# Bad feather plucking/chewing problem



## hughmerlin (Jan 25, 2015)

For a background on the bird: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=114873

He tends to pull his feathers out when stressed out and chew it when bored. If it's quiet in the room I can sometimes hear the end off the feather "snap" off. He chews the ends off a little at a time. I posted some pictures after his bath today; it's not as bad as it looks, he is wet. The last one is off him dry to give you an idea of how he looks like on a regular basis. 

In terms of diet, he is eating an ABBA seed mix right now, loved it from the moment I put it in his food dish. I'm still trying to figure out what vegetables/fruit he likes. So far no fruits have worked; the only thing he will nibble on is spinach.

He doesn't know how to play with toys yet, although he will occasionally, chew his cage cover, or destroy the edges of his play stand. He also likes to chew on newspaper, but only if it's hanging over and edge; he won't go near it otherwise. 

I'm not really sure what to do, i've tried this: http://www.petco.com/product/105337/8-in-1-Ultra-Care-Bird-Bath-Spray.aspx

Has anyone had success with a uva/uvb bulb to solve the feather plucking problems?


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## Coco.xx (Jan 7, 2015)

I am very sorry to hear about your birdie  My lovebird has a similar problem, but she shreds her feathers. You may want to try a no plucking spray. It is a spray that has a bitter taste that the bird will not like. Do NOT spray it in their face as the most likely will get it in their eyes. Also do not mix it with water and slowly make it stronger and more concentrated, as this will make the bird 'immune' or used to the taste of the spray and it will not work.

This has not worked with my Lovie as of yet, but it may work with your 'tiel so good luck! 

:tiel3:


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

The first thing I was going to say was nutritional deficiency if the owner didn't pay much attention he probably didn't feed him right. He looks like he is on a great diet now, does he get any pellets? You might want to try adding a tiny bit of pellets into his diet. I'm not sure if vitamins have been added to the seeds, but if they add vitamins to them it is usually on the outside of the shell and since parrots only hull shells and don't eat them most of that vitamin coating is not taken in. Pellets are a boost of vitamins and protein to try and help complete their diet. Along with the veggies and fruits. Most Cockatiels don't like fruits and are more veggie eaters. Don't be discouraged if he doesn't eat them at first. If he wont eat a veggie the first few times, no isn't forever. My 'tiel never wanted to eat carrots, then after a few months she suddenly decided she loved carrots! 

Does he have a cuttlebone/mineral block for calcium? Extra protein and calcium are good things to have if he is going to be plucking out his feathers. Since feathers take calcium and protein to form. Some 'tiels also chew on their feathers when they are lacking in calcium. That's why I'm thinking if the previous owner's had him on a poor diet plan he could be deficient in calcium.

It sounds like the mental abuse he suffered from the other owner might have caused some problems. How long did he pluck with the other owner? He might eventually stop plucking if you can get him to like toys he can preen, shred, and chew. Like toys made from palm leaves are so much fun for 'tiels to chew and destroy. If you start playing with a toy and show them that it is fun then they will think it is fun too and take more of an interest in it. http://www.petco.com/product/116340/Planet-Pleasures-Rainbow-Shredders-Straight-Ribbon-Bird-Toy.aspx


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## hughmerlin (Jan 25, 2015)

18/02/2015

Took him to the vet; she said his mouth was inflamed and red so they did a gram stain and a fecal trichrome to check for giardia. Waiting on results now.

update:

Got back from vet and they gave me marbofloxacin/milk thistle until the results come back.


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

hughmerlin said:


> 18/02/2015
> 
> Took him to the vet; she said his mouth was inflamed and red so they did a gram stain and a fecal trichrome to check for giardia. Waiting on results now.
> 
> ...


Ooooh, poor fid  Hopefully the vet has something that can help along with the marbofloxacin/milk thistle!


