Strange or normal?

[LoveBug12]

My bird is constantly cleaning and stretching his feathers. I know this is probably normal but it's constant.

[lemonypickett]

If you handled him a lot he may be trying to get the human oils off his feathers.

[LoveBug12]

If you handled him a lot he may be trying to get the human oils off his feathers.


He stretched all day yesterday, and he is sitting on top my my laptop right now stretching and flapping his wings. Well, he is listening to other birds also so maybe that's why...I have no idea

[BarbieH]

Do his feathers seem healthy?

[lemonypickett]

Maybe he is happy he is all grown up and has his forever home!

[LoveBug12]

Do his feathers seem healthy? His feathers are beautiful and healthy looking. He just loves to clean them I guess!

[momo]

Elmo always stretches.. I think its because I have his wings clipped.. He wil stretch and have a flap. As for preening.. when I first got elmo I thought that wow.. he really likes to clean himself. but its stayed constant over the whole time...

[LoveBug12]

Elmo always stretches.. I think its because I have his wings clipped.. He wil stretch and have a flap. As for preening.. when I first got elmo I thought that wow.. he really likes to clean himself. but its stayed constant over the whole time...

That's exactly was mine does. He stretches and flaps his wings and cleans himself. I don't quite know why but he looks okay to me health wise. He has been biting me alot so maybe he's just preening me but i'm not sure ;)

[momo]

lovebug I assume that your lovie has his wings clipped. i think they do it for exercises because they are unable to fly.. although elmos wings are coming back at the moment he does the wing flapping 1000000x more.. it sounds like normal lovie behavior to me.

biting is probably out of fear because you are new and strange.. it took elmo two weeks to calm down.. and really months until he realised that he was on longer in danger that Im caring for him.. i kn0w this because he ended up becoming a little naughty birdy who pushed me around! lol!.

[BarbieH]

They do exercise that way a lot. Also, make sure that you give him a little dish for bathing sometimes.

He might be trying to remove keratin from incoming feathers, which is normal. Has he been molting recently? Birds with mates preen each other, but single birds have to do it all by themselves (except for my spoiled single birds, who I try to preen to help them remove keratin).

If you notice that some of his feathers are looking raggedy, it might indicate a little over preening, or even a problem with the beak, and that would mean he needs to be seen by an avian vet. Also look for bald patches, which would mean that he has crossed the line and started pulling his own feathers -- also needing a vet visit to check for parasites, etc.

[michael]

My bird is constantly cleaning and stretching his feathers. I know this is probably normal but it's constant.


He stretched all day yesterday, and he is sitting on top my my laptop right now stretching and flapping his wings. Well, he is listening to other birds also so maybe that's why...I have no idea

I would say if your lovebirds feathers are in good condition this cleaning is likely normal preening. Besides keeping their feathers (and maybe you too :)) well groomed, they also spread oil from the preen gland (uropygial gland) at the base of the tail which helps keep them waterproof. As for wing stretching, because many companion birds share a certain amount of limited activity, stretching can provide some much needed relief (not unlike those extended car rides where we have to get out and stretch a bit before climbing back in).

Another type of activity that may deserve some added attention is how your bird is reponding to your laptop. Quite often, various objects or sounds will inspire behavior that results in extra nibbles or bites to let you know there's either intruders nearby or a possible "mate". If the bird sounds are coming from your laptop, you might try either turning the sound off or find some other activity that doesn't include a computer and see how things go.

I second Barbie's approach in that should anything appear abnormal a vet exam would definitely be recommended.

[LoveBug12]

Yes, he does have his wings clipped so I think that might be it. thanks for all the help!