Parrot bitting her feathers

Question
Dear Alicia
I have a Senegal parrot which I have had for three years now and she is as one of the family but recently she has started biting her feathers not plucking them just biting pieces and then chewing them.The only thing different I have done is get her a buddy so she is not alone when I am not in.I would like to know if there may be a deficiency or maybe she is just jealous
Yours Sincerely
Heath

Answer
Hi again, Heath,

I want to caution you against allowing your birds to have free roam in your home while you are gone if this is the case.  Parrots can get into so much trouble when left unsupervised.  Not only can they injure themselves severely (and possibly die), they can do things that can result in fire and/or damage to your home, etc.

Chrys
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Hi, Heath,

Alicia evidently couldn't answer your question because she sent it to the question pool, where I picked it up.

You really haven't provided enough information about what is going on here for me to help, but I'll try.  If your Senegal's feather biting issue started when the new bird arrived or soon after, the biting is most likely the result of the new bird in the home.  Your Senegal has been the only bird in the house for 3 years and now you've added another bird.  This means you share your attention and time between the birds, so your Senegal is most likely retaliating against this.  The bird could be angry with you, jealous, and/or stressed out as a result.  Do not show favoritism to either bird...treat each bird equally at all times.  You may have to "pamper" the Senegal some (without the other bird seeing) in order to show that this bird still "belongs" in the family.  Sometimes when a new bird is introduced into a home with existing bird(s), the existing bird might feel that it is being replaced by the new bird.  Birds don't see situations like this the same way humans do...it means so much more to them.  Usually, birds prefer other birds to humans, but when a bird is closely bonded with it's humans, the introduction of a new bird can result in behavior problems.  

Feather biting can also be a sign of pain/discomfort/other going on under/around the area where the bird is picking.  A bird doesn't know exactly what is going on, but thinks if I pick my feathers (or skin sometimes) in this area, maybe the pain/discomfort/other will go away.  Feather biting can also be the result of not enough room in a cage and the biting represents "stress relief."  If both of these birds are housed together, do they have enough room in their mutual cage?  Hopefully, you quarantined the new bird for at least 30 days before introducing the 2 birds to each other.  Feather biting can be a sign of illness...is your bird showing any signs of being sick?  How about the new bird (stress from a move can result in illness)?  What diet is the Senegal on?  Feather problems can manifest themselves as a result of a poor diet.  If the new bird has only been in the home for a short period of time, the Senegal may just need some more time to adjust.  I don't know this bird, so it's hard for me to judge.  

You may want to take your Senegal to a certified avian vet for a medical exam in order to rule out any medical issues.  If no medical issues, then the problem is most likely psychological.  If psychological, you need to pin-point what was going on at the time the problem started and through a process of elimination, you should be able to uncover why your bird is behaving in this manner.

Your Senegal would have probably been just fine when you have to be gone, unless you are away more than 8-10 hours per day.  There's no guarantees these 2 birds will become friendly toward each other...just because you want them to be pals doesn't mean it's going to happen (if they don't get along well together)!  If they get along together, then it may just be a matter of time before all's well again.  

Chrys