Skyler - update on his "issues" [Archive] - Birds of a Feather Forums

Shirley

02-09-2006, 06:02 PM

Well, today, the 2nd night out of collar, there was a small pile of fluffy white feathers on the floor, a few pink ones.. and I was just so sad! :( :( :(

I couldn't see where he was getting them from, and they weren't teeny little feathers... Well, I gave him a good shower, and when he was wet, I could see where the feathers had come from... HIS LEGS!!! His upper legs are almost bare again!!!!!! :( :(

I called Dr. C. --- he has to have the soapy shower 1x/2weeks and showers inbetween, and likely be back in his collar unless I'm able to REALLY keep a watch on him... (the shampoo is Feather Shine for Birds for those just tuning in...) I was really hoping he'd quit... and he made his skin red around the perimeter of the bald places under his wings... so not worth it to take chances on more skin breaks... :( :(

Two things she shared from the latest Vet Med Articles:
1) Use Flour, not bird kwik-stop, to stop feather bleeding. Hold w/pressure 'til bleeding stops.
2) Don't pull broken blood feathers unless you absolutely have to... like the bleeding just will not stop at all. Some birds have experienced damaged feather follicles from having their feathers pulled.

so... back in the collar again... :( :( :(

Jean

02-09-2006, 06:25 PM

Well, today, the 2nd night out of collar, there was a small pile of fluffy white feathers on the floor, a few pink ones.. and I was just so sad! :(

I couldn't see where he was getting them from, and they weren't teeny little feathers... Well, I gave him a good shower, and when he was wet, I could see where the feathers had come from... HIS LEGS!!! His upper legs are almost bare again!!!!!! :(

I called Dr. C. --- he has to have the soapy shower 1x/2weeks and showers inbetween, and likely be back in his collar unless I'm able to REALLY keep a watch on him... (the shampoo is Feather Shine for Birds for those just tuning in...) I was really hoping he'd quit... and he made his skin red around the perimeter of the bald places under his wings... so not worth it to take chances on more skin breaks... :(

I am so sorry! :tighthug: I know how hard you've tried to resolve his feather abuse. I was told once by a parrot owner that they had tried everything imaginable for 5 years ( with no progress) to get their cockatoo to stop feather abuse. Her vet mentioned ( when all else continues to fail )she thinks there are some companion birds that tend to feel a need to have skin showing. She said her vet wondered if in situations as these, could it be they feel a need to mirror their human companions who have skin and hair. :shrug: It tends to make sense to me. After all, we teach them to mirror us in so many ways such as eating habits,showers, love, playtime, and companionship.

Two things she shared from the latest Vet Med Articles:
1) Use Flour, not bird kwik-stop, to stop feather bleeding. Hold w/pressure 'til bleeding stops.
2) Don't pull broken blood feathers unless you absolutely have to... like the bleeding just will not stop at all. Some birds have experienced damaged feather follicles from having their feathers pulled.

I am so glad you shared this with us. Thank you, please Thank Dr. Cook for us.

so... back in the collar again... :( :( :(
:grouphug:

Shirley

02-09-2006, 07:06 PM

Thanks, Jean... I appreciate your thoughts and insights... I can't imagine him thinking he should have skin showing to look like us... it seems more likely it would be an obsessive compulsive behavior... started back when he got his first infections... But who knows...

Dr. C did mention that some birds don't pick so much that they tear their skin up accidentally, and then it's sometimes best to just let them pick a little... but he carries it further than that, though he does not try to mutilate himself.

