Katebrownb
New member
- Feb 10, 2016
- 16
- 0
My female love bird has been actively molting for about two weeks now, and she had lost a tail feather, assuming during the molt. I'm not sure how to describe it, so I'll go ahead and post a picture. It's a hole, but the bars are still there and the quill is totally fine. I have a second lovebird in another cage. I took her out and looked at her tail, and her tail feathers are exactly the same but worse, as in, there are full feathers, but there's an absence of feather, almost chewed away holes but very carefully chewed. The odd thing is, it's only the tail feathers, wings and body seem totally fine but then again, it was so easily hidden to begin with. They are both on a pellet diet, and the only drastic change or stress in their lives has been that we got a new puppy about three months ago. The puppy did have a case of giarda, though I'm not sure if it can be transmitted via canine to avian. They seem completely happy, always talking back and forth, singing, playing, eating, etc. we do also have a third bird, an alexandrine, who has no feather damage. My first thought was it was lice or mite. I want to know if this is familiar to anyone. My friend said it can happen during a molt, but I have all their tail feathers from the last 4 years, and I've yet to see anything like this. In the picture I have put a healthy feather next to the one I found today. I'm hoping for some reassurance here, but I defiantly plan on making a vet visit. For the moment I'm both worried and curious, it's all I've been thinking about since I noticed this all today. I think most bird owners know that feeling. Thanks everyone.
