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meg832
Fledgeling
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 365
Location: Ohio |
| Feathers all gone! |
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Sunday, I had a beautiful parrotlet. Monday she started pulling out feathers, and Tuesday she had no colored feathers left on her entire chest and belly-- just gray down. Today she has just about finished off the colored feathers on her back and her wings and tail look as if a cat had munched on her! On Monday, I was assured by the breader that this is a molt-- her first big one since she is just over one year old. The only place her skin actually shows is over her crop, just a little bit when it is full. She is getting a bath every day, extra vitamins, and plenty of chew toys (which are taking a beating!).
I never expected her to look this ratty! Our parakeet never looked this bad! Is this normal for a parrotlet? |
Friday April 20, 2007 3:34 am |
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Cheeta
Moderator
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 7970
Location: Australia |
wow, that sounds serious... I don't know if I've ever seen a bird every molt so bad that there's actually no feather left apart from downs.... I can't imagine a bird would ever naturally moult to state where it doesn't allow them to fly away if they are ever in danger.
If I was in that situation, I would definitely them it to a good avian vet to make sure that there's nothing to causing it to pluck it's feathers. conditions like mites might cause the sudden change in behaviour medically, but I really can't tell you why she'd be doing it now.
Do you hear her squill or squeak, like in pain kinda thing? this would show that she's plucking. I'm so sorry to hear that she's going through this. Again, I am sorry, but in my opinion, this is not molting, too extreme, something is wrong, either plucking, or something is causing her feathers to fall out at a very very fast rate... |
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Friday April 20, 2007 7:29 am |
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Fluffy Sue
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 10073
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I have never heard of parrotlets pulling out feathers, but then again, I'm not very familiar with them.
I agree with Cheeta.. I would take him to a good avian vet to rule out medical things. |
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Friday April 20, 2007 7:47 am |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7402
Location: Canada, Toronto |
This cannot be a moult, birds in the wild would never moult like this, and I'm surprised your breeder told you that. And you said you've actually seen her pulling out feathers right? when birds are moulting, the feathers just easily fall off while the bird is preeing, the bird wouldn't actually pull them out.
I agree with Sue and Bih, take her to the vet to rule out any physical reasons for why she may be plucking. |
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Friday April 20, 2007 12:56 pm |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7402
Location: Canada, Toronto |
Just another thought, Bih already mentioned that it could be mites, I just wanted to add that it may also be something in her diet that she's allergic to. For example a lot of birds are allergic to certain food colourings, so if you're giving her any types of coloured pellets, or any commercial parrot treats, she could be allergic to them, and they would make her skin itch, causing her to chew or pluck her feathers. |
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Friday April 20, 2007 1:00 pm |
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Cheeta
Moderator
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 7970
Location: Australia |
Meg, how is your little one going with the feathers?!?! |
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Saturday April 21, 2007 5:53 am |
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meg832
Fledgeling
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 365
Location: Ohio |
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quote:
I don't know if I've ever seen a bird every molt so bad that there's actually no feather left apart from downs.... I can't imagine a bird would ever naturally moult to state where it doesn't allow them to fly away if they are ever in danger.
It is only the colored feathers on her chest, belly and lower back that she removed. Her head, wings and tail are intact even though the long feathers look worn. Her flying skills are unharmed.
quote:
Do you hear her squill or squeak, like in pain kinda thing? this would show that she's plucking.
No, no squeeks, no blood, no irritated skin. In fact, I watched her carefully. While grooming, she would just flip these feathers away, as if they were used up. She took them out in a 48 hour period. On inspection, I could tell that the discarded feathers were old ones, but they had not been mutilated. In fact, she left a big beautiful new colored one right in the middle of her chest. Also, I noticed that she is doing all of this very gently, the little tongue caressing each feather or bit of down as she works her way over her body. (She does the same to my hands.) When she scratches her head with her foot, feathers fly, so I know there are a bunch ready to be replaced. I can feel pins under her down. That's why I thought it was a molt. I was just surprised that she was so impatient with the old feathers. I should let her weed my wardrobe...
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Bih already mentioned that it could be mites, I just wanted to add that it may also be something in her diet that she's allergic to.
Those are good points, and part of the reason I showed her to the breeder. Her living situation is such that it would be extremely difficult for her to pick up mites, but I will continue to keep that in mind. Her diet is very clean, NO colors or additives, and has been the same for 10 months. The breeder sent some vitamins after she saw her since the first molt is a hard one.
Other possibilities I thought of were 1. Something sprayed on the "organic" produce (unlikely) 2. Neighbor's air freshener seeping in under my door (but she is kept by a $$$ air scrubber) 3. Nervousness (but I can't find any changes) 4. Boredom (but she is extremely busy with her toys, singing, and not squawking. 5. Lotion from a friend's hands (but this lady uses only 100% natural products, had washed hands, has held the bird many times without problems, did not touch the bird's chest, and the bird had a bath afterwards anyway.)
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Meg, how is your little one going with the feathers?!?!
She looks no worse than she did the day I posted. She's playing, singing, eating like a pig, bathing, and... grooming! |
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Saturday April 21, 2007 6:46 pm |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7402
Location: Canada, Toronto |
Meg is it possible for you to post a photo of her? I've never seen a moult like this, but if the feathers are just easily coming out as she is preening softly, maybe it is?
I know this is totally different bird species, but when my doves moult, they actually get bare spots on the face and around their neck and crop, but never on back and belly, but when I first saw them like that I seriously freaked out, I thought they had mites. 
