IndianRingNeck.com

hey there folks

out beautiful blue irn 'bollo' is having so much trouble growing a decent set of tail feathers. anybody else ever experienced this? we're having to pluck a lot of them out because they crack and start bleeding. ergh sometimes we use arrowroot powder and that'll stop it enough that we don't need to get rid of it but man... we've resorted to pellets which i've tried to avoid for the longest time.. i don't know why. maybe she didn't get enough nutrition when she was younger??? i like to keep them on a really healthy diet of plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables (they love kale! so proud!) and millet and the occasional bit of dried fruit.. maybe slip 'em a peanut i still give them seed but not a lot and not the bad kind.. they eat safflower seeds now instead of sunflower.

so now they have protein pellets mixed into their seed in an effort to make her tail feathers grow stronger. any other suggestions that don't involve processed man made foods????

Ringnecks are known for their good feather quality.

I give mine Budgie Seed mix with 10% shell grit mixed in all the time. Sunflower seed seperately once a week. (quarter of a cup per pair and if they eat it all in one day then they wait till the next week to get more). They get a variety of either Corn, Apple, Pair, Carrot, Broccoli, Capsicum, Chillie, Celery, Soaked Seed Mix every day. Cuttle fish and Calcium blocks available all the time.

I havent tried Pellets but that doesnt mean they arent good.

Once I had a pair that took forever to go through their moult and their tails looked bad for a while but they came through it in the end.

Chicken bones are good for them to chew on and get protein too. I occasionly throw them in a cooked leg bone and they enjoy it.

Are you sure that the bird isnt damaging its own tail by chewing on it? Maybe get the Vet to just check it out to see if there is no underlying problem.

rod038 wrote:Are you sure that the bird isnt damaging its own tail by chewing on it? Maybe get the Vet to just check it out to see if there is no underlying problem.

thanks for the reply!

chicken bones sound interesting!

she's been through a lot in her short little life so i'm guessing she's got a few hang-ups but her feathers have been this brittle since she was little. i've never seen her chew on her own tail but that'd be devastating if she did that


keep perches low.. build big cages..

daniele wrote:chicken bones sound interesting!

Yes, I was shocked when our vet recommended the occasional chicken bones for protein.

They do love it.

Ellie.

Yes fresh cooked bones.