Discolouration on wings -- cause for concern?

[chickadeecap]

Hi everyone I've attached some photos of my GCC Casper. He's had brown scalloping on one wing for over a year, but with his recent moult for spring he now has it on the other wing, too.

He doesn't seem to be itchy or irritated, he doesn't pick at them.

He's just turned three, is it just his adult colouring coming up?

 

[webchirp]

Most likely a diet/sunlight related issue. Zia had black shoulders when I adopted her but has just this year finally gone down to the little bit of darkness similar to Casper.

 

[slinky-kitty]

He is a beautiful bird! I hope someone lets you know soon. As its symetrical I would hope normal but I know nothing about them sorry. His coat looks to be extremely healthy!

 

[Mizzely]

Looks more like "stress bars" to me. What is his diet like?

Alternatively could be bronzing (from rubbing on happy huts, etc) but if they are growing in that way then that is unlikely. If they are "turning" colors than bronzing is my guess.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Like Mizzely says ir is probably related to diet. What is his diet?

 

[Sylvi_]

He's very cute!

I think it could possibly be bronzing too. Though a vet check would be recommended to make sure it's not a nutritional problem.

 

[SpecialistElbru]

Here is another thread where we figured out a similar bird had bronzing.
Black feathers | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

I think the pattern on your bird's feathers are likely due to bronzing, but I am no expert. Does Casper have a happy hut or something that both of his wings rub against on a regular basis?

In your images, the feather detail that I would like to see is at the very limit of the photo resolution. In addition there is a bit of moire pattern that makes the details hard to see. Does your camera have a macro mode that allows you to focus even closer the the feathers?

In the images that macawnutz took (in the post black feathers) she was able to play with the feathers on the bird to show them better. It would be nice if you can do that with Casper. However if Casper is not that comfortable with you messing with his feathers then do not stress him out. If Casper has shed any of the effected feathers they could be helpful for analysis.

Edit: spelling

 

[Monica]

Looks like feather bronzing to me.

Stress bars are straight and weaken the feathers. Feather bronzing on the other hand is where the pigment on the feathers gets rubbed off.

 

[Jaguar]

I agree that it looks like bronzing, most likely from overpreening or wear and tear. Maybe rubbing from a tunnel or happy hut?

To be a little more technical, green feathers are pigmented brown. Their structure causes light to scatter and reflect back green. Because the feathers have been damaged, this doesn't happen. It's also why green birds like Amazons look brown when wet.

 

[chickadeecap]

Hi, thank you for the advice about stress bars and bronzing. I've attached another photo but I'm not sure if it's any better. I've only got a camera phone unfortunately.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was bronzing. He sleeps in a cardboard "Chube" (a great, safe alternative to happy huts if you're interested!), but I think the culprit would be his obsession with crawling around in blankets. Honestly if I didn't stop him and make him go to his cage when I'm home with him, he would crawl around in blankets all day and not even eat, he loves it that much.

His diet is good but could be better. He's on Vetafarm South American mix pellets, and he gets a skewer of veggies and fruit nearly every day, but probably a too limited selection (banana, carrot, corn, apple, chilli). He only gets seed in foraging toys or during trick training.

I heard recently from a friend with a GCC that her little guy had been diagnosed with a badly infected and irritated crop because conures are not meant to have pellets / dry food at all (they eat nearly only fruit in the wild, apparently). So I need to convince Casper to be more open to fresh food that isn't just his favourites. I'll be trying him on chop again, I started today.

It's difficult to get him enough sun, he's scared of sitting on the windowsill which is really the only safe space he can get it without me taking him outside in a carry cage -- but the local birds are very territorial and swoop him (noisy mynahs and butcher birds). The same problem happens with the carry cage (the local butcher birds want him dead so much).

Are there foods I can feed him to increase his vitamin D?

