why is my quaker parrot pulling his feathers

he has pulled all of the feathers off of his front and legs. why is he doing this?

He is "plucking." Plucking, UNLIKE molting, is NOT natural. ONLY birds in captivity do this. Wild parrots do not exhibit this behavior.

The problem is that plucking can happen for countless reasons.

How many toys does he have in his cage? Birds often pluck because they are bored. Imagine being locked in a closet 24 hours a day for the rest of your life with nothing to do. You would start finding things to do, even if it meant hurting yourself. This is often what happens when birds get bored. Put a variety of toys in your birds cage (3 minimum) of different materials (leather, wood, lace, string, beads, bells, mirrors, hard plastic, puzzle toys, etc etc).

Do you give him regular bathes? Bathing helps to keep their skin moisturized and their feathers free from extra powder. At least once a week (better more than that) offer him a dish of luke-warm water. More than likely, he will bathe himself. If not, put a peice of veggie in the water to entice him to get in. If he won't bathe himself, use a spray bottle and soak him to the skin. This encourages natural preening and cleaning as well as keeping his skin and feathers healthy.

What kind of foods fo you feed him? Quakers needs more than seed (actually, seeds are high in fat and should not be given except as treats). High quality pellets (harrisons, roudybush, etc) as a base diet and then a variety of fresh fruits and veggies, pasta (no butter or oils), cooked chicken or eggs (again, no spices or oils), etc etc are very good for them. it also helps break the boredom. Do a google or yahoo search to find more ideas.