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## Dolly (Feb 1, 2015)

I awwwww the poor wee thing. Makes you want to weep. I hope you get him sorted soon. He must be so uncomfortable like that.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

I hope that the results come back negative for giardia! That is a horrible one to deal with. If he is positive for it you are going to have to keep the cage very clean to try and eliminate it from his environment. Hoping for the best for little guy!

Also for the feather plucking if it comes back negative you might want to look into Featheriffic or AviCalm. Both have had good results separately and in combination for helping with feather plucking. Avicalm would be better for plucking that comes from stress, Featheriffic would be better for plucking that you think is from vitamin/mineral deficiency. He most likely has some sort of vitamin deficiency so I don't think you could go wrong with some extra calcium in the featheriffic and if he still doesn't stop avicalm since avicalm is like the last resort as a bandaid. You can get both for pretty cheap, some of the smaller ones have free shipping, at the Winged Victory's avian shop.


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## hughmerlin (Jan 25, 2015)

20/02/2015

Eyes look a little less red, sleeping alot.

I noticed he was resting his foot ontop of his head and everytime he moved it around feathers would fall from his head. He did this for ~2 minutes and i found 7 feathers on the bottom of his cage. Could he just be molting?


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## hughmerlin (Jan 25, 2015)

21/02/2015

Giardia test came back negative, gram stain came back with a few things. Vet said the antibiotic she sent me home with should fix most of the problems. Other than that he is doing well. He is definitely molting; I keep finding feathers on the ground. I haven't seen him pick at his feathers as of today.

He gets very scared when he tries to fly away and just glides to the ground. He always runs away and hides underneath something; this is probably his first wing clip. He is somewhat handle-able, he will step up onto my arm once in a while.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

I'm glad that he doesn't have giardia! I hope the antibiotic will solve things, he was probably feeling really bad. If he is molting then he is going to be really itchy, people usually bathe 'tiels but... do not bathe him until he is healthy again because when they are sick this can make the illness worse by lowering their body temperature. Give him some extra protein and calcium to help him rebuild his feathers. People also give Brewer's Yeast for molting, I have this kind http://www.evitamins.com/images/products/1400/20110603_105.jpg

That's good that he is more handle-able now, but I wouldn't get him clipped again until the picking problem is figured out. My vet said 'tiels that like to over preen and pluck can get really irritated with a wing clip because it feels weird and so they sometimes might just pluck all their flight feathers out. My 'tiel pulled out all her tail feathers when the pet store for some reason clipped her tail. My 'tiel was very nervous when I got her and had signs of over preening and plucking. I think because she was such an anxious 'tiel and the only 'tiel in the store she had no one to play with and they didn't handle her. No toys in her cage either so she probably just chewed out of boredom... So I had to let her grow all her feathers out and tail feathers to get her to stop over preening and plucking her tail. Shredding toys and lots of playtime stopped her from doing that ever again!


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## ericmcginn5 (Jun 19, 2014)

feeather plucking can be from bad diet i will recomend getting him on harrisons pellets asap and off seeds try everything u can think o to feed them pellets give them as treats then sneak them in the bowl after worked for me. fether plucking can also be from being borred can i possible see a pic of cage to see what he lives in?


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## hughmerlin (Jan 25, 2015)

Kiwi said:


> That's good that he is more handle-able now, but I wouldn't get him clipped again until the picking problem is figured out.


That was my original plan but he was a danger to himself; he would fly into things every single day, he even bruised his beak. He's extremely skiddish and would fly away from the smallest things often not paying attention to where hes going.

I managed to get a picture of him resting his foot ontop of his head; does anybody know what this is? He will stay like that for a few minutes and slowly move his foot back and forth. Could he be asking for head scratches?


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

I was thinking calcium deficiency, but I don't think he would act quite like that.

