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Has anyone ever had expereince with a feather picking lovebird?
I am to pet sit these two lovebirds. One of them is bald. He so bald that he has stitches from the picking. The owner brought him to the vet and said it was behavioral. As I reading these lovebird chats I wonder if it something else.
Regardless, these birds are not tame and they are rescues She has just few toys but I am guessing they might like shredder toys to keep them busy.
I thought maybe even a plant/tree in therir cage would be a good idea.
If so, what kind of plant/tree would be good for them?

Hi,

I know that feeling. I have a lovebird and he picks his leg. And it is behavioral. He only picks when I'm at work, and refuses to distract himself no matter what I do for him. Anyway, my vet told me if it gets that bad (stiches...), they should put a collar on him and monitor him to try to break the habit. It's sad for the bird and he will act "dead" for about 24 hours, but in the end it'll save his live from picking. What they told me to do to distract Sawyer from picking is to let him "scavange"...I wrap up treats in paper (paper towels, toilet paper rolls), and he picks at it until he can get the treat....could be an idea.

Hope this helps...

In the wild, birds are busy all day long foraging for food. Perhaps making him hunt for food will occupy his time and he will think less about picking. For instance, put food in his food dish and cover it with shredded paper or something that he has to dig through to find what's in the dish. Start the foraging slowly so not all of it's hidden but as he gets better at finding it, increase the amount he has to find.