Uploaded on February 18, 2006 by .ash Courtesy of Creative Commons Licensing
Of all the behaviors that parrot owners struggle with, the most frustrating and difficult to manage is plucking.
All parrot species seem to be capable of resorting to this behavior, but the reasons and level of plucking vary. Some parrots over preen their primary wing feathers, some may just pluck the feathers around their legs and others may pluck every feather they can reach until they are bare.
The reasons for plucking include illness, stress, nutrient deficiency, boredom and habit. The challenge is to figure out why your parrot is plucking.
If you notice your bird is beginning to pluck bare spots on his body, the first thing you should do is get him to the veterinarian. Your vet can test to make sure your bird is not suffering from zinc toxicity or an other illness and also check to make sure his blood work is normal. If your parrot is given a clean bill of health, trying to decipher the reason for plucking can be challenging.
If there is anything that changed in your parrot’s environment right before he started plucking, immediately change it back to see if this might be the cause. Humans are not always good at guessing what might stress out a parrot, so start with a process of elimination. If you are fairly certain the plucking is not the result of a recent environmental change, the next step is to eliminate boredom.
Make sure that your busy-minded parrot has plenty of environmental enrichment. Changing out what is in his cage to play with frequently is more important than stuffing the cage full of toys. New and interesting things can keep him busy playing and investigating instead of plucking.
When you have tried everything and your parrot is still plucking, don’t despair. It can become a habit, like a person who bites their nails to the quick, but is unable to stop. Keep encouraging new habits, but don’t be too hard on yourself. Perhaps sometime in the future veterinarians will be able to come up with a definitive way to end plucking in parrots and other birds. In the mean time, there are many plucked parrots that live fine lives.<-->
