While the advice herein may or may not help a Quaker who is already plucking their feathers, it doesn’t hurt to try something that hasn’t been heard before. So, with that in mind, these are tips for new owners to help in preventing their Quaker from plucking before it ever starts-for you “oldie but goodies”, you might want to read on for a brief refresher course.
I believe that anyone who lives with a Quaker or an African grey must, from time to time, be concerned that their bird will become a featherplucker. If the truth were known, it is probably one of the greatest fears of us Quaker slaves, only surpassed by our concern that their bird will contract a fatal disease. As I can only go on my own experience, I will draw from the story of Tweezerbird’s short bout with plucking.
When Tweez came to live with me as a wee babe, I tried to do everything by the book. He was given lots of attention, plenty of out of cage time, a healthy diet, proper lighting and a nice clean environment-all the things that keep a birdie healthy and happy. But, in spite of my greatest efforts, before he reached his first hatchday, Tweez began to pluck the new feathers that were appearing on his legs. While I did not allow him to see my panic, I was in hidden hysteria, and my ego was terribly wounded. I had prided myself on giving him the best of care.
The first thing I did was to take him to the vet to rule out a medical reason, but he was given a clean bill of health. Simultaneously, I increased his “3 times a week bath” to twice a day-morning and noon. (Never bathe your Quaker too late in the day, as they need to be dry before bedtime.) This did seem to quell his picking, to a degree, but I was still counting some half-formed pinfeathers on the bottom of his cage. I was at a loss as to what to do about the situation, except to ignore it and continue with the proper husbandry and care that I had learned in my continuing education of how to live with a companion parrot. In the midst of my helplessness, a package arrived from Fowl Play, a bird supply company, with Tweezer’s bird supplies, but included in this package was a free sample of a shreddable that they sell called “Shortcuts”. This was to be the turning point in Tweezer’s plucking habit-my personal miracle in a bag!
Tweez loved the “Shortcut” samples, and I noticed that he would go at them with some fierceness at certain times of the day. Also, when I was away from the house, I came home to a demolished “Shortcut”. This was also the time he had previously plucked more than usual. He seemed to have a need to destroy something that his Quaker-sized beak could really rip to shreds when he was frustrated. Until then, most of his toys were a little too hard for this type of instant gratification. His feathers were the perfect solution, I believe, for easy shredding. Since he had found this new substitute in place of his feathers, I immediately ordered a bag of “Shortcuts”, along with a bag of “Qstix”, which looks like the white sticks used for lollipops, only longer. When this shipment arrived, Tweez went about unrolling and ripping them, along with the “Shortcuts”. The only problem I faced was where was I to put these handheld items? So, I purchased a tent with a hard bottom to hang in his cage, and I kept the tent filled with these two items at all times. “Miraculously”, his plucking came to an immediate halt. I do believe that I was blessed to find a solution before it became a habit, or the answer wouldn’t have been so simple. For once plucking is well established, it is one of the most difficult behaviors to overcome in parrots. Trying to stop an established plucker is the bane of avian vets, behaviorists and people who live with the featherplucker.
To this day, Tweezer is NEVER without access to these and other easily shreddable items. I have also included real q-tips, short pieces of jute rope and popsicle sticks. Tweez gets daily baths, and if I skip a day, he uses his water cup, so I know he does like his daily bath. Bathing relieves stress in birds, as it does in humans, so never slack off on those baths. Also, I believe it was crucial that I did not react to Tweezer’s problem in his presence while I was trying to find a solution. So, please do not shout at or show attention to a bird that is in the process of picking. This only makes matters much worse. Do give your green one a healthy diet, and do not give into the urge to share unhealthy foods, especially fatty, salted or sugary snacks. And, give your Quaker attention. If we humans became bored, were unloved and ignored and kept in a cage, we ourselves might start taking up bad habits, like pulling our hair out! Most importantly, if your Quaker does take up the habit, take him immediately to a good avian vet to rule out medical causes. For even if the medical sickness is eventually found to be the reason for plucking, like aforementioned, it can turn into a habit. So prompt action is a must in curtailing plucking. And last, but not least, please be sure your Quaker is exposed to natural lighting and/or artificial lighting from a fluorescent source.
While it is idealistic to think that everyone who implements these simple little practices will never run into a plucking problem, they are all sound advisories and can not hurt. And, remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say, and running ahead of a problem is never a waste of time, in my opinion. I truly believe in my heart that Tweez is, to this day, a plucker waiting to happen. That if I took away these practices and items, he would return to that stint of years ago. It has been almost 6 yrs since this all came about, and he has yet to pluck again. But, even though it has been that long ago, I still think about these things and am ever on guard to do the things that I believe relieve bird stress. If Tweez’s story helps even one Quaker from ever becoming a plucker, it was worth the telling. Happy Quakering!