Do you know if he lived with other parrots? Sometimes they will mimic other parrot behaviors if they grew up with them. There are some Cockatiels that will grab something with their feet and eat out of it like an Amazon or Macaw would because they grew up around them. I'd say it is probably that one, I found this video here that looks a little like what he is doing if you watch for a while: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wCR7GRmlVs

Oh and parrots need some seeds in their diet, especially the smaller parrots who are natural seed eaters. Too many pellets can negatively affect the kidneys of parrots and can cause kidney disease because there is too much protein.
http://forums.avianavenue.com/index.php?threads/feeding-cockatiels-pellets.55903/


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## hughmerlin (Jan 25, 2015)

Kiwi said:


> I was thinking calcium deficiency, but I don't think he would act quite like that.
> 
> Do you know if he lived with other parrots? Sometimes they will mimic other parrot behaviors if they grew up with them. There are some Cockatiels that will grab something with their feet and eat out of it like an Amazon or Macaw would because they grew up around them. I'd say it is probably that one, I found this video here that looks a little like what he is doing if you watch for a while: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wCR7GRmlVs
> 
> ...


He loves his cuttlebone, I don't think it's a calcium deficiency.

He grew up on a farm, I assume he was next to chickens as he will imitate chicken noises. My other cockatiel will occasionally hold a piece of bread with his foot. He doesn't really do the thing the bird in this video is doing; he slowly rubs the top of his head with his foot, as is he is trying to "preen" his crest feathers.

He's not on a pellet diet, he's on ABBA 1600 and milk thistle in his water. I've recently started crushing the 30% pellet nutriberries into his food bowl.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

Ok it's good that he is getting pellets now! Both the vitamin D3 and magnesium are needed to help properly absorb calcium in the body or a lot of it passes out. Vitamin D3 is in pellets and I think magnesium can be found in both seeds that are supplemented or pellets.

I think he might be either trying to pluck them out with his foot or he could have little pin feathers that are itchy there. He might have learned to preen them on his own like that since he didn't have a friend to do it and his previous owner wouldn't have.  I would check to see if he has little pin feathers or keratin sheaths on there.


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## hughmerlin (Jan 25, 2015)

Kiwi said:


> I would check to see if he has little pin feathers or keratin sheaths on there.


I'm sure he does; he has atleast 15 on his chest/back.

He is doing much better, no more runny nose, eyes have cleared up, alot harder to catch when its time for medication, not sleeping as much. 

A put him in the bigger cage with my Rio (my other tiel) as of a few days ago and it's going pretty well so far. Rio usually puts up a little bit of a fuss before bed because Spock likes to steal his sleeping spot. Spock is still being somewhat aggressive towards Rio, probably because he is very annoying; he will do anything to get a nibble on Spock's crest. Mainly just warning lunges, never any bites.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

Well now he has friends and you to help him with those. He'll be the happiest 'tiel around! It sounds like maybe Rio is already trying to preen him haha! 

If you see them starting to pluck each other or be aggressive then I would separate them again though. Hoping they develop a great friendship!

I'm glad he is doing so much better now. If he's being hyper and hard to catch he is making a great recovery. If you notice Rio starting to develop any of the same symptoms I would get some more of that antibiotic, I don't know if what he had was contagious or not... xP

Oh and for plucking from boredom and stress I forget if it was mentioned, toys for preening and lots of love. Love is the best healer for those mental scars for these little guys, love and cuddles. Maybe a bit of millet too.


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## hughmerlin (Jan 25, 2015)

02/03/2015

Spock is doing awesome, starting to sing again. Feathers are coming in nicely; chest is "fully covered" as in, no skin showing. He has down feathers sticking out of his back since the contour feathers are still coming in.

My other bird Rio broke/dislocated his toe; he got way too excited taking a shower and slipped in the tub. It was the first time he actually puffed up and opened his wings too. His toe was a little bit crooked but went back to normal after a day. There was swelling and blood under the skin at first, it's been 2 days now and hes his normal self. He can climb around the cage and walk on it, still limping a little bit; usually stands on 1 leg though.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

I'm glad that Spock is doing so well! His feather recovery means that none of the follicles have really been damaged beyond repair yet. Sometimes picking can damage a follicle and no feathers will grow out again or you will get a really weird feather or sometimes a feather cyst. Is he still picking or has that stopped now? He's doing so much better with you now! 

