# Introducing PrettyBoy and a little help with feather plucking please.



## DaveZ (May 4, 2012)

I went to have a look at a tiel this morning that someone wanted to get rid of. His name is PrettyBoy, the owner said she thought he was still young, I think they have had him for about 6 months. He's fairly good natured, cuddly most of the time and loves head scratches. He whistles a fair bit which is nice. He is a bit bitey, but I think I can get him out of that with a little training. The owners younger kids used to just grab him out of the cage, which is why I think he's a little bitey, plus she had cats in the house as well. His cage is a pretty boring affair with two perches. a wooden swing, massive seed dish and a water bowl. I just had to take the little fella in 



















The main concern at the moment is that he is plucking some feathers under his left wing. It looks as though it may have started from an injury or perhaps even boredom. But how do I stop it? The area looks fairly red and irritated at the moment. Can I put any sort of antiseptic on the area just to stop any infection? I live in a two horse town where veterinary supplies are a little on the limited side so any advice would be appreciated.










Cheers,
Dave.


----------



## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I am not really sure what's going on there...you CAN put neosporin on to see if that helps, but I don't know if it will. Prettyboy lives up to his name and I hope someone can give you better information on that wing.


----------



## AMom2011 (Apr 25, 2012)

He is so pretty. I'm so glad you found him and are able to give him a new good home. I would put some neosporin on the wound. I used it on a dog who had a horrible skin infection and it worked wonders..fast.


----------



## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

He is lovely,no wonder his name is Prettyboy.Regarding the feather plucking,it could be due to boredom,but it could also be related to health issues.I am no expert,so I will leave it to the moderators.I can tell you that our William used to pluck under his wings.He used to be on his own.We took him to the Vet,had him treated for megabacteria and after a few months , bought another cockatiel,Syd.After all that,thank God,he stopped plucking,so its hard to tellwhat was causing it .Anyway,good luck with your lovely little friend,and lets wait for what the moderators have to say.All the best X x


----------



## bubbleslove (May 27, 2012)

What a beautiful bird ! Glad you took it in.

Hope all comes right.

Good Luck


----------



## SunnyNShandy (May 24, 2012)

He is SO pretty! Oh it is his lucky day today that you took him in. I am no expert either on the sore treatment. If Neosporin is safe for birds, I'd use it and fast. Sure can't hurt.

Good luck and congrats!!!


----------



## hanna (Apr 14, 2012)

Hi and CONGRATS you took Prettyboy in with you, He really is a pretty boy.
According to his sore wingpit, I am not an expert either but out of my tummy feeling I would put some antiseptic powder on there and give him a cage with heaps of different perches, branches and toys, to distract him from plucking his feathers.
A vitamin rich diet should help too and maybe for starters also to supplement with AviVit. Plenty of water so he can drink and eventually bath.

This is my personal view of things and what I'd do atm, but sure there will be suggestions from very experienced members / moderators on here.

Also you mentioned that you live in a very small town so my idea is ( perhaps you already done so ) to have a first aid kit on hand for your feathery darlings.

Wish you and your lill ones all the best and please keep us updated on the progress. Prettyboy is so lucky to have you


----------



## DaveZ (May 4, 2012)

Thanks guys. I'm guessing it's from injury because the lady said that he would bite her kids because of the way they grabbed him. Any time I've tried to grab a bird the way her kids did there is usually lots of flapping around the cage, and he bears a few marks that makes it look like this has happened a bit. It's only under the one wing too. I'll get some antiseptic on it and see how he goes. 

Dave.


----------



## DaveZ (May 4, 2012)

Well I've got some antiseptic powder on the affected area, I think I managed to get slightly more on the bird than I did on myself  I think the area looks worse in the photo than it really is, I mean it is obviously irritated, but apart from the lack of feathers it doesn't look too bad. I'll monitor him and see how he goes. 

He is also missing a couple of toenails, and his feet don't look all that good. I don't know if this is a result of being mistreated or just poor genetics, but it doesn't look like he has the easiest of upbringings  I can feel a few pin feathers when I scratch him on the neck so perhaps he's only just old enough for his first moult?? 

Cheers,
Dave.


----------



## hanna (Apr 14, 2012)

If you can give him different sized wooden perches he'll be happy and can train his little feet. You can go out into the bush and get some, but they must be desinfected.
Some members use vinegar/water dilution, others bleach/water, or pour boiling water over it, or soak it in boiling water and then dry in the oven.
When I got the tree house for Joe 2nd hand I cleaned some remaining and baked on poop off with the jet of our steam cleaner. Very easy and quick too and effective, as steam is very hot and desinfects too.