And... he's so talkative and happy -- no other psych issues... I just don't get it. :(

Junkzoo

02-09-2006, 08:07 PM

Shirley,,,SO sorry to hear of the setbacks you've had,,:( ,,thought you were making headway from the sounds of it earlier,,,,:shrug:

Jean

02-09-2006, 09:24 PM

You are most likely right on his analysis of it being obsessive compulsive behavior. That is so often the case with feather abuse after an illness, or stressful atmosphere which we know is not the situation. I feel so sorry for him, he just can't seem to understand what he's doing to himself. My heart goes out to you for trying everything imaginable to help him. :tighthug:

Ginny

02-09-2006, 10:06 PM

OH No Shirley I am so sorry Skyler is picking feathers again. Poor little guy. I sure wish he would stop so he could have more freedom to play and move around more.

give him a kiss from me and I will keep praying he will stop. He is such a sweet little guy.

harleybaby

02-09-2006, 10:35 PM

Oh Shirley I was really hoping for the best!!! I understand the frustration too. Sammy let all his beautiful feathers come in just to pluck himself a nice big whole in his chest, it's hard not to take it personal but we know sometimes they just do it and we can't control it. Dixie is starting to chew her feathers and it really bothers me also. She seems so happy, we're going to move her cage and see if that helps. Big hugs!

Shirley

02-10-2006, 12:24 AM

Thanks to all of you -- it's a real drag -- he's so happy and cheerful all the time! I just don't get it. I'll let you know if anything changes...

Islandzoo

02-10-2006, 03:53 AM

Oh No :( Sorry to hear that shirley.

it's strange isn't it, you wonder why they do it to themselves. It seems to be a nervous habit like nail biting... I do hope you find some kind of solution Shirley.
Bob hasn't done it for a while but it does worry me, especially if we go away again...

Jim

02-10-2006, 09:51 AM

Dang!!! I was so hoping this was going to be the time he could go with out the collar. I know you're doing all you can Shirley and it must be heart wrenching when he does this.

Hugs to you and Skyler. :grouphug2

Sue

02-10-2006, 10:04 AM

Dr. C did mention that some birds don't pick so much that they tear their skin up accidentally, and then it's sometimes best to just let them pick a little... but he carries it further than that, though he does not try to mutilate himself.

And... he's so talkative and happy -- no other psych issues... I just don't get it. :(

Oh no Shirley, so sorry he's back in the collar.

When Toto did it , he went straight for the skin, his feathers were fine.

My vet said after ruling out the medical causes, (he said 99% of cases he's seen were not medical) bottom line is no one really knows why they do it, it's just speculation.

parrotgirl

02-16-2006, 01:56 PM

I am so sorry that he has started pulling his feathers out again, I was really hoping this would be the last of his collar days.

:grouphug:
My dog, Jess does this, she pulls her fur out from near the tail and then starts on the skin until it bleeds. The vet is baffled as there is no reason for her to do so.:doh:

Shirley

02-16-2006, 03:04 PM

Thanks again everyone... he's even more adamant about picking now -- like back when he started.

No, it's not medical.

Jim

02-16-2006, 05:04 PM

That is a shame Shirley. My heart goes out to you and him.:heart: Not being medical this does make some since to me though. Behaviors can be like that. When they are stopped physically, as the collar is doing, once the physical deterrent is remove the behavior sometimes returns stronger than before. Not saying always, collars have worked for some birds. I'm thinking (if it is behavior) that if the picking has been completely extinguished by the collar it works. If not the behavior could return stronger.

Just rambling

Shirley

02-27-2006, 12:38 PM

Well, we also wondered if it's a seasonal thing... last year, it quit in Jan, then started up in March - longer days or something? He's had the collar since mid-June... the longest ever. He was super "itchy" 'til maybe fall or early winter? can't remember... but never quit enough to take the collar off unsupervised... now seems to be more "itchy". Don't know if he's "itchy" or just more OCD or what it is...

Everything else about his behavior and attitude are the same... completely the same. And he's not the least hormonal that we can tell.

Jim

02-27-2006, 01:11 PM

I have some things saved that you might be interested in reading. They are posts by Dr.'s and research people. If you want I'll gather up what I can and send them to you. The gist of them, from my perspective is, we CAN mess up the internal things, forgive me for my lack of the proper terms, by our attachment and cuddling too much, feeding mushy foods, generally sending messages to our birds that it's matting season and what not. This COULD cause problems in some birds.

