Ollie and his feathers...worried a little...

[akijoy]

Just yesterday, I saw noticeable change in the color of his feathers.

I have read and heard that it can result from poor diet or stress.

Ollie seems perfectly happy and not stressed at all. Well, except that he would prefer to be the only bird, and not have Gertie and Sammy hanging around me all the time.

His diet, I have been meticulous about. No pellets at all, and I offer a variety of fresh vegetables and grains and fruits. Recently, I have had success with sprouting, and he has loved eating that.

He is eating well, and acting perfectly fine. Is this something to worry about? Here are pics:

 

[piercesdesigns]

Monica, those marks are at the ends of his feathers, so they are not diet or stress related. He may be over preening a bit.

You might want to go to a shower every other day. His skin might be a little dry due to the heat being on, etc.

Also, ekkies look ragged right before they molt. Their feathers almost seem to decompose.

 

[Saemma]

Could the dark marks be from overhandling...like giving him scritches when your hands are oily from hand cream etc.?

 

[akijoy]

Could the dark marks be from overhandling...like giving him scritches when your hands are oily from hand cream etc.?

I don' use any kind of creams or lotions, but I am guilty of overhandling. All my birds are cuddlers! I will try to be more careful.

 

[Danita]

Over handling, really???
I have never heard of that.

 

[piercesdesigns]

Eclectus do develop black marks if petted too much. Usually it is from the hand oils.

 

[Saemma]

Yes, overhandling on the feathers can cause discoloration due to oil, dirt, debris... etc

 

[Danita]

Would that happen to a macaw?
sorry, not to hijack your thread Monica

 

[piercesdesigns]

Eventually probably but with Ekkies it is quicker. Their feathers do not have the barbs that hold feathers together in most birds. They are more hair like.

 

[Saemma]

This happens to all parrots. In some species it is alot more visible than others. For instance.......... it would be alot more visible on my Sachi than on my Emma because she is green.

I make a point of always washing my hands or having clean oil free hands before touching them and I never scratch feathers below the chin area.

 

[akijoy]

His feathers are discolored where I don't touch him either, though, so I wonder if that is it. I overhandle the other two, and Sam Mealy is quite as green, and it doesn't seem to affect them at all.

 

[piercesdesigns]

This info is from Laurella Desborough (renown eclectus breeder and author).

Back to the blackish feathers on the back of the eclectus parrot. If this is a young bird, under a year of age, those black stress marks are not unusual and often are found on the first feathers to emerge when the bird is developing feathers. The young birds attempt to preen the newly emerging pin feathers and when they are too "energetic" in that activity, they will cause the greenish parts of the feather to be damaged, leaving the black portion of the feather in place. This is generally not a diet problem in young birds, but a "mechanical" problem when they are starting to preen feathers.

For older birds, over a year of age, who develop black feathers or black tipped feathers, often the cause is diet...and too much fat. The owner needs to review the diet and to remove ALL nuts, but especially peanuts. Sometimes it is butter or margarine on bread that is being consumed, or cheese. Review the diet and eliminate fatty diet items and the next molt should result in normal green or red feathers.

In the case of feathers with a v split at the ends, the bird is cutting that v in those feathers. This is one form of plucking. If it is just starting, I would review the cage, the toys, the diet, and the daily regimen to see what is causing the bird to do this. Sometimes it is diet related, such as colored pellets, or too many pellets and not enough fresh foods. OR...it could be that the bird does not have a chewable perch. A chewable perch would be a soft wood, such as a length of 2inch by 2inch white wood from a lumber company. Without a soft wood perch, eclectus parrots may chew on their feathers. Most perches, whether dowels, manzanita, ribbon wood, or whatever, are simply too hard for the eclectus beak. Yet, the eclectus parrot has been programmed to chew on wood, which helps to groom the beak. So, without a proper soft wood, the bird is going to chew on something else, including feathers.

 

[Danita]

Good article Debbie

 

[Gen120]

Could it be stress bars? Sammy, my amazon had those when I first got her and they were at the end of her feathers like Ollie too. Maybe he is just stressed because he is in a new enviroment?

 

[Birdiemarie]

Good article. I tend to think it's fat related but Ollie isn't getting to much fat in his diet. That being said, different ekkies react differently to different things so trial and error will reveal a lot with our particular ekkie. Ruby (when fully feathered) was handled a lot by me and petted all the time and didn't show any discoloration. Her feathers were gorgeous (for new members..Ruby's feather plucking is food related). But another ekkie may have reacted differently. Also where the feathers are darkening tends to make me feel it is a different problem with Ollie. I would look into the fats and protein in his diet more. I lost a lot of my saved info sights with the tp problem so am having to research from scratch.

Sunlight plays a big difference in their feather condition also so he may need more natural sunlight if possible. Also it could be stress bars from past stresses showing up now. Monica, with continued investigation you'll figure it out.

 

[BraveheartDogs]

Monica,

Did they just turn that color or have they always been that way since you got Ollie?

 

[akijoy]

Monica,

Did they just turn that color or have they always been that way since you got Ollie?

He had a little bit of dark coloring (the former owner said he was molting) but it just seems more prominent recently...like in one day it was surprisingly different. The only thing I can remember feeding him differently is adding a quarter of a corn on the cob this skewer, which he loved.