Green Cheek conure belly feathers turning grey??

[Mizzely]

A natural molt doesn't leave downy feathers exposed. In the wild, this would make it very hard to regulate their body temperature, which is why their bodies have a schedule for molting and replacing feathers.

 

[Pixiebeak]

I have had green cheek conures in my life for over 30 year's, this is not a molt .
He is removing feathers. The remaining feathers have black chewed on Barbered edges as well another type of feather destruction But he can also be molting at the same time

If this doesn't have a health component, and if the behaviorol triggers stress is resolved , then you will not know until the bird molts and grows new features and leaves them alone .

So you do have them together in one cage ? Do you have a second cafe from when you quarantined and got him ?

If this is behavioral, without a health component, then you have the highest chance you will ever have to resolve the feather destruction before it becomes well established...then it's nearly impossible to resolve. Now is the time to figure out stressors and make changes .

A kitchen scale can be used to weigh birds, they run ten to 20 bucks . I just set mine on a f hiver a hand I er them. But you can also put a bowl with seeds , zero it out then have them step to the bowl. Do you know your birds weight?

These are my 2 that just finished molts, at no time did underfluff show , you would see pins and find all the feathers , never patchy
In this side view of Koda no dark chewed on edges to feathers

 

[Peachfaced]

It’s a called exotic bird hospital, I got my bird Dexter treated for his foot injury there. They do many other animals as well like reptiles and hedgehogs, ferrets, etc.

That’s kinda vague. The doctor may not be an avian vet - yeah having exotic experience is great but the speciality is really important.

Heck I have an Exotic Bird Hospital an hour+ away from me, up in Jacksonville, but only one person there has the Avian specialty, which you can see she has on her title.

 

[Pixiebeak]

In the side view of Zazu, you can see discoloration of sine feathers, the ragged black edges on most , and the black dots or black lines , this is from over preen chew on feathers . The discoloration and fits and lines on some can indicate stress, health issues, or nutrition issues.


I see his wing feathers are clipped ? And clipped very short ? It appears to be a butcher job if a wing trim , feather cut way to short and some feathers like coverlets that should not have been clipped at all . Or it seems that way ? Was he clipped when you hit him? Did you clip ? Not being able to fly and have free choice of self directed movement can lead some birds to pluck and mutilate.

If he is not flighted, then providing a lot of interconnected out of cage perches given him more choice to move around can help.
Examples of mine and other members out of cage enrichment

Bird Room?

Hey! I want to add some cool things to the bird room and I want some ideas! I wouldn't mind some pics!!! Thanks Skye :budgie2: Princeton :budgie:

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Shezbug]

UPDATE: I called the avian vet and emailed them pictures of Zazu and he said it was just a molt. Actually the same thing started happening to my other green cheek near the neck area. He says to keep an eye on him for maybe 2 weeks to a month and if there are still barely any colored feathers/ no pin feathers growing to come back. Zazu is growing back his feathers as I check his belly and multiple feather shafts are forming. I did not switch his diet to pellets immediately when I got him I just started mixing them in with the seeds and slowly adding more and more and less seeds. He actually really likes the pellets but I do mix seeds still in their bowl. Thank you all for the advice! I put a camera up to check on him throughout the day when I’m unable to be near them. Today I saw Zazu take a bath and I didn’t see him pluck any feathers. When he fluffed up or when he would preen himself or Dexter would, some feathers would shed, which my vet said would most likely make it a molt.

Can you try finding an actual avian vet rather than an exotic vet?
This most certainly is not a natural molt. If birds naturally molted this way we’d all be seeing our birds grey under fluffies- the only time I see them is if they shed or I lift the coloured belly feathers.
I personally would not trust any vet with my birds health if they believed that seeing that much grey was a normal occurrence of molting.

 

[mango&dex]

A natural molt doesn't leave downy feathers exposed. In the wild, this would make it very hard to regulate their body temperature, which is why their bodies have a schedule for molting and replacing feathers.

