Plucking Parrots

Daily Diet

Lots of raw and well washed vegetables and fruits which are full of vitamins (for example: broccoli, carrots, red peppers, papaya), reinforced by additional purposed vitamins which can be added to the bird clean water such as 'Feather up', 'Calcivet' and 'Spark' (spark is a very gentle anti-stress type medicine).

You can also give your bird meat such as well cooked steak, it is good for them!

Psychological problems

Do you know what type of disturbance your bird's life has suffered from, may be the lost or sickness of its partner, change of home, location of the cage, jealousy, lack of 'things to do', left alone all day every day would most certainly trigger this type of behaviour.

I have found that reading a book to your bird for one hour each day helps in gaining back the trust.

If you have no time for your bird then it is obvious you should try to find somebody who has, the alternative, if accepted by your bird, would be to get your bird a special partner, one of its own type and opposite sex, however this does not always work especially if your bird is a cockatoo. Parrots are very much like children and you would not leave your child all day by itself would you?

There are, of course, other types of trauma such as a parrot used to fly free in an aviary then confined into a cage having to share a room with people it fears so much, in this latest case the bird would be better in an aviary with a mate.

Illness

A parrot feeling unwell might pluck itself. It could also pluck when its mate is unwell.

Some of the illness might be due to breathing difficulties due to a dusty, smoky, perfumed, damp, very hot or very cold environment.

Though the signs might not be obvious an un-well parrot would look sad, not to confuse with the ups and downs of the breeding seasons.

If your parrot is not subjected to any of the above then it might be time to consult an avian vet. Do you know you can collect the poop of your bird for analysis; it is less stressful for the parrot than been seen by a vet.