Zazu April 26, 2004
Zazu July 8, 2004
Zazu July 8, 2004
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Zazu will be 10 years old December 2004. I bought her from a university student when she was almost 6. She plucked a brood patch a couple of
years ago but that was in late August, early September. I took her to
the vet which is the first thing you need to do when there is any sudden change in behaviour. She checked out OK. This recent episode started
March 11, 2004 while I was at work. I came home to find the bottom of her
cage covered in feathers. I did not panic and I did not pay any extra attention to her even though my heart was in my throat. I again took her
to the vet, she checked out OK. I went away for a few days, came back and
took her for some other tests. Those tests were also normal. Once I got
the all clear, I ignored the behaviour. Now let me just say that it�s
easy to tell someone to ignore the plucking but when it is your bird, it
is an entirely different story. BUT it is critical that you do ignore it
so I would just leave the room. I am happy to say that Zazu�s chest is
almost back to normal. She still pulls the occasional down feather but I
think that will stop in time. I now wonder how much plucking starts out
as a seasonal/hormonal thing and gets reinforced so the bird continues to
do it to get attention. I also put things in Zazu�s cage that she could
shred instead of her chest. I doubt if it made any difference but it made
me feel better.