Bronzed feathers

[Macawnutz]

No, your scratches would not cause bronzing but he could be preening there a bit. They could also be older feathers in need of a molt. Korbel always has bronzed shoulders, I'll get pictures of that.

Going to work in a bit and will try to find Volar feathers for you. You said a new feather is coming in with black? Can you double check that today? A picture would be great but I'll settle for the general area if you cant.

 

[Macawnutz]

Also....

Lack of molting is diet related and should prompt a critique in diet. I would still follow ML's diet changes and always Alan... regular vet checks are a must even with the healthiest of birds. You need to find a vet an establish a baseline. Consider this the right time.

 

[Alan J.]

I will try to get that pic for you Sarah. Alex molts pretty regularly fortunately. I could not have mentioned it, but Alex has been to a vet a few times, including before I got him (I traced down his previous home and breeder and vet, as I found him in a petshop). The problem is that these vets are not experienced bird vets.

 

[Macawnutz]

I will try to get that pic for you Sarah. Alex molts pretty regularly fortunately. I could not have mentioned it, but Alex has been to a vet a few times, including before I got him (I traced down his previous home and breeder and vet, as I found him in a petshop). The problem is that these vets are not experienced bird vets.

They do not have to be perfection if you have the forum. You will want a cbc, Chem panel and gram stain ( not fecal float lol )
If they send that out for you ML can interpret it for you. I can do the cbc and half the chem, ML can do everything with cross reference.

Best I could find today, but you get the idea. The worst are still attached. I have to do nails tomorrow, maybe I can get a picture. Lol

 

[Alan J.]

Many thanks Sarah. I feel much easier after having seen the pics that you posted. Here are the two photographs of Alex (taken yesterday), showing his back and "skirting". I could not get a photograph of the feather that is growing in with the "peppering" of black, but if you look at the "skirting" pic, the feather(not visible) is positioned next to the one, whose keratin sheath is just visible (the tiny white bit). There is not much black on it, but there is a light peppering of black.

Do they require blood or a swab for the cbc?

Many thanks.




The sun light seems to have washed some detail of the feathers on Alex's back, but hopefully the pic is good enough - (Alex is not impressed that someone is standing close behind him and that I am not doing anything about it).

 

[Alan J.]

I forgot to mention that Alex is beginning what looks likely to be a reasonably heavy molt and has also not been keen (unfortunately) to shower for about two weeks now.

 

[Hankmacaw]

The ones on his bottom do look like bronzing, but those on his shoulders and back don't to me. At one time Jasper had black feathers on the nape of the back of her neck that went right on down between her shoulders. I was free feeding her walnuts and almonds at the time (she has always been really hard to keep her weight up) . Dr. Driggers told me it was from too many nuts (I don't know why), but we showed her to Dr. Harrison (Harrison's bird foods) and he said the same thing.

What could he be rubbing those neck and back feathers on?

 

[Alan J.]

Thanks Mary Lynn. I don't think that Alex is rubbing his neck or back feathers though. I have never seen him do it and can not think of any place in his apartment where he could physically rub those areas.
He always ate a lot of nuts daily (accepting pistachio and cashew almost exclusively). Pistachio seem salty to me, which has always worried me, but I was hoping the benefits of nuts outweighed any negatives, but have now begun to wean him off them.

 

[Hankmacaw]

I don't know if that is what is happening with Alex's back/neck feathers, but as soon as I cut Jasper's nut to 2 walnuts and 4 almonds a day she lost her black feathers. jasper really likes the pistachios and she gets a few a day as a treat - I buy the roasted and not salted ones. She has lost her black neck/back feathers now for a couple of years.

I hope Sarah comes on pretty soon - but she is working (ugh).

 

[Macawnutz]

While excessive it is completely consistent with wear.

Now here is the kicker.. Why is he excessively wearing the feathers? If it were just his rear end we could write it off as an extremely hormonal male but you have more.

He is not a baby rolling around on the floor. This seems to be new as you have concern. What has changed? Was/is your diet poor enough in the last year to produce low quality feathers that wear easily? Other than the wear marks he seems to have brilliant feathering, I can only see one stress bar that looks like a bump/pinch during growth. Does he have a new toy or perch to "get off" on? Volar will take his long rope and rub it on his back half the day if I allow it. Alan, does he itch? Could be a fungal/bacterial skin infection causing him to over preen. ???

Here is the downside to not living with your bird Alan. You have no idea what he does during the day. You have no idea if he is bored or upset. You don't know what his days are like with you not visiting him. He could be bored and overpreening. Something outside the window could be bothering him. He could be scratching an itch... whether medically or sexually.

Maybe it time to find a vet and have him move in with you, Alex not the vet. I've always had a soft spot for your sweetie and you know I dislike your living arrangement.

Bottom line both areas are wear. Volar's rump can get pretty worn when it's time for a molt and Korbel... Korbel's back and shoulders can look the same from ducking underneath a java tree branch on his stand. I'm comfortable with the bronzing because I know the cause and my birds are vetted often. Alex... we are not so sure.

