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Hey everyone, So the thread title says it all. I know it's a common problem. I I have not taken her to the vet yet. I live in Japan and there are no local vets and the nearest one was 3 hours away, but we did find one an hour and half a way and we have set an appointment for this coming Monday. So I think she is plucking because of nesting behavior. It started a few years ago when she started laying eggs. We try our hardest to discourage this. She has a separate sleeping cage and that could be the issue, as she usually only does it when she goes to bed. I've noticed that when I clean her cage out she starts plucking pretty bad again. how can I keep her cage clean? I know I should try keeping her in her main cage for bed time, but my house is really small and her cage is in the main living room where we can spend most of our time with her. It would be too loud for her if we kept her in there at night. Plus winter time is pretty harsh and old Japanese houses aren't insolated so warming up a smaller area (her sleep cage) is easier than keeping her in the main cage which uses a oil radiator. It's pretty expensive keeping it running through out winter as it is now. We still aren't sure if that's the main cause, so we're going to see what the vet says. Hopefully he can be helpful as local vets in general, even the ones that were trained in avian medicine, have been horrifying. He has a youtube channel and does talk a lot about bird issues. I'm hoping it's not stress. We have her out a few hours a day including walks outside when the weather is warm enough, try and feed her a good diet, and try and interact with her as much as possible. I hate showing this video, but you can see the size of my house and a little bit of where her cage is located. Any help will be appreciated! Edit: I would also love to try products that would help, but they do not exist in Japan. Maybe home remedies??

Hello and welcome! I don't have any advice to add, but wanted to say I'm glad to see another caring rehomer on the forums. Good luck and God bless with Boomer.

Welcome to the party. Would love to see pics of the babies. Don't think it's been mentioned yet so...one of the most important things you can do is get them on a proper diet. I use two Volkman products: Soak and Simmer and Birdeez Buffet. Those are cookables which I use as a base and then throw whatever I have available, jalapeno peppers, sweet potato, frozen peas, etc. After while on this stuff they start to shine. We rehomed a couple birds on rotten diets and you could see their transformation within months. If she's on pellets, those can be holding the weight on. Most pellets are corn-based. Garbage fat-fillers. Also Harrisons is bad for weight too if you're bird is not active enough. My GreycieMae is very active and she somehow can plump herself up on that stuff (we don't use it anymore due to their predatory price-fixing). That will help reduce the weight and get birdy healthy. If you're comfortable with the idea, once birdy is settled, you can help with little exercises like perching birdy on your hand and lowering your arm over a mattress to induce some flapping. Will help with the leg strength too. I'd be careful though with a bird in the condition you mentioned. Don't want any accidental flights and broken bones.

Welcome to the forums! Like Greytness said, if you have the space to have the two cages side by side, that might help. If you've figured out what Boomer's favourite treats are then you could possibly use that to reward her whenever she shows interest or climbs on the new cage so she associates it with a positive reward. If she's already curious and has played on the top of it then that's a really good start. If you're worried about her falling then I'd definitely start with some lower perches and maybe pad the bottom of the cage with some old towels so if she does happen to fall then it'll be a soft landing. In regards to the inflammation on her foot, I've heard of something called bumble foot, which can occur when a bird has inappropriate perches. Their feet can get sores and inflammation from it. Hopefully the fact she's now able to move around more freely and has different sized perches with different materials will help ease any inflammation. It sounds like she's already been working those legs and feet anyway! Sounds like she really hit the jackpot when she found you! 🙂