Why does my Yellow-Headed Amazon Parrot pluck out his feathers?

Question

He's been doing it for a couple of weeks, and I think it may be stress related, how do I calm him, or stop him from plucking his beautiful feathers?

Answer 1

A lot of things can cause plucking.

Are you feeding him a well rounded diet with fruits, veggies, pellets, and seed? Poor nutrition can cause them to pluck

Are you taking him out and playing with him enough? Birds get bored easily and love to socialize- if they are not played with and given enough toys- they will pluck.

Also stress related: was their any changes in your household recently? Even coming home two hours later or leaving earlier can cause a high strung parrot to pluck.

Answer 2

There are a number of reasons that any bird will pluck it's feathers, the most common is from stress/boredom. Try putting some new, brightly-colored toys in the bird's cage. This will give him/her something new to explore.
Also, spend more time with him, even getting him out of his cage for several hours a day. You can teach him some new words or whistling new tunes to help keep him occupied.
Are there any changes in the environment (room fresheners, perfumes, recently cleaned carpets, etc.)? These may be irritating his skin. Try spraying him with a mist of water. This may help to soothe his skin and may help him to stop plucking his feathers.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Is he preening or plucking? Is he getting bald spots?
It's odd for an Amazon to actually be plucking their feathers b/c they are very hearty and can deal with a lot of stress before turning to something like plucking feathers (basically any Amazon website will tell you that).

If it is in fact plucking, make sure you're giving him plenty of baths/showers (it helps w/the dryness, especially in winter)

Rotate toys often (I rotate mine every 2 weeks, or when one toy is showing signs of damage)

Make sure they have a fruit/veggie/grain diet and are not living solely on seeds.

Interact with him as much as possible.

If it continues, take him to the vet. You're bird may have some developed some new allergies.

Make sure you know the difference between plucking and preening though. My Amazon is currently preening, and he will preen himself for hours, and I'll find a lot of feathers lying about. It's natural though, but if you see bald spots developing, or notice it's only on their chest that they are plucking, take some corrective action.

Answer 4

Most likely he is bored-- parrots, and I have a blue crown conure, need either company of another bird or constant amusement by you or by toys--Since we are now going into Spring and it is mating season, your parrot may be under stress because of this-- they get feisty if they can't mate-- I usually give Bruno a new stuffed parrot- yes, a stuffed parrot, and he plucks it's fur out!! seriously!!! Give your bird paper to shred or corn husk toys- chewing toys - I usually get the big pack of colored wood toys and hang them in the cage for him to chew on-- You also should check out where he is located in your home-- is he being disturbed by noise or is he in a place where he is NOT getting enough attention?? Bruno likes to look out the window and watch people so I have him safely across from the window where there is no drafts (it's below zero where we live now) and he amuses himself by cackling everytime someone comes down the road- sort of like a watch dog-- and yes, my dog starts barking after Bruno starts cackling-- it's better than a doorbell---good luck with your parrot--try to give him more attention by letting him out and letting him be with you.... that always calms them down and don't forget to cover the cage at night--

Answer 5

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?dept_id=0&siteid=5&acatid=406&aid=114

Here is one source to read.. check out this article, you may find the answer there. Other than that, which says some of the same things as DanielleB said; it adds a few more suggestions, but add these two together and you should find your answer. This time of year molting starts too.. and also I usually look first for boredom. Change out his toys once a week, rotate them, and add more, did any thing outside the cage change? stimulus around the house? Try covering part of the cage during the day so he can have a place to hide under if he gets nervous... Also, this time of year if you live someplace thats had such wacky weather, hot/cold/hot, etc, its really reeked havoc with them, their skin is so dry in some parts of the country. I use a molt spray, with safe oils for them, like a lotion for our dry skin. if thats not an issue, then its usually boredom, read the article, there are more answers to think about in there, and many many bird sites for free online, where other experienced owners can give help, or things to try. If it gets worse after youve read this and tried everything you can think of, then do please get him to an avian vet. it may be he needs a nutritional workup, a better diet. Is he on pellets? mine are on Roudybush, they provide 100% of their needs, except clean water. But in afternoon they get a fresh mix of a bit of pasta, some greens... corn, chunks of fruit.. just a little bowl of goodies, but only after they eat the pellets in the morning. greens help with plucking sometimes. My macaw had that and i couldnt get him to eat spinach even in with cheerios, his favorite! so i mashed it up with applesauce, and he ate out of a spoon and soon those feathers came back. he had a nutritional lack of whatever was in dark green veggies, and the vet i worked for told me to do this. lol I had exhausted all other reasons as he gets tons of attention. I read one article that I passed to the vet.. she had not seen and she now gives it out when needed.... if all other reasons fail (and it is usually one of the other reasons stated in the article) a trick to try is what is called stuffing the cage... gradually add more and more safe wood perches and branchs to where he can barely turn around for a week or so. he will be so occupied in finding ways to ge to his toys and other things and annoyed at this that he forgets about plucking.... then gradually remove them one by one. but thats a last resort. Id look at the stress issues first. some birds cannot be by a window, the outside movements scare them. its drafty... whatever. is someone new in the home? any changes at all. just show it love and lots of attention. good luck to you!!

Answer 6

you may desire to income bearing directly to the clarification for the habit. without awareness what's in the back of it, your efforts are destined to fail. "uncertain what else to do?"...the 1st element you will possibly desire to do is take the animal to an experienced, qualified AVIAN VET to rule out any wellness themes in contact. This you haven't any longer achieved. If parrot gets a sparkling slate wellness-clever, the problem (via technique of removing) might desire to for this reason be psychological in nature. I even have achieved study for you and despatched addresses of lots of the main suitable education obtainable on the problem. The authors are all properly-wide-unfold in this container. If all-else fails, you may desire to touch a parrot-behaviorist that should assist you. stable good fortune and take this problem VERY heavily. Feather-figuring out on is properly no longer that uncomplicated in Amazons, yet there you have it besides. Now start up your study and shop your eyes peeled for obtainable clues!

Answer 7

He might be lonely, stressed, uphappy, or bored. They will do that if they feel like any of these. Maybe you should try placing his cage by a window, where there is light or take it to a regularly busy area of your house. If he continues to keep it up, maybe you should just call a vet or something.

Also maybe try changing up his treats or toys. Or just maybe if a cage-mate of him recently died maybe he's grieving. Or he just lonely and wanting a mate.

Answer 8

birds go through a molting process.... when the feathers are dry , etc... they begin to pluck them in order to make room for the new ones coming in.... the new ones are oil coated and provides bird protection in it's environment. Ask a pet store ownwer to be for sure.

The molting process for the eagle is an amazing story.

Be Blessed!

Answer 9

there are anumber of reasons. if you spray bitter apple on their feathers it will stop them befor it turns into a habit.

Answer 10

try to spend more time with him or it may be a nurtion problem