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My parrot is plucking feathers for a year. Should I be worried?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Bird | Unknown - Bird | Male

Coco is my friend's parrot. They got him 1 year ago when his owners traveled away. Ever since coco is plucking off his feather and he almost has no feather now. At first they thought it was because he missed his owners but its been a year now. Im encouraging them to see a vet but they havent done it yet. Should we worry about the fact that he is stil plucking his feathers ? Thank you ♡

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on June 30th, 2017

Plucking can be behavioral (stress, boredom) or it may have medical causes (infection, external parasites). Ideally, Coco should be examined by your veterinarian or an experienced avian veterinarian. Clean and sanitize the cage, bowls, toys and perches. Discard anything that cannot be sanitized. Provide a variety of perches and toys to prevent boredom. Rotate them to keep things "fresh". Make sure the cage is not too small and that he gets enough attention and engagement. A biologically appropriate diet should be offered for optimal health. Bathe or mist him several times weekly to maintain whatever healthy plumage remains.

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    Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

    Veterinary Technician

    Published on

    Over time, stress related behaviors such as feather plucking can become habit. Some birds may also not grow their feathers back after prolonged feather plucking. It would be best that your friends brought Coco to the vet first for a complete exam to rule out any issues such as skin diseases or infections causing his plucking. If he checks out healthy, then looking for ways to enrich his environment, such as time on a playpen area, extra toys, objects that can be played with or chewed on, time spent with people, etc may help break the behavior and allow the feathers to regrow.

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