First moult

[KentNick]

Evening All!

My little boy has started his first moult two days ago where the first day I noticed a few feathers in the bottom of the cage but yesterday there where loads! It started with the back of his neck and now his complete chest. He is now grey and fluffy. I'm giving him 2-3 baths a day and started feeding him more protein. Is there anything else I should be doing to help with his first moult? Also how long will it last and for him to be back to full feathers?

Thanks
Nick

 

[labell]

This does not sound like a normal moult. Can you get pictures for us? This could be a mojo moult which can be quite severe or it could be plucking pics would be helpful. He doesn't need 2 to 3 baths a day once a day is enough. Added protein wouldn't be the answer if he is plucking so I would want to make sure of that before I give you any diet advise.

 

[Anansi]

Hello, Kent. Are you saying that your ekkie went gray and fluffy in only 2 days? This concerns me because Bixby once had Mojo molt and it didn't progress anywhere near so swiftly. Like Laura said, pics would really be helpful, here. Both of your ekkie and of the feathers that have come off of him. Particularly their shafts.

 

[KentNick]

This is this morning day 4.

His feathers have been looking thin for around a month which is why I thought it was a moult

 

[KentNick]

And the back of his neck

 

[KentNick]

And here's the feathers that are found in his cage

 

[JerseyWendy]

To my untrained eyes this does not look like a moult.

Looking at the feathers you are finding, he may have picked those out himself, as I don't see an entire shaft on all of them, plus they look a bit 'unkempt', if you know what I mean.

 

[Anansi]

Hmmm.... I'm not sure. I share Wendy's concerns about the appearance of the shafts, but as for the "downy" look, I have seen something like that before. Here is a pic of Bixby's mojo molt when he was around 8 months old. I had better pics, but they are trapped in an old broken cell phone in need of extraction.

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That was a patch at the nape of his neck. He also had one in his abdomen area. Took months before all of the feathers were replaced. And it's not common, so even some vets were baffled about what was going on. (One even thought he was plucking!)

So that could very well be Mojo molt. What I'm fairly certain of is that it's not a regular molt. Of course, a sufficiently uncomfortable Mojo molt could cause a bird to start plucking, so you'll have to keep an eye out. Keep in mind that, at least in my experience, Mojo molt brings them down to the gray down... not to the skin. If you begin to see skin, you know that you're dealing with something else.

 

[labell]

I would agree that it's hard to say for sure at this point but I am thinking it could be plucking by the pictures and feather shafts.
Continue with baths once a day. Make sure he is getting a good variety of fresh foods, no pellets and provide plenty of shreddable and foraging toys.

Keep a close eye on it as Stephen said if you see any skin you know you have a plucking issue. Regardless of what you might hear or read please don't put anything but clean water on him for his baths. In my opinion those plucking sprays end up making things worse.

 

[melbourned]

I have two pickers that we have not been able to get under control. The pics of your bird and the feathers looks like the symptoms my boys display.

 

[KentNick]

So time will tell then. I feel like I have let him down. I would only ever use water and he is on a good variety of fresh food and I have never offered pellets. He gets some nuts as treats. I will keep a daily photo album to see how it progresses.
I have been to the local store today and bought lots of new toys which should keep him entertained for a while.
Thanks for all your replies

 

[Anansi]

You've not let him down. You're doing all you can to understand what he's going through, which is a sign of a good parront. Just do all you can to keep his mind stimulated, and continue giving him a large variety of foods and his daily baths.

If it's Mojo molt, you'll likely be dealing with those gray patches for up to a few months. But if it's plucking, you'll realize soon enough. And there are a number of members on this forum who will be able to help you and your fid through it.

Please keep us updated.

 

[KentNick]

Just a quick update.

I revamped ollies cage saturday with some new toys and hes now got free roam of his room and the cage is only closed at bedtime. Since saturday I think ive counted a total of 4 feathers at the bottom of the cage.

There are no bald patches yet and just grey fluff so fingers crossed over the coming weeks.