Why is he doin it??

Question

well my bird is pluckin his feathers and he wont stop and it makes me feel real sad!

Answer 1

1) He may be sick or have something on his skin. Take him to a certified avian vet to rule out any possible health issues.

2) He's stressed. Did anything in the household change recently, and is he adjusted to change or does it generally make him nervous?

3) He's bored. Does he have lots of toys? Do you change them around and rotate them in and out of his cage often? He needs constant mental stimulation of many different toys, and the best ones are the ones that open up or drop rewards (treats) if he can find out what to do.

4) He's frustrated. Because birds are 'flock-orientated', he needs people to be with him often. Are you or your family around often to keep him company? Birds do fine living alone, but you need to provide the proper attention to satisfy this need.

Those are the most common factors. Here are some links to guide you in a general direction as to where to go with this:
http://www.birdmag.com/plucking.htm
http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/behaviourproblems/selfmutilbird.html
http://www.parrotforum.net/forum/parrot-care/449-feather-plucking-some-causes-cures.html
http://www.birdcareco.com/English/Arts/Health%20arts/Feather/Vet/Vet.html

Answer 2

There are a number of reasons that birds pluck their feathers.
Your bird may be stressed out if you are not spending enough time wwith him.
He may also be bored. Try giving him some brightly colored toys to play with (just no mirrors).
Environment issues too. If there is something in the air that is making his skin itch (cigarette smoke, any kind of room fresheners. scented candles, which do have an oil in the perfume, and so on). Any of these can aggrivate your bird's skin.

Try lightly midting him with water from a spray bottle to see if that helps.

His diet may also play a role in it too. Just like people, birds can get allergies that make their skin itch.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

You didn't mention what type of bird you have. Some birds are more prone to feather plucking, such as Quakers - known as Quaker Mutilation Syndrome - see the following website: http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww19eiv.htm.
Birds can pluck for many reasons though, either due to boredom, stress, anxiety, mites, etc. I would take it to a good avian vet and get him checked because it could be the first sign of something more severe.

Answer 4

Some birds will pluck their feathers for health reasons or over stress. Suggest you get your bird to a vet who can determine exactly what's going on with your bird before he has no feathers left to pluck.

Answer 5

Are you or you're parents cooking with Teflon cookware in the house, the fumes from Teflon cookware will also kill your bird? The first thing that I would do is see if you're bird will sit on your or one of your family's shoulders while they shower, slowly introduce you bird to the fine mist of the shower, DO NOT FORCE THE BIRD, it may take a few minutes for you're bird to adapt to the water, but all of my birds LOVE shower time, heck, you can't take a shower without a bunch of birds, they spread their wings and dance under the water. Dry your bird with a towel, never sit a bird in a draft--hot or cold draft will cause pnemoneon. Next, check web site bird breeder magazine, try to find a local bird breeder and ask their opinion. But, please refrain from using teflon with your bird in your home, we lost my husbands macaw "Fred" due to teflon cookware, he had raised Fred from an egg. Next, go to pet shop and buy bird mite spray, spray bird. Once you're bird pulls his feathers, I'm almost positive that the will not grow back. Good Luck

Answer 6

could be bored or lacking in green food or both give him grass to peck over thistle is good and nourishing or sand or grit may help......could also like a mirror or a dingle bell.....try a few things however a vet is good but costly ring around to find out charge could vary at different places......spend more time communicating with bird......can you move his cage to a more visited area ? good luck and keep trying to cheer him up as he is also sad......some like a water sprinkle with a water pistol but go easy and only if he likes it !!!!!!!

Answer 7

Perhaps he has mites? Check with a vet or PetSmart. Best of luck.

Answer 8

there is a company named BirD-elicious that makes a food program for birds that pluck their feathers... you may want to try it out...

http://store.bird-elicious.com/orbifo.html


they have 3 things for you to look at:

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an all seed forumula:

http://store.bird-elicious.com/97.html


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If you suspect that your bird plucks because hormones and/or because of high amounts of histamine or even because of yeast overgrowth, this formula addresses all of these issues:

http://store.bird-elicious.com/102.html

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Pluckers Prescription Pack:

http://store.bird-elicious.com/trymepkplk.html

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on the site it says you have to feed your bird this for 3 months to see results... read about it and call them if you are interested but have questions.

Answer 9

He could be doing it because he is bored or stressed out.

Answer 10

your bird probably needs more attention.
i have a cockatoo she does that too.