I was able to get a video of the both of them preening. I think Zazu is plucking he’s not only plucking his feathers but Dexters too. While Dexter was preening himself Zazu was I guess trying to help but he was instead taking some of Dexter’s feathers out. He didn’t pluck the feathers from the root I checked under Dexter’s feathers and there is just a bunch of white stems from the feather follicle. I’ll try to attach a video in a file, the feathers around dexters neck are now like the grey feathers Zazu had on his belly. This is what Dexter’s feathers were like just yesterday night. I highly doubt Dexter plucked his own feathers because I caught Zazu on video break his feather off, also Dexter has never ever plucked his feathers. I’m trying to keep them both away for a little bit to see if there is a significant difference of feather loss from the both of them. Here is the link to the video I took:

iCloud Photos - Apple iCloud

View, organize, and share photos and videos with iCloud Photos on the web. Changes will sync across your devices with iCloud.

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[mango&dex]

In the side view of Zazu, you can see discoloration of sine feathers, the ragged black edges on most , and the black dots or black lines , this is from over preen chew on feathers . The discoloration and fits and lines on some can indicate stress, health issues, or nutrition issues.
View attachment 445633

I see his wing feathers are clipped ? And clipped very short ? It appears to be a butcher job if a wing trim , feather cut way to short and some feathers like coverlets that should not have been clipped at all . Or it seems that way ? Was he clipped when you hit him? Did you clip ? Not being able to fly and have free choice of self directed movement can lead some birds to pluck and mutilate.

If he is not flighted, then providing a lot of interconnected out of cage perches given him more choice to move around can help.
Examples of mine and other members out of cage enrichment

Bird Room?

Hey! I want to add some cool things to the bird room and I want some ideas! I wouldn't mind some pics!!! Thanks Skye :budgie2: Princeton :budgie:

forums.avianavenue.com

Yes unfortunately he is clipped very poorly, he is growing new flight feathers we talked about this with our vet and he said as much as it sucks to see Zazu struggle we just have to be patient until he regrows them.

 

[mango&dex]

Can you try finding an actual avian vet rather than an exotic vet?
This most certainly is not a natural molt. If birds naturally molted this way we’d all be seeing our birds grey under fluffies- the only time I see them is if they shed or I lift the coloured belly feathers.
I personally would not trust any vet with my birds health if they believed that seeing that much grey was a normal occurrence of molting.

They are a certified exotic bird vet, there are no other avian vets in my area. I just think maybe the person we emailed/ spoke to was uneducated or unaware. I’m going to take him to the vet asap.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Yes this can happen a feather destruction bird can turn the destruction on to their friends. While preening their friends a loose feather may come out, the rapid number of feathers he is removing from his friend sure looks like he is pulling or clipping them out. darn it ....good job in getting and sharing the video.
They are giving every indication they are great buddies here.
We all wish feather destruction behavior had a quick and easy fix.... unfortunately it's a complex issue...unless a health issue is the cause and thst is found and fixed.

As a star a complete overhaul of cage set up, toys , life , time out of cage , enrichment, routine, social time , flock observations done without preconceived ideas and story lines , observations and seeing what you see . Can offer insight . Can show dime stressors you weren't aware of , things outside, pets or people or things inside

I try and do this often , even when I'm not having issues. I ce think I had my green cheek start attacking my budgie with whole she had previously had a close and great relationship. ...so observed...to my surprise the issue was not between her and the budgie . Instead she was displacing to the budgie. The issue was between her and her best buddy quaker Neptune. He was guarding her, obsessing over her and all up in her space and never giving her a break. I switched how I managed the flock , and have her time out of the cage without him, time in her cage while he was out of his cage , and still time out together as they were bonded..abd set up mommy and me time with just my green cheek and I bonding and hanging out. This immediately stopped the attacks on the budgie and she never attacked him again. Sharing this , because I was quite surprised y my observations.