 

[chickadeecap]

Not necessary but this is what happens without fail if you put him next a blanket. He's in there in a flash, and he can happily crawl around in there chatting to himself for hours if you let him

 

[Mizzely]

I would say that is bronzing Conures are so playful and rubbing their shoulders on the blankets or tube he sleeps in, etc, will rub the pigment off the outer layer. I don't see stress bars there; you would see brittle feathers and usually it is actually a bar - a straight line across. I think he just is rough on his feathers

Pellets are a good staple regardless, as the fruits conures eat in the wild are much different than the ones we have available in our supermarkets. They would be more akin to slightly sweet vegetables, in most cases. Especially since he is picky, I wouldn't try to get him off pellets. There are so many things that you simply cant find in most foods (vitamin d3, iodine, etc). Vitamin D3 can be found in egg yolks, but really pellets are a better option, as the animal fats and proteins in those are far worse over time than the pellets will be. If you are concerned about the moisture content, then just add water to them, making sure to change it out every few hours to avoid bacteria growth. Vitamin D3 is the only one bioavailable to birds, so mushrooms and others that have D2 will not provide any additional nutrition.

 

[Monica]

If your blankets, carpet, furniture, pictures, or other items around the windows don't fade, then sitting next to the window does him no good. Many windows are made to filter out the beneficial UV rays, which means the window needs to be open or he needs to get outside.

There are thousands of conures that eat pellets as a part of their diet and are quite healthy! Pellets is not the issue! But a pellet only diet isn't that great either... they still need fresh foods.


As Mizzely said, the fruits that they eat in the wild are not the same as what we can give them in captivity... and many of the domestic fruits aren't nearly as healthy as their wild counterparts anyway...... which is why vegetables are important.

As per the following site, figs can make up to 70% of a green cheek conures diet in the wild.
Green-Cheeked Conures - Captive Care and Natural History


And a study done on their diet in the wild.
Feeding ecology of the Green-cheeked parakeet (Pyrrhura molinae) in dry forests in western Brazil


It's not easy to replicate a wild diet. As an example, we have thousands of hyacinth macaws in captivity, and their primary diet in the wild is palm nuts. Their captive diet? Macadamia nuts.


Not everyone can provide a healthy diet based on fresh foods, either, which is where pellets come into play. Although they are not a complete diet, they are far healthier for *most* parrot species as compared to seeds. Certain species don't do well with a lot, or even a little of pellets in their diet... that part varies.


The pellets you have contain D3 already.
South American Mix – Vetafarm


Besides eggs, the other option is cod liver oil. Unless directed by an a-vet, it's probably not a good idea to use the cod liver oil.



Have you tried mixing his pellets in with his chop?

 

[chickadeecap]

Casper is good about soaking his pellets I very rarely see him decide to chew one up without dipping it first. I give him a little water dish next to pellet cups just for pellet dipping, so he doesn't foul his main big water cup.

The brown feathers in question seem just as strong as his other feathers. Hopefully it's just bronzing.

The fact their diet in the wild is mostly figs makes sense -- Casper loves figs when we get them!

I do have the window open when he's on the sill, for unfiltered sunlight. The Australian sun is pretty punishingly high in UV.

I will try putting his pellets in with the chop to see if that gets him more interested! He has enjoyed chop in the past, it's just with the skewer I know exactly what he's eating. With chop he just digs through it and chucks it all around, so I'm not sure what actually got nibbled xD

 

[SpecialistElbru]

It is most defiantly bronzing, the green layer of the feather is missing and revealing the brown layers underneath.

The green in the feather is not caused by pigment, so there will not be any green smudges left behind when Casper rubs the green off his feathers. The green is caused by a series of ridges on the outermost layer of his feathers. The ridges are about the same width across as a wavelength of green light, which is about 1/2 of one millionth of a meter. The ridge structures are stacked on top of one another, but they are only 10 or 20 layers deep. that means that the structure is only 10 one millionths of a meter thick. That is about 10,000 times thinner than a standard sheet of copy paper.

When Casper uses his shoulders to push his way under the sheet, the sheet rubs against the feather and slowly rubs off the layers of ridges from his green feathers. the bronzing is totally harmless, he just looses some color.

 

[Mizzely]

Very cool! I had no idea the "science" behind the bronzing, only the cause and the end result. I knew pigment was the wrong word but didn't know how else to phrase it. Thanks for the education!