hi last month i woke to find my 11 yr.old quaker had mutilated his self, i was in shock!! i called both vets in my town, no one would see him, not familiar with birds, so i called several out of state vets, they helped me greatly, hes coming around, but not yet 100%what else can i do?? the vets told me to bath him with very mild soap that i got from a health food store, & spray him with diluted aloe juice, that really helped him, what he had done was plucked all his feathers out, till he was bleeding,now hes doing much better, he eats very good, takes his baths, but doesnt make too much noise like he used too, & he doesnt look very healthy, so is there anything else i can do for him, like food or vitamins or any thing, i do give him vitamins in his water, just any help woild be appreciated.........thank you!!!
2006-10-07 06:05:47 · 8 answers · asked by onecent1232003 4 in Pets ➔ Birds
Aww
Sounds like he is or was stressed and needing more time with you..
Mirror may help,..another bird may help, but may not... mostly time with you
If you do not have that time to give then find him a new home or a rescue center or sanctuary where he will get socialization with other people and birds...
Also if he is featherless be careful he stays warm
I would not use vitamins if you use a reg feed it may aleady have vitamins in it.. He sounds sad and depressed not sick...
Maybe try driving to a VET in a diff area who will treat a bird..
I usually tell folks to find a bird VET before they ever get a bird... because it can be hard to do and if you dont have one close then a bird in not always a good idea.
Good Luck
Wismom
2006-10-07 07:09:21 · answer #1 · answered by Wismom 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Quakers are very smart birds and aren't to fond of change. Is there anything different? Maybe a new animal, moved his cage, stopped playing with him as much? Any of these could make him start plucking.
I was given a Quaker that was already plucked. He stopped after I changed his diet, gave him new toys to entertain him, and gave him lots of TLC
I hope this helps! Good Luck!
2006-10-11 02:40:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Birds do this when they get stressed or bored. Any number of things can stress them and lack of intellectual stimulation (toys) can bore them. To cure the latter, try to find toys that interest them, sometimes home-made toys can interest them more than store-bought toys can.
For the stress, really try to think back to what, if anything had changed recently. I’ve known cases where parrots do this type of things and people say nothing changed… except their daughter went away to college that same week (for example). Turned out the bird loved their daughter and was stressed since she wasn’t around anymore.
It could be something as subtle as moving their cage, or as drastic and a change in lifestyle. Really try to put yourself in your bird’s place and think what they could view as a stressful change.
2006-10-07 20:34:31 · answer #3 · answered by lerxstwannabe 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I know the problem what saved mine the first time was making a funnel for the bird's head. I used sheet film cut a circle and fitted it to the bird just like the ones for dogs and cats just use a lightweight material. It only took 6 months for her to completely heal. So if he continues to pluck and chew give him something else to do.
2006-10-07 15:03:01 · answer #4 · answered by fuma74 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like your quaker is bored or stressed from not spending enough time with you. Try teaching him some tricks. This will not only give hime much wanted time with you, but it will also keep his mind off of plucking his feathers out.
I hope this helps.
2006-10-11 04:34:59 · answer #5 · answered by karmor_22 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My Cockatoo did the same thing,i read alot on this subject and talked to a few pet stores about this,sorry to say that it is fairly common and alot of times due to lack of attention and being bored...trya mirror and give him more attention,i was not able to spend the amount of quality time my bird needed,so i sadly had to give him to someone who could.He has stopped pulling feathers and pecking his self and is doing great...i still vist
2006-10-07 13:29:14 · answer #6 · answered by pandorasbox40 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Give him new toys.Did the Vets say anything about a collar?You can make one out of a plastic bottle to go around his neck and then he can't pick himself.
Just cut half of the bottle and tape it lose around his neck.GOOD LUCK
2006-10-07 14:09:07 · answer #7 · answered by animal lover 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe he doesnt wanna live
2006-10-07 13:14:30 · answer #8 · answered by §†reet R¥dA 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