[Koala77]

Our cockatiel is not only scratching a lot, but he's also pulling out his feathers!

I thought that maybe his skin is dry seeing it's mid summer here, and like-wise with the feathers. I wondered if he's pulling out his winter plumage because he's hot, but the temperatures have been rather mild so far. Temperatures are still in the 80's.
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I read that they moult at around 6-12 months, but he's still only 2 months old, so I'm confused.

From other things I've read, I believe that's he's a very happy and contented bird. He gets heaps of attention and he's trying hard to talk....although he hasn't managed it yet. He's not far away, but he's not quite there yet.

He gets a good and very varied diet of seed, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and also other things that I read he should have.

Does anyone have any idea why he's pulling out his feathers?

I tried an online vet today, only to find that they wanted $59 to answer this same question...... I passed!

[jaded2nite]

Koala I found this info on plucking. I hope it helps


The bird should be taken to a qualified vet for a checkup. Medical causes can include problems such as:

Giarda
Tapeworms
Zinc Poisoning
Dry skin (various causes, including low humidity)
Infections (bacterial and other)
Dietary Deficiencies (Vitamin A and others)
Other diseases

Physical Problems

Dry Skin - Dry air in the winter due to furnaces or other dry air conditions lead to low humidity. This can create discomfort and itchy skin. Scratching and then feather plucking may result.

Wing Clips - Poor wing clipping can leave ragged ends or shafts of a bad length which irritate or scrape parts of the body

Molting and the growth of new feathers - Sensitive new blood feathers and sensitive skin can cause a bird to play with and pull out offending feathers

Once medical and physical causes have been eliminated, stress related causes can be further investigated.

Changes in the Environment - Something in the environment may have changed, causing the bird to feel stressed. New people, absence of people, moving the cage, changes in the cage or bird's room, change in the owners' dress or appearance, alterations in diet or daily schedules are all possibilities.

Emotions - Birds are very sensitive to human emotions. Tension, arguing, yelling, depression or other emotions can and will be picked up by a bird. Some can react by plucking feathers. In this situation, the incidences of plucking may be seen to occur at the same times as the distressing emotional behavior in the humans and disappear when harmony returns.

Boredom - Lack of attention, too little out of cage time, isolation from the rest of the family or lack of toys and things to keep the bird entertained and busy.

Jealousy - A new bird, other pet, family member or love interest can create jealousy. A reduction of attention given to your bird and an increase of attention to other partie(s) can create a jealous and stressed bird.

Lack of Attention - Tiring of your new pet after a while, new concerns in your life which take your time and attention away, too little out of cage time.

Sexual Maturity and Frustration - As a bird reaches sexual maturity, there is a change in hormones. A bird may communicate his/her need for a mate or a nest by plucking feathers. This can appear or worsen during breeding season. In the wild, some birds have been known to pluck some chest feathers to use as nesting materials.



Habit - Some birds, once they have begun to pluck for another reason, will continue to do so out of habit, once the original cause is removed. Something akin to biting one's nails or smoking

[Doody]

Oh no! You poor thing! Well, I agree a visit to a vet is in order.

This is a interesting read about cockatiels pulling their feathers. Good luck sweetie and keep us informed!
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[Doody]

Here's a link to the Cockatiel Society of Australia.


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[jaded2nite]

another link concerning excessive feather picking



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[Koala77]

Thank you so much for those links.

We've decided to take him to the vet and get him checked out, but even that's not as easy as it sounds. First we have to buy a second cage, as we have him in a large one and that won't fit in our car.

The feather picking doesn't sound life threatening so there's no great hurry to take him to the "doctor", but we hope to be able to get him checked over soon.

Thank you again. I really appreciate your help.

[braingonebad]

For a trip to the vet, you can put him in a paper bag - a grocery sized one, if you have it.

Just watch that he doesn't nibble a hole in it on the way.

But a check up is a good idea.

One thing I'd also say is he may need to bathe. "Tiels are dusty birds, and many do not like water, but like little kids, they need it most.


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He also hay be over-excited from all the attention. Is he getting enough lights out time? At his age he probably needs about 10 hours a night of sleep. If he's in a main area of the house, he may be arroused too much. He'll need a cage cover, at least.

Imagine trying to get a baby to sleep on the couch with everyone around. How crabby would he be being woken all night? Like a 4 yr old kid, he won't sleep well if he hears the tv or people talking. The more tired he gets, the more ants-in-the-pants he may act.

Birds are a lot like people. They need their rest and some privacy, as well as the social interaction. So if/when the vet says it's not his health, think about where his cage is, and see to it he has enough time with and without his peeps.

It can be hard for birds - especially young ones - to unwind. And some take it out by plucking.

[Koala77]

Thank you for that Brain. I hadn't thought about the bath, and we have been guilty about keeping him up late at night.
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We get up around 7:30-8:00am so we've now set him a nine o'clock bedtime, and we cover him over then.

He is in our living room so he can see us all the time, and he does love to watch TV.....especially the tennis and the cricket!
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[Doody]

LOL he likes tennis and cricket? Hee.
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Well if I lived with you 2 lovely people, I'd wanna stay up and play too.

And yes, gotta give them bedtime hours like any little kid. A friend of mine in Oregon who has lovebirds covers their cage each night at exactly the same time and gets them up at the same time everyday.

They are so cute. He takes them to his sink in the kitchen and very slowly, almost drips, turns the faucet on. They stand under the water and wash and preen like crazy! It's adorable!