# *URGENT* dad keeps plucking:(



## steven.c (May 13, 2011)

I've notice today that the dad plucked the baby. Ive tried to get him out but i just can't ive even tried to see if i can move the mother and the box into another cage but it wont fit  i don't want to chase him round the cage and him keep falling 4-5ft and hitting the floor because he cant fly properly.. Any suggestions on what to do??


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Make the room dark and use a towel to catch him and remove him


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## steven.c (May 13, 2011)

hard to make a conserventry dark lol  any more suggestions?


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## steven.c (May 13, 2011)

He's also plucked the mom, i know she had a bit of a bald patch but now its nearly all the top of her head will it grow back??


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## Lucky Duck (Jul 23, 2011)

It should grow back, but in any case you need to remove the dad. Have you tried catching him with a towel? Towels are usually the best way to catch them.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Yeh will do  all i can say is try and get him with a towel or use a perch to get him


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## steven.c (May 13, 2011)

I've tried with a towel he just falls to the bottom when he panics. he wont step-up onto a perch hes pretty much wild


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Then when he falls you're gonna have to grab him...its not ideal but its the best you can do right now. He needs to be taken away...if he keeps plucking he could possibly mess up the baby's follicles and the baby could be permanently bald in some places. Or try wearing gloves...leather ones that he can't bite through. He's gonna be freaked out but he can't be allowed to continue doing what he's doing. My last baby and my mom from last year had their head feathers pulled out by a male but they grew back.


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## steven.c (May 13, 2011)

I've tried all sorts, tempting him with millet the lot.. It's a shame i have to take him out hes really good with them other than i saw him pulling the pin out of the chicks wing earlier


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

When he is on the floor throw the towel over him


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## JaspersMomma (Dec 11, 2008)

If you keep trying he will eventually get tired. I spent 10 minutes trying to catch Jasper to put him in his travel box. He was out of his cage so he flew all over the house until I finally got a towel over him and he didn't feel like fighting anymore.


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## Zyden (Aug 9, 2011)

My male also plucks, but only when the chicks start to fledge. I remodelled my cage to have a sliding partition, so I can split the birds up however I like, whenever I like with no fuss. When my male starts plucking, he's banned from that side of the aviary except a few times a day to help mom feed the chicks. It's worth doing in the future if you plan to let him breed again (though I dont recommend it with a plucker!)


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## steven.c (May 13, 2011)

I've only ever seen him do it once, he's hardly in the nest to pluck other than feeding Now there bigger.


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