BIRDLET'S FEATHER CLIPPING ADVENTURES--

Aloe Vera to the Rescue!

Birdlet, my five-year-old male Eclectus, began chewing off his feathers at about 3 years of age. He had been through a particularly stressful summer, beginning with the death of my father (known to Birdlet as "Alf" (Ralph)), my being transferred for an extended period to an out-of-state location and his relocation to my mom's house since I couldn't take the birds along, his annual hormonal upheaval, and lastly, the close bonding of his supposed mate with another of our male Eclectuses.

He was in such a state of turmoil that I decided to take him with me after a visit home, so he went to Tennessee with me and my two cockatiels. Approximately a month later, he began calling the flock by name, and that same afternoon began cutting his feathers. I immediately called the nearest avian vet, who was in Memphis, and that evening we headed west to see what might be causing the problem. After a thorough checkup, the vet said it was probably his hormones raging and gave him a shot of Haldol (Haloperidol). By the time we got home, Birdlet couldn't even fly. He wouldn't come out of his cage unless I put my hand right under his belly and gave an upward push. He sat and stared at the walls. He didn't preen. All he did was eat, eat, eat, and drink--and eat.

I finally took him back to Indiana to my mother's house and the rest of the flock, where he very gradually showed signs of improvement, but again began the occasional feather clipping. As an aside, when the vet gave him the shot of Haldol, I was told it would take about 6 weeks to wear off. Not so! It was almost 6 MONTHS before Birdlet began acting like a normal Eclectus. But I diverge. As the summer wore on, he steadily improved, but in October, and the start of his hormonal season, he started cutting feathers again. I assumed it was hormones again, and was not about to put him through what he had been through with the Haldol. However, by late December/early January, he had cut off every feather he could reach except for his tail feathers and wing feathers (picture #1).

I called my regular avian vet to have him checked over again. After blood workups and a complete physical, it was determined that Birdlet was suffering from zinc toxicity and we began the fun of getting a chelating agent down him on a daily basis. Actually, this was easier than it sounds, because Birdlet, although he was over four years old at the time, still remembered what a great big syringe has in it....FORMULA!!! By mixing the medication with hand-feeding formula, it was readily accepted even though it smelled like three-week-old "roadkill". Within a week Birdlet was showing great signs of improvement, becoming interested in life again, and investigating everything within reach.

It wasn't over yet, though. Birdlet just didn't want to grow feathers. Every time he'd grow a feather he'd wait until it was about 3/4" long and clip it off. The other Eclectuses had moulted and had all new feathers, but not Birdlet. He seemed determined to be seen in his long underwear for the rest of his life. It was about the end of February/beginning of March when I finally decided to mix aloe vera gel in his spritz water. What a difference! He started preening what feathers he had left, started growing new down, and before long, those first little green pinfeathers started appearing on his breast and neck. I continued every-other-day spritzing with the aloe vera gel water, and also put about a tablespoonful of the gel in his water every day. By June (picture #2) he was starting to show a pretty solid "ground cover", but still had a lot of naked spots. By the end of August (picture #3) he was just a little ratty around the edges with bald patches on his head. And bald he remained, until about the beginning of November.

By the first of December (picture #4) he was fully feathered and as beautiful as he ever was...no bald spots, no clipped feathers, no stress bars. He did, however, develop a slightly mean streak toward me after he started regaining his equilibrium. I guess he remembered how AWFUL that formula tasted and was getting even! His temperament is leveling out now and he hasn't tried to take a bite of me for quite some time, so I'm still hoping for the best for him.

I do credit the aloe vera gel for helping him get through the rough spots and assisting him in breaking the feather-clipping habit he had developed. I frankly believe had I not used the aloe, he would still be clipping feathers, but only as a hobby -- not a profession. Sometimes birds develop a feather-clipping habit which is very similar to fingernail biting in humans...it doesn't serve an earthly purpose, but it's somehow self-satisfying.