Navre wrote:I suppose these things could prevent or help with plucking that occurs for reasons such as dry skin, etc. I don't know how much it helps for psychological plucking
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Actually, if I have to be completely honest, I don't think that parrots pluck because of dry skin... The thing about plucking is that people hate it so much when their bird does it that they develop this 'need' to find 'remedies' they can give the bird but, in my personal experience, the only thing that works -if anything is going to and, more often than not, nothing is- is great husbandry and the right constant company -which is not necessarily the owners', either because, for example, a nervous gray would never do well in a busy household.
There are physical causes to plucking... I always remember this quaker that used to pluck and self-mutilate his back and, when they did an XRay of his body, the vet found that his gonads were huge and right under the spot where the bird was biting chunks out of his back! Needless to say, if the owner had kept the bird at a solar schedule with a good diet, this wouldn't have happened and, as it is, instead of changing the conditions the poor bird was kept under, they decided to give it Lupron! But ALL physical causes disappear with good husbandry. Furthermore, I also think that a bird that continues to pluck when it's getting the right husbandry and has the right company all day long is, most likely, a bird that was not treated right while a baby or a juvenile and nothing we could do can change that.
All in all, I think that people make too much out of plucking... Not that one should not re-evaluate everything when this happens but if everything is OK in terms of our husbandry and the bird continues to pluck, as long as the bird is healthy and happy, I think it's best to accept the fact and keep on going.
Mami and Nadia Zons were looking terrible! Mami had plucked her entire chest and belly and did the same to Nadia with the addition of a wide 'naked' strip at the back of her neck which Mami did while 'kissing' her. Of course I did not like seeing them like this but it wasn't something that bothered me or that I even noticed much because they were eating, pooping, interacting and vocalizing well [Mami would sing her little heart out every morning and happily 'chat' with us every evening and even Naida was talking and learning new words]. Now that the breeding season is over for both of them and are molting, they seem to be growing new feathers that, so far, have remained untouched - but for how long, nobody knows
Mami started first and her chest is now all feathered while Naida is only now starting her molt so she only has a few new feathers on her chest - and it's not that I don't enjoy seeing the green instead of the grey that had been there for months but, if we go back to plucked chests and bellies, it's OK with me as long as it's OK with them.