Feathers look patchy

[Hj243028]

Hi! I have a 3 month old Lovebird. She/He has been eating well, still not doing well with her fruits and veggies , but I offer them daily. Lately it has sown a lot of the time preening and I’m not sure if the darks spots on the feathers is due to this or is it a disease or mites? It’s in a very well kept cage and very spoiled . I’m attaching pictures to see if someone has any ideas of what can be happening here. Thank you in advance.

 

[noodles123]

Kind of looks like overpreening..but wondering if it's partly related to diet based on the angular breaks of some of the feathers (and diet can also impact behavior. What does she/he eat?
How much time out of the cage does she/he get?

 

[Hj243028]

Hi ! Thanks for your reply. So she eats ZuPreem FruitBlend Flavor pellets, veggies and fruits still not much interested, and 1 teaspoon of seeds 3 times a week / she is very playful, just recently trying to bite more than before, which I think is part of her growing . She gets out around a total of 3 hours through out the day out of her cage. She does want to be out more time when she sees me around , but is not always posible. Thanks

 

[noodles123]

Does she have access to any huts/boxes/ of shadowy spaces? Those can influence hormones and behavior...10 hours of sleep is also really important food mood and immune health.

 

[SailBoat]

If you are located in the Northern Hemisphere, its also possible that your baby is pushing a new set of body feathers (molting), which would be common for both age and location.

 

[Laurasea]

Looks like over preening. Super cute lovebird!
I'm sure you spend plenty of time out of the cage together. But when i adopted a plucker ( next step after over preening ) my avain vet said to increase out of cage time to st least six hours a day. To try and take her in her cage ( secure bottom try and all doors) for 15- 30 minutes a day in light shade. To provide lots of preen toys, like shredders, and they have frilly strips of paper like a pom pom, stuff like that. And to increase foraging. More baths. Make sure hands dint have lotion or alcohol residue. Make sure no scented plug in or smoking..

I know love birds need lots if time with tgeir person. I hope that helps. I will also link an article to bird stress, i love this article, so I'm always sharing it.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

 

[Flboy]

Hi
Looks like stress bars! Not unusual for what she has been going through!

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and your gorgeous lovebird!!

Doesn't look troubling to me, but something to watch over the next few months. Birds can be stubborn with diets, here's a link to possibly enhance nutrition: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

A technique to stimulate interest with fresh veggies and fruits is preparing two identical bowls, one each for you and lovebird. Offer her one, begin eating from yours. Make "mmmm" sounds, bob your head up and down demonstrating pleasure. They are flock eaters, and you are one of the flock!

 

[Hj243028]

Thank you all for the replies!