Feather Plucking/Mutilation & Clicker Training...Help!

[Peekay's Person]

Help! I have 2 lovebirds who have always been caged separately but next to each other. They always come out of their cages at the same time and play together well. Just before Christmas I had them out together while I was cleaning their cages and Peekay bit Tully. Tully ended up having stitches and was put on a few different medicines. He has never been the same.

He actually started healing ok but then just wouldn't leave his feathers around his sore alone. Now - 6+ months later - he is almost entirely bald on his back, he reopens his old sore from time to time and keeps his skin irritated. The doctor and I have tried many things...e-collars, heavy doses of benadryl, even and anti-depressant. Tully was getting better until we went to the vet for a check up and he told us how good he looked...and then he went down hill again.

Has anyone had a feather plucker/mutilator? I have read some lot about clicker training to help with this problem and would like to know if anyone has had any success...I plan to start clicker training this weekend. I have also tried making him work harder for his food.

My birds are still in the same room but don't spend as much time together as they used to and are highly supervised when they do.

Any help and/or advice is greatly appreciated!

[linda040899]

Has anyone had a feather plucker/mutilator?
Yes, but not with clicker training. My success is with something called Neem, specifically in cream form. I use TheraNeem cream on injuries of almost any kind and found it works well (for humans, too!). If you do a Google search for Neem Tree, you will find that it's referred to as a backyard pharmacy. It's naturally soothing, as well as having antibiotic properties. One of my lovebirds had problems with flight feathers coming in and he just about destroyed the wing when I finally tried my last ditch effort....Neem cream. He's allowed his flight feathers to grow back and he doesn't bother the wing anywhere near as much as he did before. My avian vet checked the ingredients and she couldn't find anything harmful listed so she said it's OK for me to use it.

I'd give it a shot, as nothing else has worked, either.

[michael]

........Has anyone had a feather plucker/mutilator? I have read some lot about clicker training to help with this problem and would like to know if anyone has had any success...I plan to start clicker training this weekend. I have also tried making him work harder for his food.......

Hi Peekay's Person. .... Sorry to hear Tully's going through a bit of a picking spell. ....Believe me, your sentiments are shared by several members, including myself. .... I'd like to ask, exactly what type of ecollar had been used? ... Was the collar left in place for any extended amount of time? ...Removed at night? ... How about a bathing routine? ...If all else fails, sounds like the neem may be of benefit. ...For the record, there's also a Calendula-echinacea-hypericum cream that may be available through your vet. ..Both are found to be suitable treatments that may help complete the healing process. ... Problem with most wounds, is they flat out cause itchy discomfort. .. Once the wound/s start to heal, the only comfort is to scratch away the new skin and/or scabs. .. Should this behavior turn perpetual, it may become obsessive. ..The cream/s should help keep the wound/s from drying out, and promote healing. ... Although i've yet to be familiar with "clicker training" being a possible solution, I would not draw the line against it, as any acceptable behavior that redirects from self mutilation should be considered a benefit. ..Likewise, foraging would be an additional strategy.

As for ecollars, they are simply not a cure. ..But, if instituted properly, in some cases they can allow healing to become more thorough. ...Unfortunately (and depending on how well their tolerated), this process can take several weeks to administer. ..Along with this, usually something like metacam is prescribed to help ease any discomfort. ...So far, it sounds as though you and your vet have covered the basic outlines of treatment. ...Then again, it could be that a more lengthly regimen might be necessary to help complete the whole process. ... Best wishes for Tully. ...Please keep us posted...........:)

[Peekay's Person]

The e-collar was not very well tolerated...my vet decided that it would be another "last resort" - Tully chewed through a couple and it ended up stressing him out more than helping. -oh, it was the clear plastic one with a rubber collar. He seemed to be on the mend until we went back to the vet and ever since it has gotten worse.

He enjoys taking baths...i have read that more baths may cause him to pick more at his feathers and i have read that more baths could help him... so i don't know what's best. I worry that he will get too cold so i only give him baths when it is day and when he can sit in the window/sun to dry - thats his preffered spot!

