Ask Lafeber

Cockatiel feather plucking his mate around the head.

I have a male cockatiel who has great plummage, but he is constantly overgrooming/plucking his female mate. She does not correct him or get upset with him to get him to stop. They are both vet checked and otherwise healthy. Any suggestions to get it to stop. Separating them causes significant stress to the two of them.

Hi,

Sometimes mates do that. Make sure they have plenty of toys to keep them busy. Foraging exercise to find their food can also keep them occupied. As long as he isn’t drawing blood, he isn’t really hurting her. I don’t know if these are breeding birds, but a lot of breeding birds pluck their mates.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda