Budgies plucking

Question
Chrys - The budgies are on a pelleted/seed/veggie-fruit combination diet.  They get all of these in about even amounts and seem to do well with it. All my birds get bird "salad", cooked bean/rice mixes, fresh and frozen veggies every day sometimes supplemented by powdered protein or vitamins. These birds are about 3 years old. When I look at these areas, I do see evidence of pin feathers growing in but the areas seem to be mostly skin. What I'm saying is mostly skin is visible but there are always some pin feathers there - just not fully developed feathers. These guys have full spectrum light above their cage as do all my birds. The only other pet is a cat that is NOT in contact with the birds in any way. He does live inside but is a 16 y/o with diabetes so mostly lies in his warm bed, eats, etc. He could care less about the birds:) The budgies are not overweight. I monitor their weight with my own gram scale. The two COULD potentially be related as they were pet shop birds purchased together out of a group of young birds. The plucking is the "easy reach" area high on the chest and underneath the wings. These two do communicate as mates with the male often feeding the female. The female bosses the male around and the male adores her anyway. No mating attempts and no egg laying.

Don't feel bad about asking more questions. I know the whole picture is necessary. Believe me, I've asked myself all of these things many times.

Gena
Answer -
Hi, Gena.  Thanks for posting!

Do the feathers grow back in and then the birds pluck them out again?  What type of diet are these birds on?  How old are they?  What type of lighting do you have set up for them?  Any other pets in the home (if so, what type, other than birds)?  Are these budgies overweight?  Are the two doing the plucking related?  When you say they are plucking their chest feathers, is it upper chest, lower chest?  Is anyone laying eggs and/or trying to mate?  

Sorry for all the questions, but the answers will help me to help you further.  Thanks.

Chrys

Answer
Hi again, Gena.  This sounds to me like a classic case of plain old plucking.  And as you know as a parrot person, you have to find the reason for the plucking in order to stop the negative behavior.  Since your birds are not overweight, seem to be on a good healthy diet, have proper lighting, etc., then the reason for the plucking could be a medical condition, such as allergies, hormone imbalance, dietary deficiency or imbalance of some sort (something they need might be missing from the diet or something in the diet is causing the problem), not getting enough sleep, lack of bathing, lack of proper humidity (dry skin),etc.  If not medical, then the problem could be psychological, such as cage location change, new toy(s), someone/something new/taken away from the bird's environment, boredom/lack of stimuli, change in the room the birds are in...these types of things that I'm sure you're familiar with.  New pin feathers growing in could cause itching, which results in more plucking...viscious cycle.  One bird may have started out plucking itself for some reason, then the other bird just followed because s/he saw the other doing it.  If they are related, it could be a genetic problem, especially since the 3d bird isn't affected (allergies, hormone imbalance, inability of body to properly metabolize vitamins/minerals resulting in a deficiency of some sort).  Sometimes feeding too much corn can be the problem (corn binds calcium in the body, which can result in a calcium deficiency).  These birds could also have vitamin deficiencies that are genetic.  

As I'm sure you know, once folicle damage occurs, feathers will never grow in these areas again, so it's important to try to get to the bottom of what's causing the plucking.  Until then, you can try using something like bitter apple spray, a round Elizabethian collar, and I saw some  interesting things on the internet the other day that might work very well.  Go to: http://www.petparrot.com/ParrotCarePlucking.htm
http://www.bonafido.com/page6.html
http://www.westonkaanimalhospital.com/ecollar.html

I know I'm probably not telling you anything you don't already know if you're a parrot expert.  But if the plucking problems your keets are having isn't medically related, then it's just plain old feather plucking due to psychological issues, since it appears you are doing everything else correctly.

Even though the cat doesn't bother your keets, they still know he's in the house and birds and cats are natural enemies.  You aren't home all the time...is it possible the cat messes around the birds when you aren't home?  This would cause unnecessary stress for the birds possibly causing them to pluck.  If you can think of what might have been going on that was different about the time your keets started plucking themselves, you might have the solution to the problem.  Is it possible this pair might want to mate and lay eggs (have you tried putting up a nesting box)?  The stress of not being able to start a family could contribute to this type problem.  If the birds are near an outside window, perhaps there's something going on outside that is causing this behavior.  Are there any squabbles going on between this pair and the 3d bird?  

I don't know how much I've helped, but there usually isn't an easy solution for birds who pluck their feathers.

Chrys