Description
Whenever you meet a condition with >35 recognised ‘causes’, you can bet your bottom dollar that no one has really sorted the problem out – this is the case with feather plucking in parrots. This problem is very complex, often multi factorial, on occasion’s refractory to therapy. In essence we divide the causes into systemic disease, management and husbandry issues and psychological conditions. It is important to recognise that some species suffer disease more often than others, this is not because they suffer systemic disease more often, of that owners of these species know less well how to look after them, but rather that individuals of these species are less able to cope with life as a single caged bird. It is only by gaining a real understanding of the differences between the life of a wild parrot and that of a pet parrot that one can begin to gain a handle on the condition. Unravelling these cases requires a deep understanding of birds, behaviour, dermatology and avian medical conditions. It is fun, exciting and all registrants will leave knowing and understanding a lot more about this frustrating condition.