Below is a post by a Dr.
Be warned the last part is sad.
--------
The other problem with excessive cuddling is that it triggers a sexual
response.
Knowing a little about parrot's physiology, I know that when the parrot
approaches
breeding season his brain sends out hormones that make the gonads swell
and stimulate
the follicles, starting the whole mating cycle. There is a flow of
hormones in the
body and the parrot is "on".
On this note, I hread a talk by Dr. Fern Van Saint (San Jose, CA) a few
months ago about the
physiological consequences of excessive petting and stroking. She noted
how striking a parrot
often in his erogenous areas (rump, tail, underwings, back, beak, vent)
triggers the "on" condition,
which in turn cascades into a multitude of other physical problems, for
example, feather picking.

Giving too much soft mushy food has a similar effect, as it mimics the
food that pairs in mating
rituals feed each other.

The case that impressed me the most was a mature Amazon. This poor guy
had been
regurgitating a lot and then, passing out, and even falling from the
perch. Upon investigation,
Dr. Van Saint discovered an inflated crop, irritated from the constant
regurgitation; the crop was
so large that it had been pressing on the heart, causing the fainting (I
guess because of decreased
efficiency in pumping blood into the body). And guess what triggered the
regurgitation - the
constant cuddling and petting from the owner. The good Doc told the
owner to stop it. This person,
in her infinite selfishness and stupidity, refused to give up the
cuddling. The Amazon eventually died.

xxxxx

Shirley

02-27-2006, 01:30 PM

Well, they don't get mushy food... except baked sweet potatoes whenever we have them...

He doesn't do the feeding response thing ever... only Holly does... And Michelle regurgitates a lot for me, for Holly, etc... but doesn't want cuddled ever, and doesn't feather pick...

Skyer never wants his sides or wings petted, just his neck scritched... and he's never regurgitated for anyone or any bird.

Shelby wanted all of her petted and scritched and rubbed and even got hormonal about her sides and such being rubbed, but never picked or got crazy ---

But I'm aware of all those points and appreciate you posting and taking the time - you never know what might help whether it be Skyler or someone else... And Dr. C has been here a LOT to observe him and the others... and her emphasis with avian care is behavior and feather picking... diet and clicker training/behavior / food foraging, those areas of avian interaction and such... natural diets, natural environments... And fwiw Shelby flies free all over the place outdoors and inside, but is the same behavior-wise -- one happy extremely loud cockatoo! Very demanding, very sweet, VERY loud. Never picks her feathers. Gets loads of cuddles.

And Skyler is the same as he was pre-picking... he got this bad infection and we just don't know if the infection started the picking syndrome, or if he picked first and then got the infection.... and then just started picking even more. He was only 20 months old when he started... not a mature male at all. The only thing we think may have precipitated it was the fact we then were using crushed walnut as a cage substrate instead of newpapers... and they were sifted with a walnut-litter-spoon... and the spores or whatever may have caused the infection just blowing up into the air... Dr. C has heard that stuff called "death in a bag" at AAV Conferences... we immediately changed everyone to newspapers... Skyler had massive rips under each wing and on both upper legs - we didn't even see it happening it was so fast... he was given every test in the book... and biopsies... he chemistries were fine. He was collared Thanksgiving '04 til end of Dec... then mid-Jan '05 til late Feb. Then late June 'til now and ongoing. I think those dates are somewhat accurate. I know the start date is. And the late June '05 date is.

Jim

02-27-2006, 01:47 PM

I figured you knew all that stuff and wasn't implying you did these things. I was thinking along the lines of it being an interesting read for all of us. I know for me I reread things all the time just to keep myself in check.

Gotta run to the store, it's pushing towards dinner time for the boys and haven't going yet.:doh:

Shirley

02-27-2006, 02:35 PM

It IS good for everyone to read all these things... and all the angles... and also that even in the best of situations... you never know what might happen with a parrot... and Dr.C. said she sees it all too often with 1) Cockatoos and 2&3) Greys and Macaws (regarding frequency by species in her experience)

One can just never say, MY bird will never be a plucker.... :(

Jim

02-27-2006, 04:04 PM

Doubleyolk

02-27-2006, 06:39 PM

Ab sooooo lutely Shirley! There is no one solution to stop feather abuse. To think "My bird will never pluck" is crazy. It can happen no matter what we do.

All any of us can do is provide for them as best we can.

