plucking

Question
hello.  my story is of my 23 year old Amelia Amazon Clyde who is a female.  for the first 16 years of clyde's life she lived with my father who is to say the least irresponsible.  when my dad went to prison she was bounced around from my aunts to my grandmas then taken to a lady that had many birds.  none of this was ever disclosed to me since I was only 15 at the time.  when I was 17 my dad and I went to get her from this lady her feathers from her neck down besides her wings were gone.  she had been placed in a cage with a macaw  which I believe triggered feather plucking.  I then took Clyde into my home away from my dad and away from that side of the family.  for the next 4 years Clydesdale feather plucking had decreased n she only had a very small spot on where she wouldn't let her tail blood feathers grow.  irresponsibly of me my dad wanted to see Clyde so I let her visit. last September of 2011.  a lot of family problems arose and my dad ended up having a stroke and I did not get my bird back until February 2012.  needless to say the plucking had resumed and it has been about a week every month of her going insane plucking, kicking, and twitching.  I'm living on my own now but she's out all morning and then I get home around 5.  I realize I should hold her more.  but I honestly don't think that this bird will ever be right.  she just sits for hours not moving or doing anything this is a normal occurance.  I think she was left in her cage for much to long when my dad had her.  she will talk one in a while and be happy for a moment bur not like a normal bird.  I'm engaged and we live together and this week she decided is her plucking week and its driving us both insane.  I'm at a loss of what to do.  I'm about to find someone who is experienced with parrots and give her a new home.  I hate for her to be bounced around again but its not fair for her to suffer.  please help me. its not food. its not mites. its BEHAVIORAL!!!!!!!!!!!  please contact me and help me.

Answer
---  You are right that it is not likely mites.  I'm not sure it's not 'food' because there's no mention of what she's been fed, but I have a feeling that 'dad' might not have sprung for the best diet (ALL birds in captivity need to be on pellet based diets and absolutely ZERO seeds) with good fresh foods like sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, other greens and orange colored foods

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  Do me a favor and start by looking here http://www.4animalcare.org/birds

 You can check back with me after going over the overview on feeding, behavior and most of that -- then we'll go forward in trying to make this right ok?

Also, make your question private and let me know where in the US you live

Thanks and hang in there!!!