I have been dealing with a Lovebird who has been plucking for the last 7 months now. And now I know for certain my gcc is plucking too. I honestly am feeling so depressed and feel like I am failing my birds 
I've taken my lovie to two different vets but neither are certified in avian care and have not really helped much. I am moving to Tucson in a little over a month, right now I am in NM, and when I move I will have access to actual avian vets. The vet here did do testing on my lovie and ruled out most health conditions. My thinking was that this started due to hormones because he started plucking in late summer and was very hormonal. Also the areas he plucks, and now bites at until he bleeds, are his rear & his legs. Now recently he has also started it on his shoulder area. I didn't realize he was doing it until one day he ended up with a broken blood tail feather, rushed him to the vet and she removed it. Then he started fussing non stop with his back side and then I soon after noticed a bald spot back there. I know removing the blood feather was painful and my next thought was that he then was plucking from the physical trauma. I honestly do not know what happened first, if the blood feather was a result of plucking or if the plucking was a result of the blood feather being removed. I also am not 100% sure Kiwee, my lovie is a male. I thought male just because of the type of hormonal behavior (regurgitating, and doing this thing where he'll rapidly scratch his head while making a fast clicking sound then spins around in a circle) and there is no nesting behavior. But I am still new to having birds and am just not sure. He is very bonded to me. I had considered trying to get him a little friend but I was advised not to because of how bonded he is to me.
Then there is my beautiful, healthy gcc. Occasionally, over the last few months I would see a few grey downy feathers in his cage and was worried he too was plucking. I called a reputable parrot shop and described what I was seeing and they said he is likely still molting. But last night, Kiwee had a really rough night. He makes these horrible noises when he is "fussing" with himself and it was on and off all night. (both birds are in my bedroom) It must have kept Amigo, my gcc awake too. Well, this morning when I uncovered their cages I found an alarming amount of downy feathers in my gcc cage and also a few small colored feathers. My heart absolutely sank and I have been crying all morning. I feel like I am failing these amazing birds! It stresses me out and makes my heart break. It has been such a miserable last 7 months with Kiwee doing this I would always say, thank God Amigo is Okay!!! But now he's going at himself too!!!
I have tried so much to help Kiwee: bought him a really large flight cage, taken him to the vet dozens of times, buy them new toys, make sure they have plenty of forging activity, put a humidifier in their room, bought calming spray from Christine's Chop Shop, give them red palm oil supplement, feed them really good Harrison's pellets, give them plenty of fresh veggies and fruit, increased their dark sleepy time, put chamomile in his food, give them both at least 3 hours out of the cage with me every day, tried moving Kiwees cage to a new spot, I have tried liquid benedryl, prescribed my the vet ,and also gabapentin prescribed by a different vet. And he has good days, okay days, and bad days. Yesterday was a "bad" day and last night was awful.
I am turning here for any advise and also encouragement!! I love my babies SO much!! These are not unhappy or stressed birds!!! I live alone. My place is very quiet and peaceful!! I am home with them most of the day and work evenings for only 4-6 hours. My gcc is a happy bird! He is very playful, loves all his toys, is very vocal, and does not seem like an unhappy bird!! His feathers are bright and shiny and he looks very healthy. There is no sign of illness in either bird! And as I mentioned when the vet did a fecal lab test on Kiwee it came back with no issues. I guess these are my main ?s: Could the plucking my gcc is doing be due to stress caused by my lovie? (like the noises at night?) Should I separate them at night? Based on the behavior I described can anyone make a better determination as to whether my lovie is male or female? I was told by someone that it is more common for female lovies to have such hormonal issues, is that true? Does it sound like hormonal plucking? When I am able to take them to an actual avian specialist vet, I will. I also plan to have dna testing on both birds to determine sex for sure. What can I do in the meantime? How can I help my gcc, as this is a new behavior and I want to stop it before it gets bad!! I know this is a really long post, I am sorry! I have no one to talk to; I don't know anyone with birds I feel very depressed. I feel like I am failing them and don't deserve to have them as my companions even though they are everything to me. I already suffer from anxiety and depression which I have really gotten under control over the last decade or so, but this situation has really been hard on me too. It has even affected my job (I have missed many days because I was too worried about Kiwee to go to work. What if he breaks another blood feather, or mutilates himself and bleeds when I am gone!? I have had to put corn starch on him multiple times to stop bleeding) This has also affected my relationship with my boyfriend because all I ever seem to talk about is bird related stuff (whether its good stuff or bad!) Please, can someone offer me advise and support?
