Eczema Melopsittacus et Agapornis: lovebird preening obsessively

[papatoi]

Hello! I have a big problem with my older lovebird S?uks, who has been diagnosed with Eczema Melopsittacus et Agapornis. He has a wound under his wing, in his armpit that he preens obsessively, so it cannot heal and keeps getting infected. The avian vet has put a collar on him, so he can't get at the wound. When S?uks has the collar on, the wound heals, but as soon as it's taken off, he goes back to obsessively preening his armpit, and soon there's a wound there again. He is also finding the collar extremely uncomfortable and irritating, as he cannot preen or scratch himself then in other places either, so wearing a collar doesn't seem to be a long-term option. Originally, the condition is related to stress in the bird's life (S?uks first got it in 2017, when his dear long-term partner died). But I have a feeling that now it has simply developed into a bad habit, like biting fingernails or hair in humans. Does anyone here have any ideas on how to treat this condition? Are there any behavioral modification techniques you could recommend? Or a good source to look at?

[linda040899]

I feel your pain on this one! Overpreening turning into a bad habit can be frustrating for bird and owner alike! The only product I ever found that really worked was something call Rx Soother from Lafeber's. It was taken off the market and I've never found anything that worked as well. I looked on my new "go to" site, morningbird.com and was reminded that fresh aloe can be used for skin injuries. Morning Bird sells it here: https://morningbirdproducts.com/collections/skin-feather-care If you have fresh aloe, simply squeeze the juice from part of a leaf and apply to the wound. Birds can eat aloe so it's safe to use. Another product I found that might help is this one: https://morningbirdproducts.com/collections/anxiety-nervousness I've never used it so I can't say if it works or doesn't. I'm just making the link available.

Another thought is perhaps he has too much time on his wings so perhaps giving him other things to think about might help distract. The first thing that comes to mind is foraging. In the wild, birds spend most of their time searching for food. Unlike domestically kept birds who have food readily available at all times, wild birds face death if they don't look for nourishment. Perhaps start slowly and let him begin to search for some of his food. Lessen the amount of food in his dish and allow him to look elsewhere in his cage for food. You don't want him going hungry but you need to distract him from the area that he keeps picking. I'd suggest toys for shredding but I don't think they would help much, although it wouldn't hurt to give him a toy that he can destroy.

Hope this information is helpful.

[papatoi]

Hi Linda, thank you for the advice! Our vet prescribed Haloperidol for calming, it seems to be working. However, S?uks is wearing a collar at the moment, so I don't know if the meds would stop him from overpreening. My birds are free in the flat and have lots of stuff to chew on, which he also does, quite obsessively at times, but he still finds time to bite his wound, unfortunately. I'lll try reducing the food and hiding more food in different places, maybe that'll help some more.

[linda040899]

Picking can be a hard habit to deter. Hopefully, it will get better as he has to stay busier.