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Me and my rescue Quaker

Do you think plucking and self-mutilation is ever curable?


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    5

Kima

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Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and am finding navigation a little challenging compared to some I've belonged to before, but will try my best to learn its streets and avenues :)

My love affair with birds started 3 years ago when I got my darling little parrotlet Charlie who unfortunately died about 4 months ago. I knew I wanted another bird and since my rescue dog has been such a blessing, I thought I'd look into rescuing a bird. My vet happened to have a Quaker, 12 years old, that had been surrendered because of chronic plucking and who had started self-mutilating; they were looking for a foster mom. Since I work at home, could give him lots of attention and wouldn't be responsible for any of the vet bills, I agreed. Boy, has this been a challenge and a half! Anyway, I hopping this venue will be a good addition to the resources I've been accessing.

My bird's is named Kosmo and I've been blogging about this whole experience. If you are interested, especially if you have a rescue or self-mutilator, please have a look (I have about 8 short posts already): rescuingkosmo

Cheers...Kima
 

camelotshadow

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Thank you for rescuing Kosmo. May you both enrich each others lives.
 

parrotluv

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Sorry to hear about Kosmos plucking and mutilation. I had a Quaker years ago that did the same. He would have periods of good times and bad. I did put him on an organic diet which helped a lot. He was eventually adopted by a family who was able to give him more attention then I could provide. But I have lost contact with them so never got any updates.
 

iamwhoiam

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Thank you for taking Kosmo into your home. Kosmo is my dog's name. :)
I had success stopping feather plucking with my maroon-bellied conure. I gave her a little bit more attention, bought her a Polly Dolly preening toy (don't believe they are available any longer but there are other preening toys) and also added Nekton Bio to her water.
Best of luck to you in helping her stop plucking.
 

fluffypoptarts

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He's adorable, and it's great that he found a mama like you to help him.
 

Sylvi_

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Such a beautiful little boy, Kosmo sure is a lucky fid :) Thank you for giving him a home when he needed it most and I hope you both have many more happy years together. Spend them feathered Mr. Kosmo! ;)
 

zoo mom

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Welcome.
 

Tanya

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Welcome, welcome!

I'm so glad Kosmo found you!

"Curing" a plucker seems to be somewhat up to the bird. Some birds stop forever once they get into a happier living situation. For others it becomes a habit that they turn to whenever they feel nervous (like a person who has a hard time breaking a nail-biting habit). Other birds have an incurable underlying condition that drives them mad with itching/tingling/pain and in response they pick and pull. I know of two cockatoos that seasonally pluck a small patch bare in the autumn but are otherwise fully feathered.

I believe every lil' plucker can improve at least somewhat with proper care... But it's a long, slow journey with many ups and downs. Thankfully, Avian Avenue is a great community for encouragement along the way!
 

sunnysmom

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Welcome! I'm assuming since you got your bird from a vet they ruled out medical reasons for plucking (like giardia)? If so, maybe tell us what you've tried so far and we can offer suggestions. :)
 

Kima

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Thank you for all the feedback!

I've come to the conclusion that the only way I'll ever be able to make this work with Kosmo is if I take it as a work in progress; trying my best, learning as I go; asking for help and ultimately not let it drive me to complete distraction. On that note, most of my time lately has been taking up with repairing and learning to make cloth collars, so I've had little time for much else. Honestly, I could write a novel about this subject, I have put a lot on my blog.

However, in order to take advantage of all your kind offers to help, I'll summarize a few things tonight (I'm in such pain from being hunched over a sewing machine, I can't be on here too long)

This is what I know for sure: Currently, he seems obsessed with preening, this could be a recent thing because of being collared (plastic) while going though a full molt, or it could be the root of his problem. He tends to pluck a couple of new downy feathers each day, but leaves his in-tack feathers, although I've noticed him barbering those hear and there. The big problem is that he really hurt himself (chewing) under his right wing a while back, needed laser treatments, wing bandaged down for weeks. It finally healed, he was fine for a while, but I found a little sore in the same place last week, so I've been putting cloth collars on him at night and when I'm out and treating the sore with Vet-Aid. But he HATES being collared (bad memories from the plastic one - see blog) and when I take it off (which I inevitably have to do because he chews right through them) he obsessively preens. I have tried my best to get this bird interested in toys (especially destroy or forging) but he seems to have NO interest. Sometimes when he is collared, he obsessively chews on a little plastic piece of a dangling bell rope, but that's it. Really all he wants to do is sit on my shoulder and rip himself to pieces! I can only seem to distract him by rubbing his head, which I can't do 24/7.

