My Eclectus problem...?

Question

My 18 year old Eclectus bird has been constantly picking at its feathers ever since I first aquired him a few months ago from a friend. I didn't really think anything of it at first- it was gradual, a small patch of feathers missing here and there. I thought it must just be what happens to them in the summer.

That is, until one day when he appeared to be trying to eat himself. I have many birds and know that he could be just cleaning himself, but it was too intense to just be cleaning.

Now, he is scrawny and quite ugly- looking. For a month, his picking seemed to slow and then stop, but I am very concerned about him. I don't want to overreact to this and want to have some idea of what's happening before I take him to a vet.

Here are pictures of what he looks like now;

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm189/JVC913/Joe.jpg

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm189/JVC913/Joe2.jpg

Could this be a disease or a bad habit? Or maybe it has something to do with his diet?

Answer 1

Like above answer, plucking can be caused by many things.

Eclectus parrots are prone to feather plucking and feather mutilation. Emotional problems such as stress, boredom and separation anxiety can all lead to feather plucking.

Feather plucking is a common occurrence in eclectus parrots, particularly in males. Causes of feather plucking and feather mutilation range from boredom and separation anxiety to parasitic infection, malnutrition, and fatal diseases. Owners of exotic birds and veterinarians alike have to become detectives to determine what, if anything, causes a parrot to pluck itself bald.

The first step with any case of feather plucking or feather mutilation is to get your eclectus to a certified avian veterinarian. Physical causes of feather plucking must be ruled out, especially if you live with multiple birds. If no physical cause for plucking presents itself, congrats—you’ve ruled out a host of parasites and deadly diseases. But now you, as your ekkie’s human, have to figure out what’s bothering him.

I'm thinking that he is probably stressed out because the loss of his previous owner, and his new environment. Have you kept him in the same routine as the previous owner had him in? For example, same diet, sleeping times, bathing times, play times ect. Now I saw in the images you put up his cage.... is that just a temporary cage? Or his full time cage? Because of what I can see it has very small dimensions. I suggest getting him a much larger cage.

I think it is best to have a talk with your friend see what might have been changed, and take your new bird to an Avian Vet. He needs to be checked out ASAP, he might cause some serious damage to himself, and plucking is a bad habit and a hard one to break once left too long.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

Your right that he doesn't look good.  It could be he is plucking because of the move. Sometimes this causes psycological stress on them. It could be his diet, depending on what you are feeding him and what he was eating before.   Eclectus have to have a special diet, when they are not fed properly their feathers may change color, they may pluck, lose weight and of course it causes internal damage with their kidneys and liver.

When your ekkie came to you was he a good weight, and did he have all his feathers? Has this just been since the move that he has lost weight and started to destroy his feathers and mutilate his skin? If it has been then it could be mainly from the move. Eclectus stress very easily. One of my females shears off the tips of her chest feathers, she did this before I got her and has never stopped. Her problem was that she was caged with our male in a too small cage for a year, and he picked on her. This stressed her out so bad that she started to destroy her own feathers. Now I have them in seperate cages but she still does it. Even if you think your male is doing this because of stress, take him to your vet. When they start to mutilate their skin it is very bad, and the pluck no more spray cannot be used for that.

PBFD Is a disease where birds will loose feathers and look very scrawny and sick. You may want to have your vet test him for this, it is an airborne disease and you run the risk of infecting any birds you come in contact with if he has that....so make sure you have him checked.

www.landofvos.com is a good site for eclectus owners

Answer 3

It's a bad habit that could be caused by a number of things..poor diet, stress, dirty environment, boredom, etc. Actually quite common..it's called "plucking". Seek veterinary care..he can determine the exact problem. If you can get him to stop the habit, the feathers may grow back. Just be careful and watch him..birds do self-mutilate. They can give you a plastic-collar shield thing (like they give dogs to keep them from chewing stitches) that could make him stop.

My best guess would be that the plucking is caused by stress- ie the bird missing his previous owner.

I was browsing the net earlier and saw a product called "Pluck No More" that was a spray to keep birds from plucking. I don't have experience with it myself, but it's made by King's Cages.

Good luck!

Answer 4

I own two eclectus that I adopted.  One that I adopted is about 9 years old, plucked most of his feathers, and has been in several homes in his life.  He is also aggressive sometimes.  

I know how hard it is to deal with this type or problem.

the things I would do first are:

1. Bring to the vet to rule out any health problems.  Get  bloodwork done to check for any diseases and get their skin checked.

2.  Make sure you are feeding the right foods that Eclectus require.  They eat alot of the things we eat so feeding them is not hard, but does require time to prepare it.  I prepare alot of meals a head of time and freeze them.  I feed mine: eggs, rice, noodles, veggies, fruits, and jsut about anything else they can eat.  At night before bed they get nuts and dried fruits etc.

3.  Make sure he has enough toys etc to keep him busy.  A good cheep toy is a phone book.  They are made with soy so it is ok for the birds to chew on it.  Also, I put a mirror in the cage for each of my ekkeis to talk.  Time out of the cage is also another big thing to remember.  My ekkies are hardly ever locked in their cages.

4. Try to spend as much time with him as he is probly missing his previous owner.  If he does not want to be held, just talk to him in a sweet low voice for a while.  This helps calm them (usually) and if it works for him, keep doing it.

Hope everything works out for you