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Urgent Conure - White feathers?

Rainbowspritex

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Good afternoon,
My mother's green cheeked conure usually has such green, vibrant feathers but in the last week his feathers have begun to turn yellow and white. We have a vet appointment on Friday but any advice ahead of that would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully the before and after photos will show enough, he's an active chap and rarely hangs around to smile for the camera!
He is 3 years old, fed on various veg and fruit daily but always has some Tidymix in a bowl too for him nibble. His appetite and activeness hasn't changed, he's constantly on the go and constantly eating. He flaps around in his bath twice a week and doesn't appear to be over preening.
 

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SandraK

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Is he molting by any chance?
 

Rainbowspritex

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Hi SandraK,
He has a few small feathers moulting but his feathers have never changed colours during a moult before.
 

SandraK

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I'm by no means an expert but I've never seen something like that. Some of mine have an odd coloured feather but it's usually on their shoulders.
 

webchirp

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FYI he is a maroon bellied conure...but not sure about the feather change. Could be some mixed genes from way back when since he looks great otherwise.
 

Mizzely

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Has their been any trauma to the bird? Like crash landing, another pet attack etc? My quaker had white feathers grow in after a crash landing on his tail. When they molted out they grew back fine.

@Monica ?
 

Rainbowspritex

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Hi,
He's pretty steady when he flies and lands and mother says she hasn't seen him land awkwardly or fall. I was just shocked to see this colour change since I saw him last Wednesday. His birdie buddy is a budgie, they talk to each other across the room but don't stress each other out. He doesn't even stress when I've taken our eclectus in for visits, overall he seems a happy bird.
 

Monica

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Agreed, he is a maroon bellied conure, not a green cheek. As to the cause of those feathers.... could be genetics, illness or even failing organs (i.e. liver). It's abnormal to see such discoloration on a maroon bellied since it usually occurs more often in species that are more commonly bred, such as sun conures. That said, it's good that you have a vet appointment and I would recommend getting a fecal and blood work done to rule out any health issues. The feathers really do look unkempt and that *might* point to a health issue.
 

Feathered up

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It almost looks like a pied gene presentation but at this age that’s not likely the cause. Possibly a problem with the uropygial gland? With an all seed diet my guess would be vitamin deficiency likely at least vitamin A. That could certainly cause a problem with the preen gland among other issues which would contribute to his overall unkempt look.
 

Peachfaced

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It almost looks like a pied gene presentation but at this age that’s not likely the cause. Possibly a problem with the uropygial gland? With an all seed diet my guess would be vitamin deficiency likely at least vitamin A. That could certainly cause a problem with the preen gland among other issues which would contribute to his overall unkempt look.
First post says the bird has a mix of fruit and veggies in addition to the Tidymix. That's not to say he couldn't be lacking in a vitamin, but just putting that out there. :)
 

Feathered up

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First post says the bird has a mix of fruit and veggies in addition to the Tidymix. That's not to say he couldn't be lacking in a vitamin, but just putting that out there. :)
You’re right. I had read another post just before this one about an all seed diet and my tired old brain lumped them into one. There could be a reason he isn’t synthesizing vitamins or maybe hides his veggies like Skyy does. Lol

I’ve seen this before in maroon bellied conures specifically and have never heard the cause. Curious to hear what a vet says this time and hoping for the best.
 

Rainbowspritex

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Thanks folks, I'm away with my sister at the moment but spoken to mother who is trying to bring the vets appointment forward to today.
He certainly likes his fruit and veg, usually has an apple hanging in the cage and his favourites are sugar snap peas, broccoli, blueberries, pomegranate, cauliflower, baby corn, bell peppers and dried chillis. When I left him the other evening he was munching on a chunk of carrot that a horse would be jealous of! We buy the Tidymix so he has a varying seed option that is low in sunflower seeds. Unfortunately the pet stores in Plymouth UK are lacking in options for parrots and pellets are not available.
What type of pellets would I need to look online for?
 

