Plucking Problem

[Yodra]

My cherry headed conure, Olive, has a serious plucking problem and I don't know what to do. We've tried spending more time with her, doing more training, giving her exercise, giving her new toys of different types, giving her vet recommended anti-inflammatories to reduce the irritation, even the dreaded e-collar and "parrot sweater" to try to let the feathers grow in, but nothing helps. She's been to the vet repeatedly, and always gets a clean bill of health apart from the plucking and chewing of her feathers, which is down to the skin. The area is so red and raw, and she screams in pain every time she pulls a feather, but she just won't stop - I'm frankly desperate to give her some relief. It's even affected her other behavior, she no longer wants to cuddle, receive head scratches, or perform tricks, all of which used to be favorite things for her! Her experiences are obviously eroding her trust in the world, she is now hesitant to spend time with us humans and has shown less interest in her toys and other new experiences.


Here are the details:
Age: 5
Sex: Female
Has had hormone problems, but they are now under control
Moderate trick training and willingness to be handled (at least before)
Pelleted diet, supplemented with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
Spends little to no time in her cage except sleeping; has a perch/play station and basket
Bathes regularly, but hates sprays/misting
Was beginning harness training before plucking started, is currently clipped
Lives with one other bird, a flighted budgie in a separate cage

[Wolf]

You said that she had a hormone problem but no longer does, what did you do to correct the hormone issue? Please tell me what her diet is and also look to see if there is soy or soy products in her food, please. How much time does she spend with her favorite human daily? And please tell me what her daily schedule is.
We will do all that we can to help improve this situation.

[liz]

Flighted birds trust faster. Being prey animals they need the security of knowing they can fly if something scares them. Let his wings grow.
That could also be the plucking problem. He does not get the exersize he needs to be healthy and confident.

[Yodra]

Liz: I agree, but I'm worried about harness training her while she's still plucking, particularly as the harness would be rubbing against bare skin.

Wolf: We corrected the hormone problem by reducing fruit in her diet and stabilizing her sleep schedule. She's no longer moody or territorial. She spends about 3 to 5 hours a day with me, and more with other family members. She eats ZuPreem pellets, which as far as I know do not contain soy, and we do not offer her soy-based foods. Her daily schedule is to wake up, defecate, eat breakfast with the family, and spend the rest of the day on the perch or on us, with bedtime at 8PM.

[Wolf]

As far as I am aware of the only way to fix a birds hormonal and breeding cycle is first to reduce the amount of protein that is in the birds diet because it is the proteins that the bird uses to produce the sexual hormones. and secondly to put the bird on the same light schedule as the birds outside live with paying special attention to make sure that the bird has full exposure to the two twilight periods that occur at dawn and at dusk. This is because these two period are what sets and resets the birds internal biological clock so that the bird enters and leaves their breeding cycle when they should.
Although you said that you fixed the hormonal issues you bird sounded to me to be very hormonal and in pain from this condition. When a bird enters their breeding cycle their sexual organs which are about the size of a pea when at rest, swell up to their functional size and if the bird does not exit the breeding cycle then these organs (gonads) continue to increase in size to more than 100 times their normal size. this not only causes the bird pain from swollen gonads but the enlarged organs also start putting pressure on the other internal organs thereby increasing the birds pain even more. This discomfort very often leads to the bird plucking and self mutilating themselves in an effort to relieve the pressure and the resulting pain. If this continues then the bird will reach a point where it does not want to do anything and can not tolerate being touched and constantly bites when anyone tries to touch the bird.
Flight can help to reduce the level of hormones in the birds bloodstream but is the only form af exercise that is capable of doing this. Unfortunately the fix which I have described takes time to become apparent in relieving this condition, but it took time for this condition to develop in the first place.
Several of Zupreems food formulations contain both soy and soy products, please check the ingredient list on the bag. Many birds are allergic to soy and its products, which could lead to feather plucking but not normally to the rest of the symptoms that you describe in your post.

[Yodra]

You were right, the pellets she eats do contain soy.We'll be switching to a different diet and seeing if that helps. As for protein, she is on a very low-protein diet, so I don't think that can be the source. Sleep-wise, I know for a fact that she starts getting irritable without a solid 12 hours sleep, so I don't think we can change that much without causing even more problems... however we will try to give her more exposure to natural twilight if at all possible. Thank you for your help, fingers crossed!

[Wolf]

The exposure to the twilight periods of dawn and dusk are the most important aspect of the light and dark play of light as it is what allows the birds system, internal clock, to measure the length of the day/ night and is what sets the internal clock. It does take time to do its job.

[Pajarita]

I agree with Wolf, the trick is not to reduce the number of daylight hours but to allow their endocrine system to become attuned to the seasons by keeping them to a strict solar schedule with full exposure to dawn and dusk without any artificial lights on before the sun is out and after is halfway down to the horizon (with sleep in complete darkness following). The other trick is to reduce protein intake during the resting season (winter) and to monitor the actual amount the bird eats which you cannot do with pellets because you simply do not know how much protein they have (look at the label and you'll see it says something like 'greater than' or 'more than' but no actual level). Conures don't actually consume that much protein in the wild so putting pellets in a bowl in the morning and leaving them there is not recommended. Try feeding her gloop in the morning and for all day foraging and some low protein seed mix in the evening for her dinner.

[Chantilly]

Hi Hoffa,
I'm no expert, but I would be thinking it is a type of dermatitis. There are many kinds is birds and what you have described sounds like it may be.
I would be looking into demititis in birds were I you.

Is her skin either dry or oozing?
Again I am not a profesional, this is just my opinion.
Wishing you the best with Olive,

from Chantilly

[Wolf]

Chantilly, the first thing that I would like to say is thank you for bringing up the possibility of dermatitis and the second thing I would like to say is that there are currently no experts on parrots anywhere in the world other than the parrots themselves. This is due to the fact that the vast majority of the research that has been conducted has been done in the last 20 to 25 years, so we are really only just beginning to scratch the surface of what we need to learn about them.
Your bringing up dermatitis reminded me that with all that I said so far that I neglected to help this bird as much as I could have to reduce the skin irritation, again thank you. Now I would take you bird, Hoffa, into the bathroom and steam it up really good and stay in their for at least 15 to 20 minutes and see if this helps the bird. I would also get some aloe vera from the health food store that is made from the inner portion of the leaf, that is organic and 100% alcohol free and mix about 3 ounces of the aloe with 5 ounces of water and spray the bird with this mix as it should help to reduce the itchiness and irritation. I would also get a humidifier for the bird as the air in our homes is very often much too dry for a parrot. Just make sure that after you use it that you clean and dry it thoroughly to prevent any mold growth in the humidifier.