Yoshi is barbering again

[Poetic Ramblings]

Yosh's barbering again. He's snipped most of the feathers on his belly down to the fluffy base. He doesn't pluck or mutilate, he literally snips the edges off of his feathers. It doesn't seem to hurt him and he'll do it while he's sitting with people and seems perfectly happy. I can actually hear the sound of him snipping off pieces of his feathers and see little bits falling off. When I see him do this I try to get him to chew on these little wooden sticks he likes. The problem is that I notice new damage when I take him out of his cage, so I think he's also doing it there. He has a good diet, plenty of toys, and he's out of his cage most of the day every day. On the positive side, he doesn't seem to be hurting himself. The skin on his belly doesn't look red and he doesn't mind if I touch it.

Switching around his toys hasn't seemed to help. He more likes toys that are brightly colored and can make noise, he's not actually much of a chewer. I was thinking of getting something designed for overpreeners, since I'm thinking this might be a preening behavior? Is this worth a try? What else can I do to discourage his barbering?

 

[tozie12]

my caleb, M2, also barbers his feathers... not to mention plucks on occasion and picks at a wound he put in his chest. he has issues... anyway, i feel your frustration. when caleb barbers, he plays with the bit of feather he clipped off. does your lil yoshi do this too? or does he just drop it? i have yet to find a solution to our issues so i have no constructive advice. just empathy for your situation.

 

[Holiday]

I'm so sorry he's barbering--I know how hard that is.

Kelsey, you mentioned that Yoshi has been having sinus issues, and when my Max started barbering it was also right around the time he started to have his sinus issues (also in winter). One of the first things I asked the vet was if the two were connected. She didn't seem to think so at the time and thought it was more of a behavioral issue. Of course, in Max's case there were other factors, like loneliness and lack of proper lighting. Aside from the always-necessary vet care, I did several things to help with his behavior: one was installing a full spectrum light in his room, another was making sure his room never drops below 72 degrees, another was (as I mentioned before) getting a room humidifier, and the other was, of course, getting Sonny--all of that, plus, putting him in the shower as needed to steam that nose. And, he's still been sniffling a little lately in this weather we've been having (snow/cold), and when he gets sniffly, he'll sometimes start worrying the area around his leg band. I think Sonny distracts him and keeps him busy, so he's usually okay, but in the case of your little guy, he may just need more in the way of soft chewables, preening toys, and foraging opportunities to distract him.

My recommendations: make sure his areas are well lit, and get F/S lighting if needed; make sure his areas are warm; make sure that he has lots of soft chewables and preening toys, make sure he gets steamed regularly in the bathroom, make sure his room humidity is high (don't go by a hygrometer reading--they can be off--just go by his comfort level and your own perceptions--a room with high humidity will feel a little over-warm and stuffy compared to surrounding rooms), make sure his air is filtered.

Your little Hahn's sounds a lot like mine (highly sensitive to air quality and temperature issues)

 

[Bokkapooh]

One of the only times Bokka ever feather chewed was when he was on me and I was either watching TV or on the computer. He was bored. He loved to chew fabric and wood. So 80% of the time diverting his attention helped. 20% of the time I had to stop what I was engaged in and do something else with Bokka.

 

[Poetic Ramblings]

my caleb, M2, also barbers his feathers... not to mention plucks on occasion and picks at a wound he put in his chest. he has issues... anyway, i feel your frustration. when caleb barbers, he plays with the bit of feather he clipped off. does your lil yoshi do this too? or does he just drop it? i have yet to find a solution to our issues so i have no constructive advice. just empathy for your situation.

Thank you very much, and sorry about Caleb! I hope he stops soon! He might roll it around in his beak for a couple seconds, but he doesn't really play with the bits he's bit off.

I'm so sorry he's barbering--I know how hard that is.

Kelsey, you mentioned that Yoshi has been having sinus issues, and when my Max started barbering it was also right around the time he started to have his sinus issues (also in winter). One of the first things I asked the vet was if the two were connected. She didn't seem to think so at the time and thought it was more of a behavioral issue. Of course, in Max's case there were other factors, like loneliness and lack of proper lighting. Aside from the always-necessary vet care, I did several things to help with his behavior: one was installing a full spectrum light in his room, another was making sure his room never drops below 72 degrees, another was (as I mentioned before) getting a room humidifier, and the other was, of course, getting Sonny--all of that, plus, putting him in the shower as needed to steam that nose. And, he's still been sniffling a little lately in this weather we've been having (snow/cold), and when he gets sniffly, he'll sometimes start worrying the area around his leg band. I think Sonny distracts him and keeps him busy, so he's usually okay, but in the case of your little guy, he may just need more in the way of soft chewables, preening toys, and foraging opportunities to distract him.

My recommendations: make sure his areas are well lit, and get F/S lighting if needed; make sure his areas are warm; make sure that he has lots of soft chewables and preening toys, make sure he gets steamed regularly in the bathroom, make sure his room humidity is high (don't go by a hygrometer reading--they can be off--just go by his comfort level and your own perceptions--a room with high humidity will feel a little over-warm and stuffy compared to surrounding rooms), make sure his air is filtered.

Your little Hahn's sounds a lot like mine (highly sensitive to air quality and temperature issues)

Thank you very very much! I'm so glad Max improved! I do keep their window uncovered, but it's true that they don't get much light when there isn't much sunlight to give. Also, I just realized a big change lately has been that we haven't been able to take him out in the gazebo because it's been too cold. So he is getting less sun. I moved another lamp into the bird room in the meantime (until I can get F/S in there) and am keeping a close eye on the air quality monitor. I like to make sure the bird room temperature doesn't drop below 77 degrees anyway (which means keeping the house at 79), because of Junior's health problems. The humidity in the bird room seems to be steady between 43 and 49 percent. I also switched around his toys again and made some new ones for him and am steaming him everyday.

One of the only times Bokka ever feather chewed was when he was on me and I was either watching TV or on the computer. He was bored. He loved to chew fabric and wood. So 80% of the time diverting his attention helped. 20% of the time I had to stop what I was engaged in and do something else with Bokka.

Thank you! I have been keeping a close eye on him and trying to distract him in a similar fashion.