Mockinbirdiva

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I would check the quality of the water your mother is providing for him to drink. I know it sounds weird but... my crimson bellied conure Rocket would fly to me when I washed the water cups and I always used the hot water to wash and rinse. Rocket loves to drink from the faucet and if the water is running he flies to my shoulder and climbs down to my hand to reach the running water for a drink. The water was not scalding hot so there was no danger in letting him drink the running water. I think he was 3 years old then and when he went through a molt some strange colored feathers came in... flights that should be royal blue were yellow and white and also discolored tail feathers. I wrote the breeder and asked if there was a possibility the parents could have a hybrid in the back ground. I think he was a bit miffed and assured me there wasn't. It took me some time to really put it all together with what was done differently here. I put up a sheer curtain to Rockets room to keep him from coming in when I was washing cups... the boy is very determined to get his faucet drink! It took about a year or more for all of those discolored feathers to molt out. All the new feathers are as they should be. Apparently the traces of minerals where heavier coming through the copper pipes when the hot water was running. Now when I wash cups I'm sure to rinse them with cold water before filling them up. Here's a photo I took to show the breeder the strange feathers. There were also orange feathers that showed up on his back, tail feathers that should all be deep blood colored came in tinted orange, and the chest feathers were even orange scalloped. Today... years later.. he looks like a normal Crimson belly... but he hates the camera and won't sit still for a photo....
DSCN6284.JPG DSCN6283.JPG DSCN6278.JPG DSCN6285.JPG DSCN6286.JPG
 

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Rainbowspritex

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Thanks, that is exactly what the feathers look like on Bobbiesox. He doesn't have access to any hot water or dishwater, he tends to bathe in his drinking water as soon as a fresh bowl is put in for him though. Even when his clean bath is right there for him! Mother then changes the water again and all is good.
 

Feathered up

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@Mockinbirdiva I had never considered exposure to metals and feather lightening but it makes perfect sense.

My daughter’s pineapple GCC developed a light feather in his tail after a moult that went away after the next moult. We didn’t get excited about it as it matches the color of other feathers and thought it was just new colors coming in. The vet didn’t even mention it during check up. Had it happened on a normal green it would have thrown up an immediate red flag.

Now that you mention it, it corresponded to him using a sun catcher my daughter had in her kitchen window as a play thing. She took it down because he wouldn’t stay off of it and gave it to me as it’s very pretty and my birds don’t have run of the whole house. I’m standing here looking at the beautiful copper wire surrounding all the sparkling glass balls.

Very interested in how this turns out and hoping Bobbiesox is healthy.
 

Mockinbirdiva

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@Mockinbirdiva I had never considered exposure to metals and feather lightening but it makes perfect sense.

My daughter’s pineapple GCC developed a light feather in his tail after a moult that went away after the next moult. We didn’t get excited about it as it matches the color of other feathers and thought it was just new colors coming in. The vet didn’t even mention it during check up. Had it happened on a normal green it would have thrown up an immediate red flag.

Now that you mention it, it corresponded to him using a sun catcher my daughter had in her kitchen window as a play thing. She took it down because he wouldn’t stay off of it and gave it to me as it’s very pretty and my birds don’t have run of the whole house. I’m standing here looking at the beautiful copper wire surrounding all the sparkling glass balls.

Very interested in how this turns out and hoping Bobbiesox is healthy.
I went back to my folder on those photos I took of Rocket's feather changes and the date on those was September of 2012. He has not suffered any ill effect in the last six years from drinking the hotter water from the tap. I know I tested the temperature with a digital thermometer back then and it was 107 degrees. When we installed a new water heater we increased the temp. After figuring out it was the water that caused his feathers to change colors I stopped allowing him his nightly drink from the tap and especially since the water is hotter now. After he molted those feathers out they haven't changed again. Sometimes we have to be a Sherlock Holmes when we notice changes in our birds! If I forget to close that curtain and he flies in for a sip I turn the hot water off and let the cold run for a bit before I allow him to have a sip. He is so determined to get a drink from the faucet I have to step him back and forth from hand to hand, put him on my shoulder, he climbs back down... and then finally when the cool water has run a bit I let him get his drink. Silly boy... birds are so funny!
 

Mockinbirdiva

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Thanks, that is exactly what the feathers look like on Bobbiesox. He doesn't have access to any hot water or dishwater, he tends to bathe in his drinking water as soon as a fresh bowl is put in for him though. Even when his clean bath is right there for him! Mother then changes the water again and all is good.
Hopefully you can help her figure out the source causing the feather color change. Does she have well water? Or what is her water source... copper pipes? She may want to switch to a quality bottled water for a while ( like a long while.. year) to see if when he molts those feathers out and what the new feathers look like when they come in. Though he is three years old now... how long has she had him?
 

Rainbowspritex

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He will be 4 in December, we went to get him when he was almost 5 months old. She has lived in the same properly all that time and his surroundings haven't changed (although she's just hung some questionable wallpaper!). She always has bottled water in the house so I've asked her to use only that going forward. Will know more hopefully after visit to the vet, he is booked in with the exotics expert who should have more knowledge.
 
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