Hello im new in this, hope you can help me ....

I found a quaker on my backyard like 2 years ago, and i have no choice but to keep it, i never had one before so im pretty new on this. The problem is he start to pluck and o have no idea why, can somebody help on this i read about a collar but i dont know where to get it, or where to take him, PLEASE HELP IM REALLY WORRY ABOUT THE BIRD AND HAVE NO CLUE HOW TO TAKE CARE OF HIM.

You must be doing something right if you have had him for 2 years ...
You should get him to a avain vet to see if the plucking has a medical reason if so meds will probably fix the problem ...if not he will need help anyway and the vet can advise you .. first is the vet check , then if not medical many members here are dealing with the same problems and they can advise you , its so sad to hear of these little guys plucking (HUGS) and I hope you find the reason soon ..all the best.. and WELCOME to the group...

Lorena, my Petri is a plucker and mutilator. And just recently we've stumbled across the possible cause. There are SO many reasons, physchological and medical, that a bird does this, it's impossible to pinpoint without medical help. It can be very tiring. You need to take your baby to an avian certified vet as soon as possible and have him consult with you and take some tests. Only some vets will treat birds, so I would call around and ask.

I made a collar for my Petri, with the assistance and on the advice of a vet because he was causing serious harm to himself. I got 1/2" pipe insulation (the foam ones) at menards. They come in tubes of 3 or 4 feet, you cut them down to size and put it on his neck and wrap in medical tape. I cut mine so it was about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 in length. I know that it seems too long, and your bird will probably hate it, but thats what it takes so they cannot reach anywhere on there bodies. It works like a charm! But remember this is not a solution, only a temporary fix to an underlying problem. Plucking is a symptom of a bigger problem, something is bugging him.

Good luck with your little guy! You are in my thoughts! Please keep us posted

Kellyann,

How long has Petre been plucking? Do you mind sharing the possible cause? Pepper has been plucking for three years and her whole chest is bare and she has started on her wings.

I only just noticed last night that my little baby seems to be plucking too. Just around the legs and under the wings. No blood thank god (yet), but its bare in spots and its freaking me out. She seems so happy and loving, and just wants lots of cuddles. I'm horrified to think she's not happy about something, and this is causing her to pluck. Its just the little soft down feathers at this stage, but I'm really concerned. Would hate for anything to happen to her.

I thought initially that perhaps she was just malting (do birds do that?), but now I'm concerned it may be more than this. She wants cuddles more at the moment than she had been, and is a bit quieter than normal.

She also loves laying on her back on our laps and having a nap. Is that normal? She seems to love it - but didnt want to continue doing this if it was causing her some harm.

Any info on plucking would really help me. Thanks everyone. Fingers crossed shes gonna be ok.

I have a friend that has a plucker a ag.she tryed this rosewater and glycerin mixed together.you can find it at a earth store.ask around to see if its ok w qp. she used it for african greys.It really helped alot.mix w water and spray 2 times a day.

I'll be rescuing a plucker soon and here's what I've got so far trying to research it:

First thing you have to do is find a GOOD avian vet and run the entire gamut of physical tests. Blood work, smears, fecal check, skin, etc. It's not going the be the cheapest vet visit but until you can rule out all of the physical causes you're stuck. Once that's done diet is the next big one - coloured pellets seem to aggrivate the situation, vitamin deficiences, etc. It will be a lot of reading but there is a TONNE of good info in the back posts of the "Diet and Nutrition" aspect of this forum. Once that's been assessed you need to look at any changes that might have happened recently. Have you moved the cage? Any new pets? New schedule at work? Any change to the routine that could be very stressful to the little feather picker? New furniture? New lights? ANYTHING you can pinpoint? =) The last thing you assess is how much attention the bird is getting... they're SMART little birds and suffer from boredom and depression just like the rest of us. How often are you switching out toys? Do you do training sessions? How long is the bird out on its play stand away from the cage?

Once you FIND the cause you need to break the habit. Warning: There IS a possiblity that fixing the problem won't fix the plucking! It's like a little kid chewing their fingernails. It's a self-soothing action that becomes habitual. There is always the possiblity that you'll have a nekkid little turkey for a very very long time.

