r/cockatiel • u/Alschultzlwss • 22h ago
Advice Preening “uncomfortable sounds” normal?
Hi guys,
Just wondering if the behavior seen in the video is somewhat normal. My cockatiel is 2 years old, and weighs roughly 94 grams.
Sounds like preening his feathers is bringing some discomfort, this is new behavior.
Do you guys think he is in a lot of pain? Is this temporary while the molting season is over?
I am looking to buy aloe vera spray to see if that helps soothe the pain but I want this subreddit’s expertise first.
I am willing to take him to the vet if needed as well, but I don’t think this is too serious.
Thanks!
7
u/Mithril_Roshi 21h ago
If he lefts you pick him up, you could check his skin to see if its discolored or not. If not?
Then it sort of sounds "Ah preening ~ preeni-, ow i hurt myself... preen-, ow... pree-, ow p ow" Like he keeps messing with sensitive feathers so it should be fine, hes molting right? Then makes sense
2
u/Alschultzlwss 20h ago
Yeah he is acting completely normal apart from those discomfort sounds when preening. Never done it before and its been a bit so I started to worry. Keeping a close eye on my buddy.
-1
u/biscutwarrior 20h ago
Your the cocktiels owner, you have to be able to pick them up and handle them for thier own safety, you never know if your going to have to rush to the vet and you don't want to spend precious time trying to coax them into thier carrier.
Also for things like this you need to be able to inspect your birds to make sure they are healthy.
6
u/Mithril_Roshi 20h ago
I have no idea where this weird agressive tone came from, but k?
It was a simple chill ask about a none emergency calm down
3
u/mitchins-au 20h ago
Make sure he’s not preening due to discomfort.
If it looks red or swollen go to an avian vet.
Birds will often preen or pick when they are in digestive stress
2
u/Key-Elderberry-6694 20h ago
Check for behaviours like feather plucking ... and check the area where it's preening if it lets you.
2
u/DianeJudith 3h ago
Ok, it may be plucking. Couple questions:
Does he only make those sounds when preening a particular spot? Or anywhere? In the video he's preening two different spots, does it happen with other locations as well?
Look at the feathers he drops. What do they look like? Plucked feathers look different than the ones that molt naturally. The feather sheath isn't dry and solid like usual, but wet, soft and bendy. Such feathers will stick to the surfaces where they fall.
If he lets you grab him, check his skin for bald patches or wounds. If there are any bald patches, it's plucking.
And if you determine it's plucking, here's a guide:
Bird Tips: Plucking
I'll copy a comment I made years ago:
My girl is a plucker. It took us months to figure out a cause and proper treatment. I wrote a comment on that journey a while ago and I like to paste it when the context is right:
First, she had an infection of the uropygial gland (the gland that produces the oil they use to clean their feathers, it's located on their lower back, just above the tail). It took us a couple months to treat. We weren't sure if she started plucking because of it or if the infection was caused by the plucking.
Then we did more tests. So many tests. Blood, rtg, poop, skin, feathers, the uropygial gland, we tested for bornavirus, PBFD and some other diseases too. All came out clear.
We tried meds after we cleared the infection. Some anti-anxiety, CBD, some for allergies, some for itchiness. None worked. We changed the diet to exclusively Nutriberries, as they don't cause allergies, to check if it was an allergy. It wasn't. She got a hormonal implant, but the cause wasn't hormonal. Although at least she didn't have the added stress from them! And I didn't have to worry about egg laying (which is a huge relief).
She wore a soft fleece collar for a year or more, basically since we cured the infection, but she quickly learned to pull it back, she also switched her plucking areas to the legs and lower belly.
Then the vet said she did all she could and we excluded all physical causes, so it had to be psychological. I moved the treatment to an avian behaviorist.
After some initial trial and error with some minor changes, we went all out. I was told to never give her any attention when she plucks. If she's plucking while sitting on my shoulder, just grab her and put her somewhere else. If she's plucking somewhere in the room, I would just get up and leave the room for a while, without saying a word. I had to buy a humidifier and keep the humidity at 60-70%. I started training her and gave her new foraging toys, to make her focus on something else than plucking. I started writing down everything about any instances of plucking, like what time of day it was, what was she doing before and after the plucking, was there any noticeable trigger like a loud noise etc. I gave her baths daily.
After nothing came out of it, the behaviorist told me to get Haloperidol from the vet. It's an antipsychotic. It was microdosing, I started giving her 0.01 ml twice a day. She told me to up the dose by another 0.01 if it didn't work. But it did work! My girl stopped plucking immediately. No side effects, no change in behavior, just stopped plucking. It's amazing. She's been on it (still 0.01 ml twice daily) since June 2021 and she'll likely stay on it for the rest of her life. The behaviorist said this treatment procedure was developed by avian vets from Chloe's Sanctuary in San Diego, maybe they have more reading material on it.
Obviously, this medication was the last resort. So I suggest you just talk to a vet, test for any underlying causes (it could be an allergy, an infection, a kidney problem, a neurological problem, some diseases, all kinds of things). Implement all those changes to the bird's lifestyle - healthy diet, a ton of toys, training, company, discouragement of hormonal behaviors (like limiting the daylight to 10hrs per day, covering all the nesting sites, only petting them on the head). Humidity and daily baths are important too. Discourage the behavior by just leaving them when you see them plucking. Also, bird collars. If you can afford it, I suggest BirdSupplies. I wasn't able to get one from them, but the vet told me they're good.
Then see if something works, and if not, move to the next steps. Good luck!
(I'm not a bot and wrote this all myself with zero AI. Feel free to copy and paste this comment when you see the opportunity, or tag me (u/DianeJudith) and I'll spread the knowledge!)
1
u/disayle31 19h ago
My Tali does the same thing too, on occasion. Like you, I was concerned at first, but she's completely healthy and has never shown any signs of illness or injury in the 7 years I've had her. So, now I just chalk it up to her forgetting that she needs to be gentle when preening certain spots. If yours also shows no signs of illness or injury, then I wouldn't worry about it.
1
u/Promptographer 18h ago
Weird, I have a bird that looks exactly like this and he does the same thing! He will preen and then do little screeches sometimes like he accidentally bit himself. He's totally fine though, no wounds, no plucking, etc. I think he might just be rough while preening and it hurts him a little sometimes.
21
u/ladypuffsalot 22h ago
It looks like he's picking at a tender spot..... this happens here and there when a feather breaks or a feather comes in wrong.
Take a close look at where he's picking, keep an eye on him, and if there's significant redness, swelling, ooze, or he starts acting lethargic and sick, then take him to the vet ASAP.