egg
Sitting on the front steps
Hey Everyone!
Today I came home to my sunny, Quinn, with her feathers from her chest to her feet plucked CLEAN! I'm so confused, and for the 4 years she's lived in my home this was never a problem. I know the usual causes of feather plucking, so here are my candidate choices:
1) I introduced the Ecotrition Vita-Sol vitamins into her water a few days prior, so its possible this could be it.
2) I noticed a pile of feathers where the little mirror in her cage was; I was thinking she stares at it and plucks. It has been in her cage for about 2 years now, but after some mirror research I deemed that this could be the possible issue.
3) Weather? It's SoCal winter right now, so it's a little chilly and dry. I could amp up the heater a bit higher and offer her the spray bottle.
4) More attention? Our routine hasn't changed at all.. usually we play for a few hours every other day.
5) Unidentifiable medical condition?
6) The cat? Although this one is more unlikely because he has little to no interest in the bird, they rarely interact, and he's been in the house for about a year and a half now.
This is very baffling to me considering that we haven't had a change in an environment recently.
Also, I planned on taking her to the vet immediately, but considering how stressed she gets in travel, it worries me. She has never reacted like this to prior vet visits. In between me putting Quinn in her travel cage/cardboard box, this is the series of events that fold out:
-I lure her into her container
-In the car she has a strange reaction; her wings spread out, her eyes blink rapidly, and she makes a weird squeaking noise.
- Suddenly she'll fall into a somewhat sedated state, like she's about to take a nap.
-Then.. BAM! She falls into panic mode and thrashes about flapping all over the container/box, hitting the walls of the cage/box. Considering that stress is the #1 killer for birds, I took her back inside IMMEDIATELY and put her back in her cage to calm down... she starts to fear me during this stage, too.
Here is my big question: What do YOU guys think the cause of feather plucking is, and what do you guys do when you take your feathered buddies to the vet?!
Today I came home to my sunny, Quinn, with her feathers from her chest to her feet plucked CLEAN! I'm so confused, and for the 4 years she's lived in my home this was never a problem. I know the usual causes of feather plucking, so here are my candidate choices:
1) I introduced the Ecotrition Vita-Sol vitamins into her water a few days prior, so its possible this could be it.
2) I noticed a pile of feathers where the little mirror in her cage was; I was thinking she stares at it and plucks. It has been in her cage for about 2 years now, but after some mirror research I deemed that this could be the possible issue.
3) Weather? It's SoCal winter right now, so it's a little chilly and dry. I could amp up the heater a bit higher and offer her the spray bottle.
4) More attention? Our routine hasn't changed at all.. usually we play for a few hours every other day.
5) Unidentifiable medical condition?
6) The cat? Although this one is more unlikely because he has little to no interest in the bird, they rarely interact, and he's been in the house for about a year and a half now.
This is very baffling to me considering that we haven't had a change in an environment recently.
Also, I planned on taking her to the vet immediately, but considering how stressed she gets in travel, it worries me. She has never reacted like this to prior vet visits. In between me putting Quinn in her travel cage/cardboard box, this is the series of events that fold out:
-I lure her into her container
-In the car she has a strange reaction; her wings spread out, her eyes blink rapidly, and she makes a weird squeaking noise.
- Suddenly she'll fall into a somewhat sedated state, like she's about to take a nap.
-Then.. BAM! She falls into panic mode and thrashes about flapping all over the container/box, hitting the walls of the cage/box. Considering that stress is the #1 killer for birds, I took her back inside IMMEDIATELY and put her back in her cage to calm down... she starts to fear me during this stage, too.
Here is my big question: What do YOU guys think the cause of feather plucking is, and what do you guys do when you take your feathered buddies to the vet?!