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Re: Plucking ???

Posted by Pete on 3/07/11
(4) Comments
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    On 3/07/11, Dave wrote:
    > On 3/04/11, Pete wrote:
    >> I have a 4 1/2 year old Female CAG who is bonded to an
    >> older male CAG. I am not a breeder, but realize that both
    >> Birds are mature. The female is fully feathered, but she
    >> no longer has nice scalloped feathers from the neck down.
    >> She seems to have stopped preening her breast and just
    >> lets it look raggety. Is this the sign of a newly mature
    >> Female who is mating or is it a problem that I should see
    >> a Vet about? THANKS
    >
    > She may have gone through an acute plucking stage. ACUTE
    > means that she'll eventually stop doing that. CHRONIC means
    > that a bird is a plucker and won't ever stop. Concerning her
    > messed up feathers, they'll remain looking like that until
    > she molts them out and new ones come in. It may take a
    > while. You'll have to wait and see.
    > As far as mating, she may be showing signs of sexual
    > behavior but she's too young to breed. They need to be kept
    > separately because after any mating goes on, either one may
    > turn on you and disown you as being a pet. Many males and
    > females do that even if they're immasture. Successful
    > breedings starts between 5 and 6 yrs old. You can see a vet
    > and get his opinion as far as health but when hens pull
    > their feathers, they do that to put into nestboxes and the
    > feathers they pull are usually located at the base of the
    > tail some some lower abdominal areas.


    THANKS Dave. They do not have a nest box and I do not
    want to lose the affection on either, so I will take your
    advice and hope for the best. THANKS again Pete