Over Preening and Pain? Please help!

Ivanova202

New member
Jan 18, 2021
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I have a Green Cheek Conure and he is maybe 8 years old.
He is a healthy bird, and his feathers are shiny without any black banding.
He has plenty of toys, and we take him out of the cage all day.
Recently he has been over preening. He would groom and then squeak and a small puff feather would fall from his beak and he will make small puffing noises from his nose ( he always does it whenever there his feathers are around him and he tries to get rid of it) and the cycle would start all over again. He does this everywhere, and he isn't pulling big feathers, just the smallest of puffs. He's so concentrated on preening that I can flip him upside down while he's perched on my finger and he would still clean himself without moving. He also takes a lot of baths, more than usual. He doesn't have any nasal discharge and his eyes are clear. His feet aren't hot and he eats normally. He just keeps on preening and squeaking.
Is it an allergy? Parasite? Just dry skin? I tried checking, but couldn't find anything notable beneath his feathers.
I would appreciate any advice!
Thank you!
:gcc:
 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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Welcome to the forum. As birds hide being sick, all that you describe is never the whole story in whether or nit your bird is sick.

Birds can start plucking from pain if an infection. Since this is new and you have indication of pain, he needs to see an avain vet specialist.

It can be a kidney infection, an internal yeast infection, a liver infection...so much can cause this. It doesn't hsve to be an external problem.

You can attach a picture
Click go advanced, then paperclip, choose picture hut upl on far right close the window and post.

Get a digital kitchen scale and start weighing and tracking your birds weight weekly. It really has pick up an illness early.
 
Last edited:

LaManuka

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Hello Ivanova202, welcome to the Forums, but I'm sorry it is under these difficult circumstances.

I agree with Laurasea above, the best thing to do is have your checked out by a certified avian vet if at all possible. Plucking feathers can have causes that are physical, psychological or medical in origin, and a hands-on examination by a certified avian vet can be invaluable in helping to determine the source of the issue. The link below will help you to locate an avian vet close to you if you don't already know of one...

https://www.aav.org/

One of our esteemed former moderators began a thread with a detailed description of the issues and resources to try to help mitigate or end plucking:

http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html

I do think it is definitely worth your while having your GCC checked out by an avian vet, particularly since he is 8 years old and has not displayed this behaviour before.

Thank you for reaching out for help for your little one, I hope you are able to find some answers soon.
 

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