Help needed

[Barbary Boy]

ive just had a call from a lad i sold a male h/hawk to last year, the bird was well flown all last season and caught a good many head, this year hes started off very well again but in the last week or so apparently the bird has been plucking its own chest? it dosnt appear to have mites or anything and isnt bored as he spends lots of time with it, it is flown nearly every day. any ideas?

[Kanati]

have not ad that problem before..it could be anything from skin problems to mental problems? get it checked by a vet for physical problems, and analyse how ou are treating it which could be causing some kind of stress. :confused: good luck mate

[Blaze]

May be its after a Make over!.......Fashion changes on a yearly basis........:roll:

[Osiris]

Hey m8 - i have seen a bird do this before. sometimes it can be caused by boredome (spelling)... although something may b irratating its skin etc. As advised, get him to an avian vet to see if there is in fact anything physically/internally wrong with him. If there is nothing, try changing his daily routine, by getting him interested in something.

All the best

Jamie

[Barbary Boy]

thanks guys, apparently the bird had a bit of a ruck with a hedge/fence last week ! im wondering if maybe its got a thorn in its chest? and is trying to preen it out?

[Osiris]

not sure m8. some bushes etc. do have some irratant powders etc in them so maybe he has something on his skin etc. not sure tho but its a possibility

hope he's ok m8

[Pitbull]

thanks guys, apparently the bird had a bit of a ruck with a hedge/fence last week ! im wondering if maybe its got a thorn in its chest? and is trying to preen it out?

maybe something smaller like a skelf (splinter) But if the same was happening to your dog you would take it to the Vet:confused:

[Tr1gger]

thanks guys, apparently the bird had a bit of a ruck with a hedge/fence last week ! im wondering if maybe its got a thorn in its chest? and is trying to preen it out?

Sounds like a strong possibility thats the problem there

Try and give him a gd bath and see if that stops it

[Shaun Byrne]

My mates female does it every year. Plucks for about 2 weeks then stops. He's tried everything but now just lives with it.

[Coedhirion]

You say the bird hasn't got mites, but why is he so sure? It's just a thought, but has the bird taken the feathers off its legs as well?? If so it could be red mite. They crawl up at night, suck blood and go hide in the day. They set up an irritation too. Check the corners of the birds quarters with a torch at night, if there are a lot, they are in clusters. If it is a thorne or some irritant, the vet is the safest bet.

[RabbitHawker]

It could well be mites although you may not see them. It's worth taking it to AN AVIAN vet to get either Ivermectin or Frontline, either or both of which will kill the mites. A friends falcon did this with mites last year, and looked a mess for a while.
Chris

[GDN]

Some HH are very prone to plucking. Was speaking to my vet about it because i have a male HH who does it every so often. He was saying it could be any number of reasons with HH.

The first time my HH did it he was antibiotics and i thought that might of caused it. I then put him down for moult and he was fine. He came out looking stunning. After about 2 months of flying he did it again. I had him at the lower end of his flying weight so i thought it might of been that and decided to take him up a bit. Just as the feathers were starting to come back through he did it again and i had given him a good feed the night before. So not hunger. Now keeping him free lofted and flying him out of the aviary. Hopefully he will be happier and stop the plucking.

The vet told me about a HH that as soon as it had finished the moult and you started to take it's weight down it would pluck. The only way the owner could stop it was to keep the bird in the pitch black.