Why is my Indian Ringneck parrot biting its own tail feathers?

Poor Guava! A good first step is a visit to your local vet to make sure there isn't an underlying issue such as nutritional deficiency, illness, infections, parasites, etc that are causing him to pluck feathers or preventing them from growing back in. Getting any health issues treated can help. Secondly, if he checks out otherwise healthy, feather plucking can become a behavioral obsession in birds, especially those that are stressed or underenriched. Making sure Guava has enough fun activities to do such as toys to play with, puzzles filled with treats, time spent together, etc can help enrich and prevent feather plucking. Making sure he's kept in an area that isn't too stressful can also help. You can also make an Elizabethan (cone) collar or place a "flight-suit" onto him to help obstruct his ability to feather-pluck and break the habit while allowing the feathers to grow back in.

Chewing feathers can be caused by a number of reasons. Ava may be bored or stressed out, and thus chewing on feathers or overpreening. Adding in some extra toys or toys that can be chewed on may divert her attention there instead. Moving her to a calmer location in the house away from stressful pets and people can also help. Sometimes, parasites or skin issues can cause overpreening or feather chewing. Looking for signs of parasites such as flecks of "stuff" on the feather base along the skin, redness, itching, irritation etc can alert you to this. If you see discoloration, wounds or visible changes to the skin that can also indicate a skin issue which should be looked at or treated. If home changes and care don't help, it is always best to schedule a veterinary checkup to rule out more serious health issues, and have them treated.

I'm sorry to hear that! There are several things that could be causing Indie distress. The first step is to check for any obvious issues such as parasites, skin infections, redness, wounds, etc around the tail or vent that could be causing distress. Digestive issues that are causing loose stools may also cause matting around the vent leading to tail feather pulling. If you suspect a health cause, a trip to your vet is best to address these problems. If Indie checks out healthy, making sure she has enough enrichment can help. Adding in toys she can preen, puzzles to play with, etc can all help. If she's housed with another bird, making sure the other bird isn't picking on her and that there are enough food, water dishes, etc around can help prevent competition. Spending time together playing or interacting can also help. In some cases, the feather pulling behavior can become learned. Making a bird-sized Elizabethan (cone) collar (Google tutorials on how to make one) can help stop her from plucking and help break the habit.

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello. If Obie has a mate, that bird could be plucking the head feathers. However, the feather loss around the eyes does not fit with mutual grooming/courtship behavior. This pattern of feather loss suggests some sort of skin infection, infestation, or inflammation. I would be sure to provide appropriate humidity to stimulate proper grooming behaviors, watch for any rubbing of his head or face on cage items or displays of itchiness/scratching. Beyond that, it will be necessary for a veterinarian to examine him and maybe run some tests on the skin to look for bacteria, yeasts, parasites, etc. That way, the best treatment can be started for Obie.

It could be a molt, stress, malnutrition or infection (bacterial, fungal or parasites). Without a physical exam, it is difficult to determine what the underlying cause may be. Ideally, she should be seen by your veterinarian or an experienced avian veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment. In the meantime, clean and sanitize the cage, bowls, toys and perches. Discard anything that cannot be sanitized. Feed a well balanced diet and provide fresh water at all times. A bath or misting with warm water may promote preening and healthy plumage. Provide a variety of toys, attention and playtime to keep her engaged and active.

Sometimes a delay in regrowth of feathers can be due to husbandry and diet, or it can be due to disease. I would recommend evaluating your husbandry closely to start. If there is an abnormal day/night cycle, temperatures that are out of the comfortable range for the species, a diet that is too high in fat or deficient in nutrients, or if the humidity is not correct, a lack of feather growth may occur. If you evaluate all of these parameters and they are normal and appropriate, then it may be secondary to disease or stress. At that point, I would recommend that you take Mitu to a veterinarian for evaluation. They can take samples of the feathers, evaluate the skin, and may also recommend additional diagnostic testing in the form of blood work to evaluate systemic health and radiographs (x-rays). I hope this gives you a place to start, and good luck!