quaker plucking issue?

[sleepyteds]

hey! my name is Teddy, i just joined hoping my mom and i could get some help with my baby Romeo.

it started a month ago but one night he just suddenly started freaking out and plucking feathers on his leg. it slowed down for a bit but now he just has these burst of plucking episodes during the night, and ONLY at night.

just a few things to note;
- we moved houses in February
- he has a cover for his cage
- hes in a quiet area at night, and recently weve all be sure to avoid going downstairs where his cage is while hes asleep (he used to be fine before but this is a new habit of ours ever since he started plucking)
- our initial thought is mites, but theres no irritation on the skin and mite spray hasn't done anything but stress him out more
- vet checked out all physical health related issues

hes gotten really reserved too, i was hoping maybe i could distract and play with him in the day but hes just so reserved and angry with all of us all of a sudden

does anyone have any advice, thoughts, or ideas on how to proceed with this?

 

[Emma&pico]

Hi
@Pixiebeak is amazing with Quakers hopefully she will come soon to help you

 

[sleepyteds]

thank you so much!

 

[Emma&pico]

thank you so much!

Forgot to say welcome it’s a brilliant forum

 

[Pixiebeak]

Hi! Pictures would be helpful. When plucking legs and between legs it is more often a health issue than a behavioral. It could be behavioral, but this isn't a typical starting to pluck area at least at first. At first it's most often upper chest and shoulders or around neck .

It could be the behavior changes are linked with a health issue. Stress of moving can allow health issues they were keeping in check overtake them. I take extra caution when moving and new birds just coming home , because I've had a long time and experience with that. Things that I suggest ( for other reading and in the future) weigh them before the move, or first day home for new bird , weigh them every day for at least 2 weeks , then weekly as a good life time habit. I myself offer extra warmth with my sweeter heater. Offer extra treats cuz I want them eating well. And fir new ones no diet change for a month, tho in seperste dishes I offer stuff I want them to eat, but they still have unlimited if whatever they were eating before.

This is not saying you caused anything at all. If it is a health thing likely was chronic and had before.

How do poops look?

 

[sleepyteds]

thank you so much for the response!!

so yes, i can 100% provide a picture, below. it goes up all the way up his leg on the inside as well, and recently its been under the wing and around the ribs as well. he plucks mainly the down feathers in those areas but this leg is the one he started from and you can see its completely naked. feathers grew back, but then he pulled all those out again last night.




about the move, yeah we probably shouldve been more careful. i was on campus while we were moving houses and my parents and brothers were here during the move. we checked with a vet but he said that Romeo seemed healthy, and we don't have the money yet for any major xrays and scans to get a further look.

i dont really know still why he only does it at night and why all of a sudden, the first day he started my mom said (from what she heard and saw him doing) he just freaked out inside his cage in the middle of the night and started running back and forth and ripping his feathers, weve never seen him like this before in the past 5 years weve had him

we're just really concerned because we feel like, once im back on campus next week, my mom cant do anything and i dont want it to get to a point where we're going to have to rehome him to a shelter :')

 

[Pixiebeak]

It's always hard to tell from one picture, but he looks a little thin as well..
You can use a digital kitchen scale to check weight. I just plop my on and hover my hand over them for quick weight.

The dry skin, makes me think isn't getting veggies rich in vitamin A , like bell peppers, chili pepper, or any peppers they like the first 2 are ones mine enjoy most. Also cooked sweet potato served warm and mashed is often liked , cooked carrots make the beta carotene more bio available, romaine lettuce, swiss chard are also good sources if vitamin A.

You can also offer B's gs in a sturdy shallow dish , I use human serving dishes with no more than 2 inches of water. I really splash with my hand that seems to get them jumping in. You can lightly mist upward and ket just a little must fall back down on them . I wouldn't disk a bird I think could have health issues. If they choose to jump in a bath in their own thst fine. But

What is the diet?

A fresh poop pic is helpful as well. Just not first morning poop as they always look weird. And no dried up poop as hard to tell anything from that

Most birds that pluck tend to do it at night . I'm not ruling out that something causes him stress at night tho.

Is DNA male?

A new move and new sounds and changes can be stressful. But I don't think causes this leg plucking...I can be wrong. But do try and accumulate to new home. I do this by taking them on short walks out from cage then back towards cage , to help teach new flight paths. I fi this lots gradually going farther and exploring more rooms. Try and keep night time routine the same as before.

 

[sleepyteds]

It's always hard to tell from one picture, but he looks a little thin as well..
You can use a digital kitchen scale to check weight. I just plop my on and hover my hand over them for quick weight.

The dry skin, makes me think isn't getting veggies rich in vitamin A , like bell peppers, chili pepper, or any peppers they like the first 2 are ones mine enjoy most. Also cooked sweet potato served warm and mashed is often liked , cooked carrots make the beta carotene more bio available, romaine lettuce, swiss chard are also good sources if vitamin A.

