Preening is an essential part of a bird’s hygiene and health. Birds have around 5,000 to 25,000 feathers on their bodies that serve a variety of purposes like enabling flight, regulating body temperature, protecting internal organs and repelling water.
What is preening?
Preening refers to how birds use their beaks to groom, clean and maintain their feathers. They do this by nibbling along each feather to remove dirt, old oil and parasitic microorganisms.
The preen oil secreted from the uropygial gland near the base of a bird’s tail is distributed onto the feathers during preening. This oil helps keep the feathers flexible and waterproof.
Preening allows birds to:
- Spread preen oil over their feathers to maintain feather integrity and impermeability
- Remove debris and dead skin from their feathers
- Align feather barbs so they zip together properly
- Assess feather wear and damage
In addition to regular maintenance, birds may also preen excessively due to stress, boredom or novelty in their environment. Observant bird owners can gain insight into their bird’s health and comfort levels by paying attention to preening habits.
Why is preening important?
Preening is vital for a bird’s ability to fly and conserve body heat. Healthy feathers with adequate preen oil repel water, keeping the bird dry, warm and buoyant in the air.
Dirty, damaged and misaligned feathers lose their aerodynamic properties and insulating abilities. A bird’s feathers get soiled easily from dust, food and droppings. Frayed edges and separated barbs occur over time and need realignment.
Without proper preening, birds can face the following risks:
- Hypothermia – Heat loss from poor insulation
- Impaired flight – Drag from separated feather barbs
- Skin infections – Accumulation of droppings, food and dander near the skin
- Parasite infestation – Microbes and external parasites housed in feathers reach the skin
Preening helps counteract these adverse effects. It is so essential that most birds spend between 30-60% of their waking hours preening and spreading preen oil. Their health and wellbeing depend on their dedication to this built-in feather care routine.
How often should birds preen?
The preening frequency varies across bird species, but on average they should preen for 4-8 hours spaced throughout the day. Specific preening recommendations include:
- Small birds like finches: 30-50 minutes per session, 2-3 times daily
- Medium birds like conures: 45-90 minutes, 2-4 times daily
- Large birds like macaws: 60-120 minutes, at least 3 times daily
After bathing or while molting, preening needs may significantly increase to adequately spread preen oil over emerging feathers. Depending on the bird’s health, temperament and environment, preening duration can range from a few minutes to a few hours consecutively.
Some bird species are meticulous preeners while others spend minimal time on feather upkeep. It is normal for preening requirements to vary, but a drastic decline likely signifies an underlying issue.
Signs of normal preening
When birds are preening normally, they will display the following behaviors:
- Appear relaxed and methodical when preening
- Preen in frequent, short sessions throughout the day
- Use their beak to gently nibble and align each feather
- Rotate their head and neck to reach all feather groups
- Spread preen oil from the uropygial gland using their beak
- Ruffle feathers and preen after bathing
- Drop feather sheaths during the molting period
Healthy preening does not cause broken feathers, bald spots, skin irritation or bleeding. The feathers retain their flexibility, shine and alignment from regular upkeep.
Why do birds overpreen?
In some cases, birds begin to overpreen, causing feather damage, skin injury and other issues. Possible reasons for overpreening include:
- Feather mites – Microscopic mites that irritate the skin and prompt excessive preening
- Allergies – From new food, products or the environment
- Skin infections – Preening to relieve itchy fungal or bacterial infections
- Poor nutrition – Deficiency of proteins, amino acids or minerals needed for feathers
- Stress – Emotional distress from changes, neglect or perceived threats
- Boredom – Inadequate mental stimulation and activity
- Attention-seeking – Using preening to get reactions from owners
In these cases, resolving the underlying problem is necessary to curb overpreening. Simply trimming damaged feathers can help minimize further mutilation in the short-term.
Why do birds underpreen?
Sometimes birds neglect their feather maintenance for the following reasons:
- Illness – Feeling unwell from infections, tumors or metabolic disorders
- Overgrown beak – Unable to grip and preen properly
- Arthritis – Stiff joints limit neck and foot mobility
- Overweight – Excess fat restricts their reach
- Blunted feathers – Damaged feathers no longer elicit preening
- Physical disability – Constraints from prior injury or trauma
- Old age – Diminished eyesight and flexibility
Since adequate preening is so crucial for a bird’s health, any underlying issues leading to underpreening should be quickly addressed.
Signs of inadequate preening
Birds that are not preening enough will display:
- Ruffled, dirty and broken feathers
- Scaly skin with dander and shedding
- Evidence of parasites – mites, lice eggs
- Loss of waterproofing – saturated feathers
- Reduced flying and activity
- Low energy and impaired mobility
- Repeated skin scratching
Allowing poor feather condition to persist can severely impact a bird’s wellbeing over time. Proper preening needs to be reestablished.
