Parrot Feather Picking?

Parrot Feather Picking – A Surprise

african-grey-parrot-feather-picking Last year, my 14 year old African Grey parrot, Boo, started picking her feathers. She had never done this before. I was very worried because I didn’t know how far her picking would progress and if it would become health threatening. Some parrots can start self mutilating and create dangerous wounds.

My parrot started picking under her wings, then her legs, continuing to her chest and throat. She started looking very mangy. She did not start self mutilating, thankfully.

Where she used to love to shower with me and cry loudly if I was too rushed to let her shower, she now shunned the shower. She didn’t want it and would hunker miserably on me if I insisted. A spritz with a mister was tolerated if followed by a treat.

The weirdest thing about Boo’s feather picking was that it occurred almost entirely at night after we went to bed.

I could hear her plucking the feathers out. I tried bringing her in the bedroom with me to sleep in her travel cage. I thought maybe she was having abandonment anxiety. That didn’t work. She still picked.

Ignoring her did not reduce the feather picking.

I gave her lots of reiki. She still picked.

We went to the vet.

She had an exam, blood and fecal tests. All tests were normal. Boo was in otherwise superb health.

The vet thought it might be dietary.

I have fed Boo Harrison’s Bird Food pellets- the Adult Lifetime Course with Pepper- since she was very young. She loves it and it’s an organic, superior feed. The vet suggested I get the kind without pepper- that perhaps the pepper was being irritating. I did. No change.

Boo’s diet was also supplemented with apple, dried cranberries, grape, sometimes mango, green veggies, other veggies (although leafy greens get flung out of her cage with disgust), safflower seeds (1 teaspoon). I also confess to feeding her occasional treats. I try to feed her mostly organic and natural food.

The vet said to just add the veggies. No seeds, fruit, bread or other treats. She was not happy. And the picking continued. I finally relented and added 1 slice of apple, chopped. As many months have passed, I now give her occasional minuscule amounts of seed, fruits and treats.

The vet next suggested perhaps it was sexual hormones.

Her amorous attraction to me had passed years ago. She occasionally developed a crush on a new person.

He suggested I limit my close time with her and the “bird massage” she so loved. But the picking had started at a time when I was very busy and had less than usual time to old and groom her.

I tried telling her “No picking!” sharply when I heard her picking at night.

She would stop sometimes. But I would awaken the next morning to the little tell tale bits of feather in her cage that showed she had resumed picking while I slept. Perhaps she’ll write a confessional memoir- “Secrets of a Closet Picker”!

I had about given up and resigned us both to her feather picking.

Suddenly, at the beginning of spring, she had a huge molt.

She had not had a major molt in well over a year. I thought maybe her feathers would grow back in and she would leave them alone.

She continued to pick. A few weeks went by. I was disappointed.

Then, I noticed her feathers were growing in! The bare patches were starting to shrink! There were no more nightly yips as she pulled feathers…because she had stopped!

Very rapidly, her feathers grew in and she is looking pretty much like her beautiful old self. She has the lovely soft gray body and vivid red tail of the African Grey parrot. And…she loves her showers again, too.

So, what caused Boo’s feather picking?

I am not sure, but I think it was connected to the lack of a major molt for so long. Perhaps it was hormonal or biochemical, such as the amount of light. I had tried darkening Boo’s cage at night even more than it was and making sure she got plenty of sleep, but perhaps she needed more light.

Another thing that occurred when Boo started picking was my Scottie dog, MacGregor, developed cancer. He died in the winter. Boo was close to him (although he was not close to her) and was very upset at his illness and death.