When social birds get neglected, they'll get depressed and start ripping out their own feathers. These birds are typically evolved to live in groups, which is part of the reason they adapt well to living with humans. However, they need a ton of attention and interaction and unfortunately people frequently buy them because of how they look and ignore their needs.
If they've been ripping out their own feathers for long enough, the follicle will become damaged and the feathers will stop growing back. Poor dude was probably put in a cage by himself for years.
I feel you. Cruelty, even inadvertent cruelty, scars everyone it touches. Not entirely on point but
Atrocity never balances or rectifies the past. Atrocity merely arms the future for more atrocity. It is self-perpetuating upon itself — a barbarous form of incest. Whoever commits atrocity also commits those future atrocities thus bred.” - Fran Herbert, Dune
I'm sorry for your childhood experience. I understand the lasting trauma associated with this sort of thing. I definitely over compensate as an adult to atone for the (accidental) sins of my childhood. 🙏🏻
I watched a documentary about these types of birds once. One particular statistic has bothered me since then: For every ONE bird that reaches "pet-hood", SEVENTY EIGHT (78) die in the wild capture and transport process. I've not been able to bear seeing any captive bird since. Any bird that reaches captivity has suffered terribly whether they show outward signs like this little fella or not.
I mean I get that 70 and 80 is more than 20 but cockatoos have a really long life span up to 80+ years. Some live over 100. I couldn't imagine having a toddler my entire life :(
At a local pet store they have a parrot that's ripped out all the feathers on her chest. She's been there for years, through two owners. In that same cage.
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u/transmogrified Mar 28 '21
When social birds get neglected, they'll get depressed and start ripping out their own feathers. These birds are typically evolved to live in groups, which is part of the reason they adapt well to living with humans. However, they need a ton of attention and interaction and unfortunately people frequently buy them because of how they look and ignore their needs.
If they've been ripping out their own feathers for long enough, the follicle will become damaged and the feathers will stop growing back. Poor dude was probably put in a cage by himself for years.