Will his feathers ever grow back?

[Kaldi0143]

I got my Cag, Willie, last week. His previous owners were an elderly couple who had him since he was about 6 months old. He's 17 now. The woman promised that if or when she got to the point that she couldn't care for him anymore, she'd find a new home for him. That point came, probably a couple of years ago when they first moved into an assisted living place, but about two months ago, he started plucking his feathers on his chest, and that's what made her give in finally.

 

Well. I found out from her that for the past couple of years, she just hadn't really interacted with him anymore, he spent all of his time in his cage, and was never handled. He had one toy in there that was rather worn.

They had also changed his food from a mixture of stuff to only sunflower seeds.

 

I'm guessing it was probably a mixture of diet and boredom that had him plucking the feathers off his chest. I've read up some on if plucked feathers grow back, and I keep seeing that it depends on if there was follicle damage. This whole thing is a new one for me and I honestly don't know how to tell if there is follicle damage.

It looks like he has two new little growths popping up, but I guess we'll just have to see.

 

Since he's been with me, he's out of his cage, he's eating good and has lots of toys and stimuli. I haven't seen one feather on the floor or in the cage, and I haven't seen him trying to pluck.

 

Any ideas how to tell if there is follicle damage, or is that something a vet has to tell me? Any ideas how long it might take for them to grow back, if they will?

 

I'm going to get my boy banded and microchipped soon, but in the meantime, I was wondering if anyone on here could appease some of my curiosity on the subject.

[Barbara2]

I have a little Senegal that is 19 years old. For most of his life we have never noticed any bareness. The last 3 years he ends up with a pretty bare chest during his molt. I freaked and thought he was plucking. Once the molt was over, he was fully feathered again. I would give it some time and see if the feathers come back.

[Kaldi0143]

Thanks Barbara2

Even if they don't ever come back, he's still my pretty boy and I'll love him just the same anyway. Guess time will tell.

[Dave007]

The only way to see if there's follicle damage is to wait until surrounding feathers grow back and check the bald areas and that can only be spotted if the bird no longer plucks the new feathers. That takes a while. In the mean time, those areas get very dry and brittle and also cause plucking. below is an ointment that is extremely good for putting on damaged dried skin.

I have a sticky in the health roon about this aloe vera gel.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/DSCN0113.jpg

[Kaldi0143]

Dave, you're so full of awesome birdie info! Thanks for all of your input. It really helps a novice parrot owner like myself! On some topics, I've gotten more info from what you've said than I did looking online for it... Or at least had a better understanding from the way you put things.

[Dave007]

Dave, you're so full of awesome birdie info! Thanks for all of your input. It really helps a novice parrot owner like myself! On some topics, I've gotten more info from what you've said than I did looking online for it... Or at least had a better understanding from the way you put things.

 

Well, it's always good to tell people about the good results but also the possible bad results. One good thing about your bird's problem is that it will not affect the personality and luckily there's treatments out there to use. Many people have birds that have all stages of plucking problems, some some aren't serious, some are more serious. It's a matter of doing something a little different concerning the problem. That ointment is also used for raw bruises, mild cuts, getting bitten from another bird, some types of wing problems etc etc. It just takes some time to straighten out the problem. You many not have total success but you will have some percentage of success.

[Kaldi0143]

Thanks Dave! I'll try it out