It's official : yoshi is plucking

[beatle23_5]

So. Yoshi is definately plucking. I thought he was a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn't that bad. I then noticed he had started his first molt ( he is about 4 monthes old). So i thought he was just scruffy looking due to his molt. Well, he was looking ALOT better, i got him new toys and he grew all the feather back in around his butt where i thought he was plucking. I chalked it up to molting and continued to love him and lavish him with attention. Well yesterday i noticed he was thinning out on his chest again, but i thought perhaps he was just losing feathers due to his molt. Well today I come home from work and his chest is pretty much bear. I want to cry, and I like to consider myself a 'tough guy'. This is literally the saddest thing I have ever had to go through. I love this bird so much and whenever I am home he is on my should, hiding in my hair, or somewhere within reaching distance of me. We are best friends.

When he got better i had a birdy 'pinata' which he ripped tp shreds, but it is now pretty much destroyed and the store i got it from didnt have anymore. I literally just ordered four off the internet.....anything to keep him busy.

Could stress from a first molt cause this? I also imagine its due to seperation anxirety/.....is there anyway to combat that?

Really any help or words of encouragement are much appreciated cuz i am really depressed about this..... :(


ps...this is not how i wanted to celebrate my 100th post :'(

[beatle23_5]

This is from parrotletranch website......

I think first, a vet visit is in order.....thats to be sure....

From what I read one, i think yoshi gets too much daylight.....I think im going to start using a sleeping cage in a 'dark room' to make sure he only gets 10-12 of daylight...

Secondly, it said stress can cause plucking....he is clearly stressed with this molt...as well as the seperation....I usually spend AT LEAST 2-3 hours with him and thats on rare occasions...usually hes out for 6+

Thirdly, Im going to buy a full spectrum light.....i have read this can help plucking....

Besides keeping him busy with his pinatas i dont know what else to do...

Im going to love him no matter what......im just going to do everything I can to solve this.........


Whenever a parrotlet starts plucking (I use the term plucking to describe all feather mutilation whether the bird is pulling out the feathers, breaking them or just chewing), I always tell the owner to get it checked by a vet first. There are many medical conditions which can induce feather plucking including zinc poisoning, parasites (both external and internal) and certain bacterial infections. However, I do not believe in medicating a bird if there is no indication of illness. Once the vet has given the bird a clean bill of health, then you have to look to other causes.
I find parrotlets usually pluck because of two reasons. The most common is trauma. A move, new bird, change in feed, even pregnancy (by the human) can cause plucking. Sometimes it will resolve itself once the stress has been removed but not usually.
Another reason for plucking is hormonal changes. This can happen in both males and females. I always check the amount of daylight a parrotlet is exposed to. Many people uncover their birds (and you should always cover them at night) as soon as they wake up and put them to bed when they go to sleep. Many times this results in more than 12 hours of daylight and that can cause their hormones to go into action. The frustration could cause them to pluck. I recommend that all non-breeding parrotlets not be exposed to more than 12 hours of daylight; 10 is even better.
Birds that pluck have to be given distractions such as paper or cardboard to chew and destroy or toys made of rope or cotton which feel more like feathers. There are many toys and things on the market that are available. I personally like to drape a paper towel through the top of the cage bars or cut the inside tubes from rolls paper towels or toilet papers into 1" pieces and string them on a favorite perch.
If these things to not help, more aggressive measures can be taken. There has been a lot of work with holistic treatments including herbs and vitamin treatments. Avian Medicine Chest makes all-natural products with flowers, herbs and vitamins for plucking and I have heard that some people have had great success. I myself have used bee pollen successfully on several parrotlets that had been naked for years. Pet Power makes a formula specifically for plucking birds. Since parrotlets eat bee pollen naturally in the wild, it will not harm them even if it does not work.
I would avoid drugs because too many parrotlets have OD and died. Also, don't put a collar on them either. The parrotlet will have difficulty playing, climbing and possibly feeding itself. Only use drugs or a collar if the parrotlet is actually mutilating the skin or muscle tissue and only under the direction of a competent veterinarian that specializes in birds.
I always advise people to be cautious when dealing with birds that pluck. Many times people just go crazy and end up actually hurting their bird. Granted, they look terrible but most of the time, the little buggers are healthy as horses. People get so excited about "fixing" them that they forget it is simply a matter of cosmetics. Sometimes no matter what you do, they never stop. I have a handful of naked parrotlets and some are my best breeders. I even have a "pet" Fuzzy who, except for his head and neck, had not a single feather on his body. No tail, no wings, no down. Nothing. He now has most of his body feathers grown in except for his chest (he does leave the down). He still chews and looks terrible but I think he has made a vast improvement and I have learned to accept that is just the way he is.
Unfortunately, I have heard many sad stories about people whose birds died from medication or hung themselves on their collars but I have never heard of a parrotlet dying from feather plucking itself.

