Hey Sammi the weird plucker

[bubblegumlover]

Hi all.. I dont know how to begin.. Sammi doesnt always pluck.. The day before yesterday he did not pluck atall yet yesterday he sast and plucked for most of the evening.. I ignored him when plucking and gave him positive attention when he wasnt..He is new to me and I have no previous history on him/her atall.. infact i dont know how old sammi is.. I know sammi previously plucked or shredded as all his breast feathers as they are all downy and wre regrowing.. however hes now started again.. He has toys.. gets misted and has lots of company most of the time. could this be the stress of moving homes and owners and what should I do to encourage him to feel secure?.. I dont think he likes me much lol.. he seems to prefer my 10 year old daughter. He is not tame yet and have a nice bite on my finger to prove it. He had a pretty awful life previously and now we want him to be totally happy.. all advice welcome!

[feika]

Remember that 2 traits will come to your help every now and then: Patience; and Perseverance.
Sometimes there's just no cure to plucking, some birds pluck out of habit, however, that has no negative impact on the bird's ability to talk and amuse you as well as most of the times the bird has no health issues--physical or mental.
So be patient and try to win his trust which is not that hard, don't expect one step a day approach, even if it is an inch of progress you should and will be proud of it.
It's a slooooowww, steady, but rewarding process.
Good luck

[sweeetnlowww]

are you sure sammi isn't just preening?...meaning, do you see feathers actually coming out?...(please don't take offense, just curious on the matter here)...

[zulusmom]

I was told that some CAGs that pluck(all the feathers, leaving just their skin) have acquired a habit like people who bite their nails.  Some truth?

[feika]

sometimes it can be out of habit too, but initially it is not.