What to do for a feather plucking bird in winter?!?

[SweetiePie and Kelly-Bird]

I am going to be buying this for my ekkie. The bulb didn't work out. Do you know if birds can chew on this safely? I think my conure would love this, but she chews on everything.

Is there any pamphlet with it that says what type of bird(s) it was tested on? Also how long it was in the cage with the birds? Because our big birds are BIG scaredy-cats and they would take a while to “warm up” (YES, pun intended) to something like that, and ask them what kind of birds they tested it on and go from there. The good thing is that this will be good info for everybody.

 

[kme3388]

My Marley, a Citron Crested Cockatoo, has been a feather plucker and when he was younger, a severe chest mutilator. It broke my heart to see my happy go lucky boy go to sleep singing our lullabies, and wake up with the removal of his nighttime blakey, and have the beginnings of a plucked chest which was also bloodied. Marley had two of these episodes and each one were so severe, he required surgery to close his wounds.

My avian vet has known each of my cockatoo boys from the moment they came home. Luckily, Marley was in good physical health, but we soon discovered that his plucking had the earmarks of a seasonal plucker. He has the correct diet, a great ever changing variety of toys, and nightly hours with my husband and I, but for some reason Marley was prone to this destructive behavior.

We tried every gadget on the market for pluckers. He wore the bird version of the ‘cone of shame’ and he managed to chew through it. We tried “clothing” made out leather, and even leather with Kevlar and Marley viewed his clothes as a new chew toy that did not keep him from his fixation of plucking his chest. It just proved to be a challenge to get past.

My husband and I did not want our sweet boy to face another surgery. We came the “washcloth poncho“. We took several washcloths and measured from his neck to mid leg and applied our basic geometry skills and selected a bowl that matched our measurements. We then folded the circle in half and in half once again and cut the tip off. When you open the circle, you should have an opening wide enough to get over their head, but not so wide that they can access their chest. If necessary, you can keep adding layers to the poncho, but you will not impede your bird’s ability to walk, (make sure to check your length), nor will it affect their ability to use their foot. You will be able to access potential wounds and treat them as directed by your avian vet.

Now my Marley has come to call his poncho his nighttime jammies. I don’t have to worry that he will be bored in the early AM hours. Come morning, Marley has his routine to go to his play-perch in the familyroom, remove his jammies, oversee the making of his morning veggies and kissing Dad before he goes to have breakfast. Since we have Marley wearing his jammies every night, the plucking wound is a thing of the past...at least we hope it is.🤞🏼 We just have a cockatoo who wears PJ’s every night.

Hi there, Thank you so much for this detailed response. It was very helpful, and inspirational. I'm glad that Marley overcame his featherplucking. I too have a vet involved as I want to make sure that I'm doing what I'm supposed to on my end to help my Nico. That poncho is an excellent idea. Especially sense Nico feather plucks at night when he is supposed to be sleeping like Marley. Its worth a try for sure. I have considered the cone of shame at nighttime (only when Nico is sleeping). I know it's looked down upon, but I don't want my parrot hurting himself. Its hard because there aren't alot of resources for parrots who self harm. Its kind of a guessing game as to why they do this. I'm very happy that Marley is doing better.

 

[kme3388]

Is there any pamphlet with it that says what type of bird(s) it was tested on? Also how long it was in the cage with the birds? Because our big birds are BIG scaredy-cats and they would take a while to “warm up” (YES, pun intended) to something like that, and ask them what kind of birds they tested it on and go from there. The good thing is that this will be good info for everybody.

When I receive this in the mail I will look to see if there is more information on the snuggle up warmer. Hopefully one of the more senior members see this as they would be able to better answer this question. It does appear like a lot of us have parrots that we are concerned about in the winter, and we want to make sure we are keeping them warm.

 

[kme3388]

I found these on Etsy, and ordered them for my Nico. They are so cute! I hope he likes them as I do think that these will keep him warm

 

[kme3388]

It’s officially installed. I put it by Nico’s sleeping perch. He’s at least standing by it. This snuggle warmer doesn’t appear like it puts off much heat. There is no adjustments that I can find.

 

[imouse1]

I hope he feels better with it =(

If it doesn't work out, I'm thinking of getting this one BUT I am currently using this one (because I had it for me, and I also did not pay that price). And then I have a warming blanket over the top of his cage to trap in the heat at night. It's about 30 degrees in my room at night now the temp has dropped and he's doing really well with the two of those. Plus, as I said, it gives him a little more space to move around.

 

[saxguy64]

View attachment 31832
It’s officially installed. I put it by Nico’s sleeping perch. He’s at least standing by it. This snuggle warmer doesn’t appear like it puts off much heat. There is no adjustments that I can find.

Looks good. No, they don't get hot, more like normal body temperature for them. Supposed to emulate the temp of snuggling next to another bird if they choose to. I haven't seen mine lean up against them yet, but I noticed this morning that Tucker has been trying to feed it lol! At least that means he's gotten close enough to it to do so. Baxter sits a few inches from it, and I've caught her exploring it with her beak and tongue. My house hasn't been too chilly yet, I keep it at minimum 68 f. I'm mostly thinking they'd have a warm spot to go after showers if they feel chilly.