I agree Jim and I have never read anything where species in their natural habitat pluck except for lining their nests with feathers.

Jean

02-27-2006, 07:00 PM

Ab sooooo lutely Shirley! There is no one solution to stop feather abuse. To think "My bird will never pluck" is crazy. It can happen no matter what we do.

All any of us can do is provide for them as best we can.

I agree with that you've mentioned. The reasons captive birds pluck or chew can be be associated with so many trigger points. Some of the best avian specialists attested to this very issue. :highfive: It's all comes down to try and keep trying and hope you and your companion can someday reach a solution. We all know, Shirley has and will continue to do everything imaginable to help Skyler. I can't help but think there are times they are just to intelligent for us to figure out.

Griminsdj

02-27-2006, 07:13 PM

I am sorry to hear about Shelby. It is extremely upsetting to have a feather plucker and just so many limited options to help them. Sometimes it is alot like treating the symptoms and never really finding a cure or cause.It is disappointeing and frustratign and most of all it just leaves you feelign so helpless. {{{Shirley}}}

I took in my sister's boyfriend's sister's grey female cockatiel Rio, she was 6 yo. They were afraid to take ehr out of the cage, afraid of beign bit. So she was caged with little interaction, no toys and an all seed diet. After I got ehr home and settled I coudl hear her make these painful cries and was horrified to see ehr cry out in pain as she plucked feathers from under neath both her wings. My sister's boyfriend confirmed that she had done this at his sister's house often too. I brought her to the vet. HE did some skin scrapings and some bloodwork adn told me maybe teh new environment, beign around people and birds, havign toys and a varied diet and spritz baths might help but chances are tat by now it was habit and woudl be hard to stop. She picked year long, no increase in spring or anything, and ONLY unde rthe wings, all ehr other feathers were in great condition. And she picked herself bloody at one point requiring the tiny radiograph film collar. Eventually he put her on haloperidol ( a human antipsychotic I had to fill the prescription at the pharmacy, and not without having to explain that Rio was a bird) with success. The feathers didn't come back but she stopped picking and could be trusted without the collar. I think the vet figured it was OCD related or entrenched behavior so we tried to have her on it for a long enough period of time for her to forget, and she would be good for a bit but them end up back on it. She lived for another 10 years, died at 16 only bloodying her wings that one time. The meds did make her a bit on the hefty side, but didn't seem to affect her mood wise (Unlike my cat who had urianry track cystosis, after his last buoght they had him on the antidepreessant Elavil (sp? apparently it helps relax the bladder and control the painful spasms) and it really zoned him out, he looked drugged laying on my steps all day long staring into space, when they said I could take him off he came off, it creeped me out.

Shirley

02-27-2006, 08:14 PM

I gotta respond to this... and thanks for bringing it up... (it's Skyler not Shelby, but no problem)

Halderol is no longer prescribed, and if you have a vet prescribing it... find another vet. Really.

If one must consider antidepressants... do not use halderol for several avian vet reasons. The side effects are not good. It was replaced a few years ago with better antidepressant/anitpsychotic drug therapies.

Prozac and Clomipramine are used with some to no success, and few to no side effects.

:watched: I am NOT advocating the use of drug therapy, but I am warning against the use of Halderol, and some "avian" vets don't know any better and still prescribe it. :watched:

Jim

02-27-2006, 09:27 PM

:watched: Now that my mask is on. Joe I so agree with you! What may or may not be the case in the wild is -- not nice feathers could equal sick bird to the flock, no mate, out cast..... less chance of survival, short life, less chance of being seem.

BUT Ah ha, Born and raised in captive, large outdoor flight, mate, fighting the rain and weather to some extend, on alert seeing hawks and other predators, seeing changes in the environment, hearing different things, etc. seems to equal less or maybe no plucking.

So in my mind somewhere in between -- in a cage indoors chewing toys and a large outdoor flight with a mate would have to be a start. Probably the closer to the outdoor flight would be best but that's not an option for most of us.

