Why is my budgie plucking its feathers?
Feather plucking has many possible causes â medical, dietary, hormonal, environmental and behavioural. Pick what sounds most like your bird for the likely direction to explore.
Which sounds most like your bird?
Because plucking is so often driven by a physical problem â parasites, skin infection, disease or pain â the first step is always an avian vet exam. Treating the environment will not help if there is an underlying medical cause.
Once medical issues are ruled out, the usual culprits are boredom, stress, a poor (seed-heavy) diet, hormones and dry skin. More foraging, a better diet, routine and bathing all help.
Sudden plucking can be stress (a recent change), a medical problem, or hormones. See an avian vet to rule out medical causes, then look at stress and enrichment.
Often it can be greatly improved, especially when caught early and any medical cause is treated. Long-standing plucking can become a habit that is harder to reverse, so act early.