Possible plucking?

[taxidermynerd]

Hi, all. A little bit ago, I was looking at Chirp while he was on my finger, and I noticed he's missing some feathers near his vent. He also seems to be missing some on his chest, but unless you move aside the top ones gently, you can't tell. My dad is out at the moment, but when he get's back we're going to call the vet and ask her what she thinks.

Here are some other details that might be worth noting:

• He always has a bowl of about 90% pellets to 10% seed in his bowl. He sifts through for the seeds, and I haven't seen him eating pellets (yet). He at least recognizes them as food. I've been trying to get him to eat chop, little bits each day, but he doesn't seem to be interested.
• His poop seems to be normal.
• He has a shredding toy in his cage (one of those birdie kabobs)
• Unless I'm out of the room or sleeping, his cage door is always open. He has 2 playstands, and two perches on the outside of his cage.
• I'm going to be upgrading to a bigger cage soon (which will be 32 inches width by 20 inches depth by 52 inches height, including the stand in the height)
• Other than the missing feathers, all seems to be normal. Eating, playing, climbing, and acting fine.

Does this sound like it might be plucking? While we're at it, how on earth do I get him to try new stuff? I'm scared to take away seeds completely, I'm afraid I might starve him. Once we call the vet and get an idea of what I'm handling, I'll let you guys know.

Thanks in advance.

 

[taxidermynerd]

Update: I just realized that the vet is closed today since they're at the NARBC (North American Reptile Breeders Conference). They're closed tomorrow too since it's a Sunday. Guess I'll just have to wait till Monday.

In any case, any input would be much appreciated.

 

[WendyN]

 

[rocky'smom]

can you take a picture so we can see what you are asking about??

 

[taxidermynerd]

can you take a picture so we can see what you are asking about??

Yeah, give me just a second to get some decent ones!

 

[rocky'smom]

ok

 

[taxidermynerd]

Alright, here we go! The first one is of his vent, the next one is of part of his chest with the top feathers pushed aside (side note: It's actually pretty hard to hold all the feathers aside with one hand while also trying to hold him and operate a camera. You learn something new every day), and the final one is of his chest without the feathers pushed aside.

 

[JLcribber]

Well first off it's very rare for a budgie to pluck. Second there are many tracts of bare skin on every bird. You don't see them because when feathers lay right they cover everything. The chest bareness would be over the crop. If there were feathers on the vent they would get pooped on.

 

[taxidermynerd]

Well first off it's very rare for a budgie to pluck. Second there are many tracts of bare skin on every bird. You don't see them because when feathers lay right they cover everything. The chest bareness would be over the crop. If there were feathers on the vent they would get pooped on.

View attachment 234548

Yeah, I've noticed before that there are some bare spots on just about every bird. The thing I'm worried about is that the bare spots on Chirp are bigger than is normal for him, especially near the vent.

 

[JLcribber]

Yeah, I've noticed before that there are some bare spots on just about every bird. The thing I'm worried about is that the bare spots on Chirp are bigger than is normal for him, especially near the vent.

Then you are right to take him to the vet make sure.

 

[taxidermynerd]

Then you are right to take him to the vet make sure.

Yeah, once they open up on Monday I'm gonna call. My dad doesn't like having to pay for the vet unless it's 100% necessary, but in my opinion, it's better safe than sorry.

 

[WendyN]

Hope your dad is onboard with a vet check up.

 

[Monica]

I don't see anything that says 'definitely plucking', but I will say, it's not recommended for a budgies diet to be more than 50% pellets.

I no longer have budgies, but my little birds do get 50/50 seeds and pellets, along with however much fresh foods they'll eat in a day.

 

[taxidermynerd]

Well, I have a little bit of an update. This morning, we called the vet. The receptionist said she would have our vet call us back. We're waiting for that call, hopefully it'll be soon.