Why does a parrot pluck its feathers - causes and treatment

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Wavies, cockatiels, lovebirds and other wonderful parrots bring so much joy to their owners that any changes in the behavior of pets may seem suspicious and dangerous. Want to know why parrots pluck their feathers? Will this go away on its own or should I start worrying?

We will describe all the reasons for this behavior. You will learn how to distinguish a natural process from a pathological condition and how to cure a parrot in case of illness.

Plucking feathers during molting

The first change of down and feather attire in domestic parrots occurs at the age of four to five months. Shedding continues throughout life with a frequency of twice a year and occurs in spring and autumn. This stops the blood supply to old, worn out feathers, the bases dry out, and they fall out safely.

However, molting is one of the reasons why parrots pluck their feathers: birds feel the rods that have outlived their age and pull them out, getting rid of the ballast. Whereinself-plucking is of a single nature, and rare scratching is caused by separation of the base of the feather from the follicle. Due to increased metabolic processes in the body, the pet may lose its appetite or become aggressive.

When molting, the feathers of cockatiels, lovebirds, budgerigars and other parrots on the wings and tail fall out symmetrically, and their bases must be dry and clean. A month later, the process ends.

If the change of outfit is delayed, occurs more often than usual, the pet begins to itch and lose plumage intensively - these are signs of severe skin itching that does not accompany the natural loss of feathers in he althy birds. Let's see why the parrot itches and plucks feathers, if molting is clearly not to blame.

Causes of scabies and feather-pulling in parrots

Skin irritation causes the bird to feel uncomfortable and itch. Causes of skin itching can be either exogenous, i.e. caused by external stimuli, or endogenous, when feather pulling becomes a pet's reaction to stress or metabolic disorders.

Let's consider the reasons why the cockatiel itches and plucks feathers or Amazons and lovebirds do this:

• reaction to the vital activity of parasites: feather-eaters, red bird or scabies mites, fleas;
• metabolic disorder associated with unbalanced diet, stress or inappropriate conditions of detention;
• self-plucking syndrome.

All thesepathological conditions have different manifestations, so we will consider each of them separately. So the owners of the parrots will understand the clinical picture and methods of treating the disease.

Fluff-eaters

The appearance of downy eaters is one of the most likely reasons why parrots pluck their feathers. Small parasites about two mm long infect aviary birds more often, but can settle on a domestic parrot if, for example, the cage was taken out to an open balcony.

These insects have a gnawing mouth apparatus, eat feathers and keratinized epithelium. Thanks to three pairs of legs with tenacious claws, they easily move along the body of a parrot.

The appearance of lice is accompanied by a number of characteristic signs:

• parrot behaves restlessly, stops playing, eats poorly;
• the bird constantly sorts out and tries to pull out feathers, itches, ruffles;
• upon closer inspection, the feathers are dotted with needle holes, clusters of eggs are clearly visible on them.

The yellowish-brown insects can be found on the back and under the wings. Female lice often attach their eggs to the down around the bird's cloaca.

The following remedies are used for treatment:

• aerosol insecticides: "Arpalit", "Celandine", "Frontline" (use with caution, following the instructions);
• wormwood or chamomile powder rubbed into feathers;
• 1% boric acid solution is used as an antiseptic.

The cage and all its components must be treated with disinfectants, for example, "Virosan", "Ecocide S". You can use boiling water or 5% iodine solution.

Red tick

Parasites get into the cage to parrots with contaminated sand, loose food and from street birds. During the day they hide at the bottom of the tray, and at night they move to the body of the owner, and tick bites become the reason why parrots pluck their feathers. It is difficult to see the insect with the naked eye. Its length is about one mm, however, after sucking blood, it becomes twice as large and acquires a characteristic red color.

The first symptom of infection is restlessness of the parrot at night, and a pronounced sign is a strong weakening of the bird as a result of blood loss.

Effective treatments for red ticks:

• treatment of feathers and skin with chamomile powder (for early detection of parasites);
• use of aversectin ointment (insecticide) in places of bites (erosions);
• lubrication of areas with fallen feathers "Neostomozan" (the drug is designed for dogs and cats, but helps get rid of ticks in parrots).

Immunomodulators and vitamin-mineral complexes are used to restore strength in malnourished birds.

