Aquarium to avoid feather destruction?

[tpoduje]

Has anyone heard of housing a bird in an aquarium in order to keep them from hanging on the bars and reaching around to pluck/barber hard to reach spots? Someone suggested this to me for a bird in the rescue and I can't seem to find any info on this anywhere. Ideally he would have a play structure and perches in the aquarium but the idea still sounds odd to me. See Coco below to know why we're considering this.

Would anyone here recommend this? We have not dealt with this problem before and the barbering has been happening for one year. I will search the feather destruction threads aside but the Aquarium idea has me wondering.
Thanks.

 

[waterfaller1]

Never heard of it, it seems cruel, and I do not see it working. As long as he can reach the feathers, he will barber. The only thing that definitely works is a collar. But, many birds have an adverse reaction to wearing a collar. There are some who will tolerate it, but many flip out when it is put on, then go into a state of depression once they realize they cannot get it off. Then when it is removed they often start again. I assume all medical reasons have been eliminated? My Cochise barbers.

 

[Greycloud]

Trust me, an aquarium is not going to stop a determined bird. I venture to say it has nothing to do with the bars of the cage. This has become a behavior that will be most difficult to change. Has this adorable bird had a vet check and been tested for yeast and Giardia? A collar will help to prevent some of the plucking. It never hurts to try. This is way past barbering as only the down feathers are left. Sometimes we just must love them no matter what they look like!

 

[tozie12]

i cant imagine an aquarium doing much more than adding all new problems. it cant possibly have the same air flow as a normal cage for one thing. i have one that barbers (and plucks and self mutilates). it could be worse. a few snipped feathers arent the worst thing you could have to deal with. i'm not saying dont try to help him. but i wouldnt do anything so drastic for barbering. if i could get my caleb to quit picking at his wound, i'd happily let him barber his feathers forever without ever batting an eye. of course, that's just my opinion.

 

[MaraWentz]

Won't work. My RFM over preens her feathers so there's nothing but stem, and she has no cage. We have her on a playstand. Just perches. We tried everything hormone injections, allergy free diets, avian lighting, more training, more interaction in genereal, more excerices (stairs and flying), more showers, avian suits (she destroyed in 1.5 days) and we made a collar which she picked apart ferociously for 2 days so we just took it off.

 

[tpoduje]

Thank you all for the feedback, I thought it sounded odd and thought I'd as you all when I could't even get a mention of it on Google. According to the inteake coordinator at the rescue it has worked for him in the past and after 6 months or so he had been fully feathered when his adoptive family moved hime out of the aquarium into a cage leading back to his current condition. He has been to the vet and given a clean bill of health so it does not appear to be a physical/medical issue. At the same time, his new home had many changes, much stress from a divorce, and likely less and less attention. Of course this is all hearsay but I do trust the folks at the rescue for all they have done for us and the birds so I am still considering the aquarium if large enough and set up with many perches, toys, and options. (Agree with you guys that he would be able to reach many spots with our without a cage...

I am baffled by the whole thing but he is a sweetheart and we decided to bring him home today. My wife, Jenica, and I hope to see if we can make a difference with the little fella as his new Foster Home. Welcome, Coco.

 

[penguin]

Have you tried talking to the behaviorist at the Avian Medical Center in Lake Oswego? She's very good.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Have you tried cage free? I hear it can help with birds who have cage issues that cause feather issues as well as other issues.

 

[tpoduje]

Have you tried talking to the behaviorist at the Avian Medical Center in Lake Oswego? She's very good.

I have not personally but will check and see if the rescue already has. We have a few close contacts there and it would be great to get their feedback. Coco is a pretty sweet little bird and we would be so happy to see her recover.

Mercedez, I like the cage free idea but we do have a cat. Coco will get a LOT of supervised out of cage time especially on one large play stand with small ladders that I hope will help her mentally and physically.

