My parakeet is picking feathers. What causes it and how to help?

Thanks for reaching out about Rupu and including photos. Feather picking can be caused by behavioral problems and medical conditions. Medical conditions range from metabolic (liver, kidney), dermatitis (bacterial, fungal, viral), parasitic (mites), dietary deficiencies, and other systemic illnesses. Feather picking due to stress, breeding behavior, and others are also common. A veterinary visit is needed to assist with diagnosis and treatment plans. Dietary review is important. Keep separated from other birds in case infectious and contagious. Good luck.

Feather plucking is often associated with boredom, or other issues within their environment, but the cause of this problem is not always known and highly debated amongst avian experts. Making sure he is not bored is a good first step. One good way to keep your bird busy is by making them work for their food. Birds in the wild spend most of their time foraging for food. Instead of just putting food in their bowl, you can hide it, or put it in puzzle toys that require them to do some work to get the food out. I fed my parrot almost exclusively this way. Other enrichment options include putting a mirror in the cage and putting him in other environments. It's best to give your parrot as much possible space that you can to let her fly and roam around. You may consider getting perches or other cages for different rooms, or outside. If you can afford to have a flight cage built, this would be even better. Below is a link to some more information about enrichment ideas: http://www.parrotenrichment.com/ It's also good to make sure he is getting enough sleep. This is best achieved by keeping the bird in a dark room during sleep time. Birds should have 12 hours of sleep a night, so don't feel bad about putting him in a dark room for that amount of time. Diet is also very important. He should eat mostly a formulated pellet diet like zupreem. Make sure he is not eating a seed, or nut based diet as these are too fatty and can cause issues leading to feather loss. For more information about diet, read the article at the link below. https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/species/pacific-parrotlet/ Lastly, make sure he is bathing regularly. Dry feathers can itch, break and cause them to pluck. It's good to put a bird bath in the cage as much as possible (once a day would be best). I hope that helps and he gets better soon.

If you suspect a parasite such as mites most pet stores carry a commercial mite spray that can be used on birds to treat mites. Placing an Elizabethan (cone) collar on Sky is also a good idea to keep her from picking at the spot while it heals (Google has tutorials on how to make bird-sized ones at home) If the problem persists, it would be good to have her examined by a vet. If you're having trouble affording care, this site may help give you some ideas to make vet care more affordable so Sky can get the help she needs: https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/having-trouble-affording-veterinary-care

Your veterinarian or an experienced avian veterinarian can examine and diagnose mites or infection (bacterial or fungal). Once medical causes have been ruled out, you can focus on behavioral causes such as boredom or anxiety. A warm bath or misting can promote healthy plumage. Rearranging her cage and play top can provide welcome changes. Keep a variety of toys and rotate them to keep her engaged and interested.

Ouch! Those areas look pretty irritated. A good first step is to bring your bird into a local avian vet so they can check for issues such as parasites, illness or infection, or even nutritional issues that could be causing the feather loss and dull coloration. Getting him on treatment can help improve his health. If he checks out healthy, looking for behavioral causes is a good next step. Boredom or stress can cause excessive feather plucking, so making sure he's kept in a stress-free area can help as well as adding in some enrichment to his environment. Toys that are interactable, time outside the cage bonding with you or on a playpen, and fun food and puzzle treats can help keep him interested. An Elizabethan (cone) collar can also be made to help with excessive feather plucking or scratching while the area heals.

Have Elmo examined by an experienced avian veterinarian to diagnose illness or infection. This can include malnutrition, parasites, viral infection or skin infection. Once medical causes have been ruled out, you can focus on behavioral causes for the feather picking. Elmo could be stressed by your absence if he was bonded to you. He may be bored in his cage or it could be too small. Consider a larger cage and rotate perches and toys to keep him engaged. More human interaction is also a necessity, especially if he was hand raised.

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.