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Growing new feathers or molt?

MagInAPie

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Hi! I am a new bird owner, and I have had my American Dilute Conure Todo for a few weeks now. He is 3 1/2 months now (he was born in the middle of December) His feathers look a bit scraggly and I think he could be getting stress bars. He is very used to me and my family, my mom loves to hog him. I spend most of my day with him. I wonder if some of the stress comes from the fact that the breeder had him living with another conure from the same clutch. They played all day long and he was pretty disappointed, I am considering getting a GCC as a companion for him if this is the case. I’m worried he could be molting or feather plucking, or maybe he’s just a baby and doesn’t have a lot of feathers! I’m not sure, I’m not the most experienced in the feather department. Please tell me if you think anything could help! :) Sorry the pictures are blurry, Todo was being very active.
 

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Zara

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webchirp

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He is a cutie. He does look a bit ragged in the feathers. Have you taken him in for gram stains? I know mine will look like that if they have some bacteria in their system.
 

MagInAPie

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Welcome to the Avenue Ady :)

@webchirp
Thank you!! :D
He is a cutie. He does look a bit ragged in the feathers. Have you taken him in for gram stains? I know mine will look like that if they have some bacteria in their system.
No I haven't taken him in yet. Is it fatal or urgent? I just wanna make sure he is ok. I am a bit worried for him, he had these feathers when we first got him, and they have only gotten worse. It seems like stress bars too. Its all so confusing. Sorry I am new to some bird diseases lol
 
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webchirp

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I would take him in for peace of mind and talk to your vet. I can't say if a vet appointment is urgent. They can very much hide their illnesses. Call your vet and see when you can get him in. You may have to wait a bit depending on who your vet might be. I know Dr. Orosz' office is booking over a month ahead and they are booked solid and referring patients at times because they have been so busy.
 

Mizzely

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1. Gram stain is looking at a poop under a microscope to check for bacteria that signal an infection is going on. It's easy, non invasive, fairly cheap, and routine for well check visits.

2. Molting is a continuous process. Much like you and I lose hair all the time, birds loose feathers. However, a couple times a year they go through a Big Molt where they lose wing and tail feathers in addition to a large amount of body feathers.

3. Stress bars do not appear in mature feathers. They can only happen while the feather is in the middle of growing. Even though they are called "stress bars" stress is not simply stress like the feeling. It can be stress on the body from a poor diet or missed feedings, it can be stress from an illness, or stress on their fight or flight reflex. Basically, anytime that the body needed to divert resources away from feather production because it needed to focus on surviving.

4. Bronzing is sometimes confused with stress bars; this is where the mature feathers change colors, turning brown or blackish in spots. This is from the ridges on the feathers being worn down, which changes our color perception. This can be from petting, or rubbing on cage bars or toys, or from them playing rough - common in babies!

If he is 3.5 months he should be fully feathered, but stress bars are very common in babies. How long have you had him? What is his diet like?

I would also suggest a well baby visit just so you can establish a baseline for your bird as well as start a relationship with a vet. Some will not accept emergency visits from non-patients.
 

Sweetbeaks

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E1E7CB85-9A0C-4DD7-AAAB-CDD0147A2BFD.jpeg
Camper is exactly that same age and he looks like that right now we just had him at the vet for his first full check up all is well .we figure that Harrison’s food is kicked in and replacing some not so shiny ones‍♀ I don’t know much I’m just sharing. If you get the fecal test then you won’t have to worry,all though he looked perfect when we dropped him off lol
 

Zara

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Oh, you clipped him?

You know, you should really look into harness training to keep him safe when outdoors. With him still being young, hopefully it could be a bit easier for you now.
 

Sweetbeaks

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Yes monthly that is my heart choice , they go religiously once a month. i know it’s a tuff topic but I don’t want them to be housebound or in a room it just doesn’t feel right to me . But I do not judge others for their choice
 

Zara

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Clipped or not they still need a harness on to be outside cage-free. So clipping them is irrelevant to take them outdoors. I used to take my Sydney out for hikes, he´s fully flighted.
I think it´s great to take birds outside, as long we do it safely.
 

