parents picking babys feathers

Question
Hi. My cockatiels had a baby about 2 months ago. A few weeks ago the parents started plucking out her face feathers. We have another baby they had a few years ago & they did not do this to her. Do you know what would cause them to pluck her feathers? We keep all four in a very large cage. Will we need to keep the new one in a seperate cage? I will feel really bad to have to isolate her. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

Answer
Hello Rose and thank you for your post.
Yes, you will need to seperate this baby from the other birds.  It is not always known why parents will pick on their young.  Sometimes it is because the young are sick.  Put it into quarantine for a week or so and keep a watch on it.  If the baby seems to be alright, then try putting it back in with the others, however, if they start to pick on her again, then it will need to be seperated again.  If this turns out to be the case, you can keep the baby in the same room, just not in the same cage.

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna