Please help?!

[mcquackk]

My parrotlet began grooming more than usual around Thursday. On Saturday I noticed he was losing feathers. On Sunday I took him to get his wings clipped and after that he started full out plucking out his feathers. He is about 4or 5 months approximately. I've had him for about two months. Please help I don't know what to do!?

[spiritbird]

Hi Megan and welcome to our forum. It would be good if you could give us some more information such as what you are feeding him, has there been any wt. loss, last avian vet visit, pet store or breeder bird, photos if you can get any. He does not sound old enough to begin molting yet. There are so many things that can cause a bird to pluck out feathers. We look at the environment, diet, stress and results of vet exam. Is there a smoker in your home? Do you offer him a bath or spritzing and how does he do with that? Have you seen any mites? [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] Once a bird gets used to feather plucking it is very difficult to stop them. I would jump on this quickly and go to see an avian vet/specialist. I hope it gets under control.

[Cedardave]

At first glance I would say it could be stress from the wing clip.Was this the first clip?

[mcquackk]

Thank you for replying. He is very picky when it comes to everything. He is on a cockatiel mix with no sunflower seeds because he doesn't like them. He won't eat fruit and vegetables. He hates bath time. I haven't seen any mites. No weight loss and no change in his poop. I got him from a breeder and she had him vet checked I believe before I got him. He has just recently bonded with me. He was very shy and would have nothing to do with me up until a week ago. My mom recently quit smoking and even before that he was never around the smoke. He bites off skin on his toes also it hasn't been to the point of bleeding but I do notice him biting his feet alot. Also this was his first wing clip with me. The breeder clipped the wings before I took him home.

[spiritbird]

Do you really need to wing clip. He may be happy and less nervous if you let them grow out. Just make sure his environment is safe for flying. Try to introduce some green and yellow/orange veggies. Present them in different ways like hanging in the cage while wet. Introduce him to a gentle spray of warm water. Lighting and a good 10 hour sleep makes for good bird health.

[Cedardave]

When you say he's on a cockatiel mix...what type of mix.If it's your pet store or Walmart feed you will want to change that.Hes still pretty young yet so there's lots of learning for him to do yet.If he picks at his skin til he bleeds he needs a collar or something to stop that before it becomes habit.As for being picky about fruit and veggies...he really doesn't have enough experience yet to know what he likes and doesn't.Try things like cut cantaloupe, apple( make sure NO seeds) grapes are usually a favorite cut up cause he's little.Try Kale and broccoli.You can pick up a bag of mixed frozen veggies , thaw and try those.Since you are in Canada as am I , find an avian vet and see about trying him on a Harrissons pellet.We find them to be very beneficial to our birds in many ways.Try a fine mist from a distance as well to help him slow the plucking.Eventually most birds will love the bath...not all, but most.

[Cedardave]

One further thought....he's had two wing clips in his 5 months of life.To me that seems excessive.Wing clipping is of course a matter of choice and is a whole other conversation...however you may want to lessen the frequency of his clips.A bird,in my opinion, if clipped should have the ability to help control a fall and so shouldn't be clipped to much.

[spiritbird]

How is your bird doing now? Have you implemented any of our suggestions?

[mcquackk]

Thank you all for your answers. Zazu is doing well. I've been trying to get him eating more veggies. He likes broccoli. I've been spraying him with a spray bottle frequently and he has been picking a lot less. Thanks again for your help!