Hi I hope all is well,

    Today i would like to address something that is very important to me! I have a good friend who is one of the best and most dedicated bird owners I know. She has recently brought to my attention that there is a common thought that every bird that plucks or mutilates is or has been abused/neglected. This is however not necessarily the cause. My friend Barb has two moluccan cockatoos. She was uneducated when she first had them and due to to Strong a bond and not understanding that interacting with a bird in front of the other bird can cause a extreme amount jealousy. Barb never abused/neglected ,and never will, her birds!  She was simply uneducated, and because of this her male is now a mutilator, and her Female is plucker. I know of birds that unless they are constantly busy they simply view they’re feathers as a source of recreation. These birds are happy and well cared for but need a huge amount of  activity to keep them busy. As you can see on her blog her birds are Extremely well cared for. She has done everything she can and still is. So though Abuse/Neglect will cause plucking /mutilation it is much more common when the owner caretaker is simply uneducated. Now when you look at a plucking bird don’t automatically assume it is abused.

Peter

Barbs blog is here http://barbsbirdsandaviary.blogspot.com/