Collar for Bedtime?

[Citrine]

So a couple of years ago my GCC went to the vet because she was showing signs of illness and they drew some blood, found an infection, got antibiotics, got better!
She got a small bruise on her tummy near where they drew the blood from, vet said it was normal, bruises happen but to keep an eye on it.
The bruise faded with no issues, though we noticed after a couple months that the feathers weren't coming back in, once again to the vet. They checked for illness, physical damage, skin issues, fecal issues, even drew more blood and did a nasal flush. Nothing, she seemed perfectly fine.

Fast forward a few years and multiple vet visits, she's been slowly pulling out more and more feathers on her breast area, vet and I seem to agree it's become a behavior issue at this point, possibly started by the infection a few years ago?
We notice she does most the plucking at night while in her cage for bed, she doesn't seem to do it while she's out in the daytime.
She's got lots of toys in her cage, and during daylight she's hardly even in her cage to begin with, the husband and I are constantly giving her attention during the daytime.

So my question is, is there a way to stop her from plucking while she's in her cage at night?
I've been hesitant to get a collar because I wouldn't want her to wear one unsupervised, but that's exactly what I would need to do-
Any thoughts and help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Bruised on tummy from blood draw?????
What the heck ? I've never heard of draw from there!!! Do you mean they did a cardiac stick for blood????? OMG you can but sure isn't standard or recommended!!!!

 

[Pixiebeak]

On plucking, most birds do at night or when not watching.
Can you share a picture? It will help and no judgement! Many folks have pluckers it's a complex issue.
You can see in my avatar, my sweet Penny RIP , plucked her neck, well used foot to pull out it down to get them . I only witnessed a couple of times ever over the years as did st night
On a collar , I personally would not

 

[Citrine]

Bruised on tummy from blood draw?????
What the heck ? I've never heard of draw from there!!! Do you mean they did a cardiac stick for blood????? OMG you can but sure isn't standard or recommended!!!!

Oh sorry, it was NEAR her tummy.
They were having trouble getting to her Basilic vein, so they had to do a Jugular draw, which ended up bruising pretty badly because Roger jerked, and the bruise extended down towards her breast/tummy.

They are very much professional avian vets though lol, no worries! She's gotten blood drawn from them multiple times with zero issues, this one visit was the only time something like this happened, which is why I think it upset her so much that she started plucking.

 

[Citrine]

On plucking, most birds do at night or when not watching.
Can you share a picture? It will help and no judgement! Many folks have pluckers it's a complex issue.
You can see in my avatar, my sweet Penny RIP , plucked her neck, well used foot to pull out it down to get them . I only witnessed a couple of times ever over the years as did st night
On a collar , I personally would not

Sure thing, this was from earlier today.
She's in the process of molting, so it's gotten to look very rough. Usually once she's done with a molt it will fill back in a little, but she continues to pull out pins and barber feathers u-u

 

[Pixiebeak]

Awww looks so much like my Ta-dah. What a cutie!

This seems to be pretty far from the jugular. She had a bruise here post blood draw???

It seems to be centered on a specific area , which often indicates pain in that area. Kidney, liver, reproductive are in that area (and more) . My guess would lean towards kidney, or ovary ...it's a guess.... it can be behavioral it just looks a little off for behavioral to me ( non expert)

What was the original infection? Were any blood values off? How do poops look? Ever laid eggs? What is her diet?

Does she sho hormonal behavior to you? Ever regurgitat to you? Or present or ask for sexual contact? In females they crouch down wings out a little and flutter with tail up ( sometimes) , can do little soft vocalizing. Or back up butt to you . Or self stimulation. Does she seek out cavities?

Just checking, sounds like you have throughly worked her up with your avian veterinarian . In a perfect world , where there wasn't such a high risk , an X-ray would be nice. But in no way am I suggesting this high risk , in an otherwise healthy bird for a what if.

 

[Xoetix]

@Sarahmoluccan what kind of collar have you used? Was it a good one for nights?