[BeakerLuvsBunsen]

Don't take it personally, it sounds like you provide lots of love and attention!
It's hard ((and stressful)) for us when we think there is something wrong with
our little feathered babies and it makes us feel very helpless.
I really believe they can read our emotions, back when my grandmother was
dying of cancer I was crying and sad for a while and had to leave my boys.
When I came back one had plucked the back of the other one's head nearly bald.


I would definitely not change up your routine, hopefully providing more
shredable toys will give Yoshi something to focus his plucking tendencies on.
Just keep giving him the attention and love all our pets deserve

[Jinx n Noodle]

That's sad. But sounds like you're on the right track with all the changes that you're going to make. As for separation anxiety, I have a cockatiel that has that problem (not feather plucking, but broke both wings by flying into walls on purpose to get attention). She got clean bill of health from the vet and the vet suggested some modifications to my behavior- ignore the bad behavior, redirect it to something else (toys, etc), teaching her to play by herself and not necessarily needing direct attention from (doesn't mean she can't be out with me).

Good luck and I hope the changes will help.

[beatle23_5]

Thanks Beaker....

Im certainly not trying to take it personally; its just frustrating. Its just so heart wrenching cuz I KNOW this bird is happy and he LOVES me. I have never met an animal that was more loyal. If I leave the room he beeps and follows....He ALWAYS wants to be right there with me. but the irony becomes; this is more than likely WHY he plucks; either sexual frustration; is 4 monthes old too young for that??? or seperation issues.

Another thing that I question; should i get his wings reclipped?? I dont mind him flighted...and he handles himself well....he doesnt get into trouble cuz he never leaves me lol. But could something like this cause problems....I know it can cause agression issues but perhaps it could be related ( he just recently gained the ability to be fully flighted)...

As you can tell im just tossing pebbles in a lake here....I just want to do all in my power to solve this....I can at least rest easy then knowing I did all i can...

[beatle23_5]

That's sad. But sounds like you're on the right track with all the changes that you're going to make. As for separation anxiety, I have a cockatiel that has that problem (not feather plucking, but broke both wings by flying into walls on purpose to get attention). She got clean bill of health from the vet and the vet suggested some modifications to my behavior- ignore the bad behavior, redirect it to something else (toys, etc), teaching her to play by herself and not necessarily needing direct attention from (doesn't mean she can't be out with me).

Good luck and I hope the changes will help.


I was going to ask.....and NEVER thought Id ask this....but how do i help a bird become more INDEPENDANT. Should i not take him out the WHOLE time i am home....Be in the room and by his cage but NOT let him out??? ANy suggestions are greatly appreciated

[enborgle]

I think that as long as you're not seeing overtly sexual signs from him there's no need to spend LESS time with him - if he's constantly wigglenecking and humping your hand, neck, etc., that's another story and can be fixed with environmental changes. There's really no good reason to spend less time with a bird you love or keep him caged more than you have to, but you can make your time together more interactive to encourage independence - start off with simple foraging toys and interactive play so that YOU don't become the toy.

