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I have to take my little BHC--6 years old--to the Vet ASAP.

Please tell me, though, what on earth is going on. My little guy seems happy, but he has just started snapping at his own wings. He has destroyed a good part of them. The cage floor is now full of snipped off wing ends. It's like he doesn't want anymore scissor shears and he's doing it himself. But it's horrifying what he's done. There is no blood or anything, but his feathers are now almost ugly from what was a beautiful coat of green and orange feathers.

He takes showers with me, but due to the cold weather I haven't had him outside much lately. The dry air from our heater might be playing a part.

I'm at a loss. What is going on. I can't imagine waiting until Monday to see a Vet.

Any advice? Help please?

Sounds like a bacterial infection. Is there no vet working Saturday hours? You really need to get him examined and on the right antibiotic. Tell us what city you're closest to and maybe we can help you find a vet for tomorrow.

Poor bird

You need to take the bird to an AVIAN vet ASAP - a lot of vets work on Saturday or Sunday.

Having said that, my BHC Jamie did that 2 years ago when her horomones first kicked in. We did a lot of tests but she was not sick at all.

With Jamie, the Lupron (hormone) shots and distraction (taking her out to friend's houses or even to the mall when it was too cold outside) and foraging activities (i.e. hiding treats in puzzle toys, Dixie cups or plain paper) really helped. She started again the next spring but we caught it in time and she hasn't done it for a long time. Of course, with these birds you never know when they will start again....

But even if it is hormonal, you need to rule out any medical problems first.

Let us know what the vet says.


Kate

Last night all the tail feather got pulled out. No avian vets are in today at any of the main clinics. I'm still calling around. One said that if my bird is eating and acting OK, it can wait 'till Monday. This is such a shame. Nearly all wing and tail feathers are yanked out, and now the legs are the target.

I'll keep calling. This must be a parasite--

That is a shame Give her extra heat, Kent. About 85 degrees will let her use her energy for healing rather than just staying warm. If you don't have a heat light or avian panel, you can set a house lamp right up against her cage during the day. It will put off a good amt of heat. At night, carefully drape a heating pad (turned on low) over the part of her cage where she sleeps. If it gets too warm, she can move to another part of the cage. Be sure she can't reach the cord to chew.

I hope she does okay, Paca

Hey r u in arizona. there is a breeder who knows avian vets here is the link to vets in arizona
http://www.pamperedpeeps.com/vets.htm
cut and paste it.
keep us posted

Wow! I'm so sorry to hear about your BHC! My BHC started snipping off her feathers around Thanksgiving last year. She chewed the ends off her tail and her belly. This year she started doing it again. Both times there was nothing medically wrong with her. I did do the Pluck No More with her and it helped. Def. get her to a vet ASAP.

keep us posted!

We saw the Vet. We have antibiotics, as he apparently has some kind of infection. However, that may not be the cause.

We are also eliminating safflower seed and regular been mix food, and replacing all that with pellets and dark green veggies; sweet potatoes, etc.

The cause is still up in the air, but could also be our crazy schedule over the Holidays or almost anything behavioral.

What is "Pluck No More"?

I'm open to anything while we work with this regimen of antibiotics and new food.

In the last few hours he has again yanked out a good number of feathers.

thx

Great relief that you found a vet! Antibiotics often have a good impact in as little as 24 hrs, so let's hope that's the case here. What are the antibiotics? Have you found a way to give him extra heat?

Hoping for healing, Paca

Pluck No More is an herbal remedy put in the drinking water and also sprayed on the bird. The site explains it better than I could.
Check this website out:
http://www.plucknomore.com/

I would just do one thing at a time. You don't want to stress him more. First the antibiotics and then a slow conversion to a healthier diet. Pluck No More would be last. If it's the infection making him pluck, and it probably is, the antibiotics should stop it. You should see results by the third day. Make sure to finish the full course of meds.

I am so sorry to hear about your bird doing this. My BH "Chili" has done this almost every year since he was 2 yrs old. He has been to the vet many times and nothing ever showed up on the tests so we believe it to be hormones and winter dryness. This year he has more feathers than he has in the fast. Two years ago he mutilated his leg very badly. I know how frustrating it is. This year he has started screaming alot more but his personality has returned too. He seemed to be very depressed and just sat and starred. He has been on numerous things over the years - prozac, lupron, childrens benadryl ( to help with the itchiness). I also used the Pluck No More and had good results. I think it lessened his anxiety. He seemed to be afraid of so much. It is so hard when they can't tell what is going on. When the vet did an xray we found out that he had a healed fracture on one of his wings. I don't ever recall even noticing that he may have hurt himself, but they are so good about hiding things. Unless it happened at his first home.

Good luck and hope something works quickly. My guy looked pretty awful and I was quite distressed because I felt it reflected on me and how I took care of him. But some of these guys just chew their feathers. They also feed off of your energy level so if you are stressed out they can see that. But I know that he is still the sweet little guy inside and I'm just happy when he isn't bare to the skin like he was one winter. I try to spray him alot. I know that his pin feathers are very sensitive and if I touch them he gets really angry. I think keeping them wet helps to soften them alittle.

Keep us posted. Extra sleep seemed to help mine too.

Well, he's still not better. He's on anti-biotics, seems to be eating fine, poops half his body weight each day, just as always (not really but it seems that way at times), he's talking. But he's really yanked his feathers out. If he slipped from a counter he might hit hard.

I've got the heat up in his room, and he has a warm hut.

I'm going to play some music more often. He's used to it, but I haven't done that in his room lately during the day.

He's on pain killer/allergy meds also.

We'll see. Thanks for the great help here!

Kent,
So sorry to hear about your little BHC's feather pulling. I hope you find something that works. Does he have a toy that he likes to chew on or rip up? Those can work as a distraction. Good luck and keep us posted!

Scootie wrote:... He seemed to be very depressed and just sat and starred. ...

Scootie,
I'm curious, does Chili get to play with your other Caiques? Or do they just interact at a distance? Sparky is so much happier now that Mika is here and although he has sheared his tummy feathers the past two years I think it is just a brood patch. I'm waiting to see if he starts again this spring. Mika is a different story. Even though she has Sparky to play with she seems kind of lonely and forlorn. She will stare at her reflection or at pictures of herself and Sparky. She also gets very nervous, particularly around bed time and will start to preen way too hard, sometimes pulling feathers out. Usually we manage to distract her but her legs are a bit bare. They are so emotional and it is hard when you know something is bothering them but you can't figure out how to make it OK.

Sandy,

Chili does run around the floor with Sassy and Peanut. Punkin and Chili used to be friends til the hormones kicked in. Now Punkin seems to enjoy harassing him by going on his cage. I have to watch them because he will go on Chili's cage and Chili will just get down and go somewhere else. If he is in his cage with the door shut he will try to nail Punkin. He got his beak a couple weeks ago - ya think he would learn but he just keeps going over there. So I have to keep an eye out constantly. He would love to have a friend but nobody wants to be his friend.