You can also offer B's gs in a sturdy shallow dish , I use human serving dishes with no more than 2 inches of water. I really splash with my hand that seems to get them jumping in. You can lightly mist upward and ket just a little must fall back down on them . I wouldn't disk a bird I think could have health issues. If they choose to jump in a bath in their own thst fine. But

What is the diet?

Most birds that pluck tend to do it at night . I'm not ruling out that something causes him stress at night tho.

Is DNA male?

for his diet, hes really picky and often won't try new things no matter what we do.

he eats pellets, cucumbers, apples, nuts, chilis, broccoli sometimes (depending on how he feels), mangoes if he feels like it as well, and some seeds in a hagen tropimix that we give him sometimes as a treat.

lately he hasnt been eating very well since he started plucking, which might be why hes a little thin lately! we'll try to incorporate these things into his diet as best as we can. do you have any advice on how to introduce him to new foods? he genuinely will not try anything new, weve tried bell peppers and lettuce before but he refuses to eat them!

he hasnt been taking any baths on his own like he usually does and we didn't want to mist him or force him to in case he gets more stressed!

hes been a bit of a scaredy cat since we got him, and weve done our best to make his as comfortable as possible, but its really difficult, so i feel like that could also be a factor.

 

[sleepyteds]

It's always hard to tell from one picture, but he looks a little thin as well..
You can use a digital kitchen scale to check weight. I just plop my on and hover my hand over them for quick weight.

The dry skin, makes me think isn't getting veggies rich in vitamin A , like bell peppers, chili pepper, or any peppers they like the first 2 are ones mine enjoy most. Also cooked sweet potato served warm and mashed is often liked , cooked carrots make the beta carotene more bio available, romaine lettuce, swiss chard are also good sources if vitamin A.

You can also offer B's gs in a sturdy shallow dish , I use human serving dishes with no more than 2 inches of water. I really splash with my hand that seems to get them jumping in. You can lightly mist upward and ket just a little must fall back down on them . I wouldn't disk a bird I think could have health issues. If they choose to jump in a bath in their own thst fine. But

What is the diet?

A fresh poop pic is helpful as well. Just not first morning poop as they always look weird. And no dried up poop as hard to tell anything from that

Most birds that pluck tend to do it at night . I'm not ruling out that something causes him stress at night tho.

Is DNA male?

A new move and new sounds and changes can be stressful. But I don't think causes this leg plucking...I can be wrong. But do try and accumulate to new home. I do this by taking them on short walks out from cage then back towards cage , to help teach new flight paths. I fi this lots gradually going farther and exploring more rooms. Try and keep night time routine the same as before.

sorry i forgot to answer the last bit! yes he is DNA'd as male

 

[Pixiebeak]

Sweet Romeo. Give extra love and patience too. Re reading, I'm not sure a February move is to blame...or the other stresses or changes? An incident thst might have lowered trust? New pets bee people in the home?

I'm still more worried if a health issue

 

[sleepyteds]

for sure! we are doing our best to give him all the love c:

i cant recall anythinf stressful at the moment. my grandparents moved in with us back in May, but he was well adjusted with them before this entire incident. im also worried about health issues. do you have any recommendations on how to move forwards with figuring out if its a health issue?

 

[Pixiebeak]

for his diet, hes really picky and often won't try new things no matter what we do.

he eats pellets, cucumbers, apples, nuts, chilis, broccoli sometimes (depending on how he feels), mangoes if he feels like it as well, and some seeds in a hagen tropimix that we give him sometimes as a treat.

lately he hasnt been eating very well since he started plucking, which might be why hes a little thin lately! we'll try to incorporate these things into his diet as best as we can. do you have any advice on how to introduce him to new foods? he genuinely will not try anything new, weve tried bell peppers and lettuce before but he refuses to eat them!

he hasnt been taking any baths on his own like he usually does and we didn't want to mist him or force him to in case he gets more stressed!

hes been a bit of a scaredy cat since we got him, and weve done our best to make his as comfortable as possible, but its really difficult, so i feel like that could also be a factor.

Well his diet sounds pretty good! Add back a little more seed at the very end of the day so still eats his pellets but might help with weight.

The more you say , the more worried I am that it's health issue. Birds tend to stop bathing when sick, because it takes a lot of calories to dry off. Less eating is usually health.

One possibility ( amongst many) is a chronic kidney infection.

New foods, I have best luck offering out of cage and letting them come find it and explore. And eating stuff in front of them and putting a dab by them . Or setting up them with a bowl of stuff next to me eating a bowl of the same stuff. Offering on flat plate. Hanging it at beak height in cage , or stuffing things through bars .

 

[Pixiebeak]

Did you see an avain vet? With a quaker size bird , getting a blood test for kidney, liver function sbd WBC count and hematocrit is a good start.
Some feel a poop culture, crop swab is helpful.

Some vets are willing to try around of antibiotics to see if they respond to that. But don't do baytril, I'd recommend doxycycline it's more gentle on them and still broad spectrum. But trying antibiotics is a discussion for you and your vet.

