Cockatiel pulling his feathers

[Virgogoddess]

My four month old cockatiel seems to be pulling little feathers out from under his wings. I have found him doing this in the morning when I get him from his night time cage. I'm not sure if he's bored, scared in his night time cage and thought maybe he isn't sleeping well. His diet is pretty good, remember he came home from the store about 3 weeks ago. His food consists of a seed mix, two kinds of pellets, lots of treats and fresh fruits and veggies. He likes broccoli, parsely and not much on fruits. His favorite is oat groats. I put him to bed at 8pm because he gets crazy at this time. I live in Southern CA so it's light out pretty late right now. I'm also covering his cage. His nighttime cage has a couple of toys, food, water and millet. He doesn't pull his feathers at other times, I don't think. Any suggestions, I'm worried this will escalate. P.S. I also have a Meyer parrot and they "hang" out together on their playtops. They have large daytime cages next to each other in the family area and separate nighttime cages. Wyld the cockatiel doesn't seem to mind Eccho the Meyer in the least, and the other day she preened his tail.

[Michael]

What kind of feathers? Body plumage feathers or puffy down feathers? If he's pulling down, it may be normal.

[Virgogoddess]

Yes, it's the little tiny downy feathers. I was thinking it over and thought maybe he's lonely when he's in his nighttime cage. Thanks for the quick reply.

[Michael]

He may just be shedding or adjusting to temperature. Parrots molt down throughout the year and especially if temperature changes. Most likely not something to be concerned about. Cockatiels aren't particularly prone to "feather plucking" but one thing to look out for is night frights. If something startles a cockatiel at night it may shed all its feathers at once.

[Pajarita]

Yes, tiels are all molting right now but molting doesn't mean they pull their feathers, it means they shed them, the same way a dog would shed. If he is pulling feathers from under his wings, it might be because of Giardia (tiels are particularly prone to it and pulling feathers from under their wings is textbook symptom in them). There are Giardia tests they sell on the net, please order one and follow the instructions to the letter (and I do men to the letter as Giardia is not easy to test for even when the infestation is great). In the meantime, please add Apple Cider Vinegar (unfiltered, unpasteurized and with the 'mother' -I use Bragg's but there are other brands nowadays just as good) to his water.

[Eric&Rebecca]

In my opinion it could be either of these theories, the best way to find out is to get a thorough AV check with blood tests, poop (over a few samples, some things aren't shed in every poop so you have a little collection going), possible a skin swab, oral swab too perhaps. Just get the bird a full MOT, if nothing else it will tell you what it isn't and probably what it is.