I've taken my lovie to two different vets but neither are certified in avian care and have not really helped much. I am moving to Tucson in a little over a month, right now I am in NM, and when I move I will have access to actual avian vets. The vet here did do testing on my lovie and ruled out most health conditions. My thinking was that this started due to hormones because he started plucking in late summer and was very hormonal. Also the areas he plucks, and now bites at until he bleeds, are his rear & his legs. Now recently he has also started it on his shoulder area. I didn't realize he was doing it until one day he ended up with a broken blood tail feather, rushed him to the vet and she removed it. Then he started fussing non stop with his back side and then I soon after noticed a bald spot back there. I know removing the blood feather was painful and my next thought was that he then was plucking from the physical trauma. I honestly do not know what happened first, if the blood feather was a result of plucking or if the plucking was a result of the blood feather being removed. I also am not 100% sure Kiwee, my lovie is a male. I thought male just because of the type of hormonal behavior (regurgitating, and doing this thing where he'll rapidly scratch his head while making a fast clicking sound then spins around in a circle) and there is no nesting behavior. But I am still new to having birds and am just not sure. He is very bonded to me. I had considered trying to get him a little friend but I was advised not to because of how bonded he is to me.Then there is my beautiful, healthy gcc. Occasionally, over the last few months I would see a few grey downy feathers in his cage and was worried he too was plucking. I called a reputable parrot shop and described what I was seeing and they said he is likely still molting. But last night, Kiwee had a really rough night. He makes these horrible noises when he is "fussing" with himself and it was on and off all night. (both birds are in my bedroom) It must have kept Amigo, my gcc awake too. Well, this morning when I uncovered their cages I found an alarming amount of downy feathers in my gcc cage and also a few small colored feathers. My heart absolutely sank and I have been crying all morning. I feel like I am failing these amazing birds! It stresses me out and makes my heart break. It has been such a miserable last 7 months with Kiwee doing this I would always say, thank God Amigo is Okay!!! But now he's going at himself too!!!
I have tried so much to help Kiwee: bought him a really large flight cage, taken him to the vet dozens of times, buy them new toys, make sure they have plenty of forging activity, put a humidifier in their room, bought calming spray from Christine's Chop Shop, give them red palm oil supplement, feed them really good Harrison's pellets, give them plenty of fresh veggies and fruit, increased their dark sleepy time, put chamomile in his food, give them both at least 3 hours out of the cage with me every day, tried moving Kiwees cage to a new spot, I have tried liquid benedryl, prescribed my the vet ,and also gabapentin prescribed by a different vet. And he has good days, okay days, and bad days. Yesterday was a "bad" day and last night was awful.I am turning here for any advise and also encouragement!! I love my babies SO much!! These are not unhappy or stressed birds!!! I live alone. My place is very quiet and peaceful!! I am home with them most of the day and work evenings for only 4-6 hours. My gcc is a happy bird! He is very playful, loves all his toys, is very vocal, and does not seem like an unhappy bird!! His feathers are bright and shiny and he looks very healthy. There is no sign of illness in either bird! And as I mentioned when the vet did a fecal lab test on Kiwee it came back with no issues. I guess these are my main ?s: Could the plucking my gcc is doing be due to stress caused by my lovie? (like the noises at night?) Should I separate them at night? Based on the behavior I described can anyone make a better determination as to whether my lovie is male or female? I was told by someone that it is more common for female lovies to have such hormonal issues, is that true? Does it sound like hormonal plucking? When I am able to take them to an actual avian specialist vet, I will. I also plan to have dna testing on both birds to determine sex for sure. What can I do in the meantime? How can I help my gcc, as this is a new behavior and I want to stop it before it gets bad!! I know this is a really long post, I am sorry! I have no one to talk to; I don't know anyone with birds
I feel very depressed. I feel like I am failing them and don't deserve to have them as my companions even though they are everything to me. I already suffer from anxiety and depression which I have really gotten under control over the last decade or so, but this situation has really been hard on me too. It has even affected my job (I have missed many days because I was too worried about Kiwee to go to work. What if he breaks another blood feather, or mutilates himself and bleeds when I am gone!? I have had to put corn starch on him multiple times to stop bleeding) This has also affected my relationship with my boyfriend because all I ever seem to talk about is bird related stuff (whether its good stuff or bad!) Please, can someone offer me advise and support?
I have tried stopping hormonal triggers. The regurgitating has lessened but he (my lovie) is still plucking and chewing at himself. He seems so itchy and twitchy and uncomfortable. Maybe I could take sugar out of his diet and that would calm him down a bit. He loves organic frozen blueberries and I give them to him almost daily with his veggies. But I'm going to take your advise and stop giving them to him for a bit. I spent extra time with my gcc today and am going to give him more time out with me each day and may separate the two of them at night for awhile.