It's hard to tell though, it doesn't sound to me like it's got anything to do with boredom or anything like that, my best guess is she's having an allergic reaction to something in the environment.. but I don't know.
By the way, does she have a lot of pin feathers coming in? |
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Saturday April 21, 2007 7:03 pm |
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meg832
Fledgeling
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 365
Location: Ohio |
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quote:
Meg is it possible for you to post a photo of her?
Sorry, no camera, and a computer too old to support loading/sending photos.
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when my doves moult, they actually get bare spots on the face and around their neck and crop, but never on back and belly,
Her back and belly aren't bare; they are covered with down. She has a bare spot over her crop when it is full.
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my best guess is she's having an allergic reaction to something in the environment
I keep looking for allergens. She is away from the pricey air cleaner at night; I could possibly keep her near it, but it will not be as dark or as quiet as her usual night spot. She gets filtered water; I could run it through the filter twice. I doubt that it is her food since she has been on it most of her life without problems, and it is very high quality and custom mixed for her.
One thing I'v thought of-- she is near florescent lights all day. Maybe I should rig a full-spectrum light near her. Since the seasons determine molting (dont they?) maybe the quality of the light has something to do with the suddenness of the feather loss.
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By the way, does she have a lot of pin feathers coming in?
Well, there aren't as many yet as there were when she was 4 months old and looked like a cactus. She had grown so much that a LOT of bird had to be covered with new feathers. (well, maybe there as many, but they aren't as big so far) However, there are pinfeathers-- enough that she feels scratchy when I pet her, and enough that getting head scritches is spikey. |
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Sunday April 22, 2007 1:33 am |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7402
Location: Canada, Toronto |
Just a thought, but what age do Parrotlet's reach sexual maturity? Perhaps it's sexual frustration and hormones causing her to pluck?
By your description, I'm really doubtful that it's a moult, they should never lose so much feathers that you can see the down underneath.
 sorry I guess I'm not much of a help..  |
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Sunday April 22, 2007 1:47 am |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7402
Location: Canada, Toronto |
Meg, I just found this:
The most common cause of picking I see is intestinal yeast (meaning candida – a fungus) infection. Unfortunately this sort of infection is itself a symptom of a deficient diet, of soiled produce (fruit, vegetable, pasta), or dirty water, or simply due to a baby bird infection that was never cleared up. A yeast infection itches. It is as simple as that. But in addition to a sour belly, it can also cause an allergic reaction in the skin, which makes the bird feel dry and which causes it to pick and scratch. Eventually the colonies of yeast living on the walls of the intestines block food from being absorbed into the body.
http://www.parrotsite.com/feather-picking.html
I know she has a good, healthy diet, but maybe she got it as a baby? I know a lot of infections can stay dormant in parrots for a long time before they show symptoms. |
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Sunday April 22, 2007 1:59 am |
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Cheeta
Moderator
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 7970
Location: Australia |
Hi Meg,
From reading your post, if she's not plucking it out herself, I would be extremely worry if she is my bird simply that no bird should loose that much feathers all at once. Pin feathers will form as soon as the 'old' feathers are gone (unless the folicles are damaged already), so it doesn't actually mean that if she has pin feathers, it means she's molting, it just means that her folicles are still healthy.
I would take her to a vet immediately. As much as I think breeders are helpful, they are not vet. that's just my opinion. |
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Sunday April 22, 2007 5:26 am |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7402
Location: Canada, Toronto |
Meg, how's your parrotlet doing? Did you take her to the vet yet? |
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Wednesday April 25, 2007 12:47 am |
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meg832
Fledgeling
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 365
Location: Ohio |
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quote:
Pin feathers will form as soon as the 'old' feathers are gone (unless the folicles are damaged already), so it doesn't actually mean that if she has pin feathers, it means she's molting, it just means that her folicles are still healthy.
. The question then, is whether she took them out because she was molting or if she plucked them out and they are now growing back! I can’t find any signs of irritated skin. She is now only grooming her feathers , and has not pulled out even one since my excited post. The last expert I showed her to said that sometimes they get overly ambitious on their first adult molt and yank out feathers before they need to and that she will go through her next molt more gracefully. I am inclined to believe this person because the bird’s unplucked head is full of pinfeathers, and new wing feather pins have appeared even though she did not pull out her wing feathers and tail.
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Meg, how's your parrotlet doing? Did you take her to the vet yet?
I cannot get in at the vet’s until May. The bird is doing well, though. She already has lots of new colored feathers were she had exposed her down. I have watched for any beak to skin contact; there is none. I have only seen her scratch her head once in three days, and it was not frantic or prolonged. She is getting her vitamins and probiotics every day. She has live greens by her cage and snacks on them freely. Her weight is unchanged and perfect. All her poop has been picture perfect; eating and drinking normal and enthusiastic. She spends most of her time playing and singing. I have set up a full spectrum light in case poor lighting conditions caused any abnormality in her molt. I made new chew toys for her so that she will not be tempted to make a habit of over-grooming herself. |
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Wednesday April 25, 2007 4:12 pm |
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Cheeta
Moderator
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 7970
Location: Australia |
that's great to hear that your little baby is growing her feathers back!  that's great news!
may be it is just a very extreme case of molt. She must be extremely irritated with all those pinnies... my budgies gets a case of depression when they have a heavy molt... hehe.. they don't tolerate their cage mates very well.. hehe... poor baby.. I hope she looks like a brand new bird soon!  |
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Wednesday April 25, 2007 4:50 pm |
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