feather plucking on nest

[momo]

Morning,

Elmo has gone through the egg train and has come out the other end..

Tonight she decided to come out and play for the first time in a while.. so I had her eggs removed while she was out with me.

While on the nest she has plucked a few feathers on her chest. There is a bold patch just under where her beak is. I know it's been very cold here so I'm not sure if it's because she decided to give her feathers to the eggs to keep warm.. or why she plucked. Can anyone shed light on why she's plucked? She's got a good diet, good seed, good pellets, veggies available, egg and biscuit available...

Strangely enough, a night or two ago, I had a dream that her head feathers had been plucked.

[linda040899]

Many lovebird hens will pluck chest feathers that cover their brood patch so that they can make better incubating contact with their eggs. Some pluck small areas, others pluck their entire chest! Now that the egg train has come and gone, those feathers will grow back. :)

Head feathers can only be plucked by a partner..... Is this a possible consideration for Elmo???????

[Chickobee]

A hen will pluck feathers on her abdomen when she is sitting on eggs. Her body temperature increases so she can incubate her eggs and removing those feathers allows her to keep them warmer. This is called a brood patch and it is completely normal.

They will grow back quickly, and this isn't an indication that she has suddenly become a feather plucker.

[momo]

Thank godness for that.. thanks guys. I love this forum :) I was getting worried that I had done something wrong by her.

Re; head plucking.. it was in my dream. It was just a really strange concidence that I found her chest plucked the next day.