Darwin Update (Feather Problems)

[darwinparrot]

So Darwin had his 4th birthday in September! He has been full feather since he was a chick with the exception of some chewing on his flight feathers and his tail always being a mess. I always thought the tail thing could be from his high level of activity in his cage. About 4 months ago he developed some tiny bald spots on his face that eventually cleared up. Anyways the last 2 months or so he has lost a ton of feathers around his neck, back, and wing sides leaving his grey down feathers as cover. I'm hoping that he is not plucking and I have yet to catch him. I was told it could be something called a "mojo molt". He is perfectly himself and even seems to becoming less picky with his eating. I'm hoping his beautiful feathers grow back! I've posted before and after photos

 

[Susan in So Cal]

Darwin is adorable! My Mowgli used to have a heavy molt. He would look a little rough but his feathers would grow back in beautifully. Darwin looks like he has more feather loss than Mowgli ever did. With a molt, I never saw any bald spots. If I were you, I would keep a close eye on Darwin to see if you notice him aggressively grooming of feather pulling. I would also take him into the vet to be evaluated. Outside of that, I would increase his foraging opportunities, toys and human interaction. How is his diet?

 

[Mizzely]

Mojo molts are usually only the head and bit of the neck area. So the bald patches on the face you noted would have been that.

Mojo Molt in Eclectus Parrots | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

Sadly it looks like he is destroying his feathers to me. Has he been to the vet recently?

 

[darwinparrot]

So he hasn't been to an actual avian vet before but he was to a bird savy vet in 2017 for a feather cyst on his wing. Apart from that he has never had any real problems. I called the nearest avian vet but they can't see me until a week after the holidays. I have increased the amount of time I spend with him, given him new toys and a cage make over, started giving him more baths, and I have tweaked his diet so there is less that he could be reacting to. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Susan in So Cal]

So he hasn't been to an actual avian vet before but he was to a bird savy vet in 2017 for a feather cyst on his wing. Apart from that he has never had any real problems. I called the nearest avian vet but they can't see me until a week after the holidays. I have increased the amount of time I spend with him, given him new toys and a cage make over, started giving him more baths, and I have tweaked his diet so there is less that he could be reacting to. Any advice would be appreciated.

It sounds like the steps you are taking are good ones. Hopefully the vet visit will be productive and give you some answers.

 

[darwinparrot]

Just wanted to update everyone on Darwin and his plucking. I took him the avian vet and they did bloodwork and it came back normal. They suggested that he might be plucking due to stress. I gauged how he reacts to different things in my house and the only things he really had any reaction to were the dogs and Sweetie my mini macaw. The dogs almost never go near the bird cages and Darwin doesn't even notice them unless they are in his face. Sweetie on the other hand he is stressed by much more. So I put her and my other birds in a different room and within 2 months his feathers have come almost all the way back. He gets regular baths and has a day light on a timer so he gets the proper amount of daylight. He still has some feathers to grow back on his one wing but everything else is back to normal. I'm so relieved. I will post a picture as soon as I take a good one.

 

[Flynn]

Yay! He's absolutely adorable. I hope you don't have to run into this issue again, plucking is such a tricky thing. Best of luck!

 

[fashionfobie]

That is such great news. Yay Darwin!

Poor Sweetie. One of my chickens, Silvermoon, is the stresser in my chicken flock. She is just a dramatic personality. It is so sad because many of the other chickens don't chose to hang out with her. So she is only alienating herself, and they are the same species. Poor Silvermoon.

 

[darwinparrot]

I never did get around to taking pictures of the progress but he's starting to barb again on his wings and chest a little bit here and there. I am wondering if this has something to do with maturity and his constant frustration with growing too attached to objects (sexually) and then having them removed because he gets obsessed. Does anyone have any ideas? The only thing I can think of is getting him a mate but the last female he met was very aggressive toward him from the get go and scared him.

 

[darwinparrot]

Not a good picture because his toy box is in need of a good scrubbing but this is how much he grew back. Keep in mind this is his best angle. He is not hormonal about his toy box at all. He just spends his days taking toys and chucking them from it and then I put them all back in at night. Most of the toys he chooses to mate with are ones that make noises like the fake cellphones with mirrors or things with bells.

 

[fashionfobie]

He is looking much better. Nice work!

It might be the photo, but his beak seems a touch overgrown. How is he taking to chewing toys?

 

[EkkieLu]

Darwin is looking great! I'm still working with Sergei to get all his beautiful colored feathers to grow back. I figure another year or so and he'll be one good looking fella!

 

[darwinparrot]

He is looking much better. Nice work!

It might be the photo, but his beak seems a touch overgrown. How is he taking to chewing toys?

He doesn't do much chewing, really. Usually he'll chip half of the overgrown part off on something and then I'll clip off the rest that sticks out. If that doesn't happen soon I'll just snip off the very tip of the overgrown part.

 

[fashionfobie]

I might be worth getting some blood panels done again. If you need to trim regularly it can be a concern of a hidden health problem. There could be something missing in his diet. Ekkies are also known to display feather destructive behavior when they have problems with their diet.

Did your vet give you the blood panel results? It might be helpful to get them done again and get a comparison. One month since your last ones, and also a molt so I can understand if you are hesitant about it. I think I would just to make sure you are continuing on the correct path. He is looking heaps better! Would love to watch him to continue to improve.

Trimming Beaks & Claws » Currumbin Valley Birds & Exotic Vetrenarian - Gold Coast