Odd plucking behavior?

[Luvthosebirds]

Hello! I’m sorry if this is the wrong thread but I’m new here and needing some help. I’ve owned many types of birds for many years but have recently encountered something I’m not super familiar with. My 3.5 year old goffin cockatoo has started what may be plucking? I have a pionus that plucks but under his wings, I see his bare skin and what looks almost like holes... some with black in them. (Not pin feathers coming through) Weird and difficult to describe. Trying to understand what I’m actually lookin at and if he is indeed plucking. (The rest of his body looks fine featherwise. Haven’t seen much of a change in the condition of feathers under his wings in the past month. He has molted a bit but not much. Has a cage mate and a million toys.)

[Luvthosebirds]

502050215022

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Hello and welcome.
I have not the experience or knowledge to help. Your excellent photos have answered the two questions I was going to ask, do you bathe them and could the black spots be mites. Very obvious that the bird is wet and that the black spots seem to be open pores maybe from freshly plucked feathers where there as been a bit of bleed?
I know you can get little bottles of spray on nasty taste to discourage plucking so I would give that a try. Plus extra attention and cuddles. :)

Oh, and just a thought, are they getting any natural sunlight. Here is a link about feathers, plucking is towards the bottom (of the article, not the bird)
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[Dragonlady2]

Welcome to the forum! My first recommendation would be a vet check to rule out any health issues.

When he plucks his feathers are the feathers fully formed or is he plucking them when there is still part of the sheath on them with some of the feather sticking out at the end?

I am assuming it is a male....the male's sexual organs are located under/near the wings, near the kidneys and backbone. He may be getting overstimulated by having a mate in his cage?

Is he on a solar schedule? Up at dawn, to bed at dusk with a minimum of 12 hours uninterrupted sleep at night.

Try feeding him a little hard boiled egg with the shell a couple of times a week. Add a few pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds to help with feather formation.

Add some mashed, sweet potato. It should be cool to eat, not warm which may encourage regurgitation/sexual behaviour.

There are a couple of supplements on the market called Avicalm and Featherific that some people have used successfully in managing plucking behavior.

[Quakerella]

Great advice Helena and Jean-Pierre, I also would recommend a vet check just to make sure there is no underlying issues.