Plucking Severity
Thinking like a plucking bird
what size do I need
training your bird for acceptance
Range of toolsParrot feather plucking can range from a mild problem of tattered feathers to a major problem of mutilating skin and body parts. Click here to to watch our video on Choosing a Bird Collar and Managing Parrot Feather Plucking. This information will help you know what type of bird collar may be best for your bird.
Feather plucking turns habitual and progressive very quickly. It's really quite addictive. That's why you must consider how compelled your bird is to pluck when choosing a collar style. Ask yourself how addicted your bird is to plucking? A persistent plucker may figure out how to remove a collar. Thicker, stiffer collars provide more protection. Calming supplements often help.
Parrots range in size from a tiny Parrotlets to huge Macaws. Learn about bird collar sizing here. We make our bird collars in 5 sizes. Most styles are designed to allow you to trim to fit. You can notch the neck hole as well as trim the outside perimeter. The neck needs room for crop expansion when your bird eats. The perimeter needs to be long enough to cover the wound but not so long as to cause problems with eating, drinking and perching.
Birds need training to learn to tolerate a bird collar. Untrained parrots have been known to fall over and act as though they've given up. Some parrots get depressed with wearing a bird collar. Weak or elderly birds may need physical education to get used to the weight of the collar. Watch this video to learn how to help your bird adjust to it's bird collar in the least stressful way as possible. Click here to learn how to train your bird to wear a collar.
Bird collars are the first line of defense to manage a parrot feather plucking problem. They are like a Bandaid to keep the beak away from feathers. You'll also need to reduce stress for your bird. This may involve anxiety management with bird calming products, fixing parrot husbandry shortfalls, eliminating environmental stressors and using behavior modification. Most parrots require a range of strategies to get the problem under control. Figure out your individualized step-by-step plan here.
