• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

sun conure health issue? losing colors.

rosalita

Moving in
Joined
11/2/17
Messages
12
Location
Rhode Island
Hi lovely bird owners. I’m somewhat concerned about my Sun Conure Sam. I’ve noticed she’s lost a lot of her color and right now she is mostly yellow. I will attatch a few pictures, one being from a few months ago and one today(with basically all yellow). She is 16 years old about. So maybe it could be from old age? I’m no professional but I could really use some advice and reassurance since this bird means everything to me. as you can tell, she used to have green on her wings now she doesn’t. She only has her green on the tip of her tail. Maybe it’s a health issue?
 

Attachments

Hankmacaw

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avian Angel
Avenue Concierge
Joined
10/18/09
Messages
1,000,001
Location
Arizona
Real Name
Mary Lynn Skinner
Has Sam been to a vet recently? That is where you should start. With a complete medical checkup. Also, tell us what his diet is and maybe someone here can make some recommendations To help Sam.

How is his energy? Is he eating well? Does he seem to sleep too much? Does he show any evidence of illness?
 

rosalita

Moving in
Joined
11/2/17
Messages
12
Location
Rhode Island
Has Sam been to a vet recently? That is where you should start. With a complete medical checkup. Also, tell us what his diet is and maybe someone here can make some recommendations To help Sam.

How is his energy? Is he eating well? Does he seem to sleep too much? Does he show any evidence of illness?
Hi, thank you for replying. She seems to be doing good. She does seem to be eating well. I've been feeding her Smart selects and im starting to put calcium powder on her food every other day to maybe fix the problem. She doesnt seem illness, but birds do tend to hide their illness right? Do you think this could have something to do with her age? Also I have noticed some new feathers coming in but they dont look exactly green, i cant tell.
 

Hankmacaw

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avian Angel
Avenue Concierge
Joined
10/18/09
Messages
1,000,001
Location
Arizona
Real Name
Mary Lynn Skinner
Does she get any fresh foods - vegetables and a few fruits?

She should see a vet and have a CBC and Chem panel done.

A sun conure can live to 30 years, so she is just middle aged.
 

rosalita

Moving in
Joined
11/2/17
Messages
12
Location
Rhode Island
Does she get any fresh foods - vegetables and a few fruits?

She should see a vet and have a CBC and Chem panel done.

A sun conure can live to 30 years, so she is just middle aged.
Thank you, I will be making a vet appointment tomorrow. I've tried giving her fresh fruits and vegetables but her and my other bird don't eat them. Any tips on getting them to eat them? i know for sure in the diet I feed them has fruits
Blend of Nutrition with Smart Pellets, Seeds, Vegetables and Fruit
 

Hankmacaw

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avian Angel
Avenue Concierge
Joined
10/18/09
Messages
1,000,001
Location
Arizona
Real Name
Mary Lynn Skinner
Yes I looked it up. I'm not crazy about Zupreem, but at least it has some Vit D3. Pellets for Parrots

There are a few threads on this forum that give hints and methods to convert your bird to eating vegetables - no bird (except Lories) should get very many fruits at all.
 

Mizzely

Lil Monsters Bird Toys
Super Moderator
Vendor
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avenue Concierge
TAILGATING
Cutest Bird Ever!!!
Banner Hoarder
Joined
8/9/11
Messages
40,183
Location
Northern Mitten Michigan
Real Name
Shawna [she/her]
Vet visit for sure.

 

Mockinbirdiva

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
11/20/09
Messages
11,338
Location
South Carolina
Real Name
Andrea
I agree with the others about a check up w/tests. Do you have even older photos of her that would demonstrate just how much color she's lost? One other question as it relates to a loss of pigmentation on new feather growth on one of my crimson bellies years ago. He had yellow and white feathers show up on new flight feathers ( the whole flight feather), orange and tinged orange feathers that should be red, a few yellow feathers on his back, and two or three tail feathers that came in orangey instead of deep blood red. I used to allow Rocket to fly into the kitchen to me when I would wash bird cups. He loved drinking from the faucet even if the water was fairly warm but not more than 107 degrees. I've filled my water cups for years from the kitchen sink but always with the cold water tap. The pipes under my house are copper. Letting him drink those few sips on a frequent basis was enough to cause his new feather growth to start changing. It was quite alarming. He has been banned from ever drinking from the faucet. It took a good year and maybe more for his feathers to molt and return to their true color and have been ever since. He was three years old then ...He's 11 years old now. None of the other three crimsons had the same thing happen, only Rocket had access to drink from the tap.
 

rosalita

Moving in
Joined
11/2/17
Messages
12
Location
Rhode Island
I agree with the others about a check up w/tests. Do you have even older photos of her that would demonstrate just how much color she's lost? One other question as it relates to a loss of pigmentation on new feather growth on one of my crimson bellies years ago. He had yellow and white feathers show up on new flight feathers ( the whole flight feather), orange and tinged orange feathers that should be red, a few yellow feathers on his back, and two or three tail feathers that came in orangey instead of deep blood red. I used to allow Rocket to fly into the kitchen to me when I would wash bird cups. He loved drinking from the faucet even if the water was fairly warm but not more than 107 degrees. I've filled my water cups for years from the kitchen sink but always with the cold water tap. The pipes under my house are copper. Letting him drink those few sips on a frequent basis was enough to cause his new feather growth to start changing. It was quite alarming. He has been banned from ever drinking from the faucet. It took a good year and maybe more for his feathers to molt and return to their true color and have been ever since. He was three years old then ...He's 11 years old now. None of the other three crimsons had the same thing happen, only Rocket had access to drink from the tap.
Oh my, i’ve never thought of that. My birds have always had water from the tap. Thank you, i’m gonna start giving them filtered water even if that’s not the problem! Here’s some older pictures of her.
 

Attachments

Mockinbirdiva

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
11/20/09
Messages
11,338
Location
South Carolina
Real Name
Andrea
Oh my, i’ve never thought of that. My birds have always had water from the tap. Thank you, i’m gonna start giving them filtered water even if that’s not the problem! Here’s some older pictures of her.
The older pictures are very helpful to show the change of her color/diminished red. You can have your water tested. Still, she needs a thorough check up to see if there are underlying issues causing the change in pigment in her feathering. I wouldn't rule the cause as the water. In Rockets case, I had called the breeder he came from to inquire about his genetics. He in turn spoke to one of the original breeders who was in partnership with importing the original birds to a breeding consortium. In short, it was suggested my bird had dietary deficiencies causing the odd colored feathers. With that said... I had four other crimsons on the same diet with no color changes. The small amount of warm water from the tap was enough to release particles from the pipes which caused the change in his feathering. How long did I allow him to sneak a drink from the faucet? I can't remember ... this was 2012, perhaps a year when he molted in the odd feathers. I still use the same tap but always cold water. They all have their original characteristics as the bird in my avatar.

When you fill her bowl with the smart selects.. does she eat the majority of pellets or picks through and only eats the seeds in the mix? The pellets in your mix have calcium carbonate. If she is consuming a great portion of them you do not need to add powdered calcium to her diet, if you are sprinkling the powdered form of calcium on top of the dry food most of it likely falls through to the bottom of her dish since it won't stick to the dry contents of her bowl.

I would follow @Hankmacaw advice and schedule a complete CBC and chem panel.
 
Top