Need Help with Plucking!

[Donk]

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the board and have been looking through some threads on plucking. I have a Blue and Gold macaw, when we rescued him early this summer he was severly plucked. We actually know nothing of his past or his age or actually his sex. The big problem is he won't stop plucking, we don't know how long he has been doing this. He has a top notch diet, bathed often, given tons of love and attention. I feel his plucking is more a habit now than anything.

Currently we are trying a tube collar on him, but only after a few days my wife is not happy because Revo is depressed.

Is there anyway to keep him from his feathers? the tube collar doesn't seem to work cause he can still reach some areas. I need him to be isolated from his feather for at least 6 months. Any Help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Danita]

Some birds will just pluck. I don't think a collar is the answer, especially if he isn't mutilating.

Have you taken him to an Avian Vet? If you have ruled out all physical problems that could be associated with it, then give him LOTS to do.

I am not sure if you know this already but, here is the info anyhow.

Things macaws like to chew:
Paper knots (paper cord, paper towel)
Terry towel strips
Wood, pine is good, they turn it into toothpicks. If you can, slice 2 x 4 pine to about 1/2" to start and go up from there.
Barky branches
Hide treats in things.

He is beautiful
Check the foraging area and the diy toy area for more ideas.

My macaw loves Get-a-Grip nets, she shreds them too.

 

[Kayaker]

My scarlet was a plucker also, I give him lots of stuff to shred. The best things I have found are stuff made with husks that he can preen. I also found that if I hang it outside his cage by the door where he sits he plays and chews with it alot more. Good luck, my guy looked like yours and now he has lots of down feathers on his chest and more feathers overall, not perfect but better.

 

[Donk]

We have tons of chew toys in his cage, Also we found he isn't a fan of Rafia. We try and keep him occupied and he's only in his cage at night. It isn't the normal diet or humidity or being bored. He shreds wood so fast that I had to make him a toy out of maple. We haven't taken him to a vet yet cause he was at one just before we got him. No problems health wise, just plucks. the other two birds don't being on the same diets. I wish there was a way to keep him from his feathers.

 

[JLcribber]

We have tons of chew toys in his cage, Also we found he isn't a fan of Rafia. We try and keep him occupied and he's only in his cage at night. It isn't the normal diet or humidity or being bored. He shreds wood so fast that I had to make him a toy out of maple. We haven't taken him to a vet yet cause he was at one just before we got him. No problems health wise, just plucks. the other two birds don't being on the same diets. I wish there was a way to keep him from his feathers.

Do you have hard documentation as to his health from this vet visit he had before you got him?

You should still be taking him to an avian vet, preferably a different one to get a second opinion and establish your own hard evidence that this is not a medical problem. It quite often is.

Give this article a read for some insight.

Feather Abuse in Parrots: Causes and Approaches to Resolution

Once plucking has progressed to the stage seen in your pics it has usually become an ingrained behavior and a habit that is hard to break.

Preening is a natural and hard wired instinct. Plucking is an exaggeration of that behavior and if not dealt with quickly becomes a habit much like chewing your fingernails. As a result of nervousness. The feather picking is a stress coping mechanism. There is an endorphin rush from pulling the feather and relieving the irritation which is a reward. Much like scratching an itch. The pain itself might even be reinforcing. When a feather is pulled, there is about a 2 week cycle before the new feather starts to stick out of the skin. The bird may not pluck for 2 weeks and then start again. This is a bad cycle. Don't make a fuss over plucked feathers. That is also a reinforcer

 

[Dana64]

When I rescued my African Grey Congo 3 years ago, he was bald and bleeding from plucking and self-mutilation after suffering years of mental and physical abuse. We still work on his emotional issues on a daily basis however we have cured his plucking problem. He has been fully feathered now for almost 2 years.

I bought AviCalm and Featheriffic. They are products manufactured by Avitech. AviCalm is a very fine, tasteless white powder that you sprinkle on top of food, add to water, sprinkle on toys and treats, etc. AviCalm`s main ingredient is L-Theanine which is found in green tea. It is NOT a drug so therefore cannot be overdosed. Featheriffic is a supplement that causes pins to come in at hyper-speed... like within 2-3 days. AviCalm keeps the bird calm when it is being irritated by all these pins coming in. These products WORK. That being said, they will only work as long as there is no folicle damage. Meaning that if your B & G has been a habitual plucker for many years there is a strong possibility that the folicles have been permanantly destroyed and if that is the case, there isn`t a product in the world that will bring those feathers back. I have looked at the pics you have posted and in my opinion, there is folicle damage. You WILL get growth, but `fully feathered` might be a bit ambitious.