I know it can be heartbreaking to have a plucker - I have been through the wringer with my Nanday. From what I've seen in rescue, Parrotlets can be somewhat prone to plucking behaviour and the reality is that you may never know why and once it becomes an ingrained behaviour it may not stop. All you can do is manage his environment to the best of your ability and as hard as it is to watch them do it, we need to remember that there are plenty of totally naked, TOTALLY HAPPY birds out there - just because he's plucking doesn't necessarily mean he isn't a very happy little guy.

[Bodie]

A vet visit would be good to rule out any thing medical. I use Pet Power avian trio Bee Pollen with Bodie every other day. Sandee from the Parrotlet Ranch (which is where Bodie came from) lives like 15 min. from me.

My avian vet did tell me Parrotlets seem to be prone to plucking.

What kind of diet does Yoshi eat?

[michiganlet]

My parrotlet sleeps under a feather duster, he also preens it. I wonder if you put some feathers in the cage if Yoshi would start preening them once in a while instead of himself. Might be worth a try.

[beatle23_5]

My parrotlet sleeps under a feather duster, he also preens it. I wonder if you put some feathers in the cage if Yoshi would start preening them once in a while instead of himself. Might be worth a try.

Im definately going to try it!! Does it matter what type of feather duster??? I imagine just natural feathers correct??

[Jinx n Noodle]

I was going to ask.....and NEVER thought Id ask this....but how do i help a bird become more INDEPENDANT. Should i not take him out the WHOLE time i am home....Be in the room and by his cage but NOT let him out??? ANy suggestions are greatly appreciated

What I did was encouraged my birds to play with toys by themselves. They can be on me and by me, but I don't necessarily have to be directly interacting with them. I start off by playing with their toys until they're interested in them too and start playing with them. Then slowly I would stop playing with the toys and encourage them to play by themselves. It got to the point where I would present them with toys (cat balls with bells, chew toys, etc) and they would play with them.

I don't mean to decrease your time with your p'let, but just to make him less dependent on you.

Also, don't make a big deal out of the feather plucking by looking/touching at it. Like my cockatiel, the more she injured herself, the more I would pay attention to her by looking at her injuries- which is a vicious cycle for her. I stopped looking at her injuries (besides the quick peek to make sure that she wasn't bleeding too bad without making a big deal out of it) and put her back in her cage. Later, I would take her back out when and play with her to make her understand that she doesn't get more attention for injuring herself.

[michiganlet]

YIPES now I will get in trouble with everyone else. No it is not natural. In fact it is teal colored, but Jesse loves it. I saw another parrotlet using one so I tried it. He as used it for over a year. Mine came from Kmart and the feathers are teal colored.
It has a white plastic handle and I cut half of it off and drilled a hole in handle and use a plastic tie to hang it over his perch. If I knew how to get a pic on here I could show you. The feathers are about 5 inches long just try laying it in the cage and see what he does.

[beatle23_5]

YIPES now I will get in trouble with everyone else. No it is not natural. In fact it is teal colored, but Jesse loves it. I saw another parrotlet using one so I tried it. He as used it for over a year. Mine came from Kmart and the feathers are teal colored.
It has a white plastic handle and I cut half of it off and drilled a hole in handle and use a plastic tie to hang it over his perch. If I knew how to get a pic on here I could show you. The feathers are about 5 inches long just try laying it in the cage and see what he does.



no worries....i dont think you're in trouble. I went to bird fever today (the nicest bird store around me by far) and bought him a toy that has fake pink feathers on it... So i do not think the synthetic feathers will hurt them....Ill see how he likes this toy...but I am going to pick up a feather duster as well....

