Feather Plucking under Wings

[RaggedyAnn]

Hello, My Female Cockatiel, 4 1/2 years old is suddenly pulling feathers out under her wings. I am trying to give her more attention, rolling her cage to my desk when I am working, or beside my chair in the living room. I wonder if she is lonely and needs a playmate? Does anyone have experience or advice?

i do have two parakeets in a separate cage in the same room. Two dogs. There is always noise and action in the home. Thank you.

 

[Shezbug]

Have you seen the plucking?
Can you add a picture of the area you say is being plucked?

 

[conureluv]

Bird’s wing pits are often messy. I thought my bird was plucking until the Avenue swooped in to help me. Shoot us a photo, we’ll be able to help!

 

[RaggedyAnn]

I’ve only seen the bare spots when she stretches her wings. Every time I try to get a picture, it’s too late. I’ve seen what I thought was preening, but she was also sort of yelping or peeping. I wasn’t sure what she was doing. The strange thing is, I don’t see the feathers on the bottom of the cage. I’ll attempt to get a picture.

 

[Shezbug]

I don’t think your bird is plucking with the description you just gave. I’ll try to find a wing pit pic for you- birds have sparse feathers under the wings and a few other areas of their body too.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

Hmmm.... I have been told there are alot of nerve endings in that particular area by my vet. So it can be a red flag that something more is going than just a plucking issue. Potentially it could be pain related. Like @Shezbug said that area is usually sparse so hopefully its nothing. But if it is plucking I highly recommend you see an avian veterinarian. Its always good to rule out physical issues when dealing with plucking, and with the under the wing area I think its especially so. Good luck with your cockatiel

 

[conureluv]

I’ve tried googling “cockatiel wing pit” , but nothing comes up, so here are photos with messy wing pits.. hope these are a help.

 

[Birdbabe]

When my one tiel did that for a while, was misdiagnosed, a few times, fianally Dr. Stephanie Lamb diagnosed her with " Giardia "..not saying this is your problem, but, it's a simple poo test..

 

[RaggedyAnn]

Pictures...luckily my son was here to take them.

 

[Mizzely]

That is definitely plucking IMO. While they do have less feathers under the wing, it's not that extreme. I would have her evaluated by a vet.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

That is definitely plucking IMO. While they do have less feathers under the wing, it's not that extreme. I would have her evaluated by a vet.

Yeah I agree. A vet exam to rule things out is the best place to start. I hope it's easily treated.

When my one tiel did that for a while, was misdiagnosed, a few times, fianally Dr. Stephanie Lamb diagnosed her with " Giardia "..not saying this is your problem, but, it's a simple poo test..

Very good point!! I'd do fecal test too. Ideally you want to bring a fresh poop with you to the vet. I know my guy's pooping habits pretty well so its easy for me to get one. I use use a little zip lock baggie to bring it in.

 

[Shezbug]

Yeah, that’s definitely way less feathers than should be there.

Is it just me or is that skin looking pretty irritated too?

 

[RaggedyAnn]

Yes, i think the skin looks irritated myself.

 

[RaggedyAnn]

Thank you for your help! I will be calling an avian vet 1st thing in the morning. She’s such a gentle bird, I love her very much!

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

Good luck with her! I hope it goes well. Please keep us posted

 

[tka]

Poor girl, that looks sore! I would definitely suggest a trip to an avian vet.

Plucking under the wings is a symptom of giardia, a parasite. The vet will be able to take a faecal sample and test for this.

 

[RaggedyAnn]

Hello Friends, We gave an appointment with an Avian vet (hard to find one!) tomorrow, 1/8 in the afternoon. I ‘ll let you know.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

Any updates? I hope things are going well for you and Johnnie

 

[RaggedyAnn]

The vet gave me two meds for Johnnie...one for inflammation, the other for pain. She seems a little better. I took a fecal sample on Tuesday. I haven’t heard anything on that yet...forgot to question how long that would take. I have been getting bitten quite hard with blood drawn. Yesterday I wore new garden gloves. I had asked for her wings to be clipped so this would be easier, but the vet didn’t do that.

 

[RaggedyAnn]

Forgot to mention that the Vet did not see any mites.