AviCalm and Featheriffic are most definitely worth the investment. It will probably take 6 months before you see tangible results given the amount of damage to repair... but it is worth the effort.

Just my 2 cents....

 

[Allessa]

Everyone here has given great advice. Sometimes once a bird starts plucking/barbering, its a very hard habit to break. My Goffins plucks a little on his chest, but he mostly barbs his feathers, he just looks like a darn rag doll at times and no matter how many bathes i give him, toys i give him, he still does it. Its just a bad habit that he cant seem to kick.

Also in some cases, if the bird has plucked that spot enough, the feathers wont even grow back..so its possible that your baby may always have a naked belly =) He is beautiful either way!

 

[Dana64]

Plucking is an exaggeration of that behavior and if not dealt with quickly becomes a habit much like chewing your fingernails. As a result of nervousness. The feather picking is a stress coping mechanism. There is an endorphin rush from pulling the feather and relieving the irritation which is a reward. Much like scratching an itch. The pain itself might even be reinforcing. When a feather is pulled, there is about a 2 week cycle before the new feather starts to stick out of the skin. The bird may not pluck for 2 weeks and then start again. This is a bad cycle. Don't make a fuss over plucked feathers. That is also a reinforcer

I totally agree with JL`s post. And AviCalm will fix the nervousness, the stress, the itch and irritation, etc. AviCalm might also provide the time you need to learn about plucking behaviors and reinforcers. AviCalm will provide your B & G at least some relief until you have figured out a PLAN on how to deal with this long term problem.

 

[Donk]

Wow, thanks for those bit of info, I like this forum already.

 

[Danita]

He likes the wood good. How about preening toys? It doesn't have to be much, those cotton dog pulls, or even strips of a bath/terry towel.

 

[Donk]

He likes the wood good. How about preening toys? It doesn't have to be much, those cotton dog pulls, or even strips of a bath/terry towel.

we tried Rafia and towel strips, he didn't like either. So there are no preening toys. None of the three birds really cared for that stuff in their cages. Maybe we should try again.

 

[JLcribber]

we tried Rafia and towel strips, he didn't like either. So there are no preening toys. None of the three birds really cared for that stuff in their cages. Maybe we should try again.

A"very" important thing in any parrots life is "foraging". They need a job to do and that job is to find and work for their food. There are many foraging type toys and activities you can introduce and teach them to use.

Something else that will help towards a solution is to provide a much larger space like an indoor aviary or safe bird room so the bird has the room to actually do that exploring/foraging. Being confined to a cage or playstand is very hindering and stressful to a bird that is designed, built and programmed to "fly" hundreds of miles per day. A cage or playstand is only a few steps in any direction. To a bird that size it's about the same as you being made to spend all your time in a broom closet. A busy beak doesn't have time to pluck.

 

[Bokkapooh]

My question to you is, what exactly is his diet and size of cage? Do you have any fun enrichments for him away from his cage? Large wooden playstands are a must for large cockatoos and macaws. And the good new is, going by your pics you posted, your macaw's flollicles don't look damaged. You can still see them, your macaw's chest isn't all smooth like those with damage follicles.

XLL cage, Lots of toys, foraging toys, variety of diet with pellets, nuts, seeds, sprouts, veggies, greens, fruit. Large play areas away from the cage aka bride play gyms.

Has your bird been to the vet? Blood work, fecal, full chemically test? Allergy tested?

Clipped or flighted?

How do you interact with him? Is he a perch potatoe lazy bird?

 

[Donk]

My question to you is, what exactly is his diet and size of cage? Do you have any fun enrichments for him away from his cage? Large wooden playstands are a must for large cockatoos and macaws. And the good new is, going by your pics you posted, your macaw's flollicles don't look damaged. You can still see them, your macaw's chest isn't all smooth like those with damage follicles.

XLL cage, Lots of toys, foraging toys, variety of diet with pellets, nuts, seeds, sprouts, veggies, greens, fruit. Large play areas away from the cage aka bride play gyms.

Has your bird been to the vet? Blood work, fecal, full chemically test? Allergy tested?

Clipped or flighted?

How do you interact with him? Is he a perch potatoe lazy bird?

