Stress bars! Eex!

[Chantilly]

The other day when I took Shrek outside (in cage) I noticed in the light that she actually has stress bars, she seems so content in her new home and family, so I am guessing that although her life has been pretty hectic and non stop these past few months it is dietary?
I am quite concerened, she is showing no signs of ilness, she is definately content and eats her nectar and fruit and veg each day/morning, and occasionally natuve flowers (yesterday she got bottle brush)... Mabye she is stressed out that we keep the light on after dark (something she 'solves' by sleeping under her newpaper... could it be something that simple?)
Suggestions anyone on what could be wrong?
We are about to go out so I cant type much more, but she gets around 2h out a day, more than she used to get and she always has a bath a day.

[Wolf]

Yes, stress bars can be caused by diet, but they can be caused by many other things, sometimes the only indication of the stress that our birds experience is the stress bars that we see. Reducing stress is a primary part of parrot husbandry, it takes up a lot of time in learning our birds both on a general and on an individual basis. One of the very first things to bear in mind is that any captive bird is experiencing stress and most of it is of a low level, but chronic, ongoing type of stress.

Kookooloo, just came over to be with me and I can't type while spending time with her, I will have to come back later.

[Chantilly]

thankyou Wolf

[Wolf]

Sorry about not getting back any sooner, not only did the forum have server issues preventing me from answering, Yesterday was really rough for me and I only checked to make sure it was up and running, but could really do little more than that as my mind was not clear enough to answer any but the most superficial of things.

Birds such as our parrots evolved to live in a flock setting and to never be alone from birth to death. As a result of this they get much of their feelings of safety and security as well as feelings of well being from being with their mates and / or their flock and anytime that they are alone or without their mate, whether that mate is human or bird, they are stressed. This really means that any bird that lives in captivity is being stressed nearly all of the time. We often really don't notice this low level chronic stress for what it is as they are so happy to see us when we are there for them, but will sometimes see the results of this stress as it builds up to produce things like stress bars or even more extreme feather destructive behaviors or just about any behavior that is not actually natural for the bird.

Kookooloo came to me as a bird who not only plucked her feathers but she also self mutilated which I have been able to turn around for the most part. Still if things occur that limit the time that I am able to spend with her she starts plucking again. She has never regrown the feathers on her legs although they keep trying to come in and like yesterday I was gone most of the day with vehicle problems and could not at least talk to her and then was in so much pain that I could not function so this morning her feathers are a mess and she has a new bald spot on her belly.

The fact that we are unable to meet their companionship requirement by being with them 24/7 is a major source of stress for our birds and it is also one of the primary reasons for the recommendation that we should always try to provide our birds with their very own mate of their own species. It has nothing to do with reproduction or wanting to raise baby birds and in fact we do advise against that. It has to do with stress. We often don't see or realise how much stress our birds are experiencing and even then we often think that toys and such will provide them the means to relieve their stress but this is not as true as we like to believe. Since most of their stress derives from not having their own mate or a real flock our birds really have very little chance of relieving their stresses.

I know that this really provides little help and is not what any of us want to hear but it is the truth and is why stress reduction is such a major part of caring for our birds. I hope that although this does little to help to relieve your birds stresses, I do hope that it gives you more understanding of how pervasive this stress is for them.

[Chantilly]

Thankyou for this Wolf, I will do my best to make more time, I have so many essays for school already and the year has just been very stressful for me.
I think also hormones may be taking place in Shreks stress, it is breeding season for them here and all the male cockatoos where I volonteer are aggressive right now (they dont have mates) and all the lories/keets and conures are either currently or have recently breed, nested.
Do you think it may also be this?
Thanks again Wolf, sorry I took so long to reply again... (life and stuff happened )

[Wolf]

Hormones are almost always a strong possibility in the stresses that affect our birds , or so it seems to me.

[Chantilly]

Thankyou

[Chantilly]

A picture of what i think is her stress bars, it is sort of like a water colour over the bottom of her feathers.

[Wolf]

Very hard to see with the picture this dark, but I do believe that there are stress bars in the circled area and right about the shoulder area of the wing there are signs of barbering where the bottom of the feathers are ragged and looking somewhat like a comb. If the green feathers of this bird are as dark as they appear in this photograph, I would strongly suggest that the bird be taken outside either in a suitable cage or in a harness for some unfiltered sunshine, preferably in a shaded rea to keep the bird from getting too warm. I would also suggest an increase in the amount of broccoli and carrots in the diet. As well as an increase in the amount of personal interaction with the bird. This last in addition to the other recommendations should help to reduce some of the barbering.

[Chantilly]

I see what you mean with in between the wings.
Thanks Wolf, and sorry about the horrible image, I got some today in some good light that I will share. She gets carrot and as much fruit and veg as possible each day, tommorow for veg she will get carrot, endive and green beans... I will get broccili when we go to the shops next.
I will take both her and Tilly outside tommorow in the morning so as it is not too hot, and U have been wanting to get a harness, but I am still considering whether I think I will be able to train her to wear it.
I should probably mention both her and Tilly are molting, so that might be the cause of the wings looking like they are barbered, and I am not sure if Shrek needs added calcium in her diet but she is acting quite broody. On the weekend and today either she or Tilly was out almost all day (well, from 7am-11am and then from 2pm-5pm,) so we are definately getting into a better routine.
I am having a bit of trouble learning her very odd body language and behaivours, while I am holding her all she does is beg constanly for spit while I refuse, roll over and play wrestle and ask for a belly-rub & get a scratch.
Today a swallow scared her and she flew into a window. She loves talking to wild lorikeets who conversate with her while flying over...

Dont know what those white spots on her back are... They are not there now.

It is so hard to take pictures of her, because she does not sit still!