Male tiel plucking for over a year, running out of options..

[Flockboy]

Hey there!

I decided to sign up here and ask for help since my usual bird-nerd circle and even my vet are running out of ideas on my little boy.


At the start of 2021 I started noticing Newton plucking below his left wing, me being me I brought him to a vet immediatly after a minor panic attack.. lol


We did full blood spectrum and his Liver parameter (AST) was ~twice as high as it should've been.
We assumed this was the problem so I converted him and his "GF" Marie Curie to a pellet diet, thankfully they're well behaved and accepted them no problem. I also started adding some extra calcium and other vitamins + the usual UV lamp.
Obviously we did the usual gardia and pbfd test - all negative.


After a while we went to get a check-up, his liver is now perfectly fine again. Or at least he's in the optimal parameter area again.


Well, sadly that didn't stop the plucking, even after he had a cone on.
So far he has no permanent skin damage, probably because I immediately went for a vet checkup and the cone.



Fast forward a few weeks, we gave him a vitamin shot to rule out Vitamin deficientcies. - Again, no results.

I thought it was him trying to nest so I removed anything he couldve possibly seen as a nest. - no change

I thought it was loneliness too as some point so I added 2 more tiels. (They're adorable and even had a clutch of babies a month ago) - No change

I thought the air was too dry and his skin is itchy - Humidifier and daily steam shower did nothing.

I thought it was my Alexa playing rain sounds in the evening and the humidifier which may have put them in breeding mode - Changed it, no result.


He is otherwise healthy and happy as can be, signs to me and the flock and calls me a pretty bird every day.

The only thing I did notice is that him and his GF are not a true pair.
She will let him give her scritches but never gives him much love, if any at all.


As of right now, he's wearing his cone with pride. He's not a fan of it but in the 5 or 6 months of having it on, he has not once destroyed of even bit a piece of plastic off.
Whenever I check up on his plucked shoulders I put some CBD oil on. This lets him relax for hours, prolly because of all the itchy pin feathers and obviously the CBD. Keep in mind he is not sedated at all, just relaxed enough to nap without trying to pluck every few minutes.


I refuse to put my bird on heavy drugs and my vet also does not recommend me to do it.
I am however open for CBD and similar "meds" that will not sedate him.

Side note: My vet doesn't have Lupron, I'd have to pay the full vial myself. Is it really worth the 300€ just to try? Does it have side effects? I only have data for side effects on humans and they arent nice.



Has anyone had similar experiences? Especially with his "mate" returning absolutely no love?





Any help appreciated, I can't keep collecting vet bills, it's getting expensive.

PS: Sorry for my broken English, my teachers were pretty bad, i learned it from Youtube and movies lol

 

[Flockboy]

Forgot some details:

They live in a giant cage when I'm not home with a lot of toys and natural perches to explore. I switch things up every now and then.

When I am home however they get to stay outside the cage for the rest of the day and fly as much as they want. I also have toys and branches mounted to my walls to keep em busy.

 

[Sparkles!]

I have never experienced plucked wings to be anything else other than pain related.

Has the vet attempted a trial course of anti inflammatory pain medication?

…cbd containing terpenoids or any residue from cannabinol can be toxic to your bird. Oil topically is also highly contradictory with research produced clearly defining contradictions. I would not recommend using the CBD oil at all.

 

[sunnysmom]

Plucking can be a hard habit to break. A few thoughts- if he's eating pellets, I am questioning whether he needs added vitamins. Too much vitamins can be bad too. Also, since tiels are granivores, I believe they need some seeds or grains in their diet. Also, fresh or freeze dried vegetables. I don't think I would be comfortable using CBD oil. Also, I am questioning Lupron. If he's not overly horomonal.... ?

