New Parrot Owner, Need Advice

[JackieR]

Hello!

I recently adopted an 8 year old Umbrella Cockatoo last week. I owned birds growing up, but never a cockatoo or any type of large parrot. So I am a bit of a noob and hoping to get some advice. I tend to be a bit of a hypochondriac when it comes to my animals, and I’ve become concerned about some damage he has to his feathers.

I rehomed the bird from a lady in my neighborhood who had owned him for two years. She had him housed next to one other parrot, an Amazon in its 20s they owned for its whole life, who looked very healthy with no feather damage. Before this owner my cockatoo was with his breeder for the first 6 years of his life, who I never met and don’t know much about.

My cockatoo seems very healthy, friendly, and lively. I noticed when we picked him up he had some damage to the ends of his wing and tail feathers. I assumed it was cage abrasion and maybe some barbering and chewing of the feathers. However, I just started reading about PFBD and have gotten myself VERY freaked out. His tail feathers are ragged on the ends, and most of his flight feathers are extremely ragged and broken off at the ends. His wings were clipped at some point but I’m not sure how long ago. His beak looks healthy. All of the feathers that are damaged seem to be damaged at the ends. They are only damaged in areas he could reach, not at all on his head or neck.

I have a vet appointment for him Wednesday, it is the soonest I could get him in at a nearby bird vet.

I have been trying to read up on PBFD but getting extremely conflicting info. Is it something that could manifest in an 8 year old bird? Is this what it would look like? Is it ever something that can be managed recovered from? How common is it really? I could find no statistics on how common it is in the US or where it’s most commonly seen?

Sorry for all of the questions! I will attach a picture of his tail feathers, wing weathers, and a full body picture. I’m really hoping it’s just from him chewing on them. I think he was caged for a lot of the day most days before we acquired him.

Any advice really appreciated!

 

[JackieR]

 

[Ira7]

I wouldn’t hope it’s just him chewing on them, because some cockatoos suffer from severe feather plucking issues. And believe me...he can reach a lot of other places besides there.

I wouldn’t worry though yet about anything. However, make sure you bring him to a Certified Avian Vet, not just a Vet.

Big difference.

 

[JackieR]

I wouldn’t hope it’s just him chewing on them, because some cockatoos suffer from severe feather plucking issues. And believe me...he can reach a lot of other places besides there.

I wouldn’t worry though yet about anything. However, make sure you bring him to a Certified Avian Vet, not just a Vet.

Big difference.

I know chewing on them is a problem too, I just feel like it’s preferable to a potentially fatal disease. The vet I have an appointment with is an avian vet, not our regular pet vet.

Does the damage to you look like it could be consistent with plucking damage? I do think he was caged quite a bit before we got him. I have him out of the cage pretty much all day. He’s either with me or hanging out on top of the cage. I’m hoping the additional interaction and time out of the cage will help if he was plucking. I haven’t seen him pluck so far.

 

[noodles123]

this is a double post--
why?
yes, looks like feather damage and probably nutritional issues. Cannot rule out disease though.

 

[JackieR]

this is a double post--
why?
yes, looks like feather damage and probably nutritional issues. Cannot rule out disease though.

Im new to the board and wasn’t sure which was the correct forum to post in? I’m just worried and looking for advice. I don’t know anyone else that owns birds to ask.

 

[noodles123]

lol- it's okay, you are fine, I get it...Try not to freak out too much. Cockatoos are the hardest parrot to own and they do a number on their feathers. Between stress, nutrition and plucking, she could just be messing them up herself. That having been said, for peace of mind, I would get PBFD blood panel (I did it for mine too, and she was negative).

 

[Cycletim]

The move to a new home is something to factor in aswell. Our 18 year old African grey plucked out 14 chest feathers in the first day. Then about 2 per day after that. It has been 7 weeks now since he's been at our house. We have put him on a schedule, in which he's out 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening. A shower with a spray bottle ever other day. A muuuch bigger cage which we let him look at from his old cage for about a month. No more food Bowl for seeds he must forage for those. Otherwise he has easy access to pellets and veggies which he eats because he's kind of lazy and they are easy to get. He stopped plucking and started preening more instead this week. He was pretty hormonal when we got him. He loves to fawn over a ball toy. Now we only let him have it when he's out and about. This was probably the best thing we have done. No more plucking and nice long naps during the day. He has been through a lot of changes and I cant thank this forum enough for the massive amount of information that is on it. You can take a little piece of advice from post to post and put it all together. He also had never seen a cat or a dog before and we have 2 cats and 1 dog aswell, as another parrot 12 ft from him. We are very proud of him. Just be patient and calm down they are highly empathetic more than a dog in my opinion. You will be ok.

 

[Ekkyparrotlet125]

Looks like chewing/feather barbering. Keep an eye on him, you may be able to see him doing the barbering. A vet is always a good idea though, let us know how it goes!