No vet close and i have no idea what is wrong with my baby

[atapjn]

I have a 4-5 year old male indian ringneck.. He is my baby.. My kids called me at work about a month ago to say he was going crazy.. He started plucking.. He is bright yellow so i can see him well.. I have checked for mites and there are none.. On top of the plucking he has started pacing back and forth between his perch and food bowl. He used to loved taking baths and now won't go near water and is drinking very little.. He pecks at the water like its going to bite him.. He spends a lot of time out of his cage but now i can open the door and he won't even try to come out.. he is so focused on pacing that it seems he doesnt even notice it is open.. He is also loosing his speech. He has left the feathers on his wings and tail and head but his back and chest are naked. He has not gotten any worse on the plucking.. Does anyone have any ideas???.. There is no vet within about 100 miles of me..

[sanjays mummi]

Sanjay paced when his nursery cage got too small for him, so we bought the biggest indoor corner cage available, he can fly to his hearts content, no pacing since,

[SkyeBerry]

I do not recommend any insecticides to the birds or the environment at this time. Is there a reason to suspect your bird suddenly has a mite/lice problem? If you have not purchased any used equipment, introduced a new bird, or have had your bird outside in an area that was infested, where would the come from? If you are concerned about red mites you can do 1 or both of the following:

1. place double sided tape along the outside of the cage along the tray area where the bird cannot reach. The mites do not live on the birds but only go on to feast at night. The hide during the day in the crevices and along edges of the cage etc. As they crawl around they will get stuck to the tape.

2. place a white sheet over the cage at night. In the morning lift it off and look at it carefully. Red mites should clearly show up as red dots.

Can you exam your bird and see if there are any broken or abnormally growing feathers? Are two feathers growing too close to one another or from the same site? I have been told this can be vary painful.

Has something in the environment changed? A routine?

Mary

[atapjn]

I have searched everything and see no mites. He has never been outside and i have no other birds. No other birds or items have been brought into the house. Nothing has changed that is what is so weird about all of this. The other thing that has changed is he has always had cage aggression and would bite when going to get on your hand. He now just steps up and does not show any aggression in his cage. After seeing no improvement i bought new toys and put him in a old cage i had with everything NEW. Hoping maybe id shock him out of it. The pacing has stopped after switching his cages. The plucking continues although he does have some new fuzzy feathers under his belly.. Praying he gets better soon

[sanjays mummi]

You could try making an Elizabethan collar for him, which is something a vet would provide, something maybe like stiff but not too stiff, cardboard might do the trick. I would also recommend "Feather Up" supplement. From what you say, it does seem as though he was unhappy with the cage.

[MissK]

OK, so you should go back and re-evaluate the bird's situation more carefully. Nothing has changed that *you* would notice. How about something that has changed that you would overlook? Your bird has all day every day to examine the surroundings.

For example, if somebody across the street got a dog, you might notice and you might think it had nothing to do with you, your house, or your bird. Your bird, however, would be noticing the new activity all day, it could be impacted. Closer to home, somebody in your house may have just left their (anything, a skateboard, a hat, a book with a picture of eyes on the cover) in the bird's room and the bird noticed.

Or a new chemical may have been introduced in the house, even in a different room. Or a radio may be playing where there was none before.

Another thing you don't mention is how long has the bird been in the current situation without the new behaviours you noted? If he has been in the same spot, same everything, for years, then that is different than if you just set him up the current way in the last four months.

Put on your detective hat. Be sure you don't have a health problem. If you don't have a health problem, then you have an environmental or housing problem. Other readers - anything I missed?

[SkyeBerry]

Your original post was dated Mar 20. It stated this started about one month ago -> Feb 20. Perhaps this was initiated by hormones/breeding season? Someone I know has a quaker parrot that will self-mutilate around this time of year if she is not collared in time. As soon as breeding season is over she is fine. Something to consider if you find no other source. Maybe speak to your vet. Keep in mind that some parrots have been known to be set off by something as simple as a picture being moved on the wall. Wishing you and your parrot good luck.

[MissK]

Now that you say it, I think I recall something from AJPeter about his Alexandrine reacting to the placement of a picture. We know about it and it's still remarkable.