 

[Citrine]

Awww looks so much like my Ta-dah. What a cutie!

This seems to be pretty far from the jugular. She had a bruise here post blood draw???

It seems to be centered on a specific area , which often indicates pain in that area. Kidney, liver, reproductive are in that area (and more) . My guess would lean towards kidney, or ovary ...it's a guess.... it can be behavioral it just looks a little off for behavioral to me ( non expert)

What was the original infection? Were any blood values off? How do poops look? Ever laid eggs? What is her diet?

Does she sho hormonal behavior to you? Ever regurgitat to you? Or present or ask for sexual contact? In females they crouch down wings out a little and flutter with tail up ( sometimes) , can do little soft vocalizing. Or back up butt to you . Or self stimulation. Does she seek out cavities?

Just checking, sounds like you have throughly worked her up with your avian veterinarian . In a perfect world , where there wasn't such a high risk , an X-ray would be nice. But in no way am I suggesting this high risk , in an otherwise healthy bird for a what if.

Okay so the initial blood draw that started this whole thing wasssssss a little over three years ago at this point. She had originally started plucking higher, but had moved downwards since then, which is why the vet and I think it's just become a habit started by the irritation from the bruise and trauma from that vet visit.
They initially found a respiratory infection from listening to her chest and elevated white blood cells from the draw. Follow up after antibiotics cleared it up and she was fine.

Since then when they needed blood (I think about four times since) they've pulled from her Basilic vein instead to try and prevent the issue. She bruised once, but she didn't pluck it like this.

As for any behavior nothing has really changed. She's going to be nine in December, and I've had her for nearly her whole life.
We don't use candles, teflon pans, aerosols, cleaners, etc.
She gets hormonal from time to time as does any bird, but we are extra careful where we touch her during those waves, and will rearrange her cage and add in "spooky" toys to make her feel like it's a bad time to lay, and the hormonal behavior soon passes and back to normal. She's never laid an egg or become egg bound, we've been extra careful since we discovered that she was in fact a female (an earlier blood draw lol)
Her diet is pretty regular. Mostly pellets with fresh fruit and veggies daily, fresh water daily (if not hourly since she's a dunker lol)

All her vet visits since come up normal, her poops look good, her behavior is fine for the most part outside the occasional hormonal wave, and she only plucks at night in her cage. When she's in her cage for snack time during the day or for naps, she won't pluck. Only at night while everyone is asleep. Is sleep plucking a thing??

 

[Pixiebeak]

Many pluckers do at night/ early morning.

Sounds like she has been getting nothing but the best care , with lots of check ups.

Behavior plucking is frustrating. Especially in an established home with great diet, attention, care , and veterinarian exams

 

[Citrine]

Many pluckers do at night/ early morning.

Sounds like she has been getting nothing but the best care , with lots of check ups.

Behavior plucking is frustrating. Especially in an established home with great diet, attention, care , and veterinarian exams

Yeah, I was kinda starting to think we might just have to accept that she might just have nekkid spots

We've been trying to help her break the habit, but alas!

Thank you for your insight :>

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

There are some soft collars you could go with, it can be hit or miss with them and sometimes I think add more frustration then they are worth. Especially if for plucking and not some more serious like self mutation. Here's some links to some soft collars, I would stay away from hard collars for pluckers.

What to Look for in a Bird Collar for Parrot Plucking I'm not 100% sure if they go small enough for your guys

Pluckers Avian fashions is great and has lots of different options.

On facebook there's Pam's Petal protectors. Sorry no link, I'm not 100% on the name but it should be close. I've heard some mixed reviews but I received one from a friend as a gift was quite happy with it.

It's been awhile since I had to look up links so many more places like Walmart online and Amazon are carrying them now apparently. I couldn't tell you the quality of those. Esty has sellers with them too.

Sounds like she has been getting nothing but the best care , with lots of check ups.

Behavior plucking is frustrating. Especially in an established home with great diet, attention, care , and veterinarian exams

I totally agree! Sounds like you're doing all the right things. Best of luck your GCC