Out of Options...

[Wingnut]

Below are some images of my Lovebird, Kiwi. The past several months she has been plucking and pulling feathers behind her neck. The destruction has now moved onto her wings, and even her legs. I have tried and am still trying to get her on a veggie/pellet diet - but she almost starved herself to death before eating pellets as I checked her weight. I live in South Carolina and the closest vet that will take birds isnt that good....The closest certified avian vet is 5 hours away. I have researched things common to lovebirds such as fatty liver, PBFD, and skin infections. She was cleared for PBFD 1 year ago which leaves 2 other possibilities which could be easily treated. I could easily get antibiotics and antifungals from the closer vet, but I dont really know what to do. Ive grown up with birds all my life and never once had a "plucker"...this seems to be getting worse.

 

[Scott]

So sad to see Kiwi progressively pluck. This is one of the most difficult behaviors to understand and treat. Please review this superb thread: http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html

I would recommend getting expert diagnosis before using meds. Perhaps research will find a better "exotics" vet if the avian practice is too far. Metabolic issues are always possible, but sometimes plucking is a deeply psychological and emotional response.

 

[SailBoat]

Sometimes, well in truth, we really do not know why some Parrot's pluck.

I have a perfect i.e. 'nominate' Double Yellow-Headed Amazon, with one tiny exception, he doesn't have any tail feathers. Yes, he plucks every feather that tries to replace them.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter as we love him just the way he is...

IMHO, there is far too much effort placed in requiring a Parrot to eat pellets. The reality is that there are no pellets in nature. But, there is a very wide spectrum of both moist (Veggies) and dry foods available in your Parrots natural range.

The term 'Seed Diet' has come to mean a diet very heavy in Sunflower Seeds, plus peanuts. Neither are common in the vast majority of a Parrot's natural range, plus they are heavy on the protein side. The vast majority of Parrots 'in the wild' do very well without Sunflower seed and peanuts in their natural diet.

The goal of pellets in a Diet that is heavily based on a naturally occurring moist and dry foods is to provide a well balanced diet adding minerals and vitamins that maybe lacking.

A high quality seed mix that is defined for your Parrot connected with a heavy portion of veggies only needs 'some' pellets.

NOTE: Forcing a diet change to a level at or nearing starvation is automatically going to assure behavior issues.

- I cannot assure you that your Parrot's plucking is connected to a forced diet change, but this practice is likely not helping.

- There are far safer methods of changing a Parrot's diet.

 

[fiddlejen]

Regarding those pellets. For my own birds, especially my Conure , I give them lots of choices, including some seed mix every day, pellets in a separate dish in the cage, and veggies clipped around the cage for them to eat & forage at the same time. I also mix up what they get in-with their seeds daily. So some days I add dehydrated veggie mix from Avian Naturals, other days add fresh veggie in with their seeds, other days nutriberries or just seeds. My conyur chooses eat Some of the pellets every day. The budgies Like to eat pellets from the Conyers cage but they barely nibble the same pellets in their own cage. Go figure!

Anyway this way I know they’re getting whatever vitamins they need from the little bit of pellets they do eat. And, they get the emotional health & enjoyment of being able to hunt &forage around for different things, different veggies in their cage, occasional treats, and get to enjoy the seeds that they like too. I think this work well because they all seem to be happy with it. You might try something like that to see how it goes, or if it might help your bird.