Plucking Problems (I think!)

[Pickles]

Sorry in advance this may be a long post ! I just want to know whats happening with my baby..

My Pacific Parrotlet Pickles is 3 years old this Christmas. In the past she has molted in April each year. It's now December and she seems to be molting! :eek: The thing is there is hardly any pin feathers, theres a couple but not much., Pickles is my first bird so I don't have a lot of experience, and she has never plucked or had any health problems before. Does anyone know if it's normal for a parrotlet to molt out of their usual pattern? Anyways, Pickles always looks very scruffy when she molts, more so than the pictures of birds I have seen on this forum (I have been doing a lot of browsing since I joined !) This time though she's looking... chewed , I think is the best word for it. You can see all of the grey feathers on her chest (are they called down feathers?) and they seem short and thin. There is a tiny spot where you can see the pink of her skin, and I am seriously worried!

I've been reading other posts and know that bathing them is good for it so I have been encouraging her to bath and misted her yesterday
-Which she HATES! the petstore I got her from felt a squirt bottle was the best way to deal with her, back when she was a nippy baby (my poor birdy :()

She is as friendly as every, loves having the pins on her head scratched and is eating all her food. I know you can remove the white casing on pin feathers, I haven't been doing much of that because I wasn't sure.. Does the entire pin feather have to be white before doing this? The base of Pickles pins are still dark.

I haven't made any changes to her diet/environment, so I have no clue what's happening

Any replies would be helpful..
PS (ooops it was a long post.. sorry!)
PPS (pictures to come although she's not looking to pretty, I just have to get my camera working !)

[abird4u]

Sometimes they may molt out of the ordinary..but I would be concerned about the balding. Something may be irritating her skin. Poor baby..being squirted w/ a bottle I'd hate water too (that is aweful that they did that to her) :( Maybe if you take her into the bathroom and run a hot shower to get it nice and steamy w/ lots of humidity will encourage her to bathe. you can even put a dish at the sink or just run the sink water.I'd try this daily. At least the humidity may help her w/ her "molting". This time of the year (dont know where u are but here in washington its cold) we use our heater which dries US all out and we're always adjusting humidity in our house. And of course..vet check. :D
birds usually don't molt a bald spot..shabby, ruff and "homely" maybe..but not bald. Have you seen her "preening" the area??

[Wilder]

I take Mira into the shower with me -- she sits on the towel rack while I'm showering and benefits from the steam. When I'm done I'll run cool water into the sink and bathe her in that. She's not entirely fond of the bathing process, preferring to dunk her head into her water bowl, but she lets me hold her and dribble the water over her body. When she's nice and wet I gently put her in my towel and let her crawl out, after which she sits on her cage and dries off.

What sort of diet and sleep schedule is Pickles on? That may have something to do with her scruffy appearance.

[chapala]

Re the pin feathers on her head, if she objects to your pinching off the casing starting at the outer tip, then it's still too tender. The tip can be pinched to start the sheath coming off before the bird can tolerate the base being touched. She will let you know if it hurts her!

I'm wondering too if the air is dry in your home and whether that is causing some skin irritation that started some picking. Anything you can do to raise the humidity (reasonable levels of course!) would be good. Like abird4u said above, taking her in the bathroom when you shower is good just for the humidity, even if she doesn't want to get in the water. Since she doesn't like spraying, will she bathe in a dish?

You might try adding some more shredding/preening toys to her cage to see if that distracts her. If it continues and gets worse, you may want to have a vet check to rule out any medical issues that might be causing it.
Reta

[lily]

My bird became interested in bathing once I set up a table fountain for her. They love the noise of the bubbling water. Be extra cautious if you decide to try this, though. Mine is made with a platform above the water so that the bird can't get into the deep water where the pump is.

It is disturbing that your bird has never molted in December before. Are you using any candles or new household products in preparation for the holidays? Is there new activity going on in your house? Any new people around? Any scary new items carried through the room? Any redecorating or carpet cleaning? Any decorations that your bird might be chewing?

[Phoenix-cry]

Sometimes too much light can cause a bird to molt out of season, or a stressful event can prime it as well. It sounds like the chest feathers have been chewed, which is a common feather destruction. Try warm water with a touch of aloe juice and when you spray, don't spray the bird directly, spray at an angle down in from the top of the cage so it is more like rain (running the vacuum while you do this can help cause it sounds like a storm).

Change the toys and the perches around to give us something else to think about, and get some foraging going so that we have to work at our food (also gives us something else to think about).