I think sharing pictures of your set up , walking us through your fault routine, could be helpful. We might see things that we could suggest you change that might decrease his stress and this behavior.
But knowing his wings are so short , I feel with certainty providing him with more ways to move around on his own , to be more active and self directed will help. Teaching foraging, engagement with more things to chew destroy, explore . One on one time with you , maybe teaching simple fun tricks even foraging together cover up a seed and have him find , and even doing some together with both birds will help. Foraging has to be st their level and very easy , in time can become more complex as they get a nack for it . Some never do , dime really enjoy it , but near all can have fun with simple foraging fun .
@Emma&pico has tins of fun activities for hers!

 

[mango&dex]

Yes this can happen a feather destruction bird can turn the destruction on to their friends. While preening their friends a loose feather may come out, the rapid number of feathers he is removing from his friend sure looks like he is pulling or clipping them out. darn it ....good job in getting and sharing the video.
They are giving every indication they are great buddies here.
We all wish feather destruction behavior had a quick and easy fix.... unfortunately it's a complex issue...unless a health issue is the cause and thst is found and fixed.

As a star a complete overhaul of cage set up, toys , life , time out of cage , enrichment, routine, social time , flock observations done without preconceived ideas and story lines , observations and seeing what you see . Can offer insight . Can show dime stressors you weren't aware of , things outside, pets or people or things inside

I try and do this often , even when I'm not having issues. I ce think I had my green cheek start attacking my budgie with whole she had previously had a close and great relationship. ...so observed...to my surprise the issue was not between her and the budgie . Instead she was displacing to the budgie. The issue was between her and her best buddy quaker Neptune. He was guarding her, obsessing over her and all up in her space and never giving her a break. I switched how I managed the flock , and have her time out of the cage without him, time in her cage while he was out of his cage , and still time out together as they were bonded..abd set up mommy and me time with just my green cheek and I bonding and hanging out. This immediately stopped the attacks on the budgie and she never attacked him again. Sharing this , because I was quite surprised y my observations.

I think sharing pictures of your set up , walking us through your fault routine, could be helpful. We might see things that we could suggest you change that might decrease his stress and this behavior.
But knowing his wings are so short , I feel with certainty providing him with more ways to move around on his own , to be more active and self directed will help. Teaching foraging, engagement with more things to chew destroy, explore . One on one time with you , maybe teaching simple fun tricks even foraging together cover up a seed and have him find , and even doing some together with both birds will help. Foraging has to be st their level and very easy , in time can become more complex as they get a nack for it . Some never do , dime really enjoy it , but near all can have fun with simple foraging fun .
@Emma&pico has tins of fun activities for hers!

I definitely will, but I did read online that if I do separate them then they may both pluck more of their feathers. I only have 2 conures— as well as 2 cats but they are never alone when the cats are in the same room as them. Here is a video of Dexter doing something weird to Zazu I’m unsure if he’s doing it because he’s angry but I did post about it in another thread but I could not figure out how to attach the video. My question is how would I stop Zazu from destroying his feathers and Dexter’s? I’ll attach a link to the video of them here, this was taken in early March and both of their feathers were fine then. iCloud Photos - Apple iCloud

 

[mango&dex]

I definitely will, but I did read online that if I do separate them then they may both pluck more of their feathers. I only have 2 conures— as well as 2 cats but they are never alone when the cats are in the same room as them. Here is a video of Dexter doing something weird to Zazu I’m unsure if he’s doing it because he’s angry but I did post about it in another thread but I could not figure out how to attach the video. My question is how would I stop Zazu from destroying his feathers and Dexter’s? I’ll attach a link to the video of them here, this was taken in early March and both of their feathers were fine then. iCloud Photos - Apple iCloud

Dexter is just a weirdo in general he barks at my Dad and quite literally harasses our cats when he gets the chance, the cats avoid the birds but Dexter is a menace.. Sometimes I think he’s very odd in some ways but I still love him so much

 

[mango&dex]

I have had green cheek conures in my life for over 30 year's, this is not a molt .
He is removing feathers. The remaining feathers have black chewed on Barbered edges as well another type of feather destruction But he can also be molting at the same time

If this doesn't have a health component, and if the behaviorol triggers stress is resolved , then you will not know until the bird molts and grows new features and leaves them alone .

