I know this is regarding one of my tiels but it would be the same for budgies I thinkg.

 

Ive bee told feather plucking could be a sign of a deficiency. Also Barnslee has recently been eating Charlies poop (gross I know).

 

He doesnt and wont eat any fruit and veggies although offered every days. I really want to help him stop plucking and would like to try some sort of vitamin with him.

 

Can anyone recommend what I could start him off on?

The most common deficiency is vitamin A. Have you tried mixing vitamin A-rich baby food with seeds? My birds looove it, you just have to make sure the seeds are really visible so he'll actually give it a taste.

 

Other than that, I can only recommend a trip to the avian vet. Feather plucking can also be caused by diseases like giardia or behavioral issues. Without a full work up it's really just pulling at straws and complete guessing. Bloodwork will reveal any deficiencies and other tests can rule out feather-related illnesses. Then, you'll know for sure that it's something behavioral, it may or may not stop. It could also be hormonal-related.

 

I wouldn't recommend throwing in a vitamin supplement right now but as mentioned, if you do go that route just add vitamin A and try to get it from the vet in powdered form if possible.

 

Plucking is odd, it can stop and go for no apparent reason. My parrotlet plucked for unknown reasons but step 1 is ruling out physical ailments. Step 2 is evaluating his environment, figuring out if it could be hormonal, etc. Any idea how long he's been a plucker? Sometimes, no matter what caused the plucking, it continues because it becomes a habit like when some people bite their nails.

Read this about feather plucking. It might help pinpoint the cause.

 

If you want to add a vitamin supplement, get one in powder form so you can sprinkle it over the food instead of putting it in the water. Most of it won't be ingested as your 'tiel hulls his seeds, but some may be. LaFeber's makes one you can get at the pet store - Avi-Era - you can either sprinkle it over food or put it in the water. I used to use it when I first got Rainbow because all he ate was seeds. I put it in the water, but luckily he drank it. It may give you piece of mind to temporarily add vitamins until your 'tiel gets used to a better diet. You need to try to stop the plucking before it becomes a habit and if you think he is deficient in something it can be a band-aid fix for now until you determine why it's happening. Check out the article first though.

Read this about feather plucking. It might help pinpoint the cause.

 

If you want to add a vitamin supplement, get one in powder form so you can sprinkle it over the food instead of putting it in the water. Most of it won't be ingested as your 'tiel hulls his seeds, but some may be. LaFeber's makes one you can get at the pet store - Avi-Era - you can either sprinkle it over food or put it in the water. I used to use it when I first got Rainbow because all he ate was seeds. I put it in the water, but luckily he drank it. It may give you piece of mind to temporarily add vitamins until your 'tiel gets used to a better diet. You need to try to stop the plucking before it becomes a habit and if you think he is deficient in something it can be a band-aid fix for now until you determine why it's happening. Check out the article first though.

 

 

Hi the BEST thing I've found for any vitamin deficiencies is called Gaurdian Angel made by the Bird care company and called Dr Squiggles. You give it in the water for two weeks at a time and it's brilliant. Go take a look at the website and you can order on line.

 

http://www.birdcareco.com/DrSquiggles/Prod...roducts.html#GA

i agree that a trip to the vet is a very wise idea.

 

although i dont think a vitamin supplement would be a bad thing as he isnt eating any fresh stuff at the moment.

 

the products in lisa's links are all available from 24parrot and i know chirpy highly recommends ACEhigh as a good general boost of all vitamins. i was thinking of getting some myself.

Thanks guys.

 

If any of you remember when I got Barnslee he was at that dirty pet shop and I decided to rescue him. All I know or was told at least is that he was around 7 months old and had 2 previous owners. He was plucking in the petshop so I think its been going on for sometime.

 

I got some Johnsons Vitamin drops until I get something better but Ive added it to all my birds food and everyone of them have eaten from the pots that contain it so thats at least something.

 

I should take him to the vets but I wanted to try and determine the cause myself before I did the last time I took him REALLy stressed him out.

 

Ive treated them all for mites so thats not the problem. Plus he only plucks the tiny feathers and eats them never any bigs ones - his wing and tail feathers are in perfect condition as can see.

 

Hi Boomberry, and thanks Pixie for mentioning the ACEhigh, and youre right, I do swear by it. A tiny sprinkling of the food can, from my personal experience, work wonders.

Boomberry, even if it freaks yur bird out in the short term, Id still risk that happily than to have him irritated and possibly very uncomfortable long term, so Id certainly take him to the vet. He may need a course of ivermectin to erradicate the possiblility of mites.(Im not overly trusting of over-the-counter medications for mites)

Also, misting him with warm water with pure aloe vera juice mixed in it can be very soothing ( I use around 15% aloe to water)

I hope you get to the bottom of his problems, and would appreciate it greatly if you share with us his progress.

Good luck!

Anne

Thanks Anne.

 

Ive ordered ACE High from Parrot 24 should arrive tomorrow so I will start him on it straight away. How often should I give it?

 

Ive rang the vets and cant have an appointment until next Thursday, the avian vet is on holiday. Ive taken the appointment but in the meantime, I will try some vitamin stuff and try harder with new foods. I tried the budgies egg mix this morning he spat it out but I guess I will have to wait till I get home to see if he has touched it.

 

Anne the Aloe Vera oil where did you get it? Also obviously it doesnt harm them when they preen afterwards and get it in their mouths?

Chirpy recommended Ace High to me too and I think it is really contributing to Budgy2 feather recovery.

i went online to buy some ACEhigh yesterday, but noticed zinc in the contents. i wondered why there was zinc in it when zinc can be bad for birds? its surely well below the l;evels that can cause a problem, i was just curious.

 

oh and booms - if you cant get hold of pure aloe vera, canopy molt ease spray is a mixture of purified water, natural oils and aloe vera. it would be better to get the aloe vera juice pure from a health shop though.

Edited November 23, 200519 yr by pixie25

how did the ACEhigh go down then booms?

Hang on, isn't ivermectin for sheep cattle and horses?

I know it's used on rats, you find very few products for rats, so rat owners have/are using it.

 

Does anyone know much about psittavet? I got it from the vet to help my rats with resp problems. It has dosage amounts for birds on it. The vet advised me to use it for my birds, but I dunno what it does and by the time the q got to my brain, we were already on the way home.

http://www.vetafarm.com.au/show_product.as...em_number=0449E

 

Best thing to do though, is give your vet a call and bombard him/her with your questions. :dbb1:

Well good news I would say. I have been giving Barnslee the ACE High for 4 days now in his seed. This morning for the first time EVER I saw him preen his tail and tummy WITHOUT plucking a single feather. This I think is brilliant.

 

I need to get him to eat veggies now though I dont want to be giving him the ACE all the time.

 

He has a vets appointment on Thursday for the Giardia test too.

Another good place to purchase the vitamins is direct from the manufacturer http://www.noahs-cupboard.co.uk/ prices include delivery I think

Booms, I was researching canaries, and came up with this, it seems suitable for all birdsnutrition

Booms, I was researching canaries, and came up with this, it seems suitable for all birdsnutrition

 

Great site Lin. I have copied to my file.