Stephanie’s Feathered Family

At this time of year many of us are starting to see feathers in the bottom of the cage. I and several other bird owners have noticed that most of our birds are in a very heavy moult this year.

What is moulting? Moulting is where old feathers start to become dull and naturally fall out to be replaced with new feathers coming out as pin feathers. Your bird may be a bit cranky or moody during this time as it’s kind’ve like wearing a coat with pins in it. So when handling your bird be considerate of the new feathers coming out. Try giving your bird an extra shower during the week or take 32 oz of water and add 2 aloe vera gel capsules (remove the outer capsule of course) and spray your bird down with the solution once a day to help keep the pin feathers soft and the skin from drying out.

What is a good moult verses a bad moult. A good moult is when feathers are lost over the whole of the body. A bad moult is when your bird looses a bunch of feathers in patches and you see bald spots down to the skin. If you see these bald spots it would be a good idea to take your bird to your avian vet to get a check up. Make certain your vet looks into your birds’ mouth to make sure that there is no evidence of vitamin deficiencies. Have your vet get a fecal sample and if you can afford it a blood panel.

Signs of plucking: When you see a bunch of feathers on the floor of the cage that is where you need to look, those lost feathers. Look at the shaft of the feathers. Is the shaft round? If the shaft is round and untouched, most likely this feather is naturally moulted. Is the shaft broken, crushed, have a touch of blood in it? When the shaft is crushed or broken it’s a good idea to look closely to the other feathers in the bottom of the cage. Some birds, when moulting grab the moulted feather after it’s detatched from the body and play with the feather. If the feathers don’t all look this way then most likely this is what your bird is doing, playing with old feathers. If all the feather shafts look broken or crushed most likely your bird is either over grooming or plucking. Do the feathers look fully developed or new with the pin feather sheath still on the feather? Most birds that are not pluckers will leave new feathers completely alone. But, when you see new feathers that still have the feather sheath still on it in the bottom of the cage then most likely there is a problem, either there was an injury to the feather that irritated your bird to the point it felt the need to pull the feather or your bird is plucking. In either of these cases it is a good idea to have your vet take a look at your bird. Some species, such as the patagonian conure, are prone to ingrown feathers which is due to malnutrition or diet change so it’s always a good idea to be aware of what is going on with your bird and when it doubt get the bird to the vet.

Remember, as a good bird parront it’s up to us to figure out if something is wrong with our fid and we do that by observation.

Hope all is well with you.

Stephanie Tillitt