Feather/Molting/Diet Questions

[SkyBaby]

He's grown triple the green feathers he's had since I last wrote about him. He does seem to be molting a little bit, but I don't think molting feathers are supposed to break off. Something tells me that's not quite normal. Is that something that requires a vet visit? They're not coming out at the shaft. They break off about a quarter the way down. He's currently half duck butt.

Another question: His wings are clipped and there are no signs that those feathers are falling off yet. When can I expect a full set of wings? He's only about 6 months old. I have an aviator harness for him and he seems to be somewhat able to put up with it.

His diet is this: Oatmeal with some fruit and a little bit of seed for breakfast. Some green veggies (whatever i happen to make) for lunch and dinner is a bit of seed/pellet mix. He tends to kick out the pellets. I see them on the floor of his cage. I have the ones for medium sized parrots. Are those too big? Should I try cockatiel sized? He has shown zero interest in these pellets and it's annoying because I spent $25 on that bucket. I've been giving him a 50/50 mix for a month now. The only way he'll eat his veggies and healthy stuff is if I take out his seed dish.

Thanks guys!

[Fah]

Are the feathers "breaking" or is he/she nipping them off when he is alone?

I would highly suggest a vet visit if you are unsure. Green feathers in a blue bird generally = turquoise mutation starting to show (turquoise is a progressive gene).... however :/

If the feathers are brittle and breaking etc, the green could very well be a hormone / nutritional problem (maybe your doing the right thing, cept he is actually playing more with the foods than eating them).

I have not used pellets in my entire breeding time. I have done a rather large amount of research and testing with a friend into this, and the only thing i have to say about pellets is that they are remarkably well advertised, and will make you feel like a bad owner if you arent feeding your birds pellets.

In my opinion, if your bird does not like pellets, why bother? My birds, on a seed / soaked seed / fruit and veg with some nuts now and then diet... are supremely healthy, we were doing the blood checks with a friend for a while each with different tactics, they were bang on the same, and my feeding routine was less than half the cost of his pellets alone (not including his fruit and veg costs), their samples were all bang on what they had to be etc and my birds are as happy as you can find :/

In the end, you dont sound like you are doing anything wrong with the diet though.. however oatmeal gives very little nutrition for an IRN and should not consist more in the diet than seed does... as it does lack some real nutritional base needs.

Once a fortnight, I also use a mineral solution in their water (incredibly cheap, as in it lasts many many uses) to make doubly sure they are getting everything they need.

Try to find fruit and veg he will happily leave seed alone for... this can take trial and error and an initial few $ to do, however once you find their favourites, you will be lucky to see them look at seed while it is around.

There are three things that can possibly be happening at the moment... I have listed them in order of what i think might most likely be happening. However a vet check should come into play regardless of which it is.

1) plucking and one of its many forms... many bird owners refuse to see this as happening, but birds hardly ever do this anywhere near people, its something that birds do alone. It can be something from emotional to as harmless as the bird having a particularly bad / itchy / painful moult.

2) hormones, vet trip needed to make sure his blood reading is all tip top.

3) diet, vet trip might be wise to make sure it is or isnt his diet that needs to be looked at... through a similar blood check for the hormones.

[Kiko2017]

Hello i got my ringneck 2 weeks ago. The seller said hes 4-5 months old but i think hes more 6-7-8. He had a bit of feathers missing on his nose but now it seams more. It looks like hes starting to molt coz i keep finding 2-4 feathers a day on the bottom of the cage everyday but is his bold spot molting? I know they start from head and his head looks messy but it just doesnt seem right.thank you for anny comments.

[sanjays mummi]

He looks ok to me, my bird is moulting too, and they go through a tatty phase, I give mine "Feather Up" supplement, you can order it online, also, coconut oil is good for skin and plumage, just a little on their food.

[thor23]

I thought that I would share some of the food ideas that I eat as part of the low GI diet. It would be great if all those following a low GI diet could also add their suggestions about food that they eat and then we can all start to mix and match yippee

BURGEN; SOYA AND LINSEED BREAD:
If I have it with jam then I have it with St. Dalfour jam which has no added sugar (you can get it in most supermarkets).
Or a very thin layer of honey and a sprinkling of ground cinnamon which everything I have read regarding PCOS/GI diet has said it is brilliant for controlling sugar levels.
Mashed or sliced banana toastie or have it on toast. If I mash it then once again I mix cinnamon with it and if i slice it then I sprinkle cinnamon on it.

ORGANIC PORRIDGE OATS:
Made with half water and half organic semi-skimmed milk or organic soya milk (yuk, I have to grin and bear it)!
Top with chopped fresh strawberries or chopped banana and cinnamon.

A really nice snack drink is banana blended with some organic semi-skimmed milk, a teaspoon of cinnamon or however much you like and a bit of natural yogurt.

Homemade smoothies are really good for you because you're getting your daily intake of fruit and when milk and yogurt have added the balance of protein is great. A herbalist advised me to stir in a spoonful of porridge oats to slow down the release of sugar.

These are my food suggestions, for now, not many YET but I hope they do help.

[sanjays mummi]

Our birds do not need a low GI diet.