I would put Rio in a hospital tank for a bit, you don't want him to walk around on it much until it is healed and don't let him climb too much. If it is broken you should watch for Osteomyelitis, it can sometimes happen when there is a broken bone. Usually it happens when it there is bone sticking out through the skin, like with my 'tiel and her injury. It can also rarely happen when there is break under the skin, because bacteria can head towards the break, so I would just watch out for these signs in the link. He needs antibiotics if it does happen.  My 'tiel got baytril as a preventative, but if Osteomyelitis develops they might have to give something stronger I think. It most likely wont happen but just though I would mention to look out for it if you start seeing something happen to it. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/heal...sorders/osteomyelitis_bone_infection_134,150/


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## hughmerlin (Jan 25, 2015)

Kiwi said:


> I'm glad that Spock is doing so well! His feather recovery means that none of the follicles have really been damaged beyond repair yet. Sometimes picking can damage a follicle and no feathers will grow out again or you will get a really weird feather or sometimes a feather cyst. Is he still picking or has that stopped now? He's doing so much better with you now!
> 
> I would put Rio in a hospital tank for a bit, you don't want him to walk around on it much until it is healed and don't let him climb too much. If it is broken you should watch for Osteomyelitis, it can sometimes happen when there is a broken bone. Usually it happens when it there is bone sticking out through the skin, like with my 'tiel and her injury. It can also rarely happen when there is break under the skin, because bacteria can head towards the break, so I would just watch out for these signs in the link. He needs antibiotics if it does happen.  My 'tiel got baytril as a preventative, but if Osteomyelitis develops they might have to give something stronger I think. It most likely wont happen but just though I would mention to look out for it if you start seeing something happen to it. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/heal...sorders/osteomyelitis_bone_infection_134,150/


He still has bald spots under his wings, hopefully they will grow.

I don't think its broken, all swelling was gone within 6 hours, just a bit of redness at the joints. He is still himself, as if nothing happening. He can still climb around on his cage, hop off my hand onto my shoulder; he just limps a little bit. I reorganized his cage so everything he needs is accessible via his perch.


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## hughmerlin (Jan 25, 2015)

16/03/2015


Two more days of antibiotics and everything is going much better than planned. He is fully covered in feathers again; there is still a few old chewed feathers on his wings that have yet to molt but other than that he is doing excellent. There is still a small bald patch under his wings but the feathers growing in around it cover it. No more runny noise, red eyes and I haven't seen him pick at feathers at all. He looks much healthier too.

The first 4 pictures are right before his worst bout of picking. The ones after that were taken this morning.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Wow! How awesome that all of his feathers are growing back!  Great news! I hope he continues to improve.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

Such gorgeous looking feathers! I'm glad they are growing back in so fast now! He'll probably molt those out. If his feathers ever start looking shabby again or he starts picking them again... I've heard good things about bee pollen so far if you add a tiny bit for feather pluckers and parrots with shabbier feathers. Though there is the worry that humans have had allergic reactions to it and parrots maybe can too. So parrots with problems breathing and that are though to have allergies I would probably not risk it. The allergic reactions that parrots would show are coughing, runny nose/lots of sneezing, watery eyes, upset stomach(probably watery or runny droppings), and trouble breathing. Pollen is a superfood so it helps cover nutritional gaps that parrot foods sometimes can't cover. You want to start out slowly and build them up to it first just to see if they maybe do have an allergy to it. Some said you want to treat it like a supplement and others said the amount it says to feed them on the back. I would think more that you'd want to treat it like a supplement since it is rich in vitamins, even though they are natural. So like just a pinch probably. Avian bee pollen is good to use or pollen from a whole foods store where no pesticides were used in it, but for whole foods you have to grind it up if it is in a crystal form in the fridge section.

Oh Rio probably had just a little sprain or something then. I'm glad he is ok! x3


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