My Beaks is biting off is feathers all of a sudden!

[Rolanda]

Hi All,
I've been incommunicado for a bit. You know Life and all... My sweet Beaksey (Mustache Parrot-will be a year old on May 10th) is biting off his feathers. I think this is Barbering. I could be wrong in what it's called. I watched him doing it yesterday. I noticed this weekend that he's been REALLY focused on preening. I also noticed he has a parch behind his neck that has gray downy feathers showing through. I thought he was molting. I've not noticed him molting or losing feathers, really, since I have had him. Anyway, So I watched him to see what happens. He was preening next to his skin, really deep then coming out towards the ends, and then, SNIP!, he cut off a feather and started chewing on it. I tried not to freak out ... went about my business and sat down next to him a few minutes later and watched him some more... He was preening his tummy... sitting on the door of his cage where he likes to sit when he's not with one of us, same thing then SNIP!, cut that one off and took it out of his mouth, rubbed it on his face and then put it in is mouth to chew on it.! this happened twice more while I was watching. I shook the cage door twice to get him to stop. He stopped for a minute and went right back to it. Before bed I put a few pieces of Chippy wood in his cage to give him something new to do. I normally give him Chippy wood outside of the cage because I don't want him even thinking about going down to the bottom grate where the poop is to retrieve a piece. He has never had ANY interest in going to the bottom of his cage for ANYTHING!

WHAT do I do to stop him? I guess a Vet visit is in order. Then what? He's just starting to get Adult colored feathers and he's starting to snip them off. He has toys, he has things to pick as and shred, He likes to destroy things, he has that.

HELP! My poor BEAKSEY!

 

[alshgs]

Do you have pictures of the feathers he is barbering? A vet visit is the best route to rule out medical issues, but a picture would help! Hope it's nothing serious!

 

[rocky'smom]

vet visit first write all the question down b/4 you go. get complete blood work and swabs done, making sure there is no disease indications. then ask the vet what is next.

 

[Rolanda]

Here is a pic of the feathers he has bitten off. They all seem to be snipped just above the soft downy part

 

[JLcribber]

Assuming that there is nothing medical, Does Beaksey fly? Regular flying does wonders for most problem behaviours.

Having seen the pictures of the feathers. They are not plucked but snipped. This indicates behaviour to me. Mainly boredom (and lack of flight). Birds spend 80% of their time preening and grooming. This is just an exaggeration of that activity.

 

[rocky'smom]

ok one more question what type of diet are you feeding Beaksey ?

 

[Rolanda]

@JLcribber

No John, he doesn't fly, I mean, he will take off maybe once a day but it's just across the room and he usually lands pretty well. But doesn't fly usually. He would not be the best flier. I wish his wings were not clipped but the store clipped them before we picked him up. I thought they would give us the option but they went ahead and did it before we knew.He has a lot of out of cage time. Well as much as a bird with a working family can have. As soon as we are home his cage is open. He spends time with my son and my we collectively spend time with him. He has lots of toys. He likes to chew things. I leave chippy wood out because he likes it. Do you have any ideas fro boredom? I try to change his toys around/switch them out when he appears to not be playing with them. It could be boredom. I hope that's all.
@rocky'smom
He eats Tops and Roudybush mixed together, dried fruits & veggies, a mix of warm crazy corn with chop, and usually a bit of whatever veggie we have for dinner. and the cursed seed/nut mix/mixed fruit/veggie mix. He gets about a tablespoon of it every day.

 

[JLcribber]

Do you have any ideas fro boredom?

Not from inside the cage. Most boring place on earth. Lot's more space (a room or aviary) so there is opportunity to move and explore. Can't do that in a cage. Just has to sit there and preen (and overpreen). He can see his world (the room he's in) from inside the cage but is restricted from exploring it. Bird are meant to fly. That is what works the mind (and body).

And the clipping did nothing to help and in all likelihood is a contributing factor.

 

[Rolanda]

Here are two pics of his picked areas.. .

 

[aooratrix]

Does he have shreddables to chew? Depending on how he's flying, I'd encourage that. Let him expend some energy with training. Even clipped, slim-bodied long-tailed psittacines can often still fly fairly well. You definitely need to rule out a medical issue IMO.

 

[rocky'smom]

try finger traps for shreddables my 2 love them

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

I thought I read somewhere that parrots who are not even one year old don't pick/pluck unless there's a medical issue. I could totally be wrong though. I would definitely get a check up though to be sure.

 

[Macawnutz]

Yes to the vet visit, infections can cause discomfort and that could be a cause. This is new? Get him in the shower and soak him down, maybe he has gotten something on his feathers that he is not liking.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Oh, poor Beaksey, I hope you can figure out a way to get him to stop!

 

[Rolanda]

Thank you all for your guidance. I will be taking him to the vet this week. He's not a really hands on boy, but he loves us. He lets me kiss him and gives us kisses. He's my sweetie, and I hate that he's in distress! They're our kids... I know you all understand that!

 

[aooratrix]

Yep! Keep us in the loop, please. Hang in there.

 

[aooratrix]

Any updates, @Rolanda ??? I'm hoping for good news.

 

[Rolanda]

Hi All. Sorry for not getting back. Very busy with Bird and kid, then took a short vacation.
Took Beaksey to the vet last weekend. He checked out healthy on exam, the vet took poop and some blood to check. As you've all said here; could be hormones, or behavior or bacteria (which we're checking). Besides being a little feisty, he looked fine.
I'm trying to give him more and varied things to play with. Since it's Spring I'll be taking the plastic off of the sliding window and moving his cage to it. Maybe that will make him more happy. I am so worried about him because he looks bad... the fluffy feather spots are spreading on his chest, not so much on his back; so he's barbering the bajeesus out of them.
Thank you all for your concern. I hope something stops him soon.

 

[Rain Bow]

He's really beautiful. I hope he's OK!
Rain

 

[Rolanda]

Update!!
So now he has new feathers coming in on his chest/shoulder area. Surprise... He's not Barbering them. They are leaning on his Adult coloring-Orangy Red. Could it be that he was, molting and he was so itchy that he barbered his feathers because of it?