If you’ve noticed your parrot is pulling out its feathers, it could be a sign that your parrot is feeling stressed or anxious. It’s important to understand the difference between normal parrot grooming behaviours and signs of anxiety and to know how to react if your parrot is displaying anxious behaviours.

Is it normal for a bird to pull out its feathers?

In the wild, birds pluck out their feathers to line their nests during the breeding season, and sometimes feathers may fall out during regular preening and grooming. Simply seeing your pet parrot grooming itself, or plucking the occasional feather from its body, does not need to raise alarm bells. In many cases, this is normal parrot behaviour. However, if your parrot is pulling out its own feathers excessively, this is called ‘feather-picking’, and it can be a sign of stress and anxiety in parrots.

When is feather-picking a sign of anxiety?

If you see your parrot chewing at its feathers or even damaging its own skin, this can be a sign that your parrot is distressed. You may signs of this behaviour if you look around your bird’s breast and neck, which are the areas it is easiest for your parrot to reach. If your bird is feather-picking, it’s important to get them checked out by a vet as soon as possible to rule out serious illnesses, such as psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD). Once these causes have been ruled out, you can assume that your parrot is pulling out its feathers because of stress or anxiety caused by environmental factors.

Why do parrots pluck out their feathers?

The cause of your parrot’s distress could be many different things, or it could even have multiple sources. Birds may pick their feathers out simply due to boredom, or sometimes because something in their environment is causing them stress. Factors to consider include:

• Is your parrot bored, or lacking in social interactions?
• Does your bird eat a healthy diet every day?
• Is your parrot’s cage clean and comfortable?
• Does your bird get enough sleep, and is its sleep environment calm and dark?
• Have there been any recent changes in your household that could be causing stress to your parrot?

If you do not know the cause of your parrot’s behaviour, it’s important to try making small changes to improve your parrot’s environment to see whether this has a positive impact on their wellbeing. You can also try using calming remedies such as Pet Remedy products, though these will work best when the root cause of your parrot’s anxiety is tackled at the same time.

Calm your parrot with Pet Remedy

If your parrot is pulling out its feathers and you’re worried this is a sign of stress, you can help your parrot to relax with Pet Remedy. Pet Remedy products can help to calm your pet naturally without sedating them. Effective immediately, you can use Pet Remedy products to settle stressed pets and gently encourage them to be more receptive to you and other pets.

To find out more about how Pet Remedy can help your parrot to stay calm during stressful periods, contact us today or order Pet Remedy online now.