The cages for our two macaws are 36cu/ft. or the interior room is 3ft wide and 4 ft tall and 3 ft. deep. Big cages. Also the bird is only in his cage at night. the rest of the day he is out and about the house, we clip his flight feathers. and we haven't come up with any good foraging type toys yet because anything we come up with he chews up in a matter if hours. We interact with the birds most of the day. either my wife or I am at home so the birds are rarely just sitting around bored. the birds eat Zupreem for their pellets and fresh veggies and nuts. I believe our birds aren't big fans of greens but they love pizza!
I guess from what everyone is saying I should get Revo to the vet. Since that is the only thing that hasn't been done.

 

[lotus15]

The cages for our two macaws are 12cu/ft. or the interior room is 3ft wide and 4 ft tall. Big cages. Also the bird is only in his cage at night. the rest of the day he is out and about the house, we clip his flight feathers. and we haven't come up with any good foraging type toys yet because anything we come up with he chews up in a matter if hours. We interact with the birds most of the day. either my wife or I am at home so the birds are rarely just sitting around bored. the birds eat Zupreem for their pellets and fresh veggies and nuts. I believe our birds aren't big fans of greens but they love pizza!
I guess from what everyone is saying I should get Revo to the vet. Since that is the only thing that hasn't been done.

I hope you do not take offense to this, but a 3 ft wide cage is actually considered quite very small for a large macaw. I think that most people on this forum would agree that the absolute smallest cage appropriate for a large macaw-- and that's it if were to be used as a sleeping cage and the parrot was out of it for most of the day-- should be at least 4 ft wide. Most people on the forum, however, have double macaw cages for their large macaws (at 5 ft/60 inches wide, but many up to 80 inches wide). Since you said he spends most of his time out of it, it may not be a huge factor, but many birds will pluck due to a confined space and boredom. I can't imagine that he has very much room to move around in when you factor in food bowls, perches, and toys. If I were stuck in a room that I couldn't even spread my arms open in, I'd probably pull out my hair too. (I do realize that's anthropomorphizing a lot, but just to put it in perspective a bit.) My cape parrot, for instance, has a cage that is 3.5 ft wide (42"), and she is far smaller than a large macaw at 320 grams.

 

[Donk]

I can't believe that you need a cage that is 5 ft wide, for a B&G macaw. the cage he's in now has more than ample room for him to stretch out his wings while dancing in a circle. It's a place for him to eat and sleep. I looked at dozens of web sites at cages of all sizes and shapes before deciding.

 

[Donk]

I know I'm still new at parenting Macaws, can anyone point me in the right direction as far as foraging and keeping them occupied?

 

[Danita]

I will dig up some pictures of my macaw set up.
Maybe I will start a new thread for you, then we can get lots of ideas, first let me see if there is one already

 

[Danita]

Okay, I started a thread here Kelly, lets see what is posted
http://forums.avianavenue.com/macaw...aying-cages-large-macaws-here.html#post617978

 

[lotus15]

I can't believe that you need a cage that is 5 ft wide, for a B&G macaw. the cage he's in now has more than ample room for him to stretch out his wings while dancing in a circle. It's a place for him to eat and sleep. I looked at dozens of web sites at cages of all sizes and shapes before deciding.

I know I'm still new at parenting Macaws, can anyone point me in the right direction as far as foraging and keeping them occupied?

I know that it does seem huge-- trust me, I was of the same opinion a few years ago-- but if you could snap a photo of what your macaw looks like in the cage with his wings outstretched, you will see that there really isn't much space at all-- and that's only when he's sitting smack in the center.

Here are two really great examples of B&G macaw cages and set-ups:
http://forums.avianavenue.com/macaw...o-you-set-up-your-macaws-cage.html#post548802
http://forums.avianavenue.com/macaw...o-you-set-up-your-macaws-cage.html#post570762

That thread has a ton of great set-ups actually and is worth looking through in its entirety, especially for ideas on keeping them occupied and such

Again, just for a little bit of perspective, here is a mini macaw in a cage that is 40" wide-- I think it's a very appropriate size for the mini, but not for a large macaw.
http://forums.avianavenue.com/macaw...o-you-set-up-your-macaws-cage.html#post548802

Like I said I do NOT mean to offend or come across as critical-- I just want to help you improve your parrots' lives as much as possible and to help your B&G to stop plucking. This just might be one piece of the puzzle!