Feather Plucking Is Not Hereditary

I found this on the The Budgerigar Council Of Victoria and found very interesting, as I thought feather plucking was hereditary. Any way it is a good read

 

Feather Plucking is not Hereditary

 

CEDRIC AIREY

 

I firmly believe that feather plucking is a symptom of another condition and when that condition is relieved feather plucking does not occur. I cannot accept the theory that feather plucking is hereditary and t;hat the offenders and their offspring should be killed. I think this theory is perpetuated by each generation of newcomers accepting it, without question, and repeating it as fact. No-one seems to be willing to substantiate it from personal experience. Very often the same people who tell us the problem is here- ditary suggest putting a nest box on the breeding cage floor and letting the cock feed the chicks. This may help if the problem is environmental but it is not much help if it is hereditary. Possibly a re-occuring problem is being mistaken for a hereditary one.

 

OVEN READY CHICKS

 

I was foolish enough to accept this theory when in my first breeding season I discovered I had a maiden hen which plucked chicks "oven ready" and a cock with another hen which stripped all the feathers from his mate's head. Even then I did not feel that killing them all was the solution. Two years later I decided to try one of the sons of the hen plucker in the breeding cage. No problems from the cock or any of his offspring. Encouraged by this, I tried one of the "oven ready" cocks, the 'oven ready' hens were, by this time too old for breeding. Again no problems. I now have four generations of birds descended from the original two feather pluckers. Not one of these birds, cocks or hens,has ever plucked a feather from a chick even when interbred.

 

FINDING THE ANSWERS

 

I have had minor problems with birds from other families; the down not appearing or disappearing from between the wings on very young chicks - easily remedied with liberal applications of Nivea cream, as many fanciers know. Feathers missing from the back of the head of active three or four week old chicks ~ completely cured by using deeper nest boxes, i.e. increasing the distance between the concave base and the bottom of the entrance hole or removing some of the debris. This damage is probably caused when young chicks try to leave the nest before the hen thinks they are ready. She restrains them by holding on to the neck feathers and out they come, it's accidental rather than intentional The foregoing is sufficient for me to have grave doubts about the "kill everything, it is hereditary" theory.

 

ALTERNATIVE CAUSES

 

I offer for the readers' consideration three alternative causes for feather plucking. The first is breeding condition. How many breeders can differentiate between a hen that will breed and one that wants to breed? The reluctant hen from the eager hen? I cannot. The reluctant hen will mate, lay eggs, hatch and feed the chicks because it is her natural instinct. But she is not an enthusiastic mother. She gets bored sitting and feeding the chicks and starts plucking them. I anticipate this condition and provide millet spray and an iodine block or piece of cuttle in the nest box for every hen. It is therapeutic,an alternative to just sitting weeks on end. The second alternative is diet deficiency. Additives may contribute but feather plucking has been with us long before additives became popular. We know ground up chicken feathers are fed to chickens as protein. Does a Budgerigar hen nibble the down and feathers instinctively because of a lack of protein?

 

ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING - BOON OR CURSE?

 

A third alternative is artificial lighting. Does the increased noise and activity created by extending lighting, long beyond the amount of natural light the birds would have in their natural breeding environment, disturb sitting hens and prevent them getting sufficient rest? Does it also contribute to a reduction in the birds life span? I have no experience of parent birds attacking their young but I believe it is a different problem and not a follow-on to feather plucking. I apply these ideas to my stock with positive results. My hens are very placid. They do not bite when handled. I leave chicks with their parents until the next round starts hatching. I have odd chicks, which later proved to be hens, sitting the eggs with the mother hen and one which fed, or went through the motions of feeding the newly hatched chicks. The cocks are not aggressive towards the chicks, probably because the hen's daily ration of millet in the nest box relieves them of some of the pressure of keeping the hens fully fed. My stock are all descendants of a few birds from top bloodlines. I do pair related birds which should theoretically increase the possibility of producing feather pluckers if the problem is hereditary.

 

I only pair what I consider to be my best birds so my findings are not based on the results of vast numbers of pairings. No matter, I am merely casting doubts on an existing theory. It is for those who advocate the killing of feather pluckers and their offspring to logically disprove my findings and provide first hand evidence that this.problem is hereditary.

 

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And this was there too from another breeder.

 

Feather Plucking

(Geoff-West).

 

Every experienced fancier has at some time been asked.

 

"What is the reason for some Budgerigars plucking their young?"

and the answer usually is, "I really don't know".

 

Three questions you would ask yourself, after receiving this answer would be.

 

Is it hereditary?

Is it a physical problem?

Is it a lack of some nutrient in the Cock or Hen?

 

 

Overseas many fanciers are of the opinion that it is hereditary and is recessive in some birds, but not in others. Any mannerism, physical condition or likeness, will be inherited from both parents and will be passed on from generation to generation in a recessive form.

 

The physical make up of a bird, particularly the nervous system, could well be the cause of feather plucking young in the nest. Old Canary fanciers used rusty nails in the drinking water and claimed they had good success re feather plucking. The iron would tone up both the arterial & nervous system.

 

The use of iron preparations could be tried,to see if it had any bearing re feather plucking. Various iron preparations can be procured at your Chemist.

 

My own view is that feather plucking is caused through a physical condition,mainly stress,during the incubation period, plus boredom, and the end result is that either the Cock or Hen become highly strung & pluck the down & feathers from their young. A comparison would be human beings who bite their nails. This cannibalism is without exception related to nerves.

 

Feather plucking could be hereditary, and be recessive in some members of a family of Budgerigars. All feather pluckers are not the product of hereditary factors,and some birds do not express this pernicious habit until their second breeding season.

 

Both Cock and Hen feather pluck their young, but in most instances, it is the Hen that is the culprit.

 

It is advisable where feather plucking occurs, to note whether it is indeed the Cock or the Hen doing this. Take the Cock away first, and if the feather plucking continues, you know which is the culprit.

 

If it discontinues then it is the Cock bird. Whichever is the culprit if not a top class bird,rid yourself of it. You should record any birds that indulge in this pernicious habit when rearing chicks, and note the fact in your breeding records, so that you can take the necessary action if you breed with them later.

 

All birds learn by example from their parents, so if you see feathers disappear from the chicks,move them into other nests where possible. Any young that have been feather plucked and on attaining adulthood, are to be used for breeding, should be watched very carefully when their young start to feather, as they have learned by example,and I have found,quite often,they pluck their chicks. There is no conclusive evidence relating to why Budgerigars pluck their young, and it appears, that to date, there are only theories.

 

I believe the best way to control this cannibalism is:

Feed your birds on a good quality seed mixture.

See that their water is clean, and presented in such a way, that it cannot be fouled by droppings, or any other foreign body. Use a soluble Multi Vitamin powder in the water twice a week, and whilst breeding.

Discard Canary Shell Grit & use Mineralised Pigeon Grit.

Feed an adequate supply of green feed.

Have a mineralised salt lick in each of your flights.

Rigidly adhere to culling out feather pluckers, unless they quality birds that you cannot afford to dispose of.

In conclusion. In quite a few articles I have read, relating to feather plucking, it appears that where partly cooked meat was hung in the aviaries for the birds to pick at, those birds never feather plucked.

Sorry it is so long but it is very interesting

Edited August 21, 200717 yr by splat