Feather plucking: possible measures affecting this problem in young birds
What are the likely causes of feather plucking?
The above mentioned evil probably occurs only rarely, if at all,in the wild. The most important cause is associated with husbandry. When lories are rearing their young in the wild there is no constantly full food bowl in the immediate vicinity. In order to be able to collect the necessary pollen, nectar and so on, they must first search and often return considerable distances. This incurs a high time and energy cost. Ample food stands day and night only in our protected accommodation. The birds take only a fraction of the time usually required for searching for food and collecting it. As a result the adults have more time to spend with their young. When they get their first down or at a later stage the feathers, the adults can begin plucking. Many blame this bad habit on excessive attention or boredom of the parents.
Possible consequences which can occur as a result of plucking:
The consequences of plucking vary according to the degree of plucking. Many pairs work only on the down, in which case one need not worry unduly. Others however pull out many feathers from the tail, wings and especially from the head. The main danger from this is from chilling, due to the surrounding temperature and the damp nest material. The latter should be regularly checked and renewed when necessary. If there is no intervention for serious cases of plucked birds, the result can be permanently flightless birds or even worse, death. Many of these birds have a particular like for the flight feathers which can result in bleeding feather quills. As a result subsequent feathers are often malformed and it ends in long lasting deformities.
Particularly susceptible species of lory:
Many species of lory are inclined to feather pluck, others are much more. The Charmosyna species is the species which is reported the least, but in contrast the genera Lorius, Eos and Trichoglossus are the most frequent.
Counter measures that one can take:
As far as I know there are no universally recommended, successful methods. What may work with one breeding pair may have no affect with another.
(a) Removal of the young birds:
the most successful and also most practical method remains hand rearing. This method has in addition a number of disadvantages:
- if one continues to hand rear over many generations this can lead to imprinting. Hand reared young should therefore be allowed to socialise with similar species as soon as possible after independence.
- hand reared young are extremely susceptible to disease, for example to the dreaded Beak and Feather Disease. An infection, or more precisely transmission can occur in many diverse ways. Therefore one must take care when coming into contact with young birds and most of all your own hands should be disinfected. If more young birds are reared together it can result, through a lack of care, in the loss of them all. Diverse examples have been witnessed. One of the greatest endeavours should therefore be for natural rearing.
(b)Opening the nest box:
another possibility arises in the opening of the inspection hatch of the nest box. This opening can be closed with mesh or clear plastic. It should allow as much light as possible into the nest box, which makes the adults seem disturbed and uneasy, and they spend less time inside the nest. This method has worked well for me, more so than for other breeders who report variable degrees of success. As a rule the success rate is about 50%. A pair of my Red-breasted Lories, Lorius lory erythrothorax, suddenly began pluck the backs of their young in the fifth week. By opening the nest box this suddenly halted the problem.
(c)Moving the nest box:
if the previous method does not produce the desired result then one can try the following. The nest box is placed on the floor of the aviary after removing the lid. It can then take time for the adult birds to become used to the new situation. One must therefore feed the young by hand once or twice, after which time the adults should resume feeding. This method has already proved almost 100% successful for me. In the case of completely plucked birds one must take care since the danger again is from chilling. This method probably also works better in aviaries rather than suspended cages. The reason for the success of this method is again due to the adults being disturbed and made uneasy on the ground. The adults generally quickly take care of their young and then they return to the upper area of the aviary as quickly as possible. One experience can however not be used to make generalisations.
(d)Partitioning the nest box:
a partitioning of the nest box into two parts is a further possibility which can bring success. The division succeeds with a large meshed wire through which the young can be further tended. Regular inspections are recommended. Shortly before the chicks are due to leave the nest they can be removed and placed on the aviary floor. The nest box should be removed.
(e) Rearing using foster parents:
Occasionally there is the possibility that the young can be reared by foster parents. The difference in ages should under these circumstances not be too large, just as the young should be at most not older than appr. four weeks. Older chicks can produce a negative reaction from the foster parents, which can from time to time result in the loss of the young. If the foster parent's own young show any abnormalities such as signs of illness, no other young should be placed with them, since these birds can become infected. Good foster parents can rear up to four young under normal conditions without problems. The nest material must be renewed much more often of course.
(f) Wire cages for chicks:
Another similar method to that described above can succeed by means of a wire cage. The young are placed in this and secured, the whole cage being hung in the aviary. The adults can continue to feed their young through the bars or wire. In this case the young must already be a little older. The method has been successfully used for example with a breeding pair of Jobi Lories, Lorius lory jobiensis, which had reared their young for years without problems and suddenly, drastically began to pluck.
Shortly before the time for fledging the door of the cage can be opened so that the young can escape. One can also place a feeding dish in the cage and the young can be encouraged early to begin food for themselves. The young can also be moved to another aviary as soon as they reach independence.
For all of the possibilities mentioned no guarantee for success can be given. It is just as likely that the adults will suddenly cease plucking and from then continue to rear with complete success.
In conclusion another experience which comes from another breeder. A breeding pair of Swainson's, Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus plucked their young for years. He was given a tip from a friend and breeder to provide mealworms. As a result the plucking steadily reduced and ceased completely after three further broods. I cannot find any explanation for this, whether by chance or not, the best thing is that the plucking was stopped.
From Jim Taylor, Canada, we received the following last minute message:
We have always had problems with a number of pairs who pluck their young, chew toenails, beaks etc. We now place a hanffull of rodent chews in each nestbox and replace them when needed. These rodent chews are 4x1x1 inch (10x2x2 cm.) pieces of pine soaked in fruit flavoring and food colour sold for gerbils and hamsters. They seem to give the male and female something to occupy their time with when sitting in the nestbox. They also seem to prevent chewed nestboxes as they taste better than the plywood nestbox. If you can't buy them dry strips of a soft non-toxic wood and soak in Koolaid or other flavoured drink mixes (avoid artificial sweeteners).
If other breeders have their own tips they can also be reported in future editorial sections.
