Any way to induce a molt besides plucking?

[Shirley]

My 8 year old cockatiel has been depressed since he got an extreme
wing trim at the vets about two months ago and now all he does is
sleep all day unless I constantly play with him, which I don't have
time to do.

He was extremely active and vocal just before the trim. We usually do
the trims ourselves and he can still fly but it takes more effort for
him. This time, he was at the vets anyway for something else (turned
out to be nothing) and she did the trim for us and he can hardly fly
at all. Within a few days he became very quiet, stopped vocalizing and
started sleeping all day long. He's otherwise healthy, eating, and his
droppings look normal, and I think if he molts and grows back his
flight feathers, he'll be alright, but he's not molting. He hasn't
molted in about 6 months and I want to do something to make him molt,
but the vet says the only thing that will do that is to pluck out the
trimmed feathers. I hate to do that if there's some other way. Does
anyone know of anything that will bring on a molt besides plucking?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Shirley

P.S. - A side effect of this whole thing is that his sleep cycle has
gotten all turned around and now that he sleeps all day long, he's
active at night and fusses a lot when I put him to bed. I think it's
because he's not getting sufficient exercise to wear him out by
nighttime. I try to exercise him several times a day, but it's not the
same as when he used to be active on his own all day.

[Anthony Olszewski]

Shirley wrote:
>
> My 8 year old cockatiel has been depressed since he got an extreme
> wing trim at the vets about two months ago and now all he does is
> sleep all day unless I constantly play with him, which I don't have
> time to do.

SNIP

and I think if he molts and grows back his
> flight feathers, he'll be alright, but he's not molting. He hasn't
> molted in about 6 months and I want to do something to make him molt,
> but the vet says the only thing that will do that is to pluck out the
> trimmed feathers. I hate to do that if there's some other way. Does
> anyone know of anything that will bring on a molt besides plucking?
>
> Thanks in advance for any info.
>
> Shirley

Cutting the bird's light down to eight hours a day by an hour a week
should induce a heavy molt.

Discuss this with your vet. If the bird's real problem is not some
psychological "depression", but a stress induced problem (What was the
original "nothing" that brought about the vet trip?), the additional
stress of moulting could prove fatal.

Has there been any other changes in the bird's husbandry?

Keep in mind that many birds are "cared for" into any early grave!

--
Anthony Olszewski

PETCRAFT
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[DH]

Shirley (ms...@pacbell.net) wrote:
: My 8 year old cockatiel has been depressed since he got an extreme
: wing trim at the vets about two months ago and now all he does is
: sleep all day unless I constantly play with him, which I don't have
: time to do.

Hi Shirley,

Poor little guy. I have a cockatiel hen who was obese and badly clipped
when she was given to me. It seems to take forever for that moult,
doesn't it?

I agree that plucking his wing feathers is a bit extreme. For now, you
can try moving his perches and such in a way that will make it easy for
him to move from one to the other. You might try putting in some cotton
perches, so he can grip them with his claws. Since he can't use his
wings, he might be a bit timid about climbing/perching on slick wood
branches.

You can try setting up a timer on your t.v. and positioning his cage so
that he can see it. During the day, have the t.v. come on once or twice
for an hour or so. Try to find a station/time when there is a kid's
program (lots of singing and activity) on, so it will keep his
attention. After an hour, it will probably start to lose its effect.

Wedge or tie balsa, soft pine, leather with beads/knots to the bars next
to the perches. Rotate/replace them often. Keep him entertained as best
you can.

At worst, you'll have to put up with a bored, fat bird for a few more
months until he moults. My little hen started to show a bit more energy
when she had stuff to keep her busy. After her wings grew back in, she
was fine. Hopefully, your little guy will bounce back soon.
--
\|/
O<....spe...@netcom.com
^(_)^ spector had a little bird, a 'tiel hen named Merlot,
_||__ and everywhere that spector went, the hen was sure to go!

[ellen beth kessler]

In <53m17p$k...@news2.snfc21.pacbell.net> ms...@pacbell.net (Shirley)
writes:

>
>My 8 year old cockatiel has been depressed since he got an extreme
>wing trim at the vets about two months ago and now all he does is
>sleep all day unless I constantly play with him, which I don't have
>time to do.
>

>He was extremely active and vocal just before the trim. We usually do
>the trims ourselves and he can still fly but it takes more effort for
>him. This time, he was at the vets anyway for something else (turned
>out to be nothing) and she did the trim for us and he can hardly fly
>at all. Within a few days he became very quiet, stopped vocalizing and
>started sleeping all day long. He's otherwise healthy, eating, and his

>droppings look normal, and I think if he molts and grows back his

>flight feathers, he'll be alright, but he's not molting. He hasn't
>molted in about 6 months and I want to do something to make him molt,
>but the vet says the only thing that will do that is to pluck out the
>trimmed feathers. I hate to do that if there's some other way. Does
>anyone know of anything that will bring on a molt besides plucking?
>
>Thanks in advance for any info.
>
>Shirley
>

>P.S. - A side effect of this whole thing is that his sleep cycle has
>gotten all turned around and now that he sleeps all day long, he's
>active at night and fusses a lot when I put him to bed. I think it's
>because he's not getting sufficient exercise to wear him out by
>nighttime. I try to exercise him several times a day, but it's not the
>same as when he used to be active on his own all day.
>

The stress of the wing-trim could have brought some subclinical illness
to the surface. I wouldn't assume that the wing trim is what's causing
your bird's depression. I would bring him to another avian vet and have
his poop looked at and his blood tested.

The safest way for feathers to grow back is to let them just naturally
molt out and grown in. However, reducing the amount of light or
increasing the amount of light dramatically will force the bird into a
molt. But I do NOT recommend this as it adds unnecesary stress to an
already stressed out bird.

Ellen