Lovebird Molting - Video/Pictures included

[RedhaRay]

Hello, I hope everyone is doing great,
I'm new here, and this is my first post in this nice forum,
I've got a little lovebird, I got him around December 2020,
his beak was mostly black,
I think the bird was only a few weeks old when I got it,
health, feathers, basically everything seemed to be alright,

about one month ago or maybe a little more,
I noticed a gray spot on his stomach/chest, and it kept on spreading to all rest of the body,
I started searching, and I read that lovebird usually molt " changes feathers" when the bird reaches six months old,
my bird should be about 6-7 months old now,

so I said there is nothing to worry about,
but looking at the photos of how other lovebirds are molting/changing feathers,
I started to get worry again, because my lovebird condition is way worse than all other pictures I've seen online,
this is a video of the bird, I took it yesterday,

Some photos in the attachments.

Please, is the bird ok? Is this normal? Do I need to be worried?
Especially that all nearby vets where I live are closed due to the virus,
I would do all my best to give all my pets the best life possible,
but I'm still a beginner at this, and I really want to hear someone saying, the bird is fine and this is normal, I hope so,
thank you so much for all your efforts.
In case anyone could tell the gender of the bird,
I would appreciate it too.

Age: about six months old
Gender: unknown
Breed: lovebird
Cage: open cage 24/7
mates in the house: 2 pigeons, 2 Fischer's lovebirds
food: nuts, sunflowers seeds, fruit, boiled eggs,
and sometimes some pigeon's food.
* all other birds are fine with no issues.
Thanks.

 

[Shezbug]

Bump

 

[RedhaRay]

I would appreciate any help I can get, thank you.

 

[Mizzely]

To me, this bird appears to either not be molting properly, or they are plucking/barbering, which are feather destructive behaviors (FDB). For a bird that is 6 months old, if they are indeed engaged in FDB, then I would be on the phone ASAP with a vet because plucking can be a sign of pain or illness.

 

[RedhaRay]

Thank you so much Mizzely for your help,
yes the bird is about 6-7 months old, so my theory was right?
It's not a normal molting then?
The thing is most nearby vets are closed because of coronavirus,
and the ones that are opened only accept cats and dogs,
how can I tell if it's FDB, or if it was feather molting?
And how serious is it? Can it lead to death?
Even tho the bird is active and playing and eating normal.

I will try to contact a vet but for now
is there anything I can do now to make things better?
Thank you so much for helping me and my little bird,
we both associate it,

 

[Mizzely]

Whether or not it is life threatening depends greatly on the cause. Immature birds rarely pluck or barber their feathers for hormonal or psychological reasons (boredom, frustration, etc). So when they appear to be overgrooming, the likelihood that it is medical in nature is increased. Medical could mean pain, illness, egg, nutrition, etc.

 

[Sunni Tiel]

Birds may pluck or barber when they are in pain, itchy, or depressed.

If you didn't know, plucking is when they pull out their feathers and barbering is when they clip the feathers off with their beaks but leave a little.

It isn't the plucking that would kill them, it would be the sickness causing the plucking.

 

[RedhaRay]

Sunni Tiel , Mizzely

Thanks so much for all the information,
I'm very grateful to all of you,
so its either plucking or not molting properly,
In your experience, which one is it more likely to be?
Isn't there a possibility that it might be normal molting?
In both situations I believe going to the vet
should be the first thing to do,
but that might take a little time,

should I try to give my bird medicine?
Should I put that thing on it's neck just like the ones they used with the dogs
" I forgot it name, it's a plastic on the neck that blocks the animal from scratching his body",
the bird eats from my hand, so hand feeding is fine,
should I give my bird a daily bath?
The store next to me got a sprayer for birds,
he told me it might be good, should I try it?
Any specific food I can give? Just anything at all that might help my bird situation.
If you need any details let me know
I really want to offer the best I could to my bird
until I can take him to a vet,
And suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks.

 

[Mizzely]

In my opinion if he's not molting correctly its because of poor nutrition or a medical reason. There is no "more likely to be" in this situation. All are likely.

I would not collar unless she starts injuring her skin.

I would not medicate without knowing what you are treating.

Sprays are just more likely to cause an issue than go solve one.

In normal molting you do not see the grey down feathers. The exposed grey feathers do not provide adequate protection against the elements, so a bird with only down on their stomach like that would be at risk in the wild.

 

[Sunni Tiel]

A vet visit is definitely the best way to go. They can figure out the problem and treat it. You should offer baths as often as your bird wants, weather once a day or once a week, it can take some getting used to. Just use clean water, don't add shampoo or anything.

What's the diet like?

 

[RedhaRay]

Thank you all for helping me. I'm very grateful.

The diet Fruits, boiled eggs, sunflower seeds, I give all my pets a few drops of vitamin in the water too, but since I have a pet pigeon, sometimes my lovebirds eats from the pigeon foods,
the foot is a mixture of seeds. I can share a photo of the food if you need it.

Today someone with experience saw the bird,
he told me this bird might have cold too, he said there must be an airflow in the room, well I have a fan in the room, it might be the reason?, anyway after that I turned the fan off, and I won't turn it back again, I started from today to give the bird a medicine called hipradoksi-s - 1-2 drops everyday
usage:
eye fog, wheezing, respiratory system,
crd, cholera, coryza, air bladder infections
alongside with some vitamins,

I might give him Soak garlic and lemon
it's when we put a garlic in warm water for a few hours
then we add some lemon and offer it to the bird for 2-3 hours.

Until now, his feathers are getting worse, and the vets are still closed.
I hope he gets better soon. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it.
Thanks.

 

[FeatheredM]

It's looks like your bird is plucking or isn't getting enough vitamins. Give your bird bathes, plenty of destuctive toys, socialization, and a big cafe. I hear alot parrotlests are like big birds in a small body. Your birds proper diet could be pellets and veggies, and little seed.bi recommend Harrison's pellets

 

[RedhaRay]

We came to a conclusion that it might be
1- Plucking - solved with more toys and playtime
2- Vitamin deficiency - solved with offering more Vitamin
3- Medical condition - I still don't know how

My plan for now, which I gathered from all the comments,
Nutrition, better diet in general, more vitamins in the water, more bathes, eggs, seeds, alongside with the medicine I motioned earlier. And more toys.

The bird is free in the house, there is a cage, but it's always open since day 1, should I keep him in cage in a new room?
Should I separate him from the rest of the lovebirds "Fischer's breed"? All Other birds are also free in the house,
all my birds goes to their cages on their own when it's sleeping time, I keep a speaker with lovebird singing audio during the day, and all my birds react to the audio, should I stop it for now in case it makes my bird stressed instead of making him happy?

The amount of help and support I got in this forum are beyond great, thank you so much, I will keep this post updated.
Thanks.