My umbrella cockatoo is plucking all its feathers out!!!!!?

Question

Does anyone have advise or tips to stop a bird from picking itself bald!!! My bird is plucking out its chest, leg & wing feathers. The bird has plenty of toy and more than enough attention! He is never left alone for more than 4-5 hours - He has a bird mite treatment box that hangs on the outside of his cage to treat for mites and lice - I also spray him almost daily for mites & lice. He is willing to take showers and I have found that spraying him with "YUCK" spray is not effective - I am at my witts end. Please help!!!!!

Answer 1

Do NOT use the mite protector. It often does more damage to the bird than defense. Definitely take your 'too to a certified avian vet to rule out any health issues. A behaviouralist can be recommended and you can work from there. Because cockatoos are so smart and complex, they're a very difficult bird to handle. And remember - they're very emotionally sensitive, meaning when something happens to them or when something happens to you. Have there been any major changes in the household lately? Any bugs? The smallest, slightest things have the most profound effects on such sensitive birds. They can also pick up on your emotions. If you're panicking, they'll panic with you, but they magnify what you feel on them thirty times.

Once health issues are ruled out, how's the diet? Parrots need a well rounded, balanced diet of pellets, a small amount of seed, and lots of fresh foods free of pesticides. Plucking can be caused by pain, stress, deficiency, and a plethora of other causes. Maybe the tons of toys he has aren't the kinds he likes. Get a huge variety of toys, wood toys, plastic toys, preening, shreddable, bells, mirrors, beads, leather, etc. Again, a vet would know best.

If you don't already have a regular avian vet, which you really should especially given the species you've chosen, this is a great link for looking ones up near you: http://www.aav.org/vet-lookup/

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I just went through this with my 4-year old Goffins and here's what I did. It works but takes about a month to get all the feathers back. You have to be consistent and don't miss a single day.

I found a product on the net called Pluck No More ($35/6 oz). It's a concentrate that you dilute and spritz on the bird 4 times a day. It mellows him out because it has natural tranquilizers in it. Another Y! Answers person helped me out by suggesting Pet Stress Control which costs half of what PNM does yet has the same ingredients. My 'too is definately regaining the feathers she plucked and I'm very relieved. You'll have to also get toys and diversions, maybe enhance the diet, play with the bird more, etc, so when you stop the medication the bird doesn't revert back to plucking again. I've heard some people have had luck by adding Salmon and salmon oil to the diet, too.

I don't work for them but I swear this stuff worked. Look it up with Google. I believe King Cages is the sole distributor for PNM and that's probably why it's so expensive. Personally I'm going to try Pet Stress Control if I need this again (I have 6 parrots) because it's cheaper like I said. You can use Google to find it too.

Here's a great discussion I found concerning PNM and Pet Stress Control. Seems to be mostly breeders and avian caregivers.
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/luciedove/vpost?id=614078&trail=60
Good Luck.

PS: I almost forgot. Get a container of eyeglasses cleaner that you can usually get for under $3-5. Just dump it out and rinse it out good because the only reason you need it is for the bottle and sprayer. It puts out a very fine spray that is excellent for spritzing the bird. It also doesn't waste much when you use it (the only down side to this remedy is the expense).

Answer 4

Cockatoos are more intelligent that you are willing to believe. You need to think like a sleuth for this one. Ask yourself, prior to the bird becoming a plucker, was he neglected? (If he had so much toys and attention in the first place, he wouldn't have resorted to plucking right?). Ever since he started plucking, the attention and love showered on him has been beautiful.. Why should he stop plucking since it may also mean the attention will stop? Work backwards and see what stimulation your bird really needs. It could also be a dietary problem where he is not getting enough vitamins and minerals. Get a good avian vet to check him out. What you don't want to do is to allow the cockatoo to associate his plucking with your running in a panic to shower him with more love. They are capable of emotional blackmail, just like we are.. Good luck..

Answer 5

When a bird is bored, confined, mistreated, has nutritional deficiencies, or has experienced a drastic change in its life, it may begin to pick out its feathers or chew other parts of its body, resulting in bleeding and bald patches. This is a terrible state for a bird, which uses self-mutilation as a last resort to distract itself from deplorable living circumstances. Sometimes, a bird that has an illness, such as a problem with its respiratory system, will pluck the feathers around the area that disturbs it. Plucking and mutilating behaviors always need medical attention. To prevent boredom plucking, provide your bird with a spacious cage and lots of different types of toys to play with and chew.

Answer 6

There are a LOT of reasons for plucking, the most common causes are disease and stress.

Here is a really good article on it, but I think step one should be for you to take your bird to the vet. I'm not one of those people that think you should go running to the vet everytime you have an issue either, but this one...this one's a biggy. The longer he plucks, the longer it's going to take to stop.

My first thought is that you're putting that stuff all over him, and in an effort to get it off he's turned to mutilating feathers. Once self mutiliation starts, it becomes obsessive. Seriously, this is a vet issue.

Check this article out: http://www.parrothouse.com/jh3.html

Answer 7

Does your bird really have mites or lice? If it doesn't, take the mite treatment away and quit spraying the poor bird with that stuff!

You are the one who is mading him pluck this feathers out!

Cockatoos should only be spray with warm water to keep their dust down and their feathers prefect.

If you have any further questions feel free to email me.....

You might need some Nektron Bio to help regrow your birds feathers.

Answer 8

The absolutely free reverse email lookup sites generally provide false information, they just want your email to send you spam. To get real information, money will have to be paid.

Also, stay away from shady reverse email lookup sites, most likely you won't get any information after you make the payment. Not to mention you won't get a report and you won't get an answer if you try to call for a refund. Stick with a reputable reverse phone lookup site like http://www.emailtracer.org that has been around since 1997.

Answer 9

SOUND TO ME LIKE STRESS,THE UMBRELLA COCKATOOS REQUIRE A LOT OF ATTENTION ,ONCE GIVEN THE PROPER ATTENTION AND THAN TAKEN AWAY ie: a new baby
pet or child or?? if your still not answering the needs of your Umbrella let me know I'll gladly take over raising your bird ....We have about 35 plus birds in huge Aviary outside

[e-mail]

Answer 10

Why are you spraying him every day and if he has lost all those feathers don't you think its time yoiu take him to a exotic pet and bird Vet-its either stress which can also be physical stress and being sprayed every day can be stressful or the spray itself is building up on his skin and irritating him---Please take him to the Vet.