's never done this. She is taken out and given plently of attention and she has been left for one overnight by herself and this has never happened. She also has plenty of toys, and I have even gotten her a mop head toy to try and focus her chewing when this first started before I took her to the vet that she uses.I did get a new large concrete perch and moved things around in her cage two days before I left. Can this be why? I immediately took it out and rearranged her cage to the way it was when I came back thinking maybe this is the cause. I don't want to cause stress on her if this is it. Or could this be the yeast again acting up worse now? I am bringing her to the vet hopefully tomorrow if they have an opening. But I am just curious to see if you guys can give some insight and a little relief for me. I am panicking since this has never happened to me. Also I peeked in on her while she was in her cage and she seems to be running back and forth on her perch pacing almost like she is anxious? or she could have been just playing but when she was doing that I saw feathers falling to the bottom of the cage.

 

[Dinosrawr]

Re: My conure is plucking please help

Oh my. That sounds quite scary to come home to!

I've personally never experienced plucking, and I'm hoping and am sure some more experienced parrots who happen to have pluckers will chime in soon. However, what I can surmise is that the stress from moving to a new place, being in a different setting, and perhaps not being in the same room as you is upsetting her. That being said, it could also be a medical reason, and hopefully your avian veterinarian will be able to solve this.

It seems that you've taken as many precautionary steps as you possibly could have prior to this, and I think you've done a good job in trying to solve the problem before knowing why it's happening. Perhaps you should also try moving her back into your bedroom with the other bird, if possible. This may help out if the plucking isn't for medical reasons. I don't think it's uncommon to any animal to experience anxiety after being moved or being placed away from a flock member, especially if they're strongly bonded. I'm honestly not even sure how my green cheek would react if I were to put her in a different room than my bedroom simply because she likes to chat to us as she sleeps and likes listening to my boyfriend and I mumble to each other.

Tell us how your vet visit goes and hopefully the members on this forum can provide more assistance once we are all more informed on what may be causing it. I'm terribly sorry that both you and your baby are experiencing this

 

[Sterling1113]

I agree with Dinosrawr- sounds awful to happen upon!! Your poor baby!
You've already taken the first, most important step- taking her to a vet. Good on you.
I don't have experience with my conures plucking(Just my adopted ekkie, but his was stress and diet related. He's stopped now.) however, has the air/weather changed dramatically with your move?
Not only could it be stress/anxiety from moving so much, but if the air seems more dry than usual, that can do it too. Try putting a humidifier in her room, and frequent baths(Maybe even with aloe juice, to soothe the bare skin.) Some birds pluck feathers they deem to be "icky", be it dry or dirty or anything else they see as different/unusual.
Hopefully you find out what's wrong!! Keep us posted, for sure!!

 

[DustytheDusky]

I agree with everyone here that it was probably from the stress of moving.
My Dusky, is a chronic feather plucker. He has been for 5 or so years. I found that it is season related. (He plucks in the winter and has a full set of feathers in the summer) So I compensate by keeping a humidifier in the room as well as bathing him regularly. My apartment is very dry in the winter months. my own skin cracks and itches!

 

[jmigs]

thank you everyone so much! It is definitely really scary going through this especially when she has never plucked to show her full skin. shes moving down all the way to her belly and a little under her wing ( the wing side of where the crop problem was over a year ago) i am not sure if it is cause of the move cause i have been here for 3 4 months already. can she be that delayed in the process? we moved from new york to georgia so the air is definitely different. I called my vet they can't get her in until thursday morning and I am so afraid she will be completely bald by then and pick it up as a habit. I am going to try a humidifier and even the aloe juice I have never heard of that! thank you guys so much I will keep you updated on what the vet says.

 

[BoomBoom]

I was just about to write that I attribute the resurfacing of the behaviour from the stress of the move but others beat me to it. Dormant illnesses may also resurface at this time. Glad to hear you are taking her to the vet to get it addressed. In the mean time, just keep her as stress free as you can. It helps for her to feel reassured and calm. Perhaps more varieties of preening and foraging todays that you can rotate every once in a while would help too. Also, look into getting a humidifier for the room if your air is too dry. Hope things get better soon!

 

[jmigs]

thank you! here is an update! I brought her to the vet and the vet did say it couldn't be a combination of the move, me adding a new perch, leaving her alone for a night and not feeling well. Since she had an episode of yeast about a year and half ago he put her back on baytril for 2 weeks. He said if this doesn't work it is probably behavioral. Since I have started her on the medicine as of today she has only plucked two feathers today. It now seems like she is just chewing the feathers now. But still it is nothing like how it was on monday. I am hoping she continues to get a bit better. I have been hiding treats inside her ropes and papertowels for her to destroy which has been keeping her busy. And yesterday she took a bath by herself. And I am misting her everyday. Can you guys give me any ideas to make my own foraging toys? I just have used papertowels and made knots with them for her to chomp on. She seems to go after that more than the ropes. Thank you guys again. I will keep you updated with her 2 week check up!

 

[Dinosrawr]

There's a lot of great threads on the toys and DIY part of this forum I would link, but unfortunately I'm on my phone. I'm glad that the plucking has reduced, and I look forward to a positive update!

 

[jmigs]

update! she was given baytril for 2 weeks. Since a year ago she was given it and it seemed to help when the vet thought it was yeast on her crop. she cleared up and allowed all her feathers to regrow. The vet didn't find anything wrong with her. and advised they think it is behavioral and advised I give her more play time outside her cage and to give her more foraging then I have, and to give her more foods that make her work harder. Well i did all of that she was doing great but just this past weekend I had family over for the holiday and she started plucking a bit. And gradually each day it has gotten worse, and today she is back to being bare chested! I don't know what to do I am pretty sure this is a true behavioral problem now, cause she wouldn't have let the feathers regrow all the way?