I had a panic attack the other day thinking my 'too had plucked (he hadn't thankfully) but my friend who works at our National Aviary suggested I add either Red Palm oil or Coconut oil to his diet. She also suggested I put a humidifier in his room. If he has a hard cone, you might want to look into a soft cone. It allows a bit more mobility. I also know of people with birds who pluck that make their birds forage for the majority of their food instead of just feeding in bowls. However, as @Sparkles! said, if he's plucking because he's in pain, pain meds is the path to go.

 

[April]

@macawpower58 I don't recall does Sweden pluck her wings too?
@Kassiani isn't Opie in a soft cone?

 

[Hankmacaw]

Pain is a leading cause of plucking. I wonder if his liver enzymes were that high if his liver is not swollen and causing pain. the liver can swell very quickly.

Why didn't the Dr. recommend putting him on Milk Thistle Extract with his apparent liver disease. It is well recognized as a reliable liver support medication. My female GW, whose liver had been damaged by fungal medications was on milk thistle for 23 years and her enzymes were never out of the normal range.

 

[sunnysmom]

Pain is a leading cause of plucking. I wonder if his liver enzymes were that high if his liver is not swollen and causing pain. the liver can swell very quickly.

Why didn't the Dr. recommend putting him on Milk Thistle Extract with his apparent liver disease. It is well recognized as a reliable liver support medication. My female GW, whose liver had been damaged by fungal medications was on milk thistle for 23 years and her enzymes were never out of the normal range.

Very good points, as always.

Also, as I am thinking more about this- it's really not that common for cockatiels to pluck for behavioral reasons. Unlike other species. Pain is more likely.

 

[macawpower58]

@macawpower58 I don't recall does Sweden pluck her wings too?
@Kassiani isn't Opie in a soft cone?

During her worse episodes she has started on her wings to the point of a bit of blood.
Luckily I've been able to curb these episodes.
More showers, more activities, and new toys help her through the worse of it.
I'll rearrange her cage, lots of new perches and things to do.
She'll be out in the main room more often (Chaos luckily doesn't complain much about extra cage time).
It's a never ending battle and balancing act of who's in and who's out.

 

[Flockboy]

To clear up some confusion:

They're not on a 100% pellet diet. Newton is just a very picky eater and would wait for me to replace his seeds to he can yoink all the "good" ones, which as anyone can guess were usually the unhealthy ones.

We did do milk thistle, he still gets them mixed into his pellets.
I also sprinkle milk thistle powder over apple slices which is the only fresh food he will accept.


He's also been on medication for Liver and Kidney damage, however we stopped giving it a couple weeks after his liver got better.


The CBD oil is made specifically for birds, approved by 2 of my vets and pharmacy, it has no unnatural additives.
People feeding hemp seeds has a similar effect on them.
Also so far noone has given me solid proof that CBD harms them.
If it helps him relax, I'll keep giving it, so far the good outweights the bad.
It may very well clog up some feathers but there literally is nothing there, just bare skin he cannot reach because of his cone.

Lupron is my last option, I DO NOT want to give it to him IF I can avoid it.


It very well may be pain, but I cannot really tell because plucking is the only sympton he shows.
But that's birds, I guess... He flies for hours without exhaustion, does his heart wings and dances for his mate, idk.

We will be getting another full blood spectrum test sometime next week as soon as my family is out of quarantine.

--------------------

However, the best of all news:

Yesterday, his mate actually wanted to let him mate.
However the cone was in the way.
I cut it off and now I'm just waiting to see.

If things go well this might fix the problem but idk, a different vet told me she's had a few male tiels that started plucking when their mate didn't accept them.

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Anything else I should get done while we're at the vet?
- Blood spectrum
- Another Gardia test cuz why not
- If possible hormone tests, although I still havent hear back from the lab if they can do that.
- Maybe get another vitamin shot? Although im 99% sure his vitamins and diet are on point now that he can't get aroud eating the actually healthy stuff.

- Maybe ultra sound/xray his liver? - Genuinely worried we'll find something super bad that'll send me into a depression ngl lol



Any more recommendations?