A curious thought..

[Mare]

Do you think birds would pluck their feathers if their environment was chilly? I've wondered if they think that far ahead..

[spiritbird]

Would doing that really keep them any warmer?

[Mare]

I think that NOT plucking would definitely keep them warmer! Feathers=protection

[2birds]

If they pluck during cooler weather, maybe it's because the air is drier and they get itchy. I have to make sure Lilliput is sprayed at least every other day in the winter. As long as I keep her sprayed she leaves her feathers alone.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I should imagine they have a similar mindset to adolescent girls with anorexia or, the latest fad, self harming.

[Pinkbirdy]

That would make sense to me. Caboose was a plucking Caique that came from Texas . That is now with me in New York and has let his feathers grown back in . I joke that he must have thought he better with the cold climate. I also took in a very plucked GW in December . Her owner said she pulled out her feathers in September. She had it ruled out by her vet it was anything medical.Being this is her first winter like this I think she must feel the cold . She is letting some grow back . I would love it if she let the rest fill in . You don't see plucked birds in the wild . So I think it might be something were doing to them .

[2birds]

I agree with you Terri, I don't think that we as humans can even come close to replicating their social network that they have with each other in the wild. Sometimes even our best isn't good enough but still we try.

[plax]

When a physical cause has been ruled out medically, it means the plucking behavior is a symptom of a neuroses. The afflicted bird is literally driven to pluck by an overpowering mental urge. Granted, parrots tend to live for the moment. But even if they were prone to think ahead more, any forethought of consequence wouldn't likely allow them to overtake those incessantly powerful urges produced by the particular neurosis that's plaguing them. I would guess that a neurotic drive to pluck one's feathers could be accurately described as a horribly powerful mental itch that simply won't go away :(

[Mare]

Agreed, Tony. In Terri's case with birds growing them back, I'm sure they are happier in their lives, than they had been before finding her :)