Senegal-odd tail colouration

[Aidenwb]

Hey guess. About 6 weeks ago we took in a 5 year old Senegal from a rescue in a neighbouring city. He’s been to the vet and was deemed overall healthy but a bit overweight (which we knew when we got him). We’ve noticed that his tail is quite different than other senegals we’ve seen. Rather than being grey, his tail feathers are all a mix of yellow and grey, the yellow colouration is something I haven’t seen before. I don’t know
Much about his history other than that he’s had 5 homes so far, the rescue was feeding him zupreem fruitblend and has since been switched to Harrison’s coarse. Any idea what would cause the yellow tail feathers?

 

[Aidenwb]

I should also mention, it’s not a new development. He’s had the yellow tail feathers since we took him in 6 weeks ago and has been on quarantine since. He also hasn’t been with us long enough to molt any out to see if they come back the same colour or look normal after being on a good healthy diet for a while.

 

[The_Mayor]

Here's an old thread that might be relevant.

 

[Aidenwb]

He’s negative for PBFD but we’ll schedule a CHEM panel to see if he’s packing on anything. Was just curious if anyone had seen it before.

 

[CrazyKozmo]

Yes, @The_Mayor, I was thinking that the liver needs to be checked also.

 

[The_Mayor]

Your bird also looked like it had some similarities in coloring to the pied Senegal. But I'm really bad at visual matching so I could be seeing a likeness where none is.

 

[Mizzely]

Several possibilities.

Genetic. Liver. Age. Follicle trauma... I would have a liver panel done to be in the safe side (overweight birds are prone to liver issues, sadly!). If it comes back clear, then I wouldn't worry too much

 

[Aidenwb]

He’s scheduled for the 23rd to get full panels done just to be safe. We were told he was 5 by the last owner (he’s had 4 before us) but there’s no way to verify as he’s not banded so he could definitely be older than that. Hopefully it comes back just as a genetic variation.

 

[Aidenwb]

Bloodwork all came back normal. No liver issues or dietary deficiencies. PBFD is negative. Vet believes it’s genetic as he has yellow feathers on his back as well.

 

[Mizzely]

Awesome news! Peace of mind is a wonderful thing

 

[CrazyKozmo]

Great news! Thanks for letting us know