#feather loss

[birdcoorner]

COLUMBID SPECIALISTS, I HAVE A QUESTION...

My frustration and anxiety about this has reached its limit.

I have two female ringneck doves, a white pied (Ambie), and a tangerine (Orion). I rescued both back in July 2015. They’ve bonded to one another, and are still together now. 

In November 2018, I began to notice Ambie losing feathers right below her beak/neck area. She’s had molts like that before, so I wasn’t concerned. Into the next year (2019), I noticed the patch growing bigger. Nothing was growing back, so I did some research, and read that the feathers sometimes take a while to grow back in. I gave it more time. 

What tipped me towards assuming something was wrong was when Ori started forming a bald spot on the back of her head. I reached out to their vet. And the vet said “it happens, and sometimes, there is no reason.” There were no bugs, or mites, and the fecal samples came back clear of parasites, ringworm was a primary concern. They never showed sickness symptoms, and were lively and well. 

I was frustrated with that answer, reluctant to believe there was simply “no reason”. So I reached out to another vet, in late 2019 who had known the birds well from when I first got them. Also, a specialist in columbidae... I was hopeful. They both had thorough examinations, fecal samples tested, and some extra nutritional supplements to potentially cover any essentials they weren’t getting enough of. 

Tests? Negative. Examination? Nothing noteworthy. Overall? Happy, healthy, pest free, parasite free, but getting more patchy. Ori’s head patch has grown, and Ambie’s neck patch has remained at large with little to no signs of regrowth. The vet didn’t seem terribly concerned, since they were doing just fine otherwise. But I mean... my birds are balding.......

Time to seek specialist number three! July 2019, I sent a message to the Ramsey Loft (theramseyloft(dot)tumblr(dot)com.) She’s wonderful. But even she wasn’t sure what it could possibly be, mentioning she hadn’t had experience with something of that sort.

She was the last one I mentioned it to. I was too frustrated to see or ask anyone else, and just gave up. They flap and fly, and perch, eat, drink, run around, take naps... there is just NOTHING out of the ordinary aside from the patches! 

So, I had a new thought... They’d been patch free three years into living together... it started so late. But what if they are over preening? Or plucking one another?

Ori always preens around Ambie’s neck, and Ambie always preen around Ori’s head. 

I started putting that in my head as the justification as to why they are looking the way they are. And I sat with it for a good while, a good year.

But I just let them out, watched them relax, and just... lost it. I’m losing my mind.

I started thinking about their ages. Ambie is about six now, and Orion maybe around eight. But even that research didn’t come up with feather loss being a thing in aging doves. I just... am running out of personal options, before I go to another vet.

They say don’t ask the internet for opinions. I’m just so tired of re-reading the same articles that say “it’s a molt!” “cocks pluck hens sometimes!” “parasites, or mites!” No. It’s not any of that! And I have tried separating them already, and all they did was panic when they couldn’t see each other. I can’t do that to them, they’re getting too old for that kind of stress.

So, Tumblr... anyone who may be able to give me another possibility that hasn’t crossed my mind... can you please tell me what I’m missing? There are no mites, no bugs, no parasites, no signs of illness. They have hard-shelled eggs, good droppings, high energy, alertness, and a good appetite.

This was April 2018.

This is Ori just this evening, March 2021.

This is Ambie, March 2021.

I’m desperate, and irritated, and just want to take care of my little birds...

[mhoganmell]

Rooster Drama Solved: Building a Safe Space for Our Overenthusiastic Boys

Our hens have been losing feathers. At first, we thought it was just molting, but after a little research, we discovered the truth: our roosters were overzealous. Overbred, to be exact. Now, don’t get me wrong—our roosters are total sweethearts. I couldn’t bring myself to cull them—they didn’t deserve that. So instead, I convinced Ryan to build them their very own bachelor pad. He got creative.…

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[ainawgsd]

Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a viral disease affecting all Old World and New World parrots. It attacks the feather follicles and the beak and claw matrices of the bird, causing progressive feather, claw and beak malformation and necrosis. In later stages of the disease, feather shaft constriction occurs, hampering development until eventually all feather growth stops. Cracking and peeling of the outer layers of the claws and beak make tissues vulnerable to secondary infection. Immunosuppression also occurs and the bird becomes more vulnerable to secondary infections. Beak fractures and necrosis of the hard palate can prevent the bird from eating. It occurs in both an acutely fatal form and a chronic form.

The acute form of the disease is manifested by lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea. Due to the severe immune system suppression, multiple secondary infections develop, causing death within two to four weeks. Typical confirmation of the acute form of the disease is by necropsy, because it progresses too quickly for the normal signs such as feather loss and beak deformity to appear.The chronic form occurs if the bird's immune system manages to mount a reaction to the virus and any secondary infections. The characteristic feather symptoms need time to develop, as they only appear during the first moult after infection. In those species having powder down, signs may be visible immediately, as powder down feathers are continually replenished.

PBFD is usually acquired by nestlings from their parents or from other members of the flock. The immature immune system of young birds makes them susceptible to the PBFDV. The virus may be transferred in crop secretions, in fresh or dried feces, and in feather and skin particles. Adult birds coming into contact with the virus usually (but not always) develop resistance to it, but the virus is retained in their body and, in most cases, is excreted in feces and feather debris for the rest of their lives.

The ornithologist Edwin Ashby observed a flock of completely featherless red-rumped parrots (Psephotus haematonotus) in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, in 1888. The species then disappeared from the area for several years. The first case of chronic PBFD was reported in a Control and Therapy article in 1972 for the University of Sydney by Ross Perry, in which he described it as "beak rot in a cockatoo". Dr. Perry subsequently studied the disease and wrote extensively about its clinical features in a range of psittacine birds in a long article in which he named the disease "psittacine beak and feather disease syndrome" (PBFDS). This soon became known as psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD). 

