We have many bird patients that have chronic feather destructive behavior, which encompasses chewing feathers and feather shafts, plucking out feathers, and in severe cases mutilating skin and creating open wounds.  Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon problem in pet birds.  In the wild, birds spend most of their days foraging for food, and the remainder grooming and socializing with their flock mates and exploring their environment.  When we bring these birds into a home setting, we need to provide them with the same types of enrichment that they would have in the wild (to the best of our abilities).  Sometimes, even when we do our best, these birds will develop behavioral problems such as feather plucking.  We want to give you an explanation of how we go about diagnosing the cause of feather plucking in my patients, and let you know that if your bird plucks because of a behavioral problem and not a medical one, to be patient and consistent with treatment.  There is never a quick fix for behavioral feather destructive behavior - it takes work and diligence.

The very first time we see a bird for feather plucking, we like to get a good idea of what has been going on at home.  The first 30 minutes of an appointment may simply be taking a history and finding out what has changed in the bird's environment, what the diet is like, and what a typical day is like for your bird.  Sometimes simply addressing underlying issues with husbandry will be the first step in treatment for a patient's feather destructive behavior.

• Diet plays a big role in a bird's overall health, and most of our companion birds eat an unhealthy, imbalanced diet.  Correcting the diet is the first step in improving the bird's immune system and health, which can sometimes be a contributing cause of feather destructive behavior.
• We will also make recommendations about daily enrichment, training, interacting with your bird, and potential stressors in your bird's daily life, and any other possible underlying husbandry issues that could be related to your bird's feather plucking.

A thorough physical exam will be performed next.  For many birds, the only physical abnormality is the feather destruction.  For any bird with feather plucking (whether symptoms started 2 days ago or 2 years ago), the following tests will always be recommended initially as part of the work up to rule out any medical problems that could be a root cause of the plucking:

• Fecal gram stain - this will give us an idea of what your bird's digestive tract health is.  Some birds, especially those that pluck around their bellies, will have an intestinal imbalance that needs corrected.  Additionally, birds who are chronic pluckers from stress or anxiety will often times have some sort of intestinal imbalance as well that needs to be treated along with the underlying cause for plucking.
• Complete blood count and biochemistry profile - this gives us a good idea of how healthy your bird is.  It is a complete organ screen and can identify any underlying infections.  We always like to treat for medical causes of feather plucking before assuming it is a behavioral issue.
• X-rays - some birds will pluck because of underlying conditions, such as arthritis, hormonal issues, cancer and other internal problems that x-rays may be able to show us.

If blood work and x-rays are normal, then sometimes additional testing may be recommended (such as feather biopsy, specific viral testing, and others) and we will begin to discuss behavioral modifications that may need to take place in the home.  Each case is unique in treatment, so there is no one common recipe for treating a bird who plucks.  Sometimes we can never identify the inciting cause for the plucking, and often times we have to work on behavior modification for weeks to months before seeing an improvement.  So please don't give up hope!  The bottom line is, we will sit down and work on a treatment plan that is right for your bird, and we will continue to make modifications as needed to help your bird stop its feather destructive behavior.  Please be aware that despite all efforts, some birds never completely resolve their feather plucking.  Below is a list of some of the treatments we have recommended for feather plucking depending on physical exam and test results, just to give you an idea of the wide array of possible solutions to your bird's problem:

• Diet change
• Lighting change from AC to DC current
  
• Foraging enrichment
• Independence play
• Increase in training exercises
• Changes in bathing
• Changes in humidity in the environment
• Changes in sleep patterns
• Intestinal antibiotics or antifungals
• Medications for skin infections
• Medications for obsessive compulsive disorders or high anxiety
• Medications for arthritis
• Medications for allergies
  
• Increasing exercise/weight loss
  
• Changes in types of interactions with owners
• Medications to regulate hormones
• Changing types of wing trims or allowing free flight
• Herbal tea treatments
  

On a side note, many owners will ask us about the use of collars to prevent a bird from plucking.  In my opinion, these collars need to only be used for severe cases when the bird is mutilating its skin or causing open sores, or as an adjunct to another form of treatment for its feather destruction.  Though plucking feathers is unsightly and distressing to the owners, usually it does not cause any major problems as long as it is just the feather being destroyed.  Using a collar solely to prevent the bird from plucking will only further frustrate the bird and is not useful as a treatment because we are doing nothing to address the cause of the plucking.  It would be the same as putting an E-collar on a dog with an infected wound so he could not lick and chew at it, but then not giving him any pain medication or antibiotics to treat the wound.

Some birds are prone to feather destructive behavior, namely Cockatoo species and African Greys.  If you have a Cockatoo or Grey, then we highly suggest speaking with an avian veterinarian about ways to enrich your bird's life so that you may decrease the chances of your bird becoming a feather plucker.  Many times it is stress-induced in these species, or it is from inappropriate relationships with their human companions, or boredom in their environment that can trigger this behavior.  Because of the high anxiety and stress that is genetically programmed into these birds, however, some will still exhibit feather destructive behavior despite everything we do.

Finally, if you have noticed your bird begin to pluck feathers, please see an avian veterinarian as soon as possible.  Sometimes the behavior is so ingrained by the time we see the bird, that there is nothing we can do to stop the bird from plucking.  Also, do not try any home remedies without consulting an avian veterinarian first.  Many of these do not work and may hurt your bird, especially if there is an underlying medical reason why your bird is plucking.