How can I encourage preening?
As a bird owner, you can promote preening by:
- Providing a varied, balanced diet – for adequate protein
- Spraying baths 2-3 times weekly – to activate preening
- Giving food inside shredding toys – to trim overgrown beaks
- Exposing them to natural sunlight – for vitamin D3
- Ensuring they get 10-12 hours of sleep daily – critical for feather health
- Keeping their environment clean – preventing feather soiling
- Trimming broken feather tips – to prevent further damage
- Using stress reduction techniques – toys, perches, positive interaction
You can also help a bird gain confidence preening tricky head and neck spots they cannot easily reach themselves.
Is it okay to preen my bird?
Lightly preening your bird can strengthen the bond between you. However, birds usually preen themselves sufficiently and do not require human assistance.
To preen your bird:
- Establish trust through hand feeding, clicker training and other positive interactions first
- Work in short 5-10 minute intervals to avoid irritating their skin
- Focus on preening the head, neck and other hard-to-reach areas
- Avoid overpreening their back, wings and tail areas
- Use gentle motions and pay attention to their reaction
- Stop immediately if they seem stressed or agitated
While many birds learn to enjoy light preening from their owners, others may become territorial over their feathers. Never force preening on a bird that is not receptive to it.
Potential risks of overpreening your bird
Too much preening from a human risks:
- Overpreening certain areas, causing feather damage
- Removing healthy feathers the bird was not prepared to molt
- Exposing pin feathers before they are ready to emerge
- Causing skin abrasions or cuts with fingernails
- Introducing microbes from your hands to your bird’s skin
- Stressing out your bird and damaging your bond
To avoid these risks, follow your bird’s cues, preen minimally and focus on areas they have difficulty reaching themselves. Invest time in other bonding activities too like clicker training, playing and conversing.
Signs your bird needs an avian vet visit
Schedule an appointment with a qualified avian vet if your bird shows:
- Sudden increase in feather picking and self-mutilation
- Bald spots or skin damage from overpreening
- Crusty skin, sap-like growths or scabs
- Accumulation of flakes, dander or scales
- Missing patches of feather sheaths after molting
- Evidence of external parasites like lice or mites
- Increased skin scratching against perches or toys
- Loss of feathers, weakness or reduced mobility
The vet can identify any underlying issues and provide appropriate treatment to resolve inadequate preening and feather damage. Proper nutrition, hydration and environment adjustments may also be recommended.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I trim my bird’s feathers?
You should never trim your bird’s healthy feathers. However, you can lightly trim the tips of broken blood feathers with styptic powder to prevent hemorrhage until they fully molt out. Leave all intact feathers alone.
Do birds preen each other?
Yes, birds housed together will often allopreen as they bond. They will gently preen head and neck feathers their companion cannot easily reach. But most preening time is still spent on self-maintenance.
When do baby birds start preening?
Chicks begin practicing preening motions with siblings in the nest. Once fledged, juvenile birds progressively preen more independently at 2-3 weeks old as they grow in feathers. Parent birds continue allopreening youngsters at first.
Do birds sleep while preening?
Birds generally do not sleep while actively preening since it requires focused effort. But it is common for them to briefly doze off during preening breaks once fatigue sets in after hours of feather upkeep.
Can preening behavior be a learned trait?
Yes, birds can pick up preening mannerisms from each other when housed together. More meticulous preeners may influence caged mates to spend more time on feather upkeep. But the motivation remains instinctual.
| Bird Species | Preening Duration |
|---|---|
| Budgie | 1-2 hours daily |
| Cockatiel | 2-3 hours daily |
| Conure | 3-4 hours daily |
| Macaw | 4-6 hours daily |
| Amazon | 2-5 hours daily |
| African Grey | 3-5 hours daily |
| Lovebird | 1-3 hours daily |
Can I use a feather preening toy?
Plastic feather preening toys are generally ineffective and ignored by birds. They lack the tactile simulation birds seek when preening. Intricate foraging toys that make birds work for treats can encourage natural preening better.
Conclusion
Preening serves an important purpose for avian health and hygiene. All bird owners should learn to recognize normal vs abnormal preening habits in their birds and identify any husbandry adjustments that could promote healthy feather maintenance. Support your bird’s innate preening needs by providing proper diet, bathing access, sleep and an enriching environment. Schedule a veterinary visit for birds showing signs of distressed or damaging preening behaviors to resolve the underlying issue. With attentive care and observation, you can ensure your bird’s feathers remain in peak form through their dedicated preening rituals.
