Feather Plucking

Most parrot owners who have a parrot with feather plucking problems find the condition extremely distressing not only for the bird but also for themselves. There is a feeling of guilt that somehow they are not providing there parrot with what he needs to maintain physical and mental health. Commitment to solving the problem by the owner is very important and even then it may be a long process. Once feather plucking has started it means the parrot has had a problem for much longer than the manifestation of the symptoms i.e. visual feather plucking. I would like to quote from an recent article by an eminent Parrot Vet. "The single most significant medical cause of feather plucking in pet birds is an inadequate diet. A report showed that up to 90% of all sick birds taken to the vets were suffering from "primary nutritional deficiencies" This is a very poor reflection on our parrot nutrition, and is an issue which needs to be addressed." The parrot diet recommended by Parrotcare is based on 30 years experience of breeding and keeping pet birds with great success and where feather plucking has been eliminated. The products sold in the diets are used at Parrotcare [ We don't sell any product unless they are tried with success over a sustain period of time!]
Your parrot needs to see a veterinary surgeon so that she can be checked over regarding her skin problem.
The causes of feather plucking or loss are:
o	Boredom and/or neurosis. This is similar to human's biting their fingernails and this is the commonest reason for psittacine birds to loose their feathers
o	Poor quality feathers due to malnutrition, poor husbandry or hormonal imbalance
o	Poor quality feathers due to malnutrition, poor husbandry or hormonal imbalance
o	Inflammation of the follicles from a bacterial or fungal infection
o	Feather mites. These are rare
o	Damaged feathers where the bird is kept in accommodation that is too small
o	Stress or fault lines where the barbules don't hook together. This is usually due to nutritional deficiencies
o	Moulting puts any bird under severe nutritional and physiological stress, so the diet should be tailored to the specific needs at the time
o	'Psittacine beak and feather syndrome'. Affected birds show progressive deterioration in the quantity and quality of the feathers. The clinical abnormalities are due to a problem with the growth of the feathers, and the cause is possibly due to a viral infection. Often a secondary bacterial infection can be fatal
o	'French moult'. In the UK, this is where the feather replacement is slower than normal. It may be due to an excess of Vitamin A. there is no specific treatment, but diets containing high levels of vitamin A should be avoided but the diet should be of a high nutritional value
o	Skin parasites, such as fleas, lice and ticks are fairly rare but can cause skin irritation
Parrots are very intelligent animals and they are thought to have the same level of intelligence as a five-year-old child. It is therefore very important that they get mental stimulation, as the commonest cause of feather plucking is boredom. Is the parrot left alone for long periods of time? If so, make sure that whenever she's left you have the video, TV or radio on. Make sure there are plenty of toys for your parrot to play with. For example, pieces of suspended chain, bells or keys, taking care that the leg bands do not get caught in the open links, are interesting. Blocks of hardwood, bark covered branches from native British hardwoods or fruit trees provide mental stimulation.
Also make sure there is enough space for the parrot if it is kept in a cage. Many parrot cages are very near the necessary minimum. The cage must be at least big enough to allow the bird to fully extend their wings and the tail should also be well clear of the floor when the bird is perched.