Jubilee is a 2 ½ year old female Lutino cockatiel. Liberty is also 2 ½ years old and is a normal gray. They were purchased just ten days apart and have shared the same flight cage since December 2003. They also eat the same meals.

Jubilee laid six infertile eggs early in February of 2005. Her experience was extremely negative (a future article). Immediately after deserting her infertile eggs, she started a heavy molt. I assumed the molt was progressing normally except for the fact that it didn't stop for several months.

I became suspicious that something was wrong in April and took her into our regular veterinarian (treats all species-not just dogs and cats) suspecting she might have Giardia. Everything I had read about this problem fit Jubilee. She was plucking feathers from under her wings and around her legs and definitely acting very nervous. He prescribed a standard Giardia treatment (don't recall name of medication). Unfortunately, the plucking didn't stop.

By June I was frustrated because she was crying as she plucked feathers. It was obvious from her jerky moves and compulsive itching and plucking that SOMETHING was wrong. A friend that also has birds took Jubilee and I to an out of town to a vet specializing in birds. He tested her for the Giardia again, and ran a complete battery of blood tests. A yeast infection was identified both in her mouth and her cloaca. She was then treated for the yeast infection. We hoped the problem was solved. The problem continued.

August brought the start of her fall molt. This time, Liberty began "helping" her pluck out those offending feathers. He was being visibly upset by her constant crying as she pulled feathers. She was chewing off blood feathers before they even exited the feather sheath. I was in tears several days because I didn't know what else to do.

My friend took us on another trip to the bird vet. This time, he tried giving her a Depo-Provera injection concluding that it may be a hormonal issue. Yes--He actually gave her a birth control shot! I couldn't believe this was happening; to my sweet little bird. The relief from compulsive plucking lasted 3 or 4 weeks and she slowly got bad again.

Finally, in October, I learned about "Pluckers' Diet and Regimen" from my friend. She also put me in touch with the FeedingFeathers@yahoogroups.com email list. I began eliminating the ingredients suggested because of the current theory that just like humans, some birds are react negatively (either allergy or something else?) to what they eat. This may be expressed in plucking behavior.

Jubilee continued to pluck and was almost totally bare under her wings. Sherry and I made a final trip out to the vet office near the end of October 2005. This time, after once again running two types of Giardia tests, the vet decided feather plucking was probably a behavioral problem. She was put on Haldol, (2 ml/1/2 ounce of solution) for anxiety.

The original Haldol prescription was 1/10th of 1 mg twice a day. That's one tiny drop for her to lick off the syringe. This dosage was simply too strong for her. I called my vet back and he said cockatiels were quite sensitive to this drug and suggested trying a dose every other day. That worked. It took me another month to completely eliminate the 8 main ingredients suspected in plucking. Jubilee took her medicine every other day during that time. I was seeing some improvement during this time. I also started reading ingredients on cockatiel seed and discovered all the packages had some type of preservative added. Since those chemicals might also be contributing to the plucking, I switched to wild bird seed for finches which emphasizes canary and millet seed and has no preservatives added to it.

The birds started getting a daily serving of sprouted seeds and a daily serving of Bloomin' Birdie Bites each day in addition to their regular bird seed. Sherry was kind enough to make a batch of this food making sure none of the 8 ingredients to avoid were in them. My birds LOVE these and eagerly consume about a teaspoon apiece each day. They've also grown to enjoy the sprouted legumes/seeds.

My birds get many of suggested additions to the diet in the "Pluckers' Diet and Regimen" in the Bloomin' Birdie Bites. These birds are unwilling to try most new foods. Therefore, I really love having a way to get them to eat the good stuff without having to know about it - almost like getting a child to try a new food, right?

Since beginning this feeding regimen combined with her anti-anxiety medicine, I've been able to spread Jubilee's medicine doses as far as 96 hours apart. I am also fortunate to be home most of the time so that I can keep close tabs on my birds' behavior. I've learned that something out of the ordinary happening in my townehouse complex (such as my neighbor's grandchildren visiting and running up and down the stairs) is enough to elicit Jubilee's plucking behavior. Her immediate response is to lift her crest and prance around for a bit. If the strange noise hasn't stopped, she will lift her wings and start plucking.

Liberty's response to strange noise or events is to fly to my head and gives his LOUD alarm call. Her response is to start frantically preening which leads almost immediately to plucking. By being extremely alert to her behavior, I avoid letting her start plucking. Once she starts down the plucking trail, I simply give her a dose of her medication and she quiets right down again.

I make it a practice to be sure she has a good meal of sprouted seeds or their itty bitty birdie bites before administering the medicine. It takes several hours before she wants to do anything except sleep. Liberty is quite protective of his mate while she is "under the influence". She prefers perching on a flat piece of driftwood laid across two perches or sitting down inside her seed dish when she is so sleepy. Liberty sits right next to her and hisses at me if I try to put my hand too near her. He apparently recognizes that something is different.

CONCLUSION

It takes both the special diet AND the medication to totally control Jubilee's plucking behavior. If you are one of the fortunate people, perhaps only the diet would be enough to totally stop your bird's plucking. I wouldn't wish this problem on any bird or its owner. It is upsetting to watch your bird be so miserable. If you are owned by a plucker, please consider joining the above mentioned email list, trying the diet, and then, as a last resort, ask your vet about anti-anxiety medicine. All I know is that it works for Jubilee and I. We're both calmer now!

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