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Need advice about clipping feathers

Iyanden

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Hi everyone. New here, and I was hoping to get some advice about my female (~1.5 year old) eclectus that's been clipping her feathers. Long story, so bear with me.

My wife and I got her from a well-known local pet store two Thanksgivings ago. She was still on formula at the time, and she stayed on formula for a while. We eventually switched her over to a mix of soaked monkey biscuit with various blended veggies and fruits. She would eat 3-4 of those mixes and some safflower seeds a day until around summer of last year. We then slowly reduced the number of monkey biscuit to 1-2, replaced by carrot/yam, farro, and beans. She would still get her usual blend of veggies/fruits. In October, she clipped all of her chest feathers over the course of a few days, to the point where it was just the underneath gray fluffs. The owner of the pet store recommended an avian vet 2 hours away, and we went to see that vet. All tests came clean. After reviewing everything, the vet thought we didn't wash her enough and recommended keeping humidity above 40.

So we tried to do that, washing her almost daily and running humidifiers, especially when the humidity outside was low. She seemed okay for the last few months, but there weren't really any feathers to clip anymore. Fast forward to earlier this month, a bunch of her feathers are growing, and she starts clipping them. She also is developing some bald spots around her beak, eyes, and back of her head - looks very similar to mojo molt pictures. We checked in with the vet again, and she recommended an elimination diet (that consists of just rice and supplements/vitamins) to make sure it's not some food sensitivity. We tried the diet, but she basically refused to eat. So we tried a more expanded version of it with (all organic) brown rice, carrot, blueberries, and 20 safflower seeds. She seemed a little better for a few days, but she's clipped all last week. With all the new feathers that are growing, I'm a little worried she doesn't have enough protein.

Besides the clipping, she's seemed mostly normal. She tears apart her toys, flies around a bit daily, sits on our computers when we work, and "talks" for anywhere between 15 minutes to 2 hours a day. While on this rice, carrot, and blueberries diet, she has shown much more food motivation (sometimes flying to the kitchen whenever she sees one of us in there), talked less, and appears sleepy (long blinks) sometimes during the day.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? Is it just a really bad molt? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!
 

Mockinbirdiva

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I have not had these experiences but do know eclectus require a specialized diet... I'm tagging @mythic55 to see if she can help you. She hasn't been on in a while so I hope she'll respond.
 

Monaco

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The long blinks are a behavior that indicates comfort and trust, the rest sounds like a frustrating mystery. I know they don't tolerate supplements well, so I think it was wise to augment the elimination diet. I would shift the rice to other carbs rather than keeping it as the base. Have you tried winter squashes? Butternut is what mythic55 recommends as a staple, I use acorn, pumpkin, kabocha, and sometimes spaghetti. Sweet potatoes, and I add potatoes because my girl likes them so much, may be a good thing to try after the rice. Oatmeal is another carb I use. Usually oat groats, but I make her oatmeal sometimes and use some in her bird bread.

@Miss Annamarie
 

Iyanden

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The long blinks are a behavior that indicates comfort and trust, the rest sounds like a frustrating mystery. I know they don't tolerate supplements well, so I think it was wise to augment the elimination diet. I would shift the rice to other carbs rather than keeping it as the base. Have you tried winter squashes? Butternut is what mythic55 recommends as a staple, I use acorn, pumpkin, kabocha, and sometimes spaghetti. Sweet potatoes, and I add potatoes because my girl likes them so much, may be a good thing to try after the rice. Oatmeal is another carb I use. Usually oat groats, but I make her oatmeal sometimes and use some in her bird bread.

@Miss Annamarie
Not sure she's had winter squash, but she used to eat a bit of kabocha (though more interested in the seeds). Before this elimination diet, she used to get some combo of rice/farro/oats with her veggies in the morning and a mashed mix of carrot/yam every night.
 

Monaco

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I'm not sure what age hormones really kick in, but breast feathers are a prime spot for the urge to make soft nesting materials. Monaco has barbered her wing feathers for years, but started snipping body and breast feathers during this last hormonal period. Diet can go a long way to easing the body through the surges, but the ladies can be profoundly difficult despite excellent health when they take over. You do have an excellent start as far as diet, but definitely be cautious about the supplements.
 

Miss Annamarie

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A molt would not induce barbering. Has anything big changed or anything small such as her schedule since this started?
 

Iyanden

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A molt would not induce barbering. Has anything big changed or anything small such as her schedule since this started?
Hard to say. The biggest change was last March when we started working from home, but she was fine through all that.
 
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