non attentive cockatiel

Question
QUESTION: hi

I just bought a 4 -5 month old cockatiel.  I already have a 5 month one at home who was extremely cuddly and attentive when i bought him but this one is not attentive at all.  Does not have any reaction to when i approch the cage.  what do you think of this
ANSWER: Hello,
I would need more information before being able to being able to give suggestions about your bird. First, has he been examined by an Avian Veterinarian? Before going any further with him he should be seen by an avian vet. The behavior you are describing could be a sign of illness.

Other information that would help me to understand his behavior (your vet will probably ask similar questions): Where did you obtain your bird? How was he raised (100% hand raised , co-parented, parent raised)? Is he fully weaned? Does he beg for food - crying, wing flapping? Is he perching well or sitting on the bottom of the cage? What is his current diet? Have you started training him yet?

Again, please take him for an avian vet check ASAP if you have not already. My first concern is for his health. Otherwise if you can answer the questions and give me a better idea of his living environment I can help further.

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QUESTION: My recent tiel is sometimes plucking my newer tiel's feathers.  Could he be preening him and sometimes pluck by accident.  They are about the same age (approx 5 months) but i do not know the sex of them
ANSWER: Rhonda,

I'm afraid my answer is going to be the same as before. Your bird needs to be seen by an avian veterinarian. Your new bird is exhibiting symptoms of a possible illness, unusual calmness and feather plucking. Please take him to an avian veterinarian ASAP.

You are lucky to be able to address the feather plucking in it's beginning stages before it becomes a habit. But you must start with your avian veterinarian.

If you need help finding an avian vet let me know your general location and I can help you find one.

Please keep me updated!

Jennifer
www.feathersandscales.com

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QUESTION: Hi,

I  took him to an avian vet yesterday and he was fine, we are awaiting blood test results.  It is my tiel that I had before who is plucking the new tiels feathers.  It is not the new tiel who is plucking his feathers.  What do you make of this
ANSWER: Hi Rhonda,

I'm sorry - I read your question wrong! I'm glad to hear your new tiel is well and that you ran blood tests to be sure.

For tiel #1 who is plucking I would still like to rule out a medical cause. Has this bird also been to your vet recently?

Plucking can be a complicated behavior to understand. It's difficult in this format to evaluate exactly why your particular bird is doing this behavior. So I will touch on common reasons for plucking to give you a start.

The most common reasons I see for plucking to start is illness and poor nutrition. Is your bird on a healthy diet that includes pellets, fresh veggies and fruits, and some seeds?

Was your bird hand raised or raised by other adult birds? Birds learn a lot of basic bird skills from their parents, proper preening can be one of those skills they learn from other adult birds.

Where the parents pluckers? There is research that shows plucking can be a genetic trait.

Does your bird have a choice of toys that can be ripped up? Are you giving him foraging opportunities? If birds have other activities that keep them busy the less time they will spend plucking.

Again this is just to give you some ideas. I encourage you to continue researching the subject. My website has some links to excellent resources to help you.

Hope this helps.

Jennifer
www.feathersandscales.com


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QUESTION: hi,

thanks for your reply.  Tiel #1 (Sunny) and Tiel #2 (Chicklet) were both bought at a pet store and came from different breeders.  Both claiming they were handfed.  Sunny is much friendlier and Chicklet is more subdued but getting used to our environment at home.  I only have him for 4 days and I have Sunny for 3 months.

Could it be just Sunny getting used to Chicklet?  He tries to preen Chicklet but then tugs hard at a feather and fulls it out.

I have not recieved the blood test yet, I will get the results next week.

Answer
HI,

So you've had Sunny since he was 2 months old? That is very young (although unfortunately common) for a bird to be taken away from his parents. In the wild birds stay with their parents at a minimum until they are fully fledged and able to care for themselves. In that time they learn all the skills they need to about how to be a proper bird. When birds do not receive this instruction they will have behaviors that are not natural.

Feather plucking is not a normal behavior. It would not happen just because he is getting use to a bird. My guess if there is not a medical condition or malnutrition affecting your birds is that he just doesn't know how to preen another bird. The instincts are there but not the proper skills. Without adult birds around, he's not likely to learn. It is also possible that this is a genetic trait.

Be careful not to reward the behavior accidently. If he learns that it gets a reaction from you then it can become a fun trained behavior. What you want to work on is ignoring the behavior. Focus on providing toys, foraging opportunities, and other enrichment activities to keep him busy. This behavior is probably not a habit yet and you may be able to get him to forget about playing with feathers by giving him other exciting things to do.

Jennifer
www.feathersandscales.com