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This is a DNA male of unknown age,
probably 20+. He was on a seed mix when we got him in June 1999. He was
plucking when we got him. His neck was bare, most of the feathers on his
body underneath his wings were gone and upper legs. Now his legs and the
left side of his chest are almost bare.
He pulls out a single feather at a time and chews the base. He will pull 2-3 feathers one day, about the same the next and then none for a few days. Cycle seems to be about 4-5 days. He isn't mutilating his body. His grip is much weaker after two days of picking and this affects his balance. His overall mental and physical health has improved since we got him but his chest feathers are disappearing : ( |
He plucks the new feathers growing when they are about 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. Sometimes they bleed, some more than others. He chews the feather after he has plucked it out. He seems to get most satisfaction from chewing the base of the feather which is still in the sheath. Makes me think he is getting some nutrient from it.
Sometimes he hisses and makes a sharp movement towards his body as though he has a twinge of pain.
His diet consists of Hagen Tropican pellets, striped sunflower
seeds, brazil nut, peanut, fruit, sprouted beans and lentils, veggies.
I have also given him cooked beans and grains.
| We first took him to the vet (yes he is an
avian vet and a very good one) because he started picking at his foot after
I gave him a bath as soon as we got him home because he smelt and his feet
were fitlhy.
He had gangrene and the end of one of the toes on his left foot was amputated. He also has the end of his left wing missing which the vet says is an old injury. Apart from that there were no health problems. Now he is more active he limps when walking and tends to favor his right foot but no X-rays have been done. His initial check up didn't show any problems. The vet
prescribed two products
Six months later we went back to the vet to see what to try next to stop him plucking. We just had a really bad day. Friday afternoon he picked a few feathers while were out. Xmas morning there was blood everywhere because he picked at one on the top right side of his chest and it didn't stop bleeding for a while. Then he kept picking at the dried blood and it started bleeding again. I eventually calmed him down by spraying him with water.Sometimes is seem as though he picks at his leg or chest when its actually the pin feathers on his head that are bothering him. So we always try and preen those for him. The last couple of his days his beak is bothering him and we have been rubbing the sides of his upper beak which he seems to enjoy. |
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We live in west central FL and don't use AC. His skin doesn't seem to be dry.
In the summer he gets a bath almost every day. When its colder not so often as I worry about him catching cold.
We are using natural tree branches about 3" in diameter for perches. He enjoys ripping the bark off these. I also give him chunks of 2x4, brown paper bags crumpled into a ball and pieces of cardboard.
I think that the seed mix he got prior to coming to us was unfortified as they said they supplemented the water but hadn't done so for a while. I suspect his primary diet was sunflower seeds, peanuts and potato chips.
We were told that he seemed to be senile - unlikely at 20+. I now believe he was exhibiting classic vit. B deficiency (can't remember offhand exactly which B, I'd have to look it up). Six months on he is much improved.