Thursday, August 28, 2008 - 6:09 AM MDT

"Star" Scarlet Macaw Ara macao Photo By: Eli Weiss Feather Destructive Behavior Feather plucking, shredding and chewing are destructive, sometimes habitual, patterns of behavior that can be caused by physical illness, infection or disease, emotional distress or disorders, environmental factors, toxins, malnutrition or dietary/nutritional imbalances, and in some cases hormonal influences. Persistent behavior of this nature may severely damage feather follicles, preventing normal feather growth. It is extremely important to have a thorough physical exam by a qualified avian veterinarian at the onset of this type of conduct. We should remember that our dramatic reactions to this type of behavior can sometimes, inadvertently, play a role in actually encouraging the very activity we are trying to eliminate.

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Feather Picking Birds

Feather picking, or feather destructive behavior, can range from a slight problem in our companion parrots to one of significant complexity. In order to determine that the feather destructive behavior that your birds is demonstrating is not due to an underlying medical problem, The Birdbrain™ strongly recommends that your bird be thoroughly evaluated by a skilled and qualified veterinarian with a special interest in avian medicine. You might wish to consult with a renown and reliable parrot behavior consultant if there is no underlying medical etiology to the problem to better understand potential contributors to this captivity-induced disease.

To date, there are many potential causes for feather destructive behavior, and determining the underlying reason(s) can be a time-consuming and patience-testing challenge for us as stewards of our birds.

Many of the products suggested in this section have proved extremely beneficial to the parrots of The Gabriel Foundation® aviary, helping to diffuse the bird's attention away from feather destructive behavior by introducing another object designed for the bird's needs.

For additional information on feather destructive behavior, visit:
www.parrotislandinc.com/afeather.htm
www.featherpicking.com/
www.aviannetwork.com/articles

(Many other excellent educational articles may be found at www.parrotislandinc.com and listed sites.)

This page is dedicated to the memory of Mango, Irish and Alfie whose lives with us were all too short and compromised during their lives on Earth. Mango was a Solomon Islands' Eclectus. Latin Name is Eclectus r. solomonensis. "Alfie" and "Irish" were Red-sided Eclectus and Vosamaeri Eclectus, respectively. Latin names for these species are Eclectus roratus and Eclectus r. vosamaeri. Photos By: Julie Weiss Murad

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