So you do have them together in one cage ? Do you have a second cafe from when you quarantined and got him ?

If this is behavioral, without a health component, then you have the highest chance you will ever have to resolve the feather destruction before it becomes well established...then it's nearly impossible to resolve. Now is the time to figure out stressors and make changes .

A kitchen scale can be used to weigh birds, they run ten to 20 bucks . I just set mine on a f hiver a hand I er them. But you can also put a bowl with seeds , zero it out then have them step to the bowl. Do you know your birds weight?
View attachment 445629 View attachment 445630
These are my 2 that just finished molts, at no time did underfluff show , you would see pins and find all the feathers , never patchy
In this side view of Koda no dark chewed on edges to feathers

I only know dexters he’s about 68

I have had green cheek conures in my life for over 30 year's, this is not a molt .
He is removing feathers. The remaining feathers have black chewed on Barbered edges as well another type of feather destruction But he can also be molting at the same time

If this doesn't have a health component, and if the behaviorol triggers stress is resolved , then you will not know until the bird molts and grows new features and leaves them alone .

So you do have them together in one cage ? Do you have a second cafe from when you quarantined and got him ?

If this is behavioral, without a health component, then you have the highest chance you will ever have to resolve the feather destruction before it becomes well established...then it's nearly impossible to resolve. Now is the time to figure out stressors and make changes .

A kitchen scale can be used to weigh birds, they run ten to 20 bucks . I just set mine on a f hiver a hand I er them. But you can also put a bowl with seeds , zero it out then have them step to the bowl. Do you know your birds weight?
View attachment 445629 View attachment 445630
These are my 2 that just finished molts, at no time did underfluff show , you would see pins and find all the feathers , never patchy
In this side view of Koda no dark chewed on edges to feathers

Dexter weighs about 64-68 grams Zazu looks a little bit chubbier since he we was used to being in a cage for a few months. We do have another cage from when we quarantined him and we used it to house them at my friend’s house for 2 days and it’s still there since we did not have space in our car to bring it home. Once we do get it back I’ll put Zazu in the cage and add a ton of enrichment for him. At the moment yes they are caged together.

 

[mango&dex]

That’s kinda vague. The doctor may not be an avian vet - yeah having exotic experience is great but the speciality is really important.

Heck I have an Exotic Bird Hospital an hour+ away from me, up in Jacksonville, but only one person there has the Avian specialty, which you can see she has on her title. View attachment 445632

They have actually changed locations and there are a bunch of more people who specialize in birds. We got recommended this vet from another vet that specialized in birds but had no availability.

 

[Pixiebeak]

I definitely will, but I did read online that if I do separate them then they may both pluck more of their feathers. I only have 2 conures— as well as 2 cats but they are never alone when the cats are in the same room as them. Here is a video of Dexter doing something weird to Zazu I’m unsure if he’s doing it because he’s angry but I did post about it in another thread but I could not figure out how to attach the video. My question is how would I stop Zazu from destroying his feathers and Dexter’s? I’ll attach a link to the video of them here, this was taken in early March and both of their feathers were fine then. iCloud Photos - Apple iCloud

If you do a trial seperate side by side cages , but still lots of time out together..you definitely want to observe and monitor their reactions to help guide you to the best decision. It's definitely vey individual and unique to your birds and their bond and their preference.

I suggested it , because it's the first thing I would try if these were my birds , after ruling out health issues. If the behavioral plucking was an onset to just arriving to my home a few months ago . If I tried this , it's important to do the new cage set up early in the day , so they have time to get used to it before roosting for the night . When I do a cage swap it major rehaul of their cage , I put them in the new set up for an hour with the best yummy treat food . Then I get them out for normal routine, but keep putting them back in the new /new set up cage for short bursts , especially at their normal nap time or post bath chill out time. I try to keep everything low stress and postive. Then that first day of new cage or new set up I put them up for the night a couple of hours earlier than normal, so they can scope out abd settle and choose their new roosting spot before it's gets dark or light out or covering what ever your night routine is. This for me ,has ked to less stress and disruption for my birds . And because they are friends, I would mash the cages together and make sure they had plenty of out of cage time together.