Sweetbeaks

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Well I will take them in to the aviary and out , and I’m in and out all the time. So fighted they could fly out at those times. And a Harness would be useless (irrelevant)for when I’m in and out! I didn’t ask to be judged or bullied , I made the right choice for me ! It is 50/ 50 if you do your homework .it should be each persons CHOICE (without being bullied) to make the best choice for their personal situation!
 
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Sweetbeaks

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Maybe things wouldnt be so bad in this world if adults would remember to be kind and considerate to other people’s feelings.
im so sorry mag in a pie , please forgive me
 

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No one is bullying you. Respectful difference of opinion and providing information is all I see.

My mother in law sadly lost her clipped cockatiel who got out the front door and he was swept up by the wind. He was found dead miles away. Clipped is a false sense of security.

There's no judgement in trying to prevent someone experiencing that heart ache.

You are free to do with your birds as you wish. Education is something that never stops with birds. There are ways to keep them flighted and safe and happy.
 

Sweetbeaks

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It is very sad , but I think the statistics would be different if professional trimming and maintenance where taken . Where some people kinda keep up with, has lead to a false security that keeping wings untrimmed is a better choice . It’s expensive , and easier to judge
sorta of maintenance , is a big difference between putting your heart and soul into it!
 
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Sweetbeaks

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I am not trying to be argumentative but tell me how it would not be dangerous to have them in an aviary and go in and out ? we could easily put them in backpack for transfer but you still need to open door to go in , trust me we agonized about what would be best . That pic is day 2 of getting trimmed. Honestly if you have thoughts I mean we where gonna build a second area for 2 doorways a kinda safe zone but they are small and that worried me . I really really believe we are making the best choice . We love our birds just as much as none trimmers:grouphug:
 
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Zara

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Oh, you clipped him?
Sorry @MagInAPie , I re-read the thread too quickly and thought these where the same bird and was surprised by the clipping. We see a lot of people here wishing their birds came home flighted like yours did.

@Sweetbeaks I still stand by what I said about the harness etc. Would hate to hear they flew away and you lost them. Wouldn´t wish that on anyone.
We´re not bullying, just looking out for you and your birds.
That´s cool you have an aviary. What you need is a double door, where you have to get inside first, close the main door to the aviary, then proceed into the main aviary. Like what we see at zoos walk in aviaries and other walk in enclosures. Maybe someone handy with wood could help you build something? Or yourself if you´re good at carpentry. It only has to be big enough to walk in and open the door.
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MagInAPie

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Sorry I haven’t checked this in so long! Regarding the harnesses, we are ordering a harness for my little boy. I watched a video from a girl who owns several birds and rescued a budgie who had clipped wings that was found on the street. I don’t judge those who get their birds wings clipped, we almost had to clip Todo’s wings due to the fact my family leaves doors open a lot. My family is very considerate of the bird now so we kept him flighted. Also I will see if I can get him into a vet, the breeder says it looks like he’s molting and the marks could be from his rough playing lol. He is currently swinging from a string of wooden toys squaking and quacking at them, while hitting the bars. He is on a chop/seed/pellet diet. He is also on eggfood currently to help ease the stress with molting. I make sure he dosen’t eat the seeds primarily as they are very fattening. Same with the pellets, as they have lots of fruit in them. He eats his chop every day and gets mad when I remove his food bowl lol.
 

MagInAPie

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Also @Sweetbeaks i think the fact you have an aviary is so neat! Sadly my family is a bit tight on money so we couldn’t get something like that. I don’t think todo would like it anyways, he’s a bit terrified of the outdoors. (We take him outside in a travel cage) He has a plenty big cage right now, and he loves it. We also let him fly around my bedroom, whirred he leaves me plenty of surprise droppings :eek:

our setup :)
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Sweetbeaks

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I also felt like rough playing could be the culprit. thanks I am still open to change lol. Aww I love it , your setup is awesome ,nice organizing too. Camper could fly when we got him it was .... chaotic but very neat :laugh: . eggfood thanks for the tip I’m gonna check that out . we decided if he is not better this weekend we gonna make an appointment we will let you know ,please let me know how your things progress too. Similar boat can’t help but worry right
 
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