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Plucking Mama Lovebird!!

Gigibirds

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Hi everyone!
I have an overly-excited mama lovebird (Ginger). She has two babies (well, they aren't really hers, and she adopted them, but that's a longggg story), and she has started plucking all the feathers off her tummy (excuse the improper name) for the babies. I can't really see the babies because she hides them from me by sitting on them or covering them with leaves, but the last time I got a peek they were just fine, squirming around and with full crops. They are one week old as of today, and the 'parents' are taking care of them very well! However, Ginger is just so excited and protective of these babies. She lives in a little aviary outside, with just one other lovebird (her mate/bff, who is also a girl, and the mom of the babies, but she did all of the nest-building and eating for the family). I'm in SoCal, so the weather is really nice, but I don't want Ginger to over-pluck herself. She can't fly very well, so she basically lives in the nesting box now, coming out only twice a day (ish). How can I help her? I could go to my other bird's cage and collect feathers from the bottom of it and offer those to Ginger, but I don't know if that would help her. I would really appreciate any tips! Thanks!

I know the situation is confusing so I will try to lay it out a little if you don't want to read that whole thing:
1. Ginger, my lovebird, adopted 2 babies. She can't fly very well, and I am 99% sure she's a girl based on her behaviour, but she was not DNA tested
2. She has been plucking all of the feathers out of her tummy to line the nest with (I think)
3. The real mother of the babies, Mango, is now Ginger's mate/bff and is acting like the dad, but still helping her raise the babies
4. Coldness is not an issue, but I want to help Ginger. How do I discourage her from plucking? And how do I help her in general?
 

MR. Mango

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Zara

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It´s normal they pluck some feathers sort of in that ¨tummy¨area if we call it, low down near and between the legs. It is called a ¨breeders patch¨. They do it so heat passes to the chicks easier.
Is this the area? could you get a picture?
 

Ripshod

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Where's the male?
 

Gigibirds

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Zara, I will try to get a picture next time I see her out of the nesting box. And Ripshod, we lost the male just before she Mango laid the last egg, so he wasn't there to help her, which is why she and Ginger bonded and hatched them together.
 

Ripshod

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Zara, I will try to get a picture next time I see her out of the nesting box. And Ripshod, we lost the male just before she Mango laid the last egg, so he wasn't there to help her, which is why she and Ginger bonded and hatched them together.
I'm so sorry.
 

MBBirdsNV

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Did you provide them nesting materials to "build" their nest? Cause I was away from home for a bit with family and had a sitter come feed my birds while I was gone. One of my pairs started to lay very early in the season and the sitter just thought they were hiding in the box when she came by cause they didnt know her. Long story short I came home and my cookie girl had plucked herself from her neck down and did the Male too!!!!! I think she got freaked out by the sitter and her not having nesting materials she went to town and just plucked her and him down to their hatchday suits I immediately put nesting material to just barely past half the height of each egg and gave a few things for her to bring up and it diverted her attention from her and her mates feathers instantly. Just give them lots of toys to chew and knaw on such as paper rope or corrugated paper or the jungle net things for them to chew on before breeding time cause you dont want her enjoying the plucktown adventures and going loco on the babies too.
 

Gigibirds

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Yeah I had given them TONS of nesting material as soon as I realized what was going on.....and then they made a really intricate nest out of palm fronds (the nesting material that I supplied), and then Ginger plucked herself! the babies are all grown up now, and Ginger has stopped plucking. New feathers are growing in, although she is still really quite bear. She always turns around when I get my phone out to take a picture so I still can't get one!! :( Thank you @MBBirdsNV for the great advice though!
*the babies are completely feathered out now, and they are super healthy. She never tried to pluck them! She's a great mom to them, but she was just hard on herself :(
 
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