KD>I was wondering if anyone knew the reason a bird picks their feathers.
KD>I have a Moluccan Cockatoo that has been picking for some time now, and
KD>I dont know what to do for her. I was wondering if anyone could help me.
Sorry to be so late in replying--I've had bronchitis for 2 weeks now.
But welcome to Parrots--I'm the missing moderator! I share my home with
a jenday conure who's been a feather plucker for almost 7 years now.
Feather picking is a VERY complex problem, which can be caused by
anything from allergies to sexual hormones, to behavior problems, to the
bird simply not liking its owners. The FIRST thing you have to do is
take your bird to a qualified, knowledgeable avian (bird) vet, and have
a total physical exam done, complete with blood work, fecal exam and
cultures. You have to rule out physical causes before you can try any
other attempts at 'curing' the bird.
Has she had a thorough physical exam within the last couple months?
If not, start there. In the meantime, you can try some distraction toys.
Get her some wooden toys that she can chew up, give her a clean (unused)
corn husk whiskbroom to preen, clean safe wood branches that she can
peel the bark off of, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies to destroy
(even if she doesn't eat them). Giving a feather plucker textured items
to chew on *may* help keep it from going after the feathers.
If you don't know of a good place to get bird toys, a local friend of
mine has an EXCELLENT line of toys, many of which are designed just for
feather pluckers. Call Avian Antics at (313) 782-5270 to request a
catalog.
Once she's had that physical exam, let me know what the vet says. I can
probably suggest other things to try after that. Good luck with her!
--Kathy
 * SLMR 2.1a * Money isn't everything...usually it isn't even enough...
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