Bird feather plucking is usually caused by some form of stress. This stress can be due to external issues, such as boredom, or internal issues like parasites. Often, the causes of bird feather plucking can be reduced to one of the following reasons: emotional causes, serious pain, or chronic
health
problems.
Emotional causes for bird feather plucking usually develop slowly over a period of time. Boredom and jealousy are two key examples of the emotional causes of bird feather plucking. The addition or removal of another bird can also cause stress that could result in feather plucking. If your bird begins to pluck his feathers (this can be differentiated from molting in birds by the fact that there may be large numbers of feathers removed at once, and/or bare spots on the bird) try to determine what could be causing the stress. Minor changes such as spending more time playing with your bird or providing her with a few new toys may alleviate the feather plucking.
Bird feather plucking can also be a sign that your bird is experiencing significant pain. Consider whether your bird has recently had his beak or nails trimmed and whether this may be causing him discomfort. Other changes in his behavior or appetite may indicate an illness that is resulting in him plucking his feathers.
Chronic health problems such as vitamin deficiencies, hygiene issues, or parasitic infestation can also lead to bird feather plucking. A shortage of vitamin A could cause unhealthy skin and feathers, leading the bird to pluck. Giardia is a commonly-found parasite that affects a bird’s intestinal tract and can lead to episodes of bird feather plucking. Sometimes the cause is as simple as not bathing your bird frequently enough. If his feathers are getting overly dry, he may resort to plucking them out.
While relieving the causes of bird feather plucking will usually stop this unwanted behavior, there are times the plucking will continue after the impetus is removed. Some birds grow accustomed to particular behaviors and begin to do them out of habit. If you think you have correctly identified the reasons for the bird feather plucking, but the behavior has not ceased, you should consider behavior modification through positive reinforcement. Completely ignore your bird while he is actively plucking his feathers, and lavish him with praise when he doesn’t pluck. He will soon associate the positive reinforcement with not performing the plucking behavior, and the bird feather plucking should stop.