Knowing what your bird weighs is important. And seeing if dropping. If you must , out them in a container that you zero out first . I've had luck putting a bowl with some seeds and zero it out and ask them to step up to thdt .

No chewing walks or things that might expose them to metal toxicity?

 

[sleepyteds]

no i 100% agree with you, if this really is an odd occurance then we'll 100% try and get him checked out. i would do it in a heartbeat, my parents just have an issue with money at the moment, but i will 100% keep you posted with the things we try, how it turns out, etc. im gonna do my best to be sure that romeo gets checked out properly with an xray or scan for health issues as soon as possible. if my parents dont agree with pitching in for costs ill likely start a gofundme and use some money from my art hobby

thanks so much for your help Pixie! if theres anything else youd like to know or have any other advice feel free to message! this helped a bunch and ill do my best to keep everyone here posted abt the situation

 

[sleepyteds]

Did you see an avain vet? With a quaker size bird , getting a blood test for kidney, liver function sbd WBC count and hematocrit is a good start.
Some feel a poop culture, crop swab is helpful.

Some vets are willing to try around of antibiotics to see if they respond to that. But don't do baytril, I'd recommend doxycycline it's more gentle on them and still broad spectrum. But trying antibiotics is a discussion for you and your vet.

Knowing what your bird weighs is important. And seeing if dropping. If you must , out them in a container that you zero out first . I've had luck putting a bowl with some seeds and zero it out and ask them to step up to thdt .

No chewing walks or things that might expose them to metal toxicity?

the droppings test cane back clean when the vet did it last month, and he was ruled completely healthy on that part. his poop is normal as well, i havent seen any changes! i did see an avian vet, i did a ton of research and got referrals to this good one nearby.

ill definitely start checking his weight as well, i dont think we have a kitchen weight but ill buy one tomorrow, since stores are closing here soon, and ill try that method as well

nothing with metal toxicity that i know of! he doesnt chew on much, though sometimes ive noticed he chews on the bars of his cage instead of his toys (a habit since weve brought him home) in case that would help in any way!

 

[Pixiebeak]

Avain vets are worth the drive, most of us need to drive more than an hour one way to get to ours.

I definitely want a poop pic and weight.

Support care, is extra warmth. I use radiant heat panel called sweeter Heater as sold on Amazon. Smallest size is more than enough but they are an expensive investment. There are cage Warmer metal plate like thing that cheaper...forget the name.

Support also by baby bird formula has worked very well for my sick birds in the past. Adults crops don't stretch like a baby . Fir my quakers I started off with 1-3ml offered at beak tip with them standing head free and I had one hand in back holding shoulder gently. Dint be sticking it in their mouth. Use a 1 ml or 3 ml syringe nothing bigger, a beak full at a time. Make thicker like Greek yogurt thickness still nice and warm . Or you have great luck with him taking from ginger tip, or iff a plate , or mix a little with his food.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Things change, and issues can become more clear with time. Doesn't mean your vet did anything wrong. If you like them and feel comfortable with them stick with them.

If your vet is comfortable taking sbd running blood work. Then I think checking organ function sbd WBC count would be a good idea.

 

[sleepyteds]

Avain vets are worth the drive, most of us need to drive more than an hour one way to get to ours.

I definitely want a poop pic and weight.

Support care, is extra warmth. I use radiant heat panel called sweeter Heater as sold on Amazon. Smallest size is more than enough but they are an expensive investment. There are cage Warmer metal plate like thing that cheaper...forget the name.

Support also by baby bird formula has worked very well for my sick birds in the past. Adults crops don't stretch like a baby . Fir my quakers I started off with 1-3ml offered at beak tip with them standing head free and I had one hand in back holding shoulder gently. Dint be sticking it in their mouth. Use a 1 ml or 3 ml syringe nothing bigger, a beak full at a time. Make thicker like Greek yogurt thickness still nice and warm . Or you have great luck with him taking from ginger tip, or iff a plate , or mix a little with his food.

okay i just got weight pics! turns out my mom had a small weight machine in the kitchen! hes comfortable with sitting on kleenexes so that worked perfectlt, will follow up with a poop pic when he does!

the image below is in ounces, i also got one in grams so lmk if you prefer the grams one

 

[sleepyteds]

Things change, and issues can become more clear with time. Doesn't mean your vet did anything wrong. If you like them and feel comfortable with them stick with them.

If your vet is comfortable taking sbd running blood work. Then I think checking organ function sbd WBC count would be a good idea.

okay perfect, ill definitely look into this and talk to my vet about both, and see what he says

 

[sleepyteds]

the main issue i have at home right now is this;

im really the only one who acc cares abt the wellbeing of Romeo. my dad doesnt want to spend money on "an animal", and im a university student who doesnt have enough money to pay the vet bills myself, so im really hurt and conflicted at the moment. i cant drive on my own yet either, so im just going to do my best to scrape up and save up money for the vet trips and tests as quick as i can. thats the main issue i have right now, otherwise i would do everything in a heartbeat.