Another thing I have noticed with my birds. During the summer we have them out as much as possiblw and at least one day on the weekends for like maybe 8 hrs. While out they don't need toys to chew, are pretty clam, do get excited when they see certain things. But what I see is they are fulfilled when we come home. Like different birds. I truly wish I could have them out every day.:(

Shirley

02-27-2006, 10:37 PM

And yet Skyler has his wings most of the year and we have vaulted ceilings...... then we clip him a little in the summer so he can have the big maple tree all summer w/no harness... you'd think he'd rather chew the tree than himself... :shrug2:

Griminsdj

03-01-2006, 09:37 PM

Sorry about renaming Skyler on you I have no idea where Shelby came from?!

That was almost 15 years ago..maybe 14 years ago, shortly after I aquired Rio. I hadn't heard it used often back then. I am not surprised that it isn't advocated anymore, or that it has really bad side effects as most of the psychotropic drugs have long lists of side effects (although none were found in Rio that I could observe). We lucked out and Rio lived a decently long, healthy (minus the baldness under the wings) and pretty happy (minus the plucking under the wings) life.

I won't be driving 4 hours to see that vet (although I hope he no longer prescribes it).
I gotta respond to this... and thanks for bringing it up... (it's Skyler not Shelby, but no problem)

Halderol is no longer prescribed, and if you have a vet prescribing it... find another vet. Really.

If one must consider antidepressants... do not use halderol for several avian vet reasons. The side effects are not good. It was replaced a few years ago with better antidepressant/anitpsychotic drug therapies.

Prozac and Clomipramine are used with some to no success, and few to no side effects.

:watched: I am NOT advocating the use of drug therapy, but I am warning against the use of Halderol, and some "avian" vets don't know any better and still prescribe it. :watched:

Shirley

03-01-2006, 10:19 PM

If he wouldn't injure his skin inadvertantly, and not further the damage, we'd leave the collar off... what did you do? Or did the medicine make it so you could take the collar off and he quit picking?

Islandzoo

03-02-2006, 08:09 AM

bob's started plucking again too :( bald legs and a wee bald patch on his chest too :( :( have started spraying him again - i hadn't been as it's been so cold, he was shivering after but I didn't know what else to do.
I am keeping eye and obviously will have to go to the vet if it gets worse. all the vet will do is put a collar on.

Sue

03-02-2006, 08:38 AM

Jim thanks for posting that interesting article. I am wary of over petting Toto and he mostly gets his head and neck rubbed which he loves.
We are living proof that you can never say "my bird will never pluck" (not that we ever did say it) but as some of you know Toto mutilated after living with us for over 20 years, long story but we had a week away and left him with the same people who had looked after our birds for the last 16 years with no problems. Needless to say we don't now, my dad lives at our house while we are away.
We will never know exactly what happened as the people didn't tell us, they must have noticed the blood on his feathers and they were acting really strangely but we weren't about to throw accusations. We do know "something" triggered it, whether it was a skin irritation (it was hot that summer) or they did something to him, I don't believe they would hurt him deliberately but we try not to dwell on that now as they chose not to tell us, so we'll never know.
He didn't pluck any feathers, just went straight for the skin, when I moved his feathers I was horrified to see he had a hole in his chest. The vet said although he needed to rule out medical causes, he was 99% sure it wouldn't be medical, it wasn't. I won't go into detail just say he had major surgery, we don't know if he did it at the beginning of the week or the end but he had done a lot of damage to the muscle tissue.
He was at the vets for 11 days and I can honestly say Dave and I were constantly in tears, it was a summer from hell! For 3 months our lives just revolved around Toto, we planned everything around him, I missed work meetings because I wouldn't leave him, luckily my boss was understanding.
Ollie was subdued and missed him too. It was constant 4 hour round trips to the vets.
He was put in a tube collar as the vet said he had shredded the e collar in a matter of minutes and the only drug he was given was Baytril an antibiotic to prevent infection.
When he came home he looked all bedragled as if we'd found him in the gutter, I preened him regularly as he couldn't do it himself and i'm sure that made him bond to me more, although I am very careful not to make him just "my bird" he loves Dave equally.
One theory some people have is that it can be caused by "separation anxiety" ,a theory both us and the vet dismissed, as if he was going to pine surely he wouldn't have waited 20 years! and we have tried to keep him well balanced and not too needy.

