Conure picks at feathers when stressed

Question: Our family has a dusky grey conure that has been part of our family since 1999. He has turned into a “picker”. Stress, like visits to the vet, provoke this behavior, but many times there seems to be no trigger. How can we break this behavior? - John

Answer: Wow, that is the million-dollar question. How do we cure feather damaging behavior? Feather damaging behavior is very common. Although we use this term as a diagnosis, it is really a symptom of another diagnoses.

The primary diagnosis can be medical or behavioral in origin. Some birds have both types of problems. While some mild, acute cases can be resolved with environmental changes alone, many cases are managed for the lifetime of the bird.

Follow the steps below to get your bird off to a good start.

1. Make sure that your bird is healthy by visiting your veterinarian.

2. Enrich your bird’s life with toys. You should be rotating your bird’s toys as much as necessary to keep him interested.

3. Teach your bird to forage for his food. Foraging is a natural, oral behavior which serves as enrichment and also preoccupies the beak.

4. Identify any stressors and avoid them if possible. If they cannot be avoided, expose your bird to them with positive reinforcement training. You can learn a lot about training birds from the book, ?Clicker Training for Birds.?

5. Give your bird a change of scenery. If your bird lives primarily on or in his cage, he is bound to be understimulated. Set up a couple of play gyms in safe area for him.

6. Make sure that his diet is balanced. Too many birds are eating seed as their primary diet. Speak to your veterinarian about a balanced pelleted food and supplemental fruits and veggies.

Dr. Radosta

Lisa Radosta DVM, Diplomate ACVB
Florida Veterinary Behavior Service
PO Box 210636
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421-0636
561-795-9398
www.flvetbehavior.com
Read more articles by Dr. Radosta | Ask her a question

Source: http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/pawshere/2010/12/14/conure-picks-at-feathers-when-stressed/

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