Bathing OFTEN with aloe vera juice (the kind you get from the health food store that you can drink yourself) mixed 1:4 with distilled or filtered water seems to help in a lot of cases where the skin is dry or itchy. And for some reason wet feathers are less likely to get over groomed. Foraging toys seem to help a lot - make the little monkey work for that tidbit! Coffee filters are great tearables that you can fold all sorts of little bits and pieces into that your quaker can go treasure hunting for. Puzzle toys, anything they can tear into and wreck, anything they have to work at so that they have less time to worry those feathers. You can find all kinds of different collars, covers, sweaters... you name it. This is a bit of a tricky one: if they can't reach to pluck they can't reach to groom and dirty feathers are ITCHY feathers.

So far I haven't been able to try this myself - I'm still waiting on the Meet N'Greet for my adoption. Good luck!

Any luck Lorena?

I bought some aloe vera juice today, and will try giving her a bath in that tonight. Fingers crossed. Will give the vet a call tomorrow (he's not in today of course!).

Thanks everyone, hope she's back to normal in no time. Its amazing how attached I am to this tiny little fluff ball.

=) Just don't use it straight! From what I've read it works best in a spray bottle on mist. Maybe try a little warm bowl of water and then mist down onto her while she's playing in it?

so we went to the vet last night, cos when i got home she had started self-mutilating. was way worse than just the plucking. its horrible

anyway, the vet couldn't find anything wrong with her that would cause this self mutilation to occur. he suspected heavy metal poisoning, but after the tests, he couldn't find anything that directly linked to that. so we're not sure what is causing it.

for now they put a collar on her, put some calming anti inflammatory essential oils on her feet, goji juice. but i just don't think its enough. what did everyone else do with their birdies who were self mutilating? i hate seeing her in pain and like this. should there be some sort of cream or powder or ANYTHING we can put on her? she's chewing around her legs, and its pretty bad (vet was a bit freaked out).

haven't bathed her in the aloe juice yet. we were at the vet all night anyway. should i try that tonight??

other than that - any GOOD avian vets anyone can recommend in Sydney? Preferably Northern Beaches/North Shore area. Want to get a second opinion ASAP

Thanks everyone.

Definitely go with a second opinion. It certainly wouldn't hurt. And you can request copies of the test results, so you can take that to the new vet so they won't have to start from scratch.

If she's wearing a collar properly, she shouldn't be able to have access to her legs...that's one of the benefits of the collar. Perhaps they've cut it too short. Also, I'm surprised the vet didn't put her on antibiotics (or at least an antibiotic cream) to prevent infection from starting.

Again, try to find a second opinion. I answered your other thread about vets. Best place to find one is from word of mouth. Try the local breeders (can be any avian breeder), bird club, or bird store and see who they recommend.

My Petey is a plucker.. He hasn't started the mutilateing thing yet and if he did i would have a heart attack.. but he hasn't plucked since i ahve had him, and he is getting some feathers back.. But i agree with everyone else get a second oppinion quickly...

took her off to another vet this morning. they have given her some antibiotics and are doing a blood test. they are thinking MAYBE beak and feather disease or behavioural problems at this stage. blood test results due in a couple of hours.

she still has her collar on. this new vet recommends NO dried fruits at all. We're using some tropimix in with her other pellets and seed atm. does it sound right to cut this out.

still don't know what the problem is though, or how we can stop it. having antibiotics is a good start though, makes me feel like at least we're on the right track. just wish i knew what was making this happen, or what we could do as a long term solution (fingers crossed shes getting better right now .. still at the vet).

thanks everyone .. you guys are lucky you don't have a mutilator. never thought my baby would be either

little update -

she's had her collar on for almost a week now, and is still managing to get to her legs a little bit. she's great when we're at home, but when we leave and come home, thats when we're noticing some new damage.
her other wounds are scabbing up, and some are even falling off now. her little legs look so tiny. but i think its all going well. we've also changed her sleeping habits - have a much thicker and darker cover on her now, and she's covered for closer to 12hours a night, compared to maybe 8 hours at a push before, and she had a much thinner cover. we've taken out most of her toys and replaced with branches. have taken dried fruit from her diet, and shes on pellets, seed and fresh veg instead (in ceramic bowls, not stainless).
so i'm hoping all these things are making her better .. and for the long term too.
she's off to the vet again tonight for a check up. think she needs the collar for a while longer though.

how long are the collars normally left on for?