Plucking....

[BrianB]

Let me preface this by saying that I've already contacted the vet's office. It's a Sunday and I expect to hear back tomorrow morning.

My Golden Conure female plucked herself bare yesterday. She went through a rough molt a few months ago and was looking rough for a but, but a lot of the bare patches were mostly filled in. Yesterday morning I went to work, and she looked fine. When I came home, she was almost naked. My other half said she was acting agitated and pacing back and forth in the cage. I've put some avian calming stuff in their water and misted her with some water in case it's environmental. The first two pictures are what she looked like a few weeks ago. The second two are what she looks like now - and she did this during the course of the day while I was at work. I'm hearbroken.

 

[Karen]

Oh my gosh, poor baby. She must be in pain from all the plucking. I hope she settles soon and the vet is able to help her.

 

[expressmailtome]

Is she nesting? In some species a bird will sometimes use their own feathers to help line a nest.

 

[BrianB]

I should have included that she only 16 months old. The male is 5 and a half or so. He wants to mate she doesn’t. She’s got another 2 years before she’s sexually mature. More than once he’s gotten frisky with her and she puts him in his place.

 

[janicedyh]

First I would suggest you have some lab work done to discount anything that could be causing this other than anxiety. I would also suggest for the time being if nothing is physically wrong you might want to consider a soft collar, not the god awful ones the vet usually puts on. If she is plucking because of stress it quickly becomes habitual and I've found no matter what you do...toys, foraging, extra time etc as soon as your back is turned they will pluck. This is the one I settled on for Doby. It is from Protective Parrot Petals by Pam - Home | Facebook

You can also get good ones from BirdSupplies.com | #1 Collection for Feather Picking Parrots
But first thing is to get your girl checked out by your Avian vet

 

[Monica]

I've heard time and time again that this is "normal" for the species to do... I've never had one, but really don't feel like it's normal... I hope you are able to figure out what's up with her!

 

[BrianB]

I've heard time and time again that this is "normal" for the species to do... I've never had one, but really don't feel like it's normal... I hope you are able to figure out what's up with her!

I've heard the same thing. The breeder I got these two from said all of his females have a plucked chest. If she was old enough for breeding, then I might not be too concerned. My poor girl looks like she's been through a lawnmower.

 

[BrianB]

My vet is fantastic. They will fit her in this morning right after I'm done with work. Hopefully, we have an answer soon. My other concern is that I work part-time at a local bird store and I want to make sure I haven't picked up something nasty and brought it home, or I don't take something equally nasty to work with me. I'm hoping it's something that can be resolved quickly before the plucking becomes a compulsion. One naked bird is enough.

 

[janicedyh]

It is not "normal". There are no reported cases of a wild parrots plucking. A breeder might mean it is "normal" for a captive bird that is used for breeding and deprived of anything related to a "normal" parrot life to pluck.

 

[BrianB]

It is not "normal". There are no reported cases of wild parrots plucking. A breeder might mean it is "normal" for a captive bird that is used for breeding and deprived of anything related to a "normal" parrot life to pluck.

You are correct. This is not "normal" behavior in any wild bird. His breeding females always have bare stomachs during the breeding season. I have heard from others that females of this species are prone to plucking in captivity.

 

[Zara]

I´m really sorry Brian

Sending you all my positive thoughts, and I hope the feathers grow back and all tests come back clean

 

[Sodapop&Co.]

Goodness, poor poor baby ( That looks terrible, and painful. I hope you figure out what's bothering her and help her.

 

[BrianB]

She’s getting a collar and needs to be separated from the male. Full panel of blood work and disease testing just to rule out everything. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the results.

 

[BrianB]

My girl is a little better this morning. They gave her a shot of an anti-inflammatory to help control any skin irritation. She's got a bubble collar on. The vet said with as much damage as she did to her feathers in a day, she would probably destroy a soft collar in short order. She was really angry yesterday, but she's calmer today. I'm trying to spend as much time as I can with her. The male is very angry. I've had to partially cover his cage because he can see her and was just screaming about it. I'm hoping to have some results by the end of the week.

 

[EkkieLu]

Newt was a major plucker when I first adopted him. After more than a year he's finally stopped and is starting to let his chest feathers fill in. I've figured out what toys he likes the best and which foods are his favorites. So he's much happier and content in his surroundings, plus he has plenty of toys he enjoys to keep him occupied. He used to act like a very nervous chicken, but now he's quite at home making demands like the rest of my owners!

 

[Vmax]

Hi Brian, I too am sending good thoughts and prayers to you and your sweet birb. Please update us on the latest. Hopefully it’s a resolvable situation. She’s beautiful.

 

[BrianB]

Thanks. The vet called yesterday just to check in on her and see how she's doing. She's not eating as much as she should, but she's eating. I'm trying different positions for the dishes to see what position makes them easier for her to reach. I'm also trying different foods to get her interest. I'm finding food in the water dish, so that's encouraging. She also drinks from a bottle. The water level has gone down but I haven't managed to catch her drinking from it. She's really cuddly. Far more than she has ever been. I made a quick trip to Home Depot to get some cleaning things for the outside aviary. When I came home she was sitting on top of her cage. She's in a utility cage right now, but she managed to pull off one of the clips on the small door and get out. She couldn't fly if she wanted to now, but a drop to the floor would have hurt her and put her within reach of the cat. Now there are larger clips on the doors.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

It will be interesting to see what results are on what tests your vet did. Out side of that my thoughts are she "stress plucked" from being kept in the cage with an older male pursuing her for mating. He's ready and she is not. I would consider keeping them separated for quite some time... at least until she reaches maturity for breeding. They will both adjust to being kept separate in time and she needs a rich diet to help her grow those feathers back. She should be much more calm not being chased by the male. How long has she been kept with the male? Did you let them see each other in individual cages for two to three months or more before introducing them? Was there a nest box in their cage? I have long loved the goldens... I know it must be incredibly hard to see her plucked so badly. Thinking good and positive thoughts for her re-growth. You can always send her to me!

 

[BrianB]

It will be interesting to see what results are on what tests your vet did. Out side of that my thoughts are she "stress plucked" from being kept in the cage with an older male pursuing her for mating. He's ready and she is not. I would consider keeping them separated for quite some time... at least until she reaches maturity for breeding. They will both adjust to being kept separate in time and she needs a rich diet to help her grow those feathers back. She should be much more calm not being chased by the male. How long has she been kept with the male? Did you let them see each other in individual cages for two to three months or more before introducing them? Was there a nest box in their cage? I have long loved the goldens... I know it must be incredibly hard to see her plucked so badly. Thinking good and positive thoughts for her re-growth. You can always send her to me!

It's hard to say. They have been together for the last year. He's never been forceful in his behavior. When she's had enough, she gives him a bite and they go back to cuddling. The screaming has settled down, and I've blocked his cage a little so he can't see her. That has helped.

 

[BrianB]

First of the test came back. No Beak & Feather! Other disease tests pending, but I'm confident that they will be negative as well. Elevated kidney levels so it may be a diet thing. She's going in tomorrow for fluids to help flush them out and hopefully that will bring the levels down. We'll discuss diet then. Progress!