Is there any kind of vitamin deficiency that would cause a bird to eat their own feathers?

[Shezbug]

I allow Burt to have lactose free dairy with me but it’s extremely limited as I believe animal fats are not the best for them, from what I hear most birds are overly interested in dairy products lol.

 

[arayabd]

Hi all! I thought I would give an update. Some good news and some bad news.

The good news: Upon further observation, Pablo is not eating her feathers, more just plucking and chewing and chewing and chewing until she forgets and moves on to something else. I spoke with the vet and we are trying for a fecal gram stain to see if maybe this is an infection. She's still very active and functioning totally normally. I am beginning to wonder if this plucking is as a nesting issue; she has little rope to build a nest with but has a difficult time getting to loose from the toy. Maybe she is attempting to build her nest with these feathers.

The bad news: this is still an ongoing issue! I was hoping to have it solved by now but getting her to the vet with my crazy work schedule has been tough - I will keep you updated!

 

[Blueberry]

Aw I am sorry to hear this is still an on going issue. I have an over groomer- she had a pretty bad and traumatic life before I got her. We already took care of most of her ailments & am now giving her feather supplements to help her feathers grow in and lots of toys(I have specific toys that she likes - most toys she doesn’t care for) for her and out of cage time.

Does your canary have out of the cage time and a birdy friend? Can you play videos of the birds and does she get enough vitamin D via sun or D3 supplement?

 

[arayabd]

Aw I am sorry to hear this is still an on going issue. I have an over groomer- she had a pretty bad and traumatic life before I got her. We already took care of most of her ailments & am now giving her feather supplements to help her feathers grow in and lots of toys(I have specific toys that she likes - most toys she doesn’t care for) for her and out of cage time.

Does your canary have out of the cage time and a birdy friend? Can you play videos of the birds and does she get enough vitamin D via sun or D3 supplement?

Hi Blueberry! I am so glad your bird is doing better. It's reassuring to know other people experience this too! Pablo's cage door is always open and she goes and goes as she pleases. It's so cute when she returns back to the cage for a snack and then gets on with exploring the house. Maybe I should try giving her some feather supplements too!

 

[jeansie1988]

I literally just posted a thread on conure for my little guy who is what looks like is eating his feathers, or is really chewing them.
I hope yours is okay!