PBFD has the potential to become a major threat to all species of wild parrots and to modern aviculture, due to international legal and illegal bird trade. Cases of PBFD have now been reported in at least 78 psittacine species. At least 38 of 50 Australian native species are affected by PBFD, both captive and in the wild. In 2004, PBFD was listed as a key threatening process by the Australian Commonwealth Government for the survival of five endangered species, including one of the few remaining species of migratory parrots, the orange-bellied parrot, of which only an estimated 60 mating pairs remained in 2006.

There is currently no specific treatment for the virus. A vaccine is available, but only experimentally. It has not been released to the public due to the risk it poses to already exposed birds. Therapeutic intervention is limited to treating secondary infections. The individual bird can sometimes recover, but this is rare. If only the feathers are affected and the bird suffers no other symptoms, it can usually experience an acceptable quality of life. But if the bird's beak or nails are affected, veterinarians will recommend euthanasia.

The management of the disease lies thus mostly in prevention. Every new bird that enters a pen with other birds should be quarantined first and be tested for BFDV. Birds which are known carriers should not be introduced into new pens, especially not if those contain young birds.

[themainstreetmoms]

SeaWorld Orlando Has a Wetsuit Wearing Penguin

My mother in law is passionate about penguins. She has a large collection of plush and decorative tuxedo-wearing birds. I don’t think any of them are wearing a wetsuit. Along the years I have learned a few facts here and there but I mostly thought they were cute and enjoy watching these flightless birds. Penguin’s feathers aren’t for flying; they are to keep them warm in cold weather and water.…

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[flock-talk]

Ok so I recently adopted a male budgie. After we got home and I was watching him, I realised he has a bald spot on the back of his head. I checked to see if he had just moulted a big patch at the same time but no, (1)

(2) it’s literally all skin with no feather growth or anything. I don’t know how this came about as he couldn’t have possibly done this to himself due to placement and I don’t think he’ll ever grow the feathers back either. Any advice? Thanks <3

Moulting can appear to be just skin with no feathers coming in for a little while, kind of like how when losing a tooth the new tooth doesn’t show up through the gums right away.  If it’s moulted the patch should be fairly symmetrical but it can be hard to tell sometimes.

There’s a few things it could be, it’s possible his siblings or parents plucked the back of  his head, when birds’ feathers are ripped out too frequently they can just stop growing back.  He also could have lost his feathers by getting them stuck in something, getting in to a fight, or excessively rubbing his head on something.  It could also be random feather loss which is typically a bad sign for a variety of illnesses and diseases.

I would consult an avian veterinarian to ensure this isn’t the start of pbfd or other serious health concerns which often don’t display other symptoms until the illness is too far along.

If the vet declares that nothing is going on there isn’t much to do, just a beeb with a few feathers missing, shouldn’t cause any problems for the little one unless you get excessively cold seasons.

[askbirdbloggers]

Are cockatiels supposed to lose a few feathers every so often? My bird does a big molt of her major feathers a couple times a year, but maybe once or twice a week some smaller downy feathers come off of her. Some sources say this is normal, but others say that they should only be losing feathers during scheduled molting time.

When birds molt they are removing any damaged or old feathers. It is healthy to be losing feathers all throughout the year as to maintain good health.

Along with their main yearly molts where the hormone levels are high and they need to attract mates with their new feathers. Baby birds will also go through a different molt where they rid of their baby feathers and grow in adult ones.

If your cockatiel were to be losing huge amounts of feathers randomly then I would become concerned. What you are deacribing sounds conpletely normal to me.

however I do not have personal experience with many cockatiels anyone with cockatiel experience want to add?

- Courtney (thepacificparrotlet)

[pularia]

HEY THERE! Question. I've got a hen who just IS NOT getting her feathers back. She's bald down her back and her sides now, as well as her head and wings. That jacket I made her keeps her warm, but I'm not sure it's doing a good job of protecting any new feathers. She's inside now in a cage on the sun porch because it's cold as crap and snowy outside (and I think I heard a faint wheezing when she was breathing earlier), but is there anything else I can do to help the feathers come in?

It sounds like your hen might be going through a "hard molt", as is talked about here. And because she is separated, I figure the best you can do is try to work with her food:

For hens going through hard molts, it might be helpful to amp up the protein in their feed to 20 or 22 percent. If you’re mixing your own feed, you can do this by adding more servings of high-protein grains and seeds, like triticale and sesame. Legumes like split peas and lentils are also excellent sources of protein, and can be served cooked for a hot treat on a cold day.

For hard or soft molts, it’s also a good idea to supplement your flock’s daily feed with high-protein treats in the form of black oil sunflower seeds or dried mealworms. Use common sense when spoiling your girls with dried mealworms; the ultra-high protein content (around 50 percent) means it’s easy to overfeed when you see them all excited and eager. A small spoonful per chicken per day is plenty.Ease up on the extra protein as your chickens finish their molts. 

[pularia]

one of my chickens, Legs, has lost a lot of feathers on her head and i think its from her being bullied but idk. i got her and another chicken (Nugget) earlier this year and they were sticking together until one of my other hens (Roast) died and her partner (Tikka) was left all alone. Tikka then started hanging out with Nugget and now the whole flock bully Legs so i have to feed her separately so she doesn't starve. i've had mite problems in the past too so it could be that... what do you think?

Feather loss can happen for several reasons; here's a list, along with different solutions.