Ilse
Strolling the yard
Hi all! It's been a while since I've been on here! How are you all doing?
I've been alright myself, it's molting season so I've got some angry birdies on my hands... except for one. Miss Red the Kakariki.
About a week ago I noticed a LOT of feathers on the floor around the budgies cage where Red hangs out; I figured, "Oh, they're just molting and it's all their feathers on the ground!" I didn't think much of it until I noticed that red had a lot of puffy down feathers sticking out. I tried searching for possible causes on Google and found nothing except that she may be plucking, so I waited for her to preen and have a bath.
She had her bath but her feathers didn't go back to normal; I ruled out that her feathers were just messy. I waited for her to preen and she did, and after a moment I heard chewing, and pop! Out comes a feather in her beak. I, being me, panicked! We booked her in to go to the avian vet, and she was seen two days later.
The vet asked me questions, as they do, like "What's her sleep like?"
I told him that I put her to bed at 8pm and get her up at 8am, but she wakes up at around 5am because I do, and the moment I make the tiniest noise she's up and won't go back to sleep. He suggested moving her to another room to sleep, one that's darker and doesn't have a lot of activity, so I did! She seems to be doing better, but she's still plucking. The vet also did a fecal exam and said he would get in contact if he found anything out of the ordinary, but he has yet to call/email, so I assume everything is all good there!
Recently I started switching Red to a pellet based diet, I started this change when I realised she was plucking, as I know plucking can be caused by a bad diet.
I have also given her a Lorikeet Bar (it's a birdie bar that has fruit in it! Yummy) for her to snack on, and she has toys to chew and play with.
The vet bill was SUPPOSED to be $86 AUD ($58 USD I believe) but instead, it was $168 AUD ($113 USD) due to the fecal exam. My family is really struggling with money at the moment. The vet told me that if she doesn't stop plucking after I've moved her into the other room to sleep, he wants to see her to do some blood tests, but he told me it will be about $400... ($271 USD) and we just cannot afford that.
Does anyone have any advice or experience with pluckers? He told me that even a happy and healthy bird can pluck, and I understand that... It's just, no one wants to see their birdie with no pants!
She hasn't plucked her wings, only her front and mostly at her back near her tail. Here are some (not so great) pictures! + Poor Red in the crate
Thank you for any advice!
Thanks AA!!!
I've been alright myself, it's molting season so I've got some angry birdies on my hands... except for one. Miss Red the Kakariki.
About a week ago I noticed a LOT of feathers on the floor around the budgies cage where Red hangs out; I figured, "Oh, they're just molting and it's all their feathers on the ground!" I didn't think much of it until I noticed that red had a lot of puffy down feathers sticking out. I tried searching for possible causes on Google and found nothing except that she may be plucking, so I waited for her to preen and have a bath.
She had her bath but her feathers didn't go back to normal; I ruled out that her feathers were just messy. I waited for her to preen and she did, and after a moment I heard chewing, and pop! Out comes a feather in her beak. I, being me, panicked! We booked her in to go to the avian vet, and she was seen two days later.
The vet asked me questions, as they do, like "What's her sleep like?"
I told him that I put her to bed at 8pm and get her up at 8am, but she wakes up at around 5am because I do, and the moment I make the tiniest noise she's up and won't go back to sleep. He suggested moving her to another room to sleep, one that's darker and doesn't have a lot of activity, so I did! She seems to be doing better, but she's still plucking. The vet also did a fecal exam and said he would get in contact if he found anything out of the ordinary, but he has yet to call/email, so I assume everything is all good there!
Recently I started switching Red to a pellet based diet, I started this change when I realised she was plucking, as I know plucking can be caused by a bad diet.
I have also given her a Lorikeet Bar (it's a birdie bar that has fruit in it! Yummy) for her to snack on, and she has toys to chew and play with.
The vet bill was SUPPOSED to be $86 AUD ($58 USD I believe) but instead, it was $168 AUD ($113 USD) due to the fecal exam. My family is really struggling with money at the moment. The vet told me that if she doesn't stop plucking after I've moved her into the other room to sleep, he wants to see her to do some blood tests, but he told me it will be about $400... ($271 USD) and we just cannot afford that.
Does anyone have any advice or experience with pluckers? He told me that even a happy and healthy bird can pluck, and I understand that... It's just, no one wants to see their birdie with no pants!
She hasn't plucked her wings, only her front and mostly at her back near her tail. Here are some (not so great) pictures! + Poor Red in the crate
Thank you for any advice!
Thanks AA!!!
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