9 yr old Eclestus Parrot, Male. We got him 3 months ago when his previous owners died. They told us he would stop once he got used to his new home? Should we consider that cone shapped 'muzzel' to prevent him from pulling his feathers?
2006-09-10 14:57:27 · 13 answers · asked by Scott W 1 in Pets ➔ Birds
He might not ever come out of it, all you can really do is give him his space, put him in a quite space and talk to him. you can email parrotsandpaws@yahoo.com, she is very knowledgeable in the subject.
2006-09-10 15:04:31 · answer #1 · answered by Paws 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I hate to be blunt and I don't want to scare you...but this is serious. Some birds pluck so much they get infections, their feather don't grow back..etc. Take him to a vet.
I own a bird that used to pluck. Some things that worked for me were: putting lots of toys in his cage. Start with one toy and every week add another until the cage is full. It might seem excessive but this works. After he stops plucking take the toys out one by one each week. Until he is left with just a few. Some toys that are great are the kinds that you can fill with treats.
Is he in the room that you spend the most time in? If not you need to move him there. Unless its the kitchen...don't move him in there. Birds pluck because of stress, just like some of us bite our nails,smoke, etc. Try and make his life a stress less as possible. I know it's hard since you don't know this bird very well. Find a vet that will help you in this serious problem. If a vet blows you off, find a new vet. This is something that HAS to be fixed. Good luck to you. I hope you new little guy finds his place in your home and gets well soon
2006-09-10 15:11:15 · answer #2 · answered by aerofrce1 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Remember he still has to be able to eat and drink. I am not sure how the muzzle is setup but I would worry about starving him to death.
I have never takin in a bird that has already owned someone before. I'm sure there will be problems. Nine years with the same person and now he is alone with strangers and his human is not comming back. to get him. That is sad and I feel sorry for that bird. Would be like taking a 9 year old child and bouncing him around a little while after his parents die and then is put in a foster home.
This could take a while.
2006-09-10 15:10:09 · answer #3 · answered by Don K 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't use a collar or a muzzle or anything that will further stress the bird. I tried it myself. Make sure the bird is not over stimulated, not exposed to yelling, etc. Also make sure the bird is not bored. Give it toys to chew, and handle it a couple times a day. Feather plucking is a common problem with captive parrots - they don't do it in the wild. Don't stress over it. Some get over plucking, and some don't. Just make sure the bird is well-fed (not a seed-only diet) and socialized in a calm manner. It may take a year for it to get past plucking, if it ever does.
2006-09-10 17:17:33 · answer #4 · answered by whiteparrot 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try talking to him and not making him an outsider. He is obviously very stressed wondering where is owners have got to. I know this might sound stupid, but explain to the bird where his owners have gone in friendly tones and gradually he will stop pulling out his feathers. If you put a muzzle on him, I'm sure he will hate you forever. And if you don't want the parrot, I'll have him.
2006-09-13 12:05:45 · answer #5 · answered by Wizzy Woman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Putting him in a quiet room is one of the worst things you can do. Like someone above said, have him in a room where people are like the kitchen. Parrots like to see what is going on and to hear voices and sounds. Pulling feathers can be a sign that he is missing his last owner but is usually a sign of the parrot just not having anything to do. They need lots of mental stimulation. Give him lots of toys but not all the same ones all the time. Rotate them and try to make them challenging. Hide treats like a grape inside something and let him figure how to get it out. Talk to him. Let him listen to the radio and watch tv. I hope he is ok and grows out of his feather pulling habit.
2006-09-10 17:21:23 · answer #6 · answered by twistedmouse 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes plucking due to stress turns in to a behavioral issue. First rule out a medical problem by taking it to the vet, make sure you are feeding it proper nutrition (not just seeds). Showers and full spectrum light are important, and giving it love and companionship. Play games with it and get it to play with wooden toys. You may not be equipped to deal with a parrot like this, so you might need the assistance of a bird behaviorist.
2006-09-14 08:28:33 · answer #7 · answered by DDav 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
awwwwwwwwwwww I raise eclectus parrots and males are prone to feather plucking. The females are so dominent to begin with that you find alot of males that have been paired plucked. Is he pulling them out or is he chewing them? When my pair are on eggs/babies my males will chew his.
No don't put a collar on him, it won't help. It'll just traumatize him more. They are very sensitive and he may never stop. What kind of diet is he on? As is know, seads are fatty and shouldn't be fed as a base diet. Eclectus parrots don't do well on pellets, there are to many unnatural things in them and with eclectus's long digestive tracts they are finding that they are getting allergic reactions to whats in the pellets. They have came out with some natural pellets though that I'm thinking of trying on mine. They are advertised on ekkiechat.
He should be on a diet of cooked rices, beans, veggies, fruits, legumes, sprouts.
He may never stop plucking/chewing. The best thing you can do is get him to the vet and have a blood panel done on him to eliminate yeast, parasitic and/or bacteria problems. There is a parasite that is called giardia that causes parrots to pluck because it makes them itchy. Lives in the digestive tract..it's quite common especially if the bird has been around other birds. If you would like to talk further about it, I'd be more than happy to chat with you on the subject and i have loads of sites you can check out about eclectus parrots particularly. They are different than other bird species and require different things.
Good luck.
My email is jennsjungle@hotmail.com of you want to chat about his behaivor.
2006-09-11 02:49:48 · answer #8 · answered by Jenn 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
atleast he won't fly away.
SORRY!
Ask yourself these questions:
Is it possible that he is lonely?
the attention thing sounds like a good idea, but it may not be human interaction that he needs. He could need a mate.
Are you spending as much time around him as the previous owners were?
Were you around the bird much before the owners passing?
Were the previous owners his only owners? / what is the length of time that the bird spent away from them in all that time assuming that they were the only owners?
I am not sure what else I can tell you, possibly talk to a local vet, and see if they have any suggestions, or you could try "petsmart" or "petco" they should be able to give you some suggestions.
2006-09-10 15:06:59 · answer #9 · answered by Hard Crowbar 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Get used to this!!!! I have two females, and one male. This becomes a monthly cycle. Strange that the male is plucking himself though. Do you have him in a large enough cage? He's probably stressed out from the moving around, so he's not feeling so secure. try covering him up with a blanket. That lets them get used to things quicker. Make sure you talk to em. A lot. I have a cone for my female eclectus, but the second you take it off, they start plucking again. So i put them outside, in a aviary, and that worked just fine. Does he have any fruit in his diet?
2006-09-11 02:46:52 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably still stressed over everything. Never tried the muzzle, so can't tell you anything regarding that. Have you been showing him attention? Kept his cage the same? Poor thing, sorry not much help.
2006-09-10 15:00:24 · answer #11 · answered by tikitiki 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