 

[Clueless]

Maybe a nest cam would help too.

 

[Macawnutz]

Maybe a nest cam would help too.

Hey now... I'm trying to get Alex a home and save Alan rent.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Here is the downside to not living with your bird Alan. You have no idea what he does during the day. You have no idea if he is bored or upset. You don't know what his days are like with you not visiting him. He could be bored and overpreening. Something outside the window could be bothering him. He could be scratching an itch... whether medically or sexually.

Maybe it time to find a vet and have him move in with you, Alex not the vet. I've always had a soft spot for your sweetie and you know I dislike your living arrangement.

I agree completely with Sarah - Alex should be living with you. He has to be lonely and frustrated living in the apartment alone and you miss so much of the joy of living with a macaw.

I still think there could be a dietary component to the black feathers on his neck and shoulders.

 

[Macawnutz]

I agree completely with Sarah - Alex should be living with you. He has to be lonely and frustrated living in the apartment alone and you miss so much of the joy of living with a macaw.

I still think there could be a dietary component to the black feathers on his neck and shoulders.

Right? The JOY... I can think of no other word to describe the PITA... I mean JOY of living with a flighted BRAT... I mean PECKER... SHOOT... Goodness life would be easy without a blue & gold monster hanging from my hair when I'm trying to unpack a bathroom!

Korbel bronzed easily before I had him on RPO and prozyme. Could very well be a dietary component. Also, looking at Korbel, he needs a bath and his new feathers appear black as they are ratty and unpreened. Alex could be needing a bath if his new feathers are looking the same.

 

[Clueless]

Hey now... I'm trying to get Alex a home and save Alan rent.

Oooops.

Better to live together!

 

[Shezbug]

This has been very interesting and informative.
Can I ask how much RPO you would give to a B&G @Macawnutz? I have some for Burt but I am unsure of exact amount and frequency I should give it to him. I am not sure if the amount @Hankmacaw gives Jasper is more than I should give to my boy.
I was also wondering if anyone can tell me if this is what the preening gland is supposed to look like....I couldn’t find anything on it for macaws.

As always....Alex is beautiful @Alan J.
I hope all is well with him.

 

[Macawnutz]

This has been very interesting and informative.
Can I ask how much RPO you would give to a B&G @Macawnutz? I have some for Burt but I am unsure of exact amount and frequency I should give it to him. I am not sure if the amount @Hankmacaw gives Jasper is more than I should give to my boy.
I was also wondering if anyone can tell me if this is what the preening gland is supposed to look like....I couldn’t find anything on it for macaws. View attachment 294081

As always....Alex is beautiful @Alan J.
I hope all is well with him.

Preening gland looks good. BG have really fuzzy greasy ones.

As for the RPO, I don't see ML's dose but mine is probably less. I give 2-3 drops daily to my BG's. The important part with the BG macaws is consistency. If you randomly give RPO while they have feathers growing in you will see purple bars ( for the sake of argument we will call them stress bars ) in the new feathers. The RPO will brighten the color of your feathers and if not given on a routine schedule you will see inconsistent coloring. Daily or every other day is fine but if you randomly throw some in once a week you will see your mistake.

 

[Shezbug]

Preening gland looks good. BG have really fuzzy greasy ones.

As for the RPO, I don't see ML's dose but mine is probably less. I give 2-3 drops daily to my BG's. The important part with the BG macaws is consistency. If you randomly give RPO while they have feathers growing in you will see purple bars ( for the sake of argument we will call them stress bars ) in the new feathers. The RPO will brighten the color of your feathers and if not given on a routine schedule you will see inconsistent coloring. Daily or every other day is fine but if you randomly throw some in once a week you will see your mistake.

I have been giving him a few drops on a spoon every send day since I got it, I will make sure he gets a few drops each day from now on. He loves it so it won’t be a problem getting him to have it.
I think I can see a few of the markings you mentioned and I have been trying to work out what it could be that I was doing wrong. I didn’t realise that such a small thing could have that much affect on the feathering.
Thank you again for your help

 

[Macawnutz]

I have been giving him a few drops on a spoon every send day since I got it, I will make sure he gets a few drops each day from now on. He loves it so it won’t be a problem getting him to have it.
I think I can see a few of the markings you mentioned and I have been trying to work out what it could be that I was doing wrong. I didn’t realise that such a small thing could have that much affect on the feathering.
Thank you again for your help

I am forever asked how my birds have such shine, RPO and at least weekly soaking baths is my answer. In addition to lots of fresh foods that's all I really do.

I made a mess of Kailua's tail learning the effects of RPO. It was a year long reminder staring at the drastic purple bars.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Jasper weighs 1100 gm and she gets .3ML/day and since her Dr. prefers Flax oil I give her .3 ml of that per day too. Even when she is really sick for months her feathers are beautiful. .3ml is about 6 drops.