F.A.Q Others

My parrot seems depressed and has started plucking out the feathers on her chest.What should I do?

Your parrot needs to see a veterinary surgeon so that she can be checked over regarding her skin problem.

The causes of feather plucking or loss are:

• Boredom and/or neurosis. This is similar to human's biting their fingernails and this is the commonest reason for psittacine birds to loose their feathers 
• Poor quality feathers due to malnutrition, poor husbandry or hormonal imbalance 
• Inflammation of the follicles from a bacterial or fungal infection 
• Feather mites. These are rare 
• Damaged feathers where the bird is kept in accommodation that is too small 
• Stress or fault lines where the barbules don't hook together. This is usually due to nutritional deficiencies 
• Moulting. Moulting puts any bird under severe nutritional and physiological stress, so the diet should be tailored to the specific needs at the time 
• 'Psittacine beak and feather syndrome'. Affected birds show progressive deterioration in the quantity and quality of the feathers. The clinical abnormalities are due to a problem with the growth of the feathers, and the cause is possibly due to a viral infection. Often a secondary bacterial infection can be fatal 
• 'French moult'. In the UK, this is where the feather replacement is slower than normal. It may be due to an excess of Vitamin A. there is no specific treatment, but diets containing high levels of vitamin A should be avoided but the diet should be of a high nutritional value 
• Skin parasites, such as fleas, lice and ticks are fairly rare but can cause skin irritation

Parrots are very intelligent animals and they are thought to have the same level of intelligence as a five-year-old child. It is therefore very important that they get mental stimulation, as the commonest cause of feather plucking is boredom. Is the parrot left alone for long periods of time? If so, make sure that whenever she's left you have the video, TV or radio on. Make sure there are plenty of toys for your parrot to play with. For example, pieces of suspended chain, bells or keys, taking care that the leg bands do not get caught in the open links, are interesting. Blocks of hardwood, bark covered branches from native British hardwoods or fruit trees provide mental stimulation.

Also make sure there is enough space for the parrot if it is kept in a cage. Many parrot cages are very near the necessary minimum. The cage must be at least big enough to allow the bird to fully extend their wings and the tail should also be well clear of the floor when the bird is perched.