Why do birds pluck?
The question that I am most frequently
asked, whether it be by phone, fax, or email is
"why do parrots pluck". My answer 20 years
ago would have been the same as everyone else’s.
It could be stress, boredom, diet, or any number
of reasons. There is not one proven reason why parrots
pluck. Some parrots pluck a lot worse than others
and it would be a great deal easier to treat if
one knew the reason. For many years I have had birds
including parrots. During this time I had ample
time to observe and study their ways.
I believe inbreeding due to their popularity in
the pet trade causes the reason a parrot plucks.
We at Parrot Island actually had a parrot pair that
plucked, and pairs where only one of the parrots
plucked, we decided to breed them. As soon as the
babies were hatched, we hand fed them so that there
was no imprinting from the parents. We gave them
all the attention they needed to have a healthy,
happy, stable life. By the time they were between
2 and 5 years old they were plucking just like their
parents. This leads me to believe that this is a
genetic problem passed from the parents to their
offspring.
As far as I am concerned, if all the previously
stated reasons for plucking were true, there would
be one dominant feature that would stand out.
Birds that live in very stable, loving homes upset
their owners by plucking, and I am sure that some
feel that in some way they are to blame, which of
course is not so.
Then you have the parrots that live in very unsavory
conditions and yet they do not pluck. Therefore
I strongly believe that inbreeding is the cause.
In making this comment I am not saying that breeders
purposely inbreed, but that time is not taken to
DNA Fingerprint their male and female parrots before
breeding them.
Some parrots do not sexually mature until they are
between 5-8 years of age; smaller parrots mature
at an earlier age. Most parrots start plucking just
before they sexually mature.
A male parrot in the wild does not fly around asking
other parrots if they are related, they just breed.
I do believe that on occasion inbreeding does occur
in the wild, and their offspring end up plucking,
which in my opinion is nature’s way of preventing
them from breeding again, reproducing inferior babies.
In captivity things are changed around and birds
that do pluck or are inferior, do breed and produce
birds for the pet trade.
As a nine-year-old boy in England I started breeding
canaries, budgies and European Finches. We always
color coded with up to four colors on the rings
to show where the babies were reproduced. The male
and female colors were on those rings to show when
we bred them. That way we knew where the babies
came from.
When you purchase a purebred dog or other purebred
animal, you usually get papers showing the ancestry
of the parents. When you purchase a bird you do
not receive anything. I personally do not know of
any breeder that gives papers out showing the lineage
of the parents.
We are hoping that when funds become available that
we will be able to start a DNA Fingerprinting Bank,
and hopefully other breeders will follow our example.
Maybe we can even start pairing up some of the birds
correctly, and increase the survival rate of these
species with good bloodlines.
We are not commercial breeders. We are a sanctuary,
giving homes to unwanted parrots, and hopefully
make the rest of their lives as near normal as possible.
We are currently using a product that we give to
the parrots in the hope that it will go towards
helping them grow their feathers back. So far, this
has been quite successful, but we have to persevere
to make sure the product really does help these
parrots.
Once this testing period is complete we will include
the name of the product and where it may be purchased
on our Web Site, and owners of birds that experience
this problem will be able to try this product for
themselves.
The product is all natural, no chemicals, no antibiotics,
and no drugs of any kind.
I know that some people may be upset with my view
that inbreeding may be the major cause why birds
pluck, but these are only my personal views based
on the fact that I have studied birds for many,
many years. Somewhere down the road someone may
come up with another reason and prove me wrong,
but as of now I cannot come up with a more justified
reason why birds pluck.
If anyone reading this has more information to offer
it would be greatly appreciated. My email address
is on the web site. Let’s face it, it is the
bird lovers who are going to try and solve the problem
as to why birds pluck. Therefore, the more heads
that gets together the better.
Also, at the present time I am working on a natural
anti-biotic which is not harmful to birds.
I also feel that anyone who owns a bird that seems
to be ill should be having it checked out with a
veterinarian. If all else fails, and nothing seems
to be working you can contact me, and I will pass
on any information free of charge.
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