Feather-Destructive Behavior

Introduction:

Feather-destructive behavior, also known as “feather picking” or “feather plucking” can result from both medical and behavioral causes. Common medical causes include skin infection (bacterial or fungal), musculoskeletal pain from trauma or arthritis, or systemic illness such as heavy metal toxicities, hormonal diseases, organ dysfunction, or malnutrition. Behavioral causes are more elusive to determine and may originate from boredom, stress (social, environmental, or reproductive), or psychological disorders.

Clinical Signs:

Patients show local to generalized loss of feathers, obsessive grooming behaviors, and self-mutilation sometimes to the point of developing open wounds.

Similar Conditions:

Feather-destructive behavior must be differentiated from abnormal feather growth (e.g. Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease or Polyoma), normal grooming and molting behaviors, cagemate trauma, or sexual picking (brood patch).

Diagnostic Testing:

Owners should be prepared that feather destructive behavior is complex and may take multiple rounds of tests to diagnose and/or treat. The first step is your vet will obtain a thorough medical history including information on diet and husbandry. A thorough behavior review typically performed as a behavior consult examination is then performed. Your vet will then recommend testing including a complete blood count, serum biochemistry panel, radiographs, skin cytology, and fecal testing. If warranted they may also recommend testing lead and zinc levels, infectious disease testing, and perform feather and skin biopsies.

Treatment:

If an underlying medical cause is found, treatment should be recommended specific to that condition. In the event that the bird has self-mutilated and has open wounds, the veterinarian will prescribe antibiotics. Anti-inflammatory pain medications may be warranted as well. If the cause is truly behavioral in nature, the first step is to correct any problems with husbandry and nutrition. It is important that the bird be provided plenty of enrichment through toys and puzzles. A great reference is the book The Perfectly Trained Parrot, Parrot Tricks, The Parrot Wizard’s Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot. Collars may be utilized to prevent further trauma. Remove all reproductive stimuli and consider hormonal treatment if reproductive stress is a concern. In rare occasions, psychotropic medications may be prescribed.  

Prognosis:

Feather-destructive behavior is often a chronic process and the prognosis depends on the cause of the behavior, how long it has been established, the distribution (local versus generalized), and the degree of self-mutilation. Many birds will need chronic treatment.

Follow-Up:

Self-mutilating birds should be rechecked frequently (every 3-7 days) to manage their open wounds. Underlying causes will require varied rechecks and treatment schedules.  Birds placed on a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory trial should be rechecked before discontinuing the trial to evaluate response to treatment.