Quaker picking feathers?????

[Ronda477]

Ok as you all know probably there is alot going on in our home lately. We are getting our new TAG this Friday! But all of a sudden our Quaker has started plucking at her chest feathers. She now has a bare spot that is small but still all the same she is plucking! We have a few things that might have started this one for sure being a big thing probably. We put her in a new cage. She had this very old cage and it just wouldn't come clean. The ppl who had her before us totally neglected her and didn't clean the cage properly or anything. I couldn't get the cage clean with a wire brush! We have had her now for about 8 years. I just came across that deal where I got the cages for 1/2 off cause of the store going out of buisness and thought well not only do I need one for my TAG that will be coming home soon it would be a great time to get our Quaker Molly one too. So we have her in her new cage, she sees the other cage set up across the room which of course is the same as moving the furniture around cause that could spook her, she seems afraid of the latches on the new cage. But she comes to the front of the cage all day but only gets frightened when you go to open it. She will step up if you put your hand in the cage. She is also eating well still. I know there is some things that have changed but I really can't change them back. Can anyone give me some advice on what to do so she doesn't keep doing this? She just started and I'm hoping I can catch it early. I told my husband to try to spend a little more time with her since it's his bird. Molly won't really let me touch her at all for the past 8 years but lately for some odd reason she has let me start petting her. I know it's fall, could she be aggervated cause she doesn't have a mate? We really don't know if it's male or female but I'm sure both sexes could get aggervated over this lol. I know I would. Again I know there is many things that can cause this and right now we may have exposed her to too much at one time. What can I do? Oh and to let everyone know about the cage, it's bigger than what she had, we didn't go smaller because we know that can cause stress. It's a corner cage. She was used to having a sheet over the back and sides of her old cage anyway and we kept doing that with this one. So really not too much has changed on that part. It's even the same sheet and blanket. Any ideas would be very helpful. I would like to stop this before it went too far and she's naked!! Thank you everyone!

[Tari]

First thing to do is take her to the vet. Once you rule out any illness with a full blood work up then we can work on other possibilities.

[judygram]

Thanks Tari, thats exactly what you should do first is rule out any physical problems, then we can work on other things likely to cause it.

[OHSNAP!]

Our quaker seemed to know something was changing a week before our TAG came home. She picked up on her talking and activity. Sine our TAGs been home she will now talk to me to my face instead of waiting till my backs turned. Could be the cage BTW.

[Ronda477]

Thanks, she hasn't done anymore she picked just a little tiny patch and then stopped. We were lucky not sure why she started or why she stopped but glad she did. Since we bought our TAG home she has let almost everyone touch her and handle her which she never did before. But she has stopped plucking sorry I never updated this I actually forgot about it. But thanks for reading!