 

[moonchild]

I saw Coco in the newspaper not too long ago!
I have a feeling she will do great in your care.

 

[tpoduje]

I saw Coco in the newspaper not too long ago!
I have a feeling she will do great in your care.

She is delightful really, the kids can handle her she is gentle and preens their hair and ears. I really hope we can make a difference for her. Oh, and what a voice these guys have, sounds like a monkey in the jungle! Very fun!

 

[SallyQZ]

I have my handicapped pionus in an aquarium that is 36" x 36" square. I moved him into the aquarium because he was falling a lot in a traditional cage (he's missing a foot and a wing). Despite having low perches, and a padded cage floor, he fell frequently and even hurt himself badly once. I often saw tail feathers, or his stumpy leg, sticking out of the cage as he travelled around it and it made me nervous. He was also barbering his feathers quite badly, and I didn't know if it was due to a bad moult or because he was hurting from all of his falls.

When I moved him into the aquarium, the barbering was reduced by about 75%! I've given him some low driftwood to climb on, plus a grass hut for guinea pigs that he loves to climb on too. Everything is low enough that he can't fall, and there are no cage bars to get stuck between. He is MUCH happier and I think the reduced barbering reflects that.

But I honestly believe that he was barbering his feathers because he was in pain from falling and getting stuck on cage bars. He was very bold & fast getting around the cage, but I could tell that it was beginning to take it's toll on him. I don't think that an aquarium will stop a bird from barbering if he is determined to snip feathers.

 

[tpoduje]

Thank you for the feedback, Loree. That is very helpful actually since one of the concerns with Coco is that she has barbered her tail feathers which are crucial for her balance. She does fall very easily and it helps to have her on low perches and flat surfaces. SHe is now in a 20 gallon aquarium and she is out of it about 8-10 hours a day. She has a hut, several low perches, a shallow water bowl and she seems to be liking it in there. She is getting a lot more interaction and now that I think of it, the cage she was in was very small and dark, I wouldn't be surprised if a larger cage with increased interaction could help solve her problem. For now, we will try the aquarium and ensure she gets lots of interaction and out of "tank" time. She is a very sweet bird who gives (dry) kisses on command and loves riding around on your shoulder (bad balance and all), it would be great to see her reach her original condition. Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[Banalitybob]

When I saw the title, I thought this was going to be something about giving a parrot a fishtank (full of fish) to look at, lol. Which, honestly, couldn't hurt. When I had my quaker, she loved watching my 10 gallon with a betta. She'd stare at it for hours, ignoring her toys and just watching the betta swim back and forth.

 

[tpoduje]

Hey, not a bad idea as long as they can't fall in it. Might be a nice distraction...

 

[Buckbeak]

Can we get an update on how Coco is doing?

 

[tpoduje]

Not much change in her unfortunately, still a sweet, sweet bird but her feather destruction has not changed. In fact she plucked a bit of her chest and sometimes lets new tail feathers get an inch or two long before barbering them away. We have tried keeping her on a playstand 8-10 hours a day and only putting her in the aquarium for sleep and when we leave the house. Honestly we're close to placing her in a 24"x24" cage that we have, it would be much larger than what she was in previously but we wanted to give the aquarium idea a chance. Sad to see how a habit like this takes hold and can be so difficult to break. We're going to start on some training with her to hopefully occupy her mind a bit more. She does play with her toys and loves to chew on cardboard but eventually her little feathers take a the brunt of her beak.

 

[Bailey]

She is still a beautiful girl, no matter what condition her feathers are in.

 

[tpoduje]

She sure is, and her smell and personality match that beauty!

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

Have you considered making little ponchos for the bird to wear to distract her from chewing her feathers. One bird here on AA wore ponchos to distract her from chewing on an open wound on her abdomen and it worked wonders for her and she allowed her feathers to grow back. The bird is Princess Ella and Ella has her own book and story and does children presentations now.

The poncho may help give the bird a distraction from feather barbering.