Gradual Plucking

[allison]

I thought Harper was done plucking and hadn't for a while, but I was just looking back at pictures from when she was in Q and noticed that the back of her wings are a lot more downy than they were then. She must have done it slowly so I didn't notice as quickly as I did the first time when she plucked a bunch in a few days. Here are some pics to compare. I wish I knew how to stop her.

 

[M-Nature]

It seems like several people on this board have problems with parrotlets plucking their feathers. My parrotlet was fine until she developed the zinc toxicity. She plucks her "shoulders" a bit now. I can't use the Pluck-no-More on her due to the nerve damage caused by the zinc toxicity....she gets very clumsy if I try it. You might give Pluck-no-More a shot if Harper is healthy.

My female red rump came to me as a severe plucker. I used Pluck-no-more with her and it really helped. However, she never completely stopped plucking after I removed the Pluck-no-more. My avian vet has found that some birds pluck due to hormonal issues. I am taking my bird in for xrays (so vet can see if the gonads are enlarged) on Dec. 11. If she does have enlarged gonads, they will give her a shot of Lupron. In other birds he has worked with, hormonal shots have been quite successful. Just mentioning this as another possibility.

 

[Emmilyy]

awh, I`m sorry i have no ideas to help you. I know how hard it is, though. Toc `barbers` his feathers, and everytime i see a new one i get so excited and hope he`ll let it stay, but he never does. It always makes me sad.

 

[allison]

It seems like several people on this board have problems with parrotlets plucking their feathers. My parrotlet was fine until she developed the zinc toxicity. She plucks her "shoulders" a bit now. I can't use the Pluck-no-More on her due to the nerve damage caused by the zinc toxicity....she gets very clumsy if I try it. You might give Pluck-no-More a shot if Harper is healthy.

My female red rump came to me as a severe plucker. I used Pluck-no-more with her and it really helped. However, she never completely stopped plucking after I removed the Pluck-no-more. My avian vet has found that some birds pluck due to hormonal issues. I am taking my bird in for xrays (so vet can see if the gonads are enlarged) on Dec. 11. If she does have enlarged gonads, they will give her a shot of Lupron. In other birds he has worked with, hormonal shots have been quite successful. Just mentioning this as another possibility.

I got her tested for several diseases, and lead/zinc toxicity, they were all clean. My vet thinks it's most likely due to hormones also, but she really didn't mention any treatment for it.

awh, I`m sorry i have no ideas to help you. I know how hard it is, though. Toc `barbers` his feathers, and everytime i see a new one i get so excited and hope he`ll let it stay, but he never does. It always makes me sad.

I know what you mean. I thought the plucking was over, and hopefully she'd start letting new ones grow in, and then I see this difference. It makes me sad, but at least I'm not finding a bunch of feathers everywhere. She seems to go for the blue feathers and leaves the downies alone. Not sure why.

 

[Emmilyy]

is she actually plucking them, or just chewing them off.. (my question mark is not working..)

We`re finding toc feathers everywhere, still. when he came to us with Cookie a year ago his wings had a TERRIBLE clip and he just dropped like a rock. In the past few weeks he has been starting to fly again, and he`s getting better and better. I`m hoping being able to fly will help him a little..

How old is your maddi (again with the question mark!) Toc has been barbering since he was young and still with his clutchmates.

 

[jodeg]

I'm in the same situation with Kiwi, my green female Parrotet. She'll be 2 yrs. old on Jan. 1st and has been plucking since she was 7 months old. My other two P'lets don't pluck at all.

It started suddenly with Kiwi, she plucked her body bald in one day. I rushed her to my avian vet. He ran tests and said she was completely healthy. Gave me some baby Benadryl and Avi Soother. She started letting her feathers grow back in and then, 2 months later, she pulled them all out again.

Since then, she's plucked. About six months ago, she also barbered her tail down to nothing, and has kept it that way since then. A few weeks ago, she started on her wings. Up until the wings, she could still fly beautifully. In the past 3 days, she's pretty much finished off her wings and now, she can't fly well. She can fly, but doesn't land well.

I have tried everything, and I mean EVERYTHING over the past year and a half. Nothing has worked at all. Anything you can mention, I've tried. She'll let a few feather grow back in and then pluck them out.

I've pretty much given up any hope that she'll stop or even slow down, but the last three days have really discouraged me. I've tried just to accept the situation and ignore it, but when I see her pulling out feathers, and now she's even pulling out the down, I feel very upset. I wish I could help her.

So, yes, it is very sad and very discouraging. Oh well, thanks for reading my rant! Maybe someone will come up with a solution some day -- other than the 100 things I've tried that didn't work!

 

[Emmilyy]

we`ve pretty much accepted that toc is the way he is. We`ll always love him keep him as happy as we can. It is hard, though.. you feel so helpless! Toc also tries to barber Cookie`s feathers, her belly, head, and back. It was horrible. He chews off his tail and wing feathers, too

 

[allison]

Harper is the plucker, not Maddie. Harper is a little over 2 years old. I honestly can't see if she's plucking or chewing. I've seen her actually pluck a few blue ones a while ago, but she seems to do it when I'm not around. And she also chews her wing and tail feathers.

 

[Emmilyy]

Oops, i said Maddie.. sorry!

 

[allison]

I too have a plucking parrotlet, Emmie. It's very common in this species apparently. I still wonder if their dietary needs are a little different than we realize. There isn't much info on their wild diet. I know they feed on nectar in the wild. I'm going to try a little with Emmie and will report how she does with it.

I know the sadness and worry you all feel. It can be so frustrating feeling so helpless.

The only problem is that sugar can cause candida (yeast) which parrotlets are prone to, and Maddie has already had. I was thinking about buying some edible flowers, but I don't think it's the season for them now (can't find them).
Candida Diet Advice

 

[M-Nature]

I will let you know what happens with my plucker, Goldie, on December 11. Goldie is a red rump and so is much larger than a parrotlet. I think one concern might be anesthetizing the parrotlet for the x-ray to check out the hypothesis that the gonads may be enlarged...indicating overactive hormonal system. I know others here have had parrotlets that were given lupron shots, so I don't think that would be an issue. But I don't think a vet would give a lupron shot without good reason.

This may sound a bit far fetched also, but estrogenic compounds have been known to leach out of plastic water bottles and food dishes. You may remember the big bisphenol A scare a couple of years ago. My vet suggested I might want to switch to avoid using plastic and switch to glass and stainless steel. For what it's worth!