Parrots are amusement and agreeable pets to keep and train. They are very brilliant and intelligent creatures with the ability to learn many new tricks as well as the ability to talk and converse with their possessors . Plucking of parrots feathers is a condition or behavior where your parrot chews or plucks their feathers in an obsessive manner. Sometimes parrots pluck feathers from just one part of their body, such as their leg, while others compulsively pluck their feathers from all over their body.This after effect of plucking of parrots feathers is also exclusively an issue with parrots held in captivity as pets. In nature, a parrot who resorts to feather plucking would not survive, as they would get too cold and be unable to fly.Plucking of parrots feathers could happen for many reasons, including medical or behavioural reasons. More times than not, this behavior associated with parrots feathers is medical in nature, so a prescribed medicine will help your parrot heals quickly and stop this destructive habit. There are however, behavioural issues with external factors that lead to plucking of feathers.If there are too many family members living at home, or small children present, the parrot can become both sensitive and anxious in a manner similar to claustrophobia. Parrots can also become insecure, demonstrate excessive mating behavior, have a breed disposition, or feel that their current living facilities are inadequate to bathe.In a behavior known as "Itchy Bird Syndrome," your parrot will act a bit differently outside of their normal preening and plucking. To stop plucking of your parrots feathers, be sure to identify and then isolate the cause of the agitation. This obsessive compulsion can begin very small but then grow to a damaging behaviour to your parrot.Make absolute your parrot has a large variety of toys and branches to amusement with, as they need to be mentally and physically stimulated all the time. Such toys can help prevent plucking of your parrots feathers and lead them into better behavioural addictions. Town

 

Many reasons why parrots pluch their feathers

 

There are oh, so many, reasons that captive birds initially begin over-preening or mutilating their plumage. It can happen with elderly birds from an accumulation of less-than-perfect diet or care over the years; it can also occur in young hand fed pet birds less than one year into their new life. Causes can be physical, emotional, environmental or a combination of same. In an article such as this it is necessary to generalize somewhat, but our recommendations to deal with feather picking are as follows:

 

1) Get a veterinary check up to ascertain if any health problems could be associated with the feather destruction. Worms, giardia, allergies, lack of humidity, or vitamin/mineral deficiencies are just a few of the potential links.

 

2) Institute immediate changes in the parrot’s cage environment to stimulate mental response and interest. These may include light, space, location, new food dishes, greenery, toys and fun perching choices. 

 

3) Equivalent changes in foods offered to make eating a longer, more challenging and interesting activity. Breeders and suppliers of hand raised parrots, Cape Town

 

4) Daily spray baths to encourage preening and new feather growth for warmth. Utilize care where cool temperatures are involved. Use soothing holistic additive to spray bottle such as aloe, vitamin E, or extracts of burdock root, marigold, goldenseal.

 

5) Increase the amount of handling for pet birds; full body massage of pet birds. For breeding birds, reduce stress by limiting vision of humans and raising cage heights significantly.

 

6) Allow full flight feathers to grow in on any clipped parrot; refledge the bird to teach it landing skills and airborne confidence if it was never properly fledged. (One exception is a parrot that has been clipped on one wing only:) it should be slightly trimmed on the other wing, and two flight feathers at a time can be pulled by a vet from the clipped wing in order to bring flapping balance back to the bird as soon as possible.) Increase exercise. Breeders and suppliers of hand raised parrots, Cape Town

 

7) Introduction of a simple open-ended nesting box or hollow log for play.

 

8) Serious consideration of a companion bird for some species of mature single parrots. If I had to offer one universal factor which can add to the causes of a feather picking syndrome, I would suggest boredom. At the root of their existences in captivity, so many intelligent parrots are living in habitats that do not test their mental acumen—habitats that do not change.