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Lovebird losing neck feathers: Is its cage mate plucking? How to stop?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Bird | Lovebird | Female

I have two lovebirds, and one of them is losing a lot of feathers around its neck. The first thing I thought, is that she's plucking. But the bald spot is to high up for her to reach, she could only reach like half of it. Also I have never seen her pluck even once, but i find about 2-3 neck feathers at the bottom of the cage each day. Can it be that the other bird is plucking her feathers at night, and if so how can I make the other bird stop? And how do I know if feathers are growing back?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Angel Alvarado, LVT

Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on July 23rd, 2019

The other bird could indeed be preening her excessively. It is possible she could be starting a milt also. Monitor her for feather loss in other areas.
Ideally, she should be examined by your veterinarian or an experienced avian vet to diagnose and treat any medical causes. If medical causes are ruled out, you will need to address behavioral causes such as stress or boredom. If the behavior persists and you confirm the other bird as the culprit, you may need to separate them temporarily. Don't worry, they can be caged next to one another. Feathers will grow back wrapped in a sheath. These are called pinfeathers. The sheath will be removed by preening and the feather will unfurl. You can bathe or mist them once or twice a week with warm water to promote preening and healthy plumage.
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Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Answered By Dr Stafford, BVetMed, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 31st, 2017

    Usually feather plucking is associated with hyperactivity or anxiety. It often happens in birds who are bored, or who are not getting natural light or fresh air. This disrupts their circadian rhythm. Make sure the bird gets light and air, and that the cage is big and has plenty of stimulants. You can get rescue remedy to help settle feather pluckers. If the bird seems dull or has breathing change take it to an avian vet for an examination.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

    Veterinary Technician

    Published on July 12th, 2019

    Poor Elvis! A good first step is to bring him into your vet just to make sure there isn't an underlying health issue causing the initial plucking such as mites, a skin infection, etc. If he checks out healthy, the next step is to help with his anxiety and stress.

    Making sure he has access to his food and water without the other bird bothering him or controlling it, plenty of perches and resting spots, and toys that he can chew on or preen can help redirect his anxiety and behavior toward appropriate objects. Making sure he's in a calm, quiet area can also help reduce his anxiety. In some cases, plucking also becomes a learned behavior, and breaking his ability to do it by using an Elizabethan (cone) collar can help prevent him from plucking while he settles in. Googling how to make a bird-sized one can give you several tutorials on how to make an E-collar at home.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 14th, 2017

    Typically feather plucking in birds is due to a behavior issue rather than a medical one, like skin infection.

    Birds that pluck their feathers excessively typically do so because of anxiety/stress or because they are not getting enough mental stimulation. If the environment your bird lives in has changed at all, this may have caused enough stress to trigger the destructive behavior. If everything in the environment is the same then you may want to try environmental enrichment such as adding new toys to the enclosure and having more play/interactive time with you.

    I would also recommend you take Bella to be examined by an avian veterinarian so that any medical causes of plucking can be ruled out.

    I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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