Feather plucking is most upsetting for a parrot owner. When they see their beautiful parrot slowly becoming bald and resembling a plucked chicken it is difficult not to blame yourself.

There are so many reasons that a parrot plucks its feathers that finding the cause and solving it can be a very slow process.
A parrot who plucks has undergone stress of some sort. The secret of curing these birds is to identify the stresses, eliminate or minimize them and then try to break the bird’s deep-seated habits. The more emotional and sensitive the bird is, the more prone it is to this problem.

1) Malnutrition is a big cause of feather plucking. These are birds that have been feed a seed diet. Parrots are exceptionally fond of sunflower seeds however they do not have any nutritional benefits. The skin becomes flaky and itchy and the parrot over grooms, resulting in broken feathers and bald patches. This problem begins as a physical problem but may result in a psychological one.

2) Psychological Stress is common among cage birds. When a bird is under stress, it often resorts to excess grooming e.g. plucking its own feathers out. One common cause of psychological stress is sexual maturity and the urge to bond and court a mate. If the owner is accepted as the birds mate and has the time to interact with the bird things go fine. Another cause of psychological stress is too small a cage that lacks stimulating and interactive toys and objects. The secret of success with these cases is to provide a stimulating environment for the bird. This should consist of toys, branches to chew on, and foraging toys. Radio and television is sometimes also helpful, as is placement of the cage near a window with a view.

3) Parasites are reported to occasionally cause feather itching and feather plucking. Although many books on birds say that external parasites, such as lice and mites, cause a bird to pluck out its feathers, lice are extremely uncommon on pet parrots.

4) Internal organ disease of a chronic nature, such as hepatitis or egg yolk peritonitis and abdominal tumors often manifests itself as self-trauma to the feathers. The cause of this is unknown. Many of these conditions are incurable.

Birds who are long time feather pluckers with no known cause of stress should be checked by an avian vet to ensure the cause is not a physical illness.