Feather plucking is a common and poorly understood welfare problem in captive parrots and other psittacines, often reflecting chronic psychological distress.
Feather plucking in captive parrots is a welfare emergency that often reflects years of inadequate housing, social deprivation, or psychological trauma. Parrots are cognitively complex animals that evolved in rich social environments with hours of daily foraging — conditions that most captive settings cannot replicate. When plucking becomes established, it typically persists for life, representing an ongoing welfare burden. Prevention through appropriate housing, social opportunity, and foraging enrichment is far more effective than treatment.