Cockatiel losing feathers under wing

Question
I have had my cockatiel for about 11 or 12 years. He has never given me any problems, but his health has changed this past year. One night about six months ago, with no warning he pulled out most of his flight and primary feathers and almost bled to death. To make a long story short, he lived and recovered, but I have never discovered why he did that. Recently, I noticed that he is pulling at feathers on his body again. I hear him squawk quite often as he does it. I also noticed that now there are not many feathers under his wing, and the problem is getting worse. Yes, my bird eats strictly seeds. I have never been able to get him to eat fresh fruits or vegetables. He doesn't seem to care for them. Sometimes he gets a vitamin supplement in his water. Yes, he has an attachment on his cage that is supposed to keep mites away. Although I'm not sure if it works. No, for various reasons I can't be with him as much as I used to, but he still gets taken out of his cage and played with. What is his problem? What do I do? I don't have the money to pay a large vet bill.  

Answer
Hello Monica and thank you for your post.
It sounds like something might be irritating your bird's skin.  Have there been any changes in his environment?
You can try misting him with water.  All of my birds welcome this, and it helps keep their skin moist (although they try to bathe in their drinking water right afterwards..lol).  You can also try putting a vaporizer in the room where he is at.  This will help keep moisture in the air.
He also might be unhappy if YOU are not the one spending the time with him.  If he's attached to you, then you are the one that he wants the attention from, and no one else will do.  I have a cockatiel that is the same way, although he doesn't pluck his feathers out, he will not let anyone else near him.

I hope this helps.  Please keep me informed.

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna