One of your bird's most frequent and most enjoyable habits to watch, is preening. Your bird will normally spend a great deal of time every day industriously working with her feathers, one at a time, keeping them neat, clean and in top condition. Only your bird can properly groom her feathers, and under normal circumstances she can do so with no help, using her beak and feet. Preening helps waterproof the feathers and removes the sheaths through which they emerge. Mutual preening is common between cage mates.

Occasionally a bird's feathers will be in poor condition when she can't preen because of a neck or back injury. This can also happen with hand-raised babies who never learn preening from their parents. In these cases you should consult your bird's veterinarian.

Your bird's feathers are fairly delicate and crucial to her health because they protect her skin, help her fly and preserve her body heat. You can help stimulate her preening behavior with frequent baths by provide suitable bathing facilities for her. You should also make sure her cage is clean and large enough that she doesn't damage her feathers by rubbing against the sides and that her perch is high enough to give her plenty of clearance.

You should never use any kind of oily or greasy substances on your bird's feathers, as they will stick the feathers together, and your bird will become frantic trying to remove the foreign substance. Feathers stuck together by oil or grease lose most of their insulating qualities, and the bird's body temperature falls quickly; she will sicken and possibly die. If your bird will be free from her cage, you must take every precaution to make sure she cannot come into contact with these substances.

If, for some reason, oil or grease does get on your bird's feathers, you must remove it quickly and make sure her body temperature is maintained by raising the room temperature to 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.