I've posted this for the same reason Jim said, others can read and learn, so many people believe a mutilating bird is abused or badly treated and we are proof that is not always the case. Also for anyone thinking of getting a bird, to see the massive amount of commitment (and money) it takes, these are usually the times when they get passed from home to home.
This all happened 3 years ago and after the collar came off, he thankfully never attempted to do it again which also makes us believe it was trauma related but as I said, we'll never know.

Shirley

03-02-2006, 11:25 AM

Thank you for posting, Sue... Dr. C went through a very similar situation with Merlin, her M2 - He put a hole in his chest and had to be in a collar for about 3 or so months, once healed, he left it alone... thank heavens. but he'd been rescued as an abused bird at the age of 7 by her. Totally different background from Toto... but he's about 13 now and never ever picked or mutilated since. He's completely flighted and has the entire house to fly through... plus goese to work 1/2 the day with her; Shelby goes the other 1/2 day with her... He harnesses very easily and goes outside with her.

Like Toto, Merlin was on antibiotics only as well.

Sue

03-02-2006, 12:05 PM

Thats good news about Merlin, he is so lucky to have found Dr C, it's good to hear he never did it again too. My vet said of all the birds that do this it's cockatoos and particularly M2's that are more prone. They are the most rehomed parrot, we don't know how many homes Toto had before us!

Just an idea but my vet's wife swears by manuka honey, she treats rabbits and other animals that have wounds. She spreads it on the wound and it heals very quickly.
Manuka honey is known to have healing properties, my dad had stomach ulcers and after being treated with that new drug, they went, then after a while started to come back, he eats loads of manuka honey and when he went back for a check up they had miracuously disappeared, he mentioned the honey and they said at the hospital, it was possible.
I wonder if it would help Skyler? just a thought as long as it didn't attract him to the area to eat it.
Could it be like a child picks a scab when a grazed knee starts to heal, I just wondered if you could get it to heal faster it may stop the cycle.
Maybe Dr C would have an opinion.

Shirley

03-02-2006, 12:33 PM

Do you feed it to them or put it on topically?
How old was Toto when you got him? I think you don't know how old he really is, right?

Jim

03-02-2006, 03:38 PM

Never heard of manuka honey. Sounds good tho to stop the picking if the healing process is what is bothering the bird. I think honey boy Skyler picks for what ever reason even if the feathers are back in, doesn't he Shirley? Not that the manuka honey wouldn't be a BIG plus, I certainly think it would.

I like this, like a bunch of scientists or investigators discussing every thought, opinion, story..... the more data the better I think.

PS - Sue thanks for sharing Toto's story.

Shirley

03-02-2006, 03:44 PM

I'm not sure, Jim... he totally quit picking his chest, and I thought he quit picking his legs... after all the feathers came in... so I keep thinking if we can get the feathers back in under his wings, maybe he'll quit picking under his wings... He didn't pick under his wings (the underside of the actual wings) when he was picking his chest and legs. :shrug2: :shrug2:

Sue

03-03-2006, 08:00 AM

Shirley the vet put the honey on the wounds and they healed quicker. manuka honey is made from bees that pollinate the tea tree flowers in New Zealand.

Jim, heres a link to some manuka studies ...http://www.natures-fix.com/research.htm

It says it has specific antibacterial properties, I found another link that showed healed wounds but it was a bit too graphic for here.

I can't see it would do any harm, probably only like using aloe vera?

Jim

03-03-2006, 09:25 AM

Thanks for the link Sue. Good info. I'm big on natural medicine and medical treatments when ever possible so I enjoyed the site.

Ginny

03-06-2006, 12:24 AM

Sue,

I remember all of that and how upset you were. I am so glad he didn't pick any more. He is such a special boy.
Give him some hugs and kisses from me. :tighthug:

Thanks so much for sharing with everyone. It is alway good to learn from other people's experiences.

My amazon use to pick a spot on her leg and I put Neosporin (oked by vet) on it and she didn't like the feel of it on her beak or tounge when she would go to pick at her leg so she would leave it alone and let it heal. After it was all healed she would leave it alone for a long time. Neosporin is the best thing for cuts....you put it on and it heals over night.