The vet gave him a cream (i don't have it in front of me and can't remember the name of it) that i used but he said if it seems to make him mess with it more than to stop. Poor Tully has had so many problems since i got him that he is a little jumpy - always expecting to be caught and given medicine, etc.
my vet is looking into other medication options/doses that we can put in his drinking water so that he doesn't have to go through the stress of being given the meds from a syringe.

Unfortunately, this behavior has become an obsession...he seems to do it even more when he is in a stressful situation. I was hoping the clicker training would help keep him occupied and somewhat distracted. I had to leave him with a frien for about 5 days when i went on a trip and Tully left his feathers alone - we think because my friend had a little dog and Tully was too distracted by the dog and being in a different place to mess with his feathers...
I am moving from Alabama to Delaware in early August and the vet and i both hope that the move will be a good distraction from his obsessive behavior.

Does anyone have any good foraging ideas...i have made my own but need something new and our pet stores lack any good foraging toys...

[michael]

The e-collar was not very well tolerated...my vet decided that it would be another "last resort"......

He enjoys taking baths...i have read that more baths may cause him to pick more at his feathers and i have read that more baths could help him... so i don't know what's best......

.......Poor Tully has had so many problems since i got him that he is a little jumpy - always expecting to be caught and given medicine, etc.......

.......I had to leave him with a frien for about 5 days when i went on a trip and Tully left his feathers alone - we think because my friend had a little dog and Tully was too distracted by the dog and being in a different place to mess with his feathers.......

Does anyone have any good foraging ideas...i have made my own but need something new and our pet stores lack any good foraging toys...

Thanks for keeping us updated. .... Not surprizing that in many cases ecollars simply won't work. ...Honestly, I wouldn't be surprized if most the time their really not necessary at all! .....OY:roll: .... In regards to bathing. ...I understand exactly what your refering to. ...Sometimes depending upon the source of water (be it "hard" water or "soft".., chlorinated, or high in salt), tap or well water can have quite an affect on how a parrot feels after bathing. ...Best you can do, is pay close attention to how your bird responds after each bath. ... Most notable, is that bathing helps remove dirt and dead skin cells. It also helps soften up the hard keratin sheaths that surround any newly formed feathers making preening and the spreading of oil from the preen gland a bit more desirable. ..Unless your bird is molting, total feather loss should remain at a bare minimum, and the skin should look fairly hydrated. ... Diet can play a large role here just as well. ...Have you tried adding Aloe to his bath water?

I'm sure by now due to medications Tully anticipates your every move. ..Besides the benadryl/anti depressants, were any antibiotics prescribed? ...Like ecollars, certain medications may have little to no affect. .. With exception to medication for infection, and provided infection remains fairly minimal, I would not hesitate to stop them. ... It could be that replacing any medications with other more desirable activities, such as the foragers or some form of congregational meet, might just break the spell. (does he have a playgym?)... Some foragers can be made using brown bags, or by temporarily covering his food bowl with Kale or piling in a few small carrots. ...Anything to chew on like a bird safe tree branch would be great too. ... Once again, unless there remains a substantial risk of infection, eliminating all oral medications might be the best alternative. ...At least from an immunosuppressive standpoint. As for adding them to his drinking water? ..Dosing alone could turn out to be a problem within itself.

[Enko_chan]

Has the vet done any testing for secondary and/or opportunistic type infection?

I know that the picking and plucking- in birds AND human beings can turn into an obsessive thing- or something neurological, some injuries and/or incessant itching, cutting, picking of an area can cause nerve damage that can lead to more itching, burning, prickling and painful sensation- which is difficult to diagnose and even harder to treat thus often attributed to psychosomatic causes... but in some cases with avian self mutilation there can be an underlying medical cause like a bacterial or fungal infection that comes into play because the flesh is exposed for so long. Definitely do not treat for something like this without definitive diagnoses- as the wrong treatment could make it much worse, but its something to consider if it hasn't been already.

I have successfully treated dry skin and minor skin injuries in birds in part by adding fresh aloe vera to their bath water- it may help prevent drying out of the skin. You may want to check with your vet before trying this, though, as I have never used this remedy for a bird with a serious or long-term wound.

I have never used neem for the birds so far, but I love it for my own skin.