Plucking

[Billy29]

I notice there are a lot of people that have birds that pluck their feathers. I have been lucky so far that none of my birds every plucked. I was always under the assumption it had to do with boredom but after reading up on it some more it could be health related. My yellow shouldered amazon comes out of the cage everyday and I try to spend some time with him. I switched him over to a pellet diet, he has toys in his cage and a foraging wheel. Is there anything else I can do to prevent him from plucking? He has shown no indication of doing so but I never want to get to that point.

 

[RockysMom]

some pluck and some never do , I have one plucker in the bunch but I'am his 3rd home and I really think he was mentally abused , he is getting use to me and my hubby but I make sure we have one on one time everyday , and hopefully some day he will stop plucking , I'am working on that issue

 

[weco]

There are a raft of theories on the causes of plucking, but sadly there is no one-size fits all prevention.....you have to go through a very tedious & where laboratory testing is involved, expensive elimination process.....looking at everything from what's in the pellets/processed foods they are fed, to temperature and humidity of their environment, to tar & nicotine residue if there are smokers in the home, to actual allergies to chemicals used in the home, including deodorants, perfumes, colognes, parfumes, laundry detergents, room deodorizers, candles along with almost anything else.....

If you keep a daily log of what's fed, when you change food items, etc., etc., it is somewhat easier to go through the process of elimination.....the problem is that many of us come to forums like this for suggestions & help, when you are the only who can provide the important information to begin and conduct the research to finding a cause & solution.....

 

[Jesseandme]

I feel that my plucker Houdini is a victim of poor nutrition and boredom. Unfortunate picking becomes a habit much like eating for us foodaholics. When you are bored you eat whether you are hungry or not it is a comfort. That is what happens with the bird also. Habit. Something to do while sitting in a cage alone with nothing to do. So I am trying better nutrition fresh and pellets with no dye. And leaving his cage open---it took two weeks for him to come out on his own. And the biggest toy I could find at the bird fair. I am also moving him to another cage in the day time for a change of scenery.

 

[Billy29]

I saw a plucked macaw today and it was heart breaking. I never want to see my Mango looking like that.

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

My Quaker, Sam, has been a plucker most of his life. I remember the day he started plucking, November 16, 2009. At the time Sam plucked everything but his head, wings, and tail. My vet did many tests, and Sam changed his diet many times. Nothing was working. We decided to do some x-rays. When the results came back, Sam's heart was enlarged and there was some sort of mass in the area. At first we feared the lump might be cancerous, but it was determined that it just something Sam was born with. Sam's vet determined that he had heart disease. We immediately began treatment.

Sam has worn a collar since 2009. It has shrunk in size as he now only plucks the area above his heart. Sadly though, it appears he can never fully be rid of the collar. Sam mutilates the feathers in the area. He pulls out blood feathers and chews them. He looks horrible after his preen patrols. He almost has the heart area permanently featherless. I often think that when he accomplishes this, he will be done plucking.

It has been a year now that Sam just has the base part of the collar on (no ring). He is doing well this way. He is a happy, playful Quaker. He will be on medication for the rest of his life, and takes natural supplements. There are so many causes for plucking. In my case, Quakers are prone to this behavior, but I never would have guessed that the underlying cause of this in Sam was heart disease.

-ZoeyFredrik