Ok just my :cents: :idea:

tielgal

03-06-2006, 03:30 PM

Oh Shirley Im so sorry!:( Bless him its a shame he does that. When Leo was plucking her feathers-and this may not help because it was a long time ago and not as drastic as Skylers-but all i could do was spray her with a warm mist of water every day maybe even 2 times and soon she stopped. I hope you can find someway to stop him because he's such a gorgues bird:(

Shirley

03-06-2006, 05:18 PM

Thanks, Ang -- he won't pick if wet/sprayed... but 20 min after being sprayed... he's dry enough he'll pick again... :(
And now with spring coming.... he's chewing his toys more AND picking his feathers more (or trying to). :(

Sue

03-07-2006, 06:42 AM

Shirley

03-07-2006, 09:06 AM

I remember that summer well. Little did I know I'd be going through a collar experience with a future bird myself, although nothing as horrific as what Toto and you went through. I can only imagine!!! :tighthug:

Griminsdj

03-07-2006, 09:18 AM

Were you asking about Rio, my cockatiel? The meds made it so I could leave her collar off. Once she healed completely, the scabs all gone and healthy pink skin, we removed the collar. We left her on meds for a bit, long enough to feel like the habit had been broken then tried her off it. She'd do fine for months at a time, but then she'd start back slowly...pluck one here, pluck one there, before long she'd be crying away and plucking and back on the meds before she chewed through the skin. She only wore the collar that one time, only bloodied teh underside of her wings that one time. I was really lucky.

If he wouldn't injure his skin inadvertantly, and not further the damage, we'd leave the collar off... what did you do? Or did the medicine make it so you could take the collar off and he quit picking?

Griminsdj

03-07-2006, 09:23 AM

{{{Sue and Dave}}} i just read your story on Toto, it just made me tear up, it's like havign your human infant hospitalized, so scary and stressful.

Shirley

03-07-2006, 09:24 AM

I'll pass your story on to my vet... yes... you are very fortunate. I have a friend with an older cockatiel, very friendly pet female, in her teens, and lays eggs, no mate, but plucks a LOT but no mutilation. Just looks really scraggly. Never seen that in a cockatiel before. She raises parrotlets and also has a Quaker, is a very knowledgeable bird person. She feeds and excellent diet to all her birds, great living quarters for all...

Griminsdj

03-07-2006, 09:36 AM

That makes sense to me, teh manuka honey havign healing properties and that it is teh result of the tea tree pollen..tea tree oil has an antibacterial property to it, they use it in lots of shampoos to help with dandruff and scalp issues.

Shirley the vet put the honey on the wounds and they healed quicker. manuka honey is made from bees that pollinate the tea tree flowers in New Zealand.

Jim, heres a link to some manuka studies ...http://www.natures-fix.com/research.htm

It says it has specific antibacterial properties, I found another link that showed healed wounds but it was a bit too graphic for here.

I can't see it would do any harm, probably only like using aloe vera?

Griminsdj

03-07-2006, 09:53 AM

Life is funny sometimes. I thought Rio was the most unhealthy of my birds with the plucking, and then beign on the meds I figured her liver would go and shorten her lifespan considerably. She ended up being the longest lived. My grey went first from a tumor (died on the operatign table), then my lutino cockatiel passed at about 8 yo from egg binding...Rio outlived them all.I shoudl have known she came from hardier stock when she lived thruogh such a sad start to her life. I underestimated her: ) I'll have to check my photo collection..I might have pictures of her to bloodied underwings, I'd have to have DH scan them in for me but then I could pass them on to you for your vet.

I'll pass your story on to my vet... yes... you are very fortunate. I have a friend with an older cockatiel, very friendly pet female, in her teens, and lays eggs, no mate, but plucks a LOT but no mutilation. Just looks really scraggly. Never seen that in a cockatiel before. She raises parrotlets and also has a Quaker, is a very knowledgeable bird person. She feeds and excellent diet to all her birds, great living quarters for all...