Rescued parrot feather plucking

[Royalovespinky]

Hello to all the parrot moms and dads.
Im new here but i've always used your advices and read your posts.
And i think i can use your advice again.
I adopted a galah named pinky
around 6 months ago. he's around 2 years old but i don't know exactly how old he is. He was severly abused . He used to stay with one of my relatives and they treated him reallly bad. ( they'd hit him/ leave him alone in the house for several days and he was on an all seed diet) so he plucks his feathers .
After a while they didn't want him anymore and they wanted to sell him so i got him.

We started seeing an avian vet a week after he came to stay with me to fix his feather destructive behavior. We changed his diet to pellet and veggies. I give him plenty of toys and i rarely leave him alone in the house.
He's doing a lot better right now but he still plucks. We see his vet every 3-6 months for check ups. The vet told me his feather plucking/chewing issue is probably hormonal.
Somedays it really hurts to see him do this. Somedays i feel really tired and hopeless. Am i bad at this? Is it my fault? Will he ever fully recover?
I know all the basics (bigger cage, foraging, human interaction, toys, diet)
And i just feel frustrated that i can't help him more.
I'd really like to read your stories and learn from your experiences. Me and pinky would really appreciate your help
I will attach some before and after photos.

 

[osklvste82]

Did avian ruled out physical causes? From what you said you're dealing with emotional and environmental stress with unknown thrown in. Sadly feather plucking is the bane of parrot owners. There's not one cause. There's not one solution. You can do things to help. Keep environment calm. Find out what he likes; movies, streaming, music, audio books, reading to him. It doesn't matter what. Just calm and not blaring. Move slowly and observe his tells. Speak calmly. If he seems nervous act naturally and do something else, bend check wall, anything. He was hit and anticipates that. Muscle memory is hard to overcome. Walk in sit talk to him. Walk out. Try not to startle him. I bet parrots and other animals get their form of PTSD. Offer treats. Above all don't rush him. A few months isn't that long to a parrot. You honestly can't have enough patience. Reward the good. Ignore the bad.

 

[HarleY 0625]

advice well worth underlining!! Hows it going now? is there improvement yet from either your bird, or more importantly in how YOU interact with him? I think if you have any success it will come by him trusting you, bonding in his own way may come later.