Then I would observe and see how things go . In my own birds that are very bonded preen buddies , they were fine and it didn't cause them anxiety. This is still close enough with cages together to be an acceptable, flock friend buddy distance, and being out together still meets their needs, for most.

If both of your birds are distressed and all they can think about is getting back together, alarm calling, constant contact calling, then being caged seperate isn't going to be good for them and return to letting them share the cage . But if only one of the two acts like that , then the bond relationship isn't equal. And thought will have to be out into this , to see if the needy higher binded bird can adjust. It might be a solution in that situation to have caged together during day , split to own cages in the evening, or seperate cages during the day and out together in the evening and spending the night together.

With my new addition Koda green cheek, and my used to being solo for years green cheek Ta-dah ( after loosing Burt cage mate ) . They are still growing their connection. They want to share a cage at night , but prefer to mostly away from each other during the day doing their own thing . Because of my life and set up , my birds are out 8 hrs or more during the day , on my cages when I leave the home, at night , and a brief mid day cage break, are full flighted .. so this allows time apart . 100% they would not be able to share a cage right now , if they didn't have time apart . Ta-da is more independent of the two and can not handle up your butt attention from Koda . Tho as we are nearing a month , they are starting to choose to spend more of their out of cage free choice time together..but very much still require separate time doing their own thing ..

My highly true bonded quakers girls - which by the way took 3 years to reach this level of bond. Do everything together, nearly 100% of the time are side by side, move around the home together and never more than a foot or two apart, only rarely do they hang out with me alone , or go to a play area to chill away from their buddy and not for very long

 

[Pixiebeak]

Oh ran out of time editing. Anyway even with my two highly bonded quakers I think cages side by side and out together all day would not be a problem for them .

In the video, I think mine do that head almost Peck ritual when frustrated Hugh energy. I think knit would like the other bird to move away , or the bird receiving this would prefer to move away but there are no east options in this set up to do so ..then the bird does a behavioral regurge and feed real quick. It could be the behavior prior was trying to get the other to accept that behavior, and in the end was more bullied into accepting the regurge feed and that's why the first was doing more mock prep ahead of it , sensing the resistance and like I'm going to do this , accept it. I have certainly witnessed mine bully another into this regurge, as well as seeing when they are willing and encouraging and enjoying this regurge behavior.

Get creative, ziptie more perches to this set up , add stuff for lateral but equally height perching. As birds prefer equal height option than perching below another , but do enjoy the challenges if climbing all over and exploring

 

[Emma&pico]

Glad you figured out it’s plucking knowing what’s going on will help you sort fingers crossed

I would definitely see a vet just to rule everything out

then you can try to fix behaviour

I found with pico adding more toys making him forage for food helped but didn’t stop the plucking

pico was definitely down to stress

 

[Emma&pico]

Coconut Toy Box ~ Seriously Nutz ~ Side Mounted Foraging Bird Toy with Foot Toys

Balsa Smorgasboard ~ Seriously Nutz ~ Side Mount Parrot Foraging Toy. Fillable with pine nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds & more

Honestly I can’t rate these two toys enough they have been such a massive hit keeping my gcc entertained for hours

I don’t know what your set ups like but maybe as @Pixiebeak said if you post pictures maybe we can help give you ideas to keep him a bit more entertain

 

[Emma&pico]

When I first brought pip home he melted really bad had bald spots on his head and had grey feathers showing in a few areas (not to your extend) I took him to vets even though hubby kept saying remi looked same and his was molting

 

[Emma&pico]

This was all molting he looked like it for about a month had me really worried

 

[rocky'smom]

I don't have GCC but honey that is no molt. Some birdy is plucking, barbering their feathers. I am not avian vet do not claim to be one. But I've work enough in rescues to know the difference. You need to see a actual certified avian vet, not some exotic vet that doesn't know sparkles from shinola. My 2 cents.