Feather Destructive Behavior (FDB)

Feather Destructive Behavior (FDB)
Feather picking, or Feather Destructive Behavior (FDB), is a common problem in pet birds, especially among African Grey Parrots, Quakers, and Cockatoos. It can also occasionally be seen in Cockatiels, Lovebirds, and Parrotlets.

Bird owners are often deeply concerned and want to know the true cause, but pinpointing it can be quite challenging. Generally, the main causes can be divided into two major categories:


1. Medical Causes
These often stem from an underlying disease that causes the bird pain, itching, or irritation, or from conditions that directly damage the feathers. Examples of medical causes include:

Liver and Kidneys: Kidney and/or liver damage or failure.
Reproductive System: Testicular or ovarian disease.
Bones and Muscles: Musculoskeletal damage.
Gastrointestinal System: Gastrointestinal disease or dysfunction.
Infections: Viral infections.
Dermatitis: Bacterial or fungal dermatitis.
Allergies: Allergic skin disease.
Parasites: Internal or external parasites.
Nutrition: Nutritional deficiencies.

2. Behavioral Causes
This group of causes is primarily associated with boredom.

Natural Lifestyle: Normally, wild birds have plenty of activities to keep them busy throughout the day, such as spending most of their time foraging for food, seeking nesting sites, and socializing with other birds.
Captive Lifestyle: Conversely, a pet bird only needs to take a few steps to find a large bowl of food and water. If kept as a single pet, the bird may be left alone for hours when the owner goes to work. The lack of companionship and engaging activities can lead the bird to start overgrooming, which is often the initial stage of FDB.
Solutions That May Not Always Work: Some owners attempt to solve this by getting another bird as a companion. However, if the birds are unfortunately incompatible, the FDB issue may actually worsen.
Additional Behavioral Causes: Lack of exercise, inappropriate sleep patterns, and the inability to express sexual behaviors.

Diagnosis
Veterinarians will approach the diagnosis by first attempting to rule out medically-induced FDB as much as possible. This is always done while simultaneously considering and evaluating potential behavioral causes.

Article by: Dr. Pongpak Phithakpol, DVM