My Tiel is driving me crazy

[naturegirl]

I have a female Tiel named Bell. Very sweet bird but a constant groomer. She doesn't like all the pin feathers coming in under her wings so she will pluck them out and screen bloody murder whilst she is doing this. I talked to my vet about this and she suggested washed her under her wings real good and putting a little Hydrocortizone to help with inflamation and soreness, but she still doesn't stop. If I put her on my shoulder where she would be 24/7 if she could she just grooms me till I have literally raw bleeding lips etc. I would love to hold her and cuddle with her more but I have to decline as she is making me miserable. Any suggestions on anything at this time would be so appreciated. Thanks

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Naturegirl,

I thought that excessive preening that leads to feather plucking was a sign of nervousness and/or boredom in psittacine(parrot type) birds.

Does she have lots of toys and things to keep her busy. Paper to shred up, bells, mirrors, wood to chew etc? Does she have a mate or is she a single bird by herself most of the time?

[naturegirl]

Hi Brad Thanks for responding. She is in a cage by herself and she has plenty of toys. Across from her is my other tiel Bindi, but they have no contact she really hates oither birds by her. The girl that owned her brfore me about a year 1/2 ago didn't have many toys in with her and Bell was by herself most of the time, she is coming around a little to play with some of her toys, but she would rather sit on her perch like a bump on a log. She just isn't a playful Tiel. Don't really know what her problem is. The guy that owned her before the last girl did was obviously not to nice to her cause she hates men in general.

[christina11]

well on of my birds was sorta like that so i started doing watever my pigeon wanted to do i even coo coorroo like one if u bob ur head up and down it might get her atention give her treats when u let her out does she go outside ?

[dnrslucky1]

Has she laid any eggs? My mother had a female Tiel that started the nervous type plucking after she started to lay eggs. We found her a new home with a male and set up a nesting box. At first she did not like him but was to distracted to pluck herself. We weren't sure if they were fighting or not, but neither had any injuries. After about 6 months they were sitting on eggs! Babies arrived and before they were weaned she was laying more! After the nest box was removed, she stopped laying and they still live happy together!

[naturegirl]

You know that is the same thing the vet told me to do, but I am afraid that Bindi my male will tear her a new butt. Bindi when mad will draw blood but Bell has no idea she has a powerful beak behind her and he would tear her to pieces if needed. She is such a sweet girl loves to cuddle and just be next to me.

[dnrslucky1]

Try setting their cages next to each other, close! Watch them for a couple weeks. Just because he is mean to you, doesn't mean he won't fall madly in love! I think having a nest box in her cage makes a big difference, and being in a quiet room away from daily activities! If their wings are clipped you can let them out on the tops of their cages, after they have had a chance to meet each other while confined. At a safe distance watch them, it may seem as if they squable a bit, but that is normal! If you have a nest box in the females cage, it shouldn't take long for the male to want to move in. Good Luck!

Also, while you are waiting, offer them fresh food like boiled eggs and soft chopped veggies! They won't want them at first but keep offering them.

Then be prepared, as you don't want alot of babies! It is hard to find good homes for them and it is not healthy for the parents!

[andinla]

she would pull all her feathers out except for the ones she couldn't reach (on her head). I found out after she had died (from egg bound) that teils are very sociable birds, they fly in huge flocks and become very depressed when they are kept by them selfs.

I suggest getting another one to keep her company.. otherwise your vet bills will be large.

PS
you could try putting a mirror in her cage until you can get her a real friend.

Andi

[sdreamcatcher@g]

if she is a pet bird, getting her a companion may not be in her best interest, particularly if she has bonded to you, and could cause more problems. also, if she is sick, or the new bird isnt quarantined, you could end up with even more problems.

has she been tested for giardia? ask your vet to test her; many times ive heard, they will scream and pull their feathers out if they have this. if she is an egg layer, it could be hormonal; you may want to try shortening her daylight hours a bit. if she lays eggs and will sit on them, then leave them in her cage, so she can complete the cycle of laying and sitting. removing eggs if she wants to sit will cause her to lay more and deplete her calcium supply, which may lead to her becoming eggbound. has she been tested for anything (complete blood work up)? id go this route first to find a physical reason for her feather plucking, before just guessing she may be lonely and need a friend. if everything turns up ok medically, and this is something new she has started, then start looking into what has changed in her environment - has anything been moved, has her cage been moved, has someone moved in or out, gotten a job, changed hours, other pets in the household, etc. anything can set off certain birds, even if it seems so minor to us. what is her diet like? she could be missing something in that department as well.

in rereading your posts, it sounds like shes been neglected and possibly abused. have you had her long? dont even consider letting her and your male together if you are afraid he may hurt her. females do tend to be more cuddly, and not always as active, so she sounds pretty normal to me. if shes new, then give her more time to adjust, attention, toys and some good food, and she shouls stop plucking. but with her past history a good vet visit with bloodwork will help uncover any problems that you can straighten out.

[re lee]

You might fit her arund the neck with a funneled shield same as they do on parrots that pluck there feathers. This way the feathers can grow back in and the bird may calm some from its disorder. Try a pet store to see if they have or can get a shield for a tiel The bird will be ablwe to eat drink and such but not pluck its feathers. Thats about the only thing I can think of to help end the problem. good luck

[naturegirl]

Thank You everyone for the great advice. I wanted to see if she would enjoy some more toys so I went out and bought her some different type of preening toys and also some Peacock feathers to preen instead of over preening herself. Seems she only pulls out the small blood feathers coming in as though it hurts and she figures if she pulls them out they will stop hurting. I also cut her daylight hours down to around 9 hours instead of 11, lets see if anything I have done helps out.

[sdreamcatcher@g]

has she been to a vet yet to rule out physical causes?

[Pikachu23739]

Originally Posted by naturegirl

I have a female Tiel named Bell. Very sweet bird but a constant groomer. She doesn't like all the pin feathers coming in under her wings so she will pluck them out and screen bloody murder whilst she is doing this. I talked to my vet about this and she suggested washed her under her wings real good and putting a little Hydrocortizone to help with inflamation and soreness, but she still doesn't stop. If I put her on my shoulder where she would be 24/7 if she could she just grooms me till I have literally raw bleeding lips etc. I would love to hold her and cuddle with her more but I have to decline as she is making me miserable. Any suggestions on anything at this time would be so appreciated. Thanks

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[naturegirl]

Oh Pikachu what beautiful birds!!! I absolutely fell in love with the pic of the
Blue bar bald head. Stunning. Thank You, you have a beautiful site!

[naturegirl]

She has been to a vet about this and she does go for regular checkups all my birds go for regular visits. Matter of fact I think I spend more time and money at the vets as a preventitive thing. Plus the gals that work there are real sweet and very caring. Like to BS with them. The vet said seems to be hormonal and may pass, if it keeps up for a year then she will think about a hormonal shot but to do this too soon she said that it has serious side effects like major weight gain.