Jack

[Sparkles]

This is my boy Jack! He is a lovely little bird but has a few issues at the moment which we are working on. He is feather picking big time - I have a feeling it is a "seasonal - mating season" issue but I am trying everything just incase it isn't.

If anyone has any remedies or suggestions I would certainly welcome them!

[holly]

you can get feather plucking spray from pet shops? maybey try and use that as well as distracting him with toys, but if worse comes to worse you might have 2 get a "collar" for his head like the cat and dogs do after offerations at the vets

[Amanda]

Sometimes it's diet, stress and boredom too. It's a case of increasing or decreasing things until you find the spot!

[kim]

So sad when this happens & it's hard to know what's going through their minds sometimes.

[Matt]

Yes its hard to figure out sometimes, I see plenty of green leaves in the background which is great to keep them occupied. Toys and maybe a mirror might help, I had a 28 that did this but as soon as I paired him up with a girlfriend he stopped it and allowed the feathers to grow back, I think where he was he wasnt very happy and the cage was too small, about 1m by 2 m and I put him in a large one 7m by 4 m. Try different techniques and see what helps I guess.

[Peter]

you can get a spray to stop it from pet shops, and a good way is to destract him with toys, lots of branches and nuts etc! but i think it seems you do that! Maybe a girlfriend is in order? or even if you just get him a nest box for himself to play in!

[Sparkles]

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. To date I have tried the toys galore and branches/leaves - but he is not interested at all. I have sprayed a couple times for mites, etc just to make sure its not that - made no difference. I had a look at the stop pick spray but because it's a "bitters" tasting thing I thought I might try that as a last resort. I had him in a big aviary but just this weekend bought him up to the house in a smaller patio aviary so he could be more "included" in whats happening and I could watch him closer - he hates being in the smaller cage though so not sure how long that will last. I have to repair his aviary though because he had started chewing his way to freedom. I have also tried to persist with the fresh fruit and veges but all he will eat is corn on the cob and peanuts in shells.

His habits for the past couple months have mainly been pacing constantly on his main perch
and head bobbing. He just seems really anxious all the time - like he needs prozac or something. He gets really bad when the wild P&G's are hanging around - which is often. But its more of a 'want to get out to them' rather than 'get away from them' anxiousness.

I would be more than happy to get him a girlfriend - but the last female he was in with he picked on apparently.

Does anyone know of anything I could get to spray on him / his cage to perhaps just calm him down a little bit for starters? I would prefer something natural. Might do some surfing on the net now and see what I can find but if you know of anything great. I was thinking there may be a good mix of essential oils that has worked.

Otherwise as a (not preferred) last resort perhaps look at sending him to a bird sanctuary or similar where he can be housed ina huge flight with many of his own kind. I really don't want to part with him - but I also feel that he would be happier as a "wild" bird rather than a "companion" bird. Do you know what I mean?