Knemidocoptosis (scabies)

This is an extremely dangerous disease caused by the scabies mite, a microscopic yellowish-white parasite with a magnitude of about 0.3 mm. Untimely cleaning of the cage and even dust in the apartment can cause infection with knemidokoptosis. Accessories bought at a pet store are infected with scabies mites or a green twig brought from the street.

With the help of a gnawing-sucking type of mouth apparatus, parasites make passages in the skin of a bird, where they feed on blood and actively multiply. They affect both bare parts of the body - paws, cere and areas around the eyes, and feathered places. The reason why the budgerigar plucks its feathers is the strongest itching, which is caused not so much by the movement of parasites as an allergic reaction to their waste products.

Symptoms of knemidokoptosis are difficult to confuse with signs of other diseases:

• horny scales on paws and cere are deformed and covered with bumpy outgrowths;
• the bird becomes extremely restless, itches, scrapes itchy places with its beak;
• spongy spots and cracks appear on the surface of the beak.

A parrot in this condition needs a complex treatment developed by a specialist. A veterinary ornithologist can prescribe lubrication of the affected areas of the body with birch tar, aversectin ointment, ASD-3, diluted with vegetable oil in a ratio of 1:5. Frontline Insecticide Spray may also be used.

Fleas

In nature, bird fleas settle in bird nests during incubation. Jumping, tenacious and prolific parasites can get into the apartmenton shoes or through ventilation, but in order to take root and get to the parrot, they need certain conditions: a lot of dust and rare cleaning of the cage in which debris accumulates.

The danger of fleas lies not only in painful bites, but in the possible infection of birds with infections carried by these insects, for example, tularemia.

A pet bitten by fleas behaves restlessly both day and night, this becomes one of the reasons why a parrot plucks its feathers on its chest and other places. Brown-colored parasites with a flat body from two to eight mm long can be detected when examining the litter. Eggs are more difficult to find: females spray them in small portions in all directions, which ensures successful spread throughout the room.

To get rid of fleas, disinfecting the cage and general cleaning of the apartment, as well as bathing the pet with anti-flea shampoo, is enough. In advanced cases, Frontline and Ivomek are used.

Dermatitis

Budgerigars are more prone to skin ulcers than others. At the same time, erosion centers are observed under the wings and on the shoulders. Birds suffer from severe itching, forcing them to gnaw the skin affected by scabs until they bleed, bite and pluck feathers.

Dermatitis is often caused by simple stress, and sometimes kidney and liver diseases are detected as a result of diagnosis.

Treatment of ulcerative inflammation should be done by a specialist who prescribes a course of antibiotics,disinfectant solutions, antiseptic powder. If no pathological diseases are found during the examination, the treatment of dermatitis should be aimed at eliminating stress.

Mycoses

Fungal diseases are as common in birds as they are in humans and may be the reason why cockatiels pluck their feathers. The causative agents of infection enter the body of birds with poor water, poor-quality food, and even with air. Some types of mushrooms affect the internal organs, others - the skin and plumage. Immunocompromised parrots are more prone to fungal infections than he althy birds.

Outwardly, such lesions look like local redness, which is accompanied by itching, scratching, falling out or pulling out feathers.

Antimycotic drugs such as Itraconazole and immune-supporting vitamin complexes are used for treatment.

Pinch Syndrome

A complex and poorly understood behavioral disorder characterized by compulsive and excessive feather grooming has been dubbed "self-plucking syndrome".

It is worth noting that pathology is more common in grays, macaws, cockatoos and lovebirds. However, it is sometimes seen in cockatiels, Amazons and budgerigars. Methodical biting and plucking of feathers sometimes leads to complete baldness of the bird.

Among the risk factors that provoke the development of self-plucking syndrome, experts note the following:

• boredom and stress;
• unbalanced diet or beriberi;
• wrong conditions of detention: insufficient t and air humidity;
• internal parasites such as worms or infectious diseases (circovirus);
• genetic predisposition.

The exact causes of the pathology have not yet been identified, so there are no methods of effective treatment. Only an experienced ornithologist can help the bird, who is able to conduct a deep analysis of all possible risk factors and prescribe adequate therapy.

It is important to understand: if a parrot plucks its feathers, the causes and treatment in each case are different. Therefore, at the first signs of atypical behavior, it is better to show the pet to a good doctor. Today, even neglected pathologies are successfully treated, but the timely help of a specialist will save the pet from unnecessary suffering.