at the moment i have got three female cockatiels - buster, tom and jerry (ye is know they have male names lol)
buster is the mother of tom and jerry - i did have another cockatiel called max - but sadly he passed away last year.

they were all in a big cage together - max on a few occasions tried to mount all of the females - so obviously I separated them during mating season.

i have had buster for about 9 years and tom and jerry are about 7 years old.

ever since max died they have been a bit frustrated - sadly jerry has started to pluck her feathers out under her wings

the other two are fine though.

they do get to fly about my living room and are sometimes handled - although they would prefer me not to handle them - also since max dies they have been a bit more friendlier towards me - they actually like cuddles and for me to rub their heads. a few months ago for the first time, i got all three so sit on my shoulder together for about an hour!
which was quite a shock!

my question - is there a product or something that i could buy to stop her pulling her feathers out?

i think i male would help stop all three being so frustrated, but i dont really want another one at the moment!

there is no vets that specialise in birds where i live!

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This is a common problem first you need to rule out mites but i would imagine if that was the case thed all be feather plucking. Trouble is they sometimes get bored easy and then the over clean which can then start the feather plucking once they start its very hard to break the cycle. I had one do it. We had to put a collar from the vets on him for quite a while to give him a chance to gethis feathers back but hed done it so badly that hed make himself bleed. He was 9 when he started doing it and we never did find out what set it off. But you may need to speak to your vet to see if they can help and rule out if theres a problem underlying that may be the cause. It could be frustration as she is still of breeding age. Sorry cant help more.

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Oscar babii

but if it was mites my other birds would surely be in the same condition!

by just looking at them in their cage and wehn they are out - they all look perfectly healthy. its only when jerry opens her wings that you see the baldess and the new feathers growing!

they have got a few toys in their cage - but they dont really bother with them. they never have really - they prefer food!
i think i'll change the toys about in their cage and swap them over with the other bird toys i have - to try and make their cage a bit more exiting!

i shall take pics to show you what i mean about jerrys feathers!!

the thing that is putting me off with going to the vets is the fact that i did work experience their and she stated that she couldn't stand birds - she said "they are horrible things"


here is me and my girls - doing what they do best lol
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3011113...7614415904294/

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Sorry In my post i did mention a bit further in my post that if it were mites than it would be all your birds with a problem. Yes change of scenery with toys etc may make a change also if your able to move the cage to a different view may help. Are they able to see out side at all. If your not keen on that vet could you not see another at all . You shouldnt have to feel off put by your vets. a animal is there to be treated be it bird rodent cat dog what ever. Its there problem .

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Oscar babii

they are able to see a bit out of the window where they are now - sadly i live in a flat - so it isn't that exitng. but they do get exited at hearing other birds.

ona really good day i sometimes put them out onto the varander or i keep them inside next to the open varander door - which they seem to enjoy.


i think i might put them next to the kitchen window for a little while - hopefully that will be a bit more exiting!
obvioulsy i will have to watch for drafts though - dont want them catching a cold!

thanks for your help

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Sorry i couldnt help more bIrds can be funny things some times. You may get better advice tomorrow when there may be more bird owners on. LOL . hAVE HAD COCKATEILS MYSELF BUT IT WAS QUITE A WHILE AGO NOW. hE LEFT US AT 16 SO DID FAIRLY WELL. mY HUBS MUM BIRDS STILL GOING HES NEARLLY TWENTY.

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Oscar babii

oh 20 - thats a great age.

i didn't actually relise how long they could live for until a few years ago!

Buster and Max were rescues, so im not sure how old they are!

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I suppose its because there a member of the parrot family they tend to live a bit longer along with budgies they dont do to badly age wise as well my mates is 14 and still going.

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Oscar babii

Cockatiels live up to and around 30 years of age

Diet can also play a huge factor in feather plucking as well as frustration etc. I would be very suprised if your birds have any kind of mite.

Questions that would really help assess your problems:-

What do they eat?
What size is the cage?
How much out of cage time do they get?
How often do they have human company around them?
Where is the cage normally placed?

If you are thinking of moving them to a window do be careful not to put them in direct sunlight, or at least a place where they can go for shade, otherwise they could get too hot.

Cockatiels love to chew, so lots of chewing toys are thoroughly recommended.

I also wonder is your female might just be going through a heavy moult, have you actually seen her plucking?

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http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s10/Treacles_bucket/

What do they eat? - they eat budgie seed and sun flower - it is available at all times!
I also give them cereal, toast and crackers on the odd occasion!
they also get fruit and veg.

What size is the cage? emmm - would have to measure it - thin it is about 3 foot by 2.5 foot!

How much out of cage time do they get? i try and make sure i am in for the full day - so that they can be out for several hours. so it really depends. usually i have to take them out of the cage though - they would just sit in their cage if i did. also when they are out - they don’t fly about much either - unless i disturb them. again they would just sit their if it didn't disturb them.

How often do they have human company around them? they don’t really like getting physical human contact, they like me to talk to them though. there cage is either in my living room or kitchen - so they get interaction when i walk past. they aren't locked away in a room or anything.

they also take bits of food of me.

every time they are out flying about i handle them as well - they quite like individual attention. they sometimes fly on to my shoulder as well or i put them on my shoulder and they sit their for a little while!

Where is the cage normally placed?

usually it is next to the living room window - but their is no direct light shining in, at the moment they are sitting next to my kitchen window - once again their i no direct sun light!

i haven't seen her full her feathers out - but their is evidence. the new feathers that were coming in where pulled out and actually sticking to my wall!

i will take some pictures to show you what i mean - her personality has changed a bit as well, she is grumpy, she use to be quite soft and liked getting cuddles etc... on the odd occasion.

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