He is very picky about his food and has gotten really thin in the past. He loves protein (eggs, fish, chicken and the occasional piece of nut) will eat his seed and the occasional piece of fruit if I hand-feed him. Vegies - forget it, he wants nothing to do with them, and yes, I've tried putting them in bird bread. He does eat Harrison pellets (thank God!) He loves to sleep (he has his own heated incubator) and usually does so for 13 hours per night.

His vet is very well respected in her field, but she has a huge practice and often I need to leave him there for weeks in order to give her enough time to examine and spend time with him to come to some conclusion. Also, I refuse to take him if he's in another plastic collar because I feel it is not humane.

I have been doing some research and do intend to try different things, but right now, I'm so busy with the collars and keeping an eye on him that I really don't have the time or energy. In fact, my family is getting a little worried about how this is affecting me.

Anyway, need to walk my dog then go to bed. Thanks again for all the posts, please keep them coming:shy:
 

ZoeyFredrik

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Hi there!

Thank you for all that you have done for your little quaker, Kosmo!

I know all to well what it is like to have a plucking quaker. Sammy has been a plucker most of his life. When I looked at your blog... it reminded me so much of Sam. They even look alike. Sammy is collared. He wears a plastic one, but just the collar part, not the ring. At one point he wore the whole thing.
Sammy.png
I have taken the collar off of him in the past, with not much luck. He can go for a short period of time, like a couple of weeks. Then he starts plucking and picking at himself. Luckily for me, he seems fine with his collar. I do let him have short periods of time with it off so he can preen normally, but I have to really watch him closely. When Sammy was little the vet figured out why he was plucking (for the most part), Sam has heart disease. With medication he stopped the majority of it, now he just has his favorite areas. He also has areas which will never grow feathers again. But he seems fine with that. One thing the vet tried that really seemed to help as well is an omega supplement. He takes a special heart one, but I noticed an improvement with his feather condition after having used this.

I just looked back on your post and thought of this. Sammy gets preening obsessed too. The vet thinks part of this is already in them (why they may pluck) and then some of it is from the collar. They can't wait to preen themselves after having not been able too. But then, they take it too far. I have to watch Sam for the perfect time when he has properly preened and then collar him. Or else he moves on to plucking and then to picking at himself. Its like a double edge sword, the collar, it helps stop plucking, yet can also be part of it.

I hope you and Kosmo are doing well!

Wing hugs! - Sammy:quaker:
 
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Kima

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Thank you Zoey,

Yes, it sounds like our birds are similar. I am trying to do the same (allow him periods to preen and keep a non-invasive collar on him the rest of the time) only I'd like to use cloth collars because I can make them. The short "Dicky" or "Elizabethan" collar he had was screwed on, so only the vet could put it on/take off. Even with the cloth collars, I need to fight with him - to the point where I'm feel like I might one day hurt him. He may become resolute to wearing them, but that is not where he's at now!

I feel like he needs more distractions in his life. I would like to get more birds, even though it might mean a little less 1-to-1 attention, he would have a flock (i.e. cages near him that might offer him something to focus on besides just me and his body.) Also, I thought he might learn to play with toys by watching other birds since I can't seem to teach him. What do you think of this Zoey?

How often do you bathe Sammy? I've read that regular bathing can sometimes help. A bath seems to calm Kosmo a lot.

Kosmo has a real problem with inflammation, so Omega 3 supplements sounds great! My vet just recommended food high in O3, could you tell me what this supplement is called please.

Thank you again so much,

Cheers...Kima/Kosmo
 

parrotluv

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A neighbor cage friend might be a good idea if you are already wanting another. They are flock animals and do better with more than just being alone.
 

Kima

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Also bathing with added aloe is southing for the skin.
I actually bathe him in my tub (he loves it the best, maybe because he sees me bathing there.) Do you think I could mist him with a little aloe and water after his bath?
 
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