In response to what his diet is....he eats zupreem natural pellets, an organic seed mix, bread whenver i'm eating it lol, and the only greens he'll even touch....which isn't a whole lot, is spinach. We're still working on him eating fresh fruits and veggies....we'll see

[Bodie]

Have you tried Dandelion greens or Romaine? Both are good sources of Vitamin A. I buy organics and feed Bodie them.

So far I have got him to eat Romaine , chard, dandelion greens, papaya, mango, cantaloupe, sweet potatoe and kuri squash.

I have sometimes had to resort to eating the stuff myself and making yum yum noises.

[skthurley]

I recently learned that birds should not eat bread that has been made with yeast.

The reason being because birds can get yeast infections from bread.

A manager a the bird store I frequent had a customer who lost 5 of her 6 birds to yeast infections because every morning she shared her toast and peanut butter with them.

So my guys only get my homemade birdie bread without yeast, or flatbread without yeast.

The reason I say this, is you mentioned the fact you give him bread. And sometimes plucking can be caused by an illness. Perhaps a yeast infection? Or skin irritation?

[beatle23_5]

I recently learned that birds should not eat bread that has been made with yeast.

The reason being because birds can get yeast infections from bread.

A manager a the bird store I frequent had a customer who lost 5 of her 6 birds to yeast infections because every morning she shared her toast and peanut butter with them.

So my guys only get my homemade birdie bread without yeast, or flatbread without yeast.

The reason I say this, is you mentioned the fact you give him bread. And sometimes plucking can be caused by an illness. Perhaps a yeast infection? Or skin irritation?

Wow i never hear that or thought about that! Thanks so much for the heads up. As I said I believe a vet visit is in order, so I will mention it. I honestly think its a combination of his first molt (stress) and his already bad case of seperation anxiety.

I believe he just gets bored and mad, when I leave, even though i trade his toys out. As i said, the ONE thing he REALLY loved playing with was a birdy pinata i got from bird fever (their last one) so I just ordered four off the interest. He ripped the paper off that thing for hours....then chewed up the cardboard. And when he had that the feathers around his vent and legs.....which was thinned out/bare the first time I suspected him plucking grew back. Now he picked the feathers off his chest....and left the ones he plucked before....which has hence grown back, alone. Its all very strange to me, but again....this is my first real pet bird and I am doing the very best i can for him :/

[Evelyn]

There is a site called AviTech, they sell all kind of natural stuff to help birds with all kinds of problems, I get their Avigreens for my birds..I know some people that give their bird Avicalm, and they have said a lot of good things, one lady has a Quaker that plucks, and this seems to help, but he still plucks from time to time, read all their things, it tell what it is for and it won't hurt your lilttle guy, just might help..

Here us the site and page if you are interested, won't hurt, I use some of their products..
http://www.avitec.com/Nutritional-Supplements-for-Birds-s/30.htm

[raiven]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2687/4347466207_5ed2abbca6.jpg

Above is a photo of my little Healey. Most of the time he takes out all of his feathers except for his head, some of his wing feathers and tail feathers. Basically he has enough feathers left to fly. Just barely. But he is a sweet, shy guy. I have given up trying to "fix" him and some of the fixes are toxic. He has been to the vet and is healthy so basically, I just let him be himself.

[Wuzzoluvr]

Awww....he's still so darn cute!!!

[beatle23_5]

Update!:

Yoshi is looking MUCH better. His chest feathers are coming back really quickly because he is molting. He pretty much has all his down feathers back except for the very middle. His secondary feathers are coming back really nicely too. He has not messed with them since that one day. I have taken people's advice and making sure hes only getting about 11 hours of daylight.

I read alot of other forums and things and alot of people said their p'lets started plucking around their first molt....which as many know this is yoshi's....they said some of them never did it again and some of them continued...of course i am wishing, hoping, for the former....we'll see...

Right now he is sitting next to me eating his yummy zupreems and making a bunch of 'yummy' sounds! lol

[Wuzzoluvr]

That's great news! Crossing my fingers that he will leave his new feathers alone.:)