We must collar Milton...

[Greencheek Lee]

Do you think the new Avicalm doesn't work like the original? If so I have an extra I could send you...

 

[cassiesdad]

Yeah with plucking I'd definitely go with something soft. I really like Protective Petals by Pam too.

I'm so sorry Bob. It's horrible to have to collar your bird There is all sorts of options thou. It may take some experimenting to find what works for Milton. And even if nothing works it's really ok for him to be "naked". Sometime there's no stopping them. Not ideal of course but Milty is so loved by you and your family (and here too). He has an excellent home with plenty of love, care, good food and medical care. Alot more than some parrot gets sadly.

I know it's hard, and a lot of times you are force to pick from the lesser evil of your choices. You may get it wrong at times, lord knows I did. But know you are doing right by Milton as I have no doubt that you have his best interests at heart. And you don't just love Milty but you also provide best possible care. Milton couldn't have a better home.

We'll keep looking into all alternatives for Milty. I'll go onto the Protective Pedals by Pam site and look around...

Naked or not, we do love our Milton...

 

[Lady Jane]

The link sunnysmom gave you is a good one. Pam will custom make one for your bird.

 

[cassiesdad]

Do you think the new Avicalm doesn't work like the original? If so I have an extra I could send you...

Thank you for the offer. We've talked with our AV about the "new" Avicalm...she approves of it, so we're OK with it.

Our AV is tops...she's been calling us every day for the last week to discuss alternatives, etc for Milty's plucking...

 

[Lodah]

We'll keep looking into all alternatives for Milty. I'll go onto the Protective Pedals by Pam site and look around...

Naked or not, we do love our Milton...

As do we all!

 

[iamwhoiam]

So sorry that you have to collar him. Hope something will work to get him to stop his plucking behavior.

 

[rocky'smom]

I'm sorry to hear this. Bob, there are other calming teas out there other then chamomile. Let me do some research online and see what I can come up with.
Hey bird, please stop picking.

 

[rocky'smom]

What about Twin Beaks herb salad.
Twin Beaks® Aviary - Animal self-medication - Natural, Organic and Holistic wellness for your pets.

 

[cassiesdad]

What about Twin Beaks herb salad.
Twin Beaks® Aviary - Animal self-medication - Natural, Organic and Holistic wellness for your pets.

...I'll look into it...

 

[WendyN]

I’m sorry Milton is still plucking.
Hoping a collar will work for him.

 

[Macawnutz]

He'll start by picking at a feather, then he chews at it...eventually the feather looks ratty and just hangs there....then he'll pull it out and go to the next one near it.
In the bald areas, new sheaths come out from time to time...Milt will let the sheath start to "come out"...then pull it out.

He does most of the damage at night...when we uncover him in the morning, you can see all the small pin feathers on the floor cage. The picking of established feathers can come at any time..usually when he thinks we're not looking....very sneaky.

AV has run blood tests, skin scraping, and spectro-analysis of the plucked feathers...all the tests come up negative.

Sleep patterns remain unchanged...12 hours of sleep time every night...no food changes..no allergies noted. I thought maybe Milty was getting too many showers....3 to 4 a week. Asked AV about that...she doesn't think it's a cause of the increased plucking.

Yes...we tried a suggestion by @rocky'smom ...tea and honey...Milt was meh to it. We've used RPO (Avicalm and a new brand since they went out of business) It's worked in the past, but now it seems to be ineffective.

He doesn't pick while we physically interact with him...but it's not possible to do that 24/7...and it's also obviously not something you should do, anyway.

Through this upsurge in picking'/barbering/ plucking, Milton remains a very happy bird...in fact there's been a marked increase in talking. He gives every indication he knows what he's doing...he attempted to pluck at a neck feather today...I told him, "Please don't do that, Bird, it's bad for your feathers"...he looked at me and replied, "I KNOW"...

Korbel started chewing blood feathers, any new feather that came in. At first it was just his shoulder then his chest... it became everywhere and then he would pull other feathers too.

We started with cbc Chem and fecal, when nothing was found we did xrays. We also ran an asper titer to be safe. Ended up getting a cat scan and then biopsies. Nothing was found. I went back to my vet and he wanted to do a culture on the newly growing blood feathers. Bingo. He had an MRSA staph infection in his underdeveloped feathers. My point is... try not to give up. Always watch him and try to finish the puzzle. Don't ever accept that it's forever. Love him like always but have eyes in the back of your head.

 

[rocky'smom]

Found these on YouTube hopefully they will be helpful

 

[faislaq]

I told him, "Please don't do that, Bird, it's bad for your feathers"...he looked at me and replied, "I KNOW"...

 

[rocky'smom]

BirdSupplies.com | #1 Collection for Feather Picking Parrots

 

[KatelynDeanne]

So sorry to hear about this! I wish you the best of luck! Hopefully Milton wont mind the collar and you can resolve his plucking issue. Wishing you the best!

 

[Birdbabe]

You can try "Pluck no more" it's all natural botanicals,,,I have and have not had success with it, it's all natural, used as a spray and given orally, wont hurt. Ask your vet first..

 

[Dartman]

Well if a physical cause eventually doesn't turn up maybe the collar will change things up enough for him he'll decide to stop it rather then wear a collar all the time. It still sounds like sometimes he does it for attention but doing it quietly while he's covered for sleep doesn't fit in so maybe there's a cause not found yet. Of course it could just be a habit he's picking up and he mentally just can't stop. Happens to people all the time even when they know it's bad for them. I hope you find a solution so he stays happy and feathered but like said keep loving him and interacting and we all love him and want the best for him too.

 

[sunnysmom]

What about Twin Beaks herb salad.
Twin Beaks® Aviary - Animal self-medication - Natural, Organic and Holistic wellness for your pets.

I was just going to suggest that too.

 

[sunnysmom]

What if you didn't cover him at night? Would he still sleep? Since he seems to do most of the plucking when he can't be seen? Just a thought....

 

[cassiesdad]

What if you didn't cover him at night? Would he still sleep? Since he seems to do most of the plucking when he can't be seen? Just a thought....

It's an idea...but he seems to want to be covered up, usually...there are days he'll pull the sheets off his cage...just to do it. (snot)

When he does pull the sheets off, I give him one more chance with the sheets on. If he pulls them off again, the sheets stay on the floor the rest of the night, because the whole thing becomes a game for him.

When the sheets are off, he settles down quickly...maybe because he knows I'm not game playing...he doesn't pluck or pull feathers out, either...so maybe I'll try not covering him for a few nights...