Also so happy to hear thst his wingpit looks better than expected, but with putting some powder on ther it is surely no harm done but helps. Prettyboy will be in excellent shape in no time


----------



## DaveZ (May 4, 2012)

Thank you. I will get him some different sized perches and liven his cage up a bit. I'm also working on improving his diet as this could be an issue. He seemed to have a "large bird" seed mix in his cage and a container full of sunflower seeds. There wasn't even a cuttle bone for him. Not to worry, onwards and upwards from here


----------



## hanna (Apr 14, 2012)

Dave, you are fantastic... btw I located a PetStock in Townswille... reckon a bit further to drive than Mackay...  
Cuttlebone is good to have, and changing his diet means patience, I started to supply towards the diet my Joe had before we inherited him with Trill Honey Sticks and then egg&biscuit which I got from graham lloyd jones a local manufacturer and online-supplier. I also mimicked that I eat sth and then offered to Joe, now he started to eat raw brockoli too towards just plain steamed sweet and normal potatoes and carrotts and pumpkin. In his Trill Cockatiel Mix there are sunflower seeds too but the grey ones and not too many. I also buy the Trill budgie mix.


----------



## DaveZ (May 4, 2012)

Yep, I'm actually about to change my birds over from the Trill Cockatiel mix to the Budgie mix, that way I have a bit of control over how much sunflower the birds get. Sunflower is also the only thing my birds seem to recognise as a treat. They'll destroy a millet spray in minutes when it's hung in the cage but won't accept it from my hand, maybe with a bit more perseverance they will, it's all a slow, gradual curve I've found


----------



## DaveZ (May 4, 2012)

Whoops, and yes, Townsville is a bit far, about 8 hours drive from here, 2 hours to Mackay. I'll have a bit more of a search next time I'm in Mackay and see if I can't piece together a bit of a first aid kit.


----------



## hanna (Apr 14, 2012)

Hey Dave, here's what I found for you : http://www.mackaypetsuperstore.com.au/


You'll be right


----------



## DaveZ (May 4, 2012)

Thanks Hanna, three of our birds, Tex, Rex, and Chopper have all come from that store. They do have a bit of a range, but not as much as I expected given its name.

Well Prettyboy has had a good day today. He still bites if I try to get him to step up, so I used a glove so that I wasn't flinching away. Once I sat down with him in the lounge room he made his way up to my shoulder and snuggled up to my neck and asked for scratches  I had him on my shoulder for an hour or more with heaps of scratches and snuggles. He still bites occasionally while I'm scratching him but I think he's just a little unsure of things.

I took him for a shower after that, which he wasn't overly keen on, but he tolerated. And on the plus side, I haven't seen him pick at his wing today, which is a start.

Dave.


----------



## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

He sounds like an awesome little guy who was just waiting for a good home like yours. Congrats!


----------



## hanna (Apr 14, 2012)

Awww how sweet this sounds so promising, think he'll be comfy with you in no time. Did you take him to shower with you? So sweet.... I believe our Joe would freak out....


----------



## DaveZ (May 4, 2012)

Yeah, I took him with me for a shower. I have a shower perch in there for them to sit on bit I couldn't possibly take them all at once lol


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Picking under the wings is frequently associated with giardia infection. It sounds like this might not be the case with Prettyboy since the picking is improving, but all the same please keep an eye on the situation and be careful about sanitation and possible exposure of your other birds until the quarantine period is over.

Poor nutrition during infancy can cause permanent weakness of the feet, so it's possible that he will never gain full strength. But you're going to give him the opportunity to develop to his full potential and that's great. The missing toenails were probably caused by an attack from another bird. 

Congratulations on taking him in and giving him a great new home! He really is a pretty boy.


----------



## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Prettyboy is very cute. It was very good of you to take him in. It sounds like he is already enjoying his new home.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Just some thoughts....if there are no avian vets in your area, you can ring/phone a dog/cat vet to see if they work with a lab that will also do cultures for avians, specifically a cockatiel. A culture will be helpful to see if there is a fungal or bacterial problem going on. If it was a disease/illness related problem such as giarda it would be under both wings and other areas of the body. A culture will also list the type of bacteria and/or fungal, and also list the most effective medications for the vety to prescribe for treatments. (even if the vet is not an avian vet)


----------



## DaveZ (May 4, 2012)

Thanks guys. I've had another look at his wing this morning and it's almost lost all the redness it had when he arrived :clap: I'll keep monitoring him and see how he goes. If it doesn't continue to improve I'll take him to a vet, either here, or the next nearest one ~2 hours away.

Dave.


----------



## DaveZ (May 4, 2012)

Making some good progress with Prettyboy. Had him snuggled up to me for a good hour and half this afternoon. At one stage I was stroking his head and he was sitting on my chest, eyes closed, I think he was fully asleep, I stopped stroking him for almost a.minute before he realised I'd stopped  He's such a lovely, gentle bird when he's like that, but he gets pretty rough when he's had enough.

I decided to get him a female as a companion for when I'm not home. When he's in his cage he paces a lot, trying to get out to the other tiels, but he can't go in with them, especially while they are preparing to nest.

But that's it, absolutely no more tiels for me, well, until we move out of town anyway lol.

Cheers,
Dave.


----------

