Help ith Feather Condition

[Castle of Wings]

POSTED BEFORE I WANTED IT TO, NOT DONE TYPING.

 

[Castle of Wings]

I unfortunately can't edit the original message as I waited more than ten minutes. Sorry about that, I'm not used to this forum yet. This is what it was supposed to say.

My dad recently bought some breeding pairs of kakarikis from out of state. Their feather condition is pretty bad. I know a lot of breeding pairs end up with bad feather condition, but is there anything I can do to improve the way these birds look? One pair has bald heads and one of the other females has some missing feathers on her body.

I've started to make salads for them using peas, corn, lettuce, watermelon and carrots. I've been mixing in some of their seed to get them interested. I'm not sure how much of that is getting eaten (if you aren't familiar with this species, they have a somewhat irritating habit of kicking their food all over the cage) as the cage has a wire bottom and a lot ends up down there. They get a mix of millet, sunflower seeds and nuts. They also like cheerios and bread. Should I do anything else for them? They're acting happy and they're quite active. One of the pairs has three eggs right now, and the other pairs are hanging out in their nest boxes for a large portion of the day. Should I give them anything else once the eggs hatch?

 

[karen256]

Bald heads are likely from them plucking each other, rather than from poor health, although it sounds like their diet is not great.
It might be an incompatible pair or they might simply be bored or not have enough space to get away from each other now and then. It's a myth that breeding birds don't need toys. They do need something to keep them occupied. Try some fresh branches so they can chew on the bark, and one smaller toy per pair to start with (if they've never had toys, they might think they are scary at first). Kakarikis are also high energy birds and need space to fly.
Millet, sunflower and nuts aren't a complete diet either. It's good that you are adding in different fruits and veggies. Corn, lettuce, and watermelon are all mostly water and not that nutritious, but fine for now if it gets them to try fresh food. Eventually you'll want to stick to mostly more nutritious fresh foods like the peas and carrots, as well as greens and any other dark green or dark orange/red fruits/veggies. Their diet is also a little low in protein, especially for breeding, so you'll want to give them some protein rich foods as well (cooked bean mix, hardboiled egg, or a dry eggfood).
And find a vet now so you will be ready for any problems that might occur.

 

[Castle of Wings]

Bald heads are likely from them plucking each other, rather than from poor health, although it sounds like their diet is not great.
It might be an incompatible pair or they might simply be bored or not have enough space to get away from each other now and then. It's a myth that breeding birds don't need toys. They do need something to keep them occupied. Try some fresh branches so they can chew on the bark, and one smaller toy per pair to start with (if they've never had toys, they might think they are scary at first). Kakarikis are also high energy birds and need space to fly.
Millet, sunflower and nuts aren't a complete diet either. It's good that you are adding in different fruits and veggies. Corn, lettuce, and watermelon are all mostly water and not that nutritious, but fine for now if it gets them to try fresh food. Eventually you'll want to stick to mostly more nutritious fresh foods like the peas and carrots, as well as greens and any other dark green or dark orange/red fruits/veggies. Their diet is also a little low in protein, especially for breeding, so you'll want to give them some protein rich foods as well (cooked bean mix, hardboiled egg, or a dry eggfood).
And find a vet now so you will be ready for any problems that might occur.

I don't think the pairs are incompatible. One has three eggs and I checked today to find another pair had laid an egg. They have some live branches to chew on, and I'll try another kind of toy. What would you recommend for them to play with? They really seem to enjoy shredding things, so I'm thinking about giving them a sheet of paper. Their cages are currently being expanded and I expect that they'll have a larger space within a month. I agree on the seeds not being enough for them. I don't think their previous owner was feeding them fresh foods regularly based on their reluctance to eat them, but I'm hoping to get them eating a better diet. I've been offering a salad twice a day. They seem to be a little reluctant to try the carrots, but they've been eating some of the peas. My dad is heading to the store later today, so I'll ask him to pick up some fresh broccoli and bell peppers to try with them. I'll give them a hard boiled egg with their evening meal tonight and see how that goes. There's a vet very close by, so that's not a problem. Thanks for the tips, I appreciate it!

 

[Castle of Wings]

Is this any good for breeding pairs? I have some on hand, though I've never used it.

Amazon.com : Petamine Breeder Formula 1.5lb. : Pet Health Care Supplies : Pet Supplies