Why is my green cheek conure chewing and breaking his own feathers?

Question

Hey! I have a question concerning my green cheek conure. So, a few days ago, I noticed he has been chewing on his shoulder feathers and breaking them. Note that he is not plucking, nor showing distressed behavior, just "grooming" his shoulders and biting the feathers. Please help me understand, and I thank you in advanced :). Pet's info: Bird | Unknown - Bird | Male | unneutered | 1 year and 3 months old

Dr. Andrea · Accepted Answer

Hi there, I'm Dr G and I see a lot of birds. Your conure, even though he is not pulling feathers out is still having some "feather picking" or at the least over grooming. This can have so many reasons! So many! Often at this time of year, it relates to seasonal sexual behavior. It can also be a skin infection, stress of some sort, loneliness, and more. I would recommend an exam by a vet to rule out medical problems before starting to work on behavioral reasons. Increased bathing/misting encourages normal grooming behavior. Making sure your bird is on a low seed/high pellet diet and the pellet is free of colors and dyes. (Just make changes slowly). Make sure you are not encouraging sexual or mating behaviors in your bird by not kissing them, not snuggling them too much and not petting along the lower back or abdomen area.

Why is my green cheek conure chewing and breaking his own feathers?

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