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I found both these articles to be an interesting read...
Dr. Susan Clubb wrote an article that was published in the December 2009 edition of the Petage magazine titled “Feather Damaging Behaviors: Grasping for Answers”
Feather Damaging Behavior
Susan L. Clubb, DVM
OVERVIEW OF ISSUE
Feather Damaging Behavior may be associated with a variety of clinical syndromes, however the most common causes are believed to be inflammatory skin disease, or psychological feather damaging behaviors.
The use of paired skin and feather biopsies is a useful diagnostic procedure for psittacine birds exhibiting feather damaging behavior. In this procedure a full thickness skin biopsy is obtained in an area where a bird is plucking feathers, preferable including a growing feather. A second skin biopsy is taken in an area of normal skin at a site where the bird is not plucking, again preferably containing a growing feather. By comparing these 2 sites the pathologist can make the determination as to whether there is an underlying inflammatory disease that may be causing the feather damaging behavior.
Read her full article; http://wvc.omnibooksonline.com/data/papers/2009_V705.pdf
While researching information on Macaw - Inflammatory Skin Disease I found this study article; Feather-picking Psittacines: Histopathology and Species Trends ? Veterinary Pathology
Dr. Susan Clubb wrote an article that was published in the December 2009 edition of the Petage magazine titled “Feather Damaging Behaviors: Grasping for Answers”
Feather Damaging Behavior
Susan L. Clubb, DVM
OVERVIEW OF ISSUE
Feather Damaging Behavior may be associated with a variety of clinical syndromes, however the most common causes are believed to be inflammatory skin disease, or psychological feather damaging behaviors.
The use of paired skin and feather biopsies is a useful diagnostic procedure for psittacine birds exhibiting feather damaging behavior. In this procedure a full thickness skin biopsy is obtained in an area where a bird is plucking feathers, preferable including a growing feather. A second skin biopsy is taken in an area of normal skin at a site where the bird is not plucking, again preferably containing a growing feather. By comparing these 2 sites the pathologist can make the determination as to whether there is an underlying inflammatory disease that may be causing the feather damaging behavior.
Read her full article; http://wvc.omnibooksonline.com/data/papers/2009_V705.pdf
While researching information on Macaw - Inflammatory Skin Disease I found this study article; Feather-picking Psittacines: Histopathology and Species Trends ? Veterinary Pathology