If you go to the introduction form and click on Phoenix and Teak you can see what a feather chewer looks like. I just got him from a rescue and he has chewed the feathers to the down.

[unpoquito]

You might try the Lixit Birdie Bath. It's shallow and my two LOVE it. They hate to be misted too, but I do mist them daily, sometimes more b/c Emmie was a feather plucker (she's fully feathered now, knock wood!). I also bring them into the shower and they perch on top of the shower door sometimes, AND I have a warm mist humidifier next to their cage. I got them on a good pelleted diet too, which I think helped, and add flax seed, Goldenfeast Bee Pollen, and Goldenfeast Chamomile flowers to their food each day. They only get seeds as treats and usually have to forage for them. They also eat Beak Appetite, a cooked bean mixture, birdie bread w/ vegies, fresh vegies and fruit - all alternated. They have pellets in their cage all the time. These are the things that worked for my little girl. Maybe they'll help yours too. Also, if you mist with the bottle pointed up toward the ceiling above them, the little droplets fall on them in a very gentle mist - like in the rainforest. My birds all prefer this.

[Pickles]

Wow thank you all so much for the information !
I will definitely start using some of these tips and will keep you updated on the results. Tonight I'll be taking Pickles in the shower so hopefully that will help. I already mist above her so the water will come down, but it doesn't work. The sight of the squirt bottle freaks her out. I feel so bad.. the bottle comes out and she hides in my hair! I know there was a lot of questions in your replies so I will try and answer them.

abird4u: She is preening herself constantly! Should I try to discourage it? Or is it okay as long as I don't see any plucking? The bald spot is her absolute favourite spot to pick at. It is at the top of her chest, but is actually very small. You wouldn't really notice it at first.

Wilder: She eats Natural Zupreem pellets and has access to fresh fruits and vegetables all day. She loves brocolli, so lately I have been putting a lot of that in her cage. Even if she doesn't eat it Pickles loves pulling all the little bits off (which is better than her feathers). She goes to bed at around 11, and gets up with me at 7. During the day (from 8:30-3) she is home alone, in a quiet room so I'm pretty sure she sleeps some more then. So when I am home at 3 she is always ready to come out.

Chapala: I will definitely try to raise the humidity. As for bathing in a dish, she will scoop water out and throw it everywhere! However she won't actually go in.

Lily: There has been nothing new that I know of.

Phoenix-cry: Thanks for the tips and the picture. I think your right about the chewing she looks a lot like your picture (cute bird by the way!). I am getting Pickles a flight cage for Christmas.. although I'm thinking it will be an early present because of our problem, so hopefully that will take her mind of things. Pickles doesn't do any foraging now but it sounds like a good idea so I will get right on that. I'll add more toys to the early-Christmas list as well.

To everyone thanks again..
and this is Pickles (if I'm posting it right)

http://i36.tinypic.com/9geryh.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/2wn1rnc.jpg

[chapala]

It looks to me like she is starting to over-preen or pluck her feathers. Hope trying out some of the suggestions will help her! She's cute despite not having a fully feathered tummy!
Reta

[Pickles]

Thanks Reta :) Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures of her fully feathered soon!
I've been helping her with the pins on her head and she loves that, she sat for at least 45 minutes letting me scratch them.
I took her into the shower last night (or tried to!) and it went pretty well. I decided to try it in the smallest bathroom (she's fully-flighted so not as far to fly, or as much to get into). She didn't seem to like the sound of the shower too much, so we sat with that running for a little bit. Once she was used to the noise I tried stepping into the shower but as soon as I came close to the door she would fly in the opposite direction. In the end I saw she wasn't ready for it yet. So I took out the toys from her cage, except the plastic ones (so that nothing got damp). Then left the cage in the bathroom so that she can still benefit from the steam. It was in a place where she could clearly see me and I talked to her the whole time so she stayed calm. Afterward, she looked like she wanted to bathe, shaking her tail feathers, chirping excitedely etc. but she still wouldn't step into a dish or the sink. However I discovered she LOVES wet hair. She rubbed against my hair and got completely soaked. I use all natural shampoo/conditioner that was rinsed out well so I figured it was safe. Once she gets more used to the shower I think she will come in, she definitely took an interest.

[chapala]

Take it slowly and I wouldn't be surprised if she is bathing in a short time. Let her go at her pace and confidence level. Sounds good!
Reta

[skthurley]

Sounds awesome! Definitely take it slow and she'll be showering with you in no time!

[Py & Cosmo]

My boys are not fans of water in any form - Cosmo will bathe if I stay in the room on my treadmill - don't ask me why but he does it all the time...