Feather plucking Hahns Macaw

Cheryl:

Hello! I am new to this site and am hoping to find fellow bird people who can give me some advice. My husband and I have a 9 year old female Hahns Macaw (Sassy) who we have had since she was a baby. Up until this past month she has been a picture perfect pet - very flexible with few vices. She has just started feather plucking and has a bald patch about the size of a dime or a little smaller on her back between her wings and it looks like she might have pulled some on one leg and a little under each wing. The only cause her vet and I can figure out is that I had been gone for two months to help my father who was injured and that is the longest by far that I have ever been away from her. My husband is very good with her and she adores him but I guess it wasn't the same to her. The vet gave us some aloe type stuff (which she only lets my husband apply, she is a little flirt with men) to soothe her skin but it doesn't seem to be helping much. When she fusses with the area she screams really loudly. I thought maybe some sort of irritation might have had a hand in starting this. Otherwise she has been fine. The rest of her feathers look fantastic and she has always been a big preener. Her cage is very large and she has all the recommended variety of perches, toys, and food. She seems more interested in preening than her new (and favorite) toys but that has been slowly increasing for several months now but without the plucking. I know that if we don't get this straightened out soon it could be very serious and our vet said that Hahns Macaws are very rarely pluckers. Anyone else have a similar problem or any hints on what else to do? Any help would be greatly appreciated and if anyone has any other questions about Hahns, I would be happy to help.

Kimba:

Hi, sorry to hear this. I would think that given the birds age and the fact that she has never had a problem that it is most likely medical and not behavioral. What tests did your vet do? Skin scrapping? Blood work? Feather biopsy? Giardia test? PBFD? Heavy metal poisoning? Or did he kinda guess? I know a cockatoo who sudden started plucking and she was told it was behavioral and went to another vet who did the tests and it turned out the bird had a kidney infection, which causes plucking. If your vet did all the testing and than determined that it is behavioral I would say than look at environmental, new detergents on clothes, food. hair products, cleaners and such that could be irritating her skin. How ar her feathers pulled? This can give you hints as to what is going on...

Behavioral plucking the feathers are typically shredded, frayed and chewed.

Medical or irritation from an allergen the feathers typically are pulled but perfectly intact. This is because it is the skin that is irritated and pulling the feather is equivalent to itching the skin.

Where is also important..
from your description the bird is pulling at the base of the tail between the wings? That is where the preening gland is located, if it is not functioning well than the skin becomes dry and itchy, this gland needs Vitamin A and D to work properly, does your bird get enough sunlight? A window does not count because UV rays do not go through glass.

A plucking around the legs could be hormonal or parasitic.

Plucking under the wings can also indicate gardia(parasite) or heavy metal toxicity.

I hope this at least helps you figure somethings out. If your vet is not avian certified than you might consider finding one who is, if the aloe is working it means that the skin is irritated and it is NOT BEHAVORIAL. But if the cause is not found than it will become a habit as you probably already know. Hope this help and keep us posted.

Angie:

I am also wondering what tests the vet did? I would also think parasite.Was it an avain vet?

Try to add a bunch of different type toys to her enviroment.Shredding toys, preening toys, foraging toys...trying to find something to take the place of the plucking.I have also heard that some things in the diet can cause plucking.Soy products come to mind, along with certain preservatives. certain beans and too much iron.An avain vet would help with a better lists
Sadly with many birds it becomes a habit.And we all know ,bad habits are hard to break...
Good luck and hope you can get to the cause of the plucking before it gets to be a habit for her.

bird gang:

My hahns chewed on her feathers....I did all of the tests(c.b.c, candidasis, aspergillosis, giardia all the way down the line). At first the c.b.c was with in normal limits and all tests were neg... In one day she increased her feather destruction. I got her thing ready so she could come to work with me the next day. She passed away in her sleep that night. The next day we preformed a necropsy on her at work. During the examination a mass was present in her G.I tract. After biopsy and tissue pathology cancer was the reason. I hope your little has a much different and better out come. Get her check by a certified ABVP avian vet. Many vets have a special interest in birds, but are not certified avian vets. So make sure she is examined properly and the right tests are done. Dont let any one tell you it is behavior by just looking at her. I hope this will help you in some way. If you have any questions or any thing I can help with just ask.........( *)> Joseph and the bird gang.....

Kimba:

When she fusses with the area she screams really loudly. I thought maybe some sort of irritation might have had a hand in starting this.

I didn't see this before, but this is concerning. Is she screaming cause she pulled the feather? Or by fussing do you mean not picking but preening and screaming as a result? The preening /screaming is very concerning! And if she is only screaming while fussing in those particular areas I would stress this point with a Avian cert vet, she could very well have something going on internally.

Bird Gang....How very sad, I'm sorry.