My ring neck was born in February and right now he is six months old and he is moulting. I can feel the pinned feathers around his head and neck. He is in a little angry mood right now. Whenever i give him little rubs on his head he tends to enjoy it for a bit then he gets pissed off. Can someone help me, how do i deal with this like what sort of food should i give him and how long will it take to get back to normal?
Birds will molt every year and go through stages where their feathers are still not ready to shed the pin so it takes some time to work them out. It can sometimes be painful for them so that's why he's acting a little grouchy. The pins will shed with time. How often are you bathing him?
What are you feeding him now? There's no need to change what he eats during this time -- a healthy diet of fresh fruits, veggies, maybe some pellets and a small amount of seed is ideal.
What are you feeding him now? There's no need to change what he eats during this time -- a healthy diet of fresh fruits, veggies, maybe some pellets and a small amount of seed is ideal.
I suppose it varies by species... my bird moults a minor moult around December and a BIG one around July.
Here's my usual two cents on pellets.
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.
Do you have an avian veterinarian? I depend upon mind a lot!
Here's a link for finding one.
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
Regular vets often "wing it" with birds, although some are very dedicated and talented.
Good for you, for reaching out and being open-minded.
I'm glad you're here.
Here's my usual two cents on pellets.
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.
Do you have an avian veterinarian? I depend upon mind a lot!
Here's a link for finding one.
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
Regular vets often "wing it" with birds, although some are very dedicated and talented.
Good for you, for reaching out and being open-minded.
I'm glad you're here.
P.S.
Baby birds are notorious for abusing/damaging/etc. their tails... it's probably not an issue, but...
I'd be asking my avian vet.
Baby birds are notorious for abusing/damaging/etc. their tails... it's probably not an issue, but...
I'd be asking my avian vet.
At six months, you could also have a continuation of your Parrot 'filling' out the remaining body feathers. Once a Parrot has a full set of feathers, they will adjust the number of body feathers they carry depending on the Weather (temperature /humidity) adding feathers during cooler periods and loosing feathers during warmer periods.
The confirming sign of a true molt begins with the loss of feathers and than their replacement as seen with pin feathers. So, once again, body feathers are molded to adjust to weather and occurs year around. Flight surface (wing and tail feathers) molt with a very specific pattern assuring the Parrot can always fly. With a bit older Parrot, they will also molt to assure the best presentation of a healthy display of feathers as they enter mating season.
The confirming sign of a true molt begins with the loss of feathers and than their replacement as seen with pin feathers. So, once again, body feathers are molded to adjust to weather and occurs year around. Flight surface (wing and tail feathers) molt with a very specific pattern assuring the Parrot can always fly. With a bit older Parrot, they will also molt to assure the best presentation of a healthy display of feathers as they enter mating season.
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- Thread starter
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P.S.
Baby birds are notorious for abusing/damaging/etc. their tails... it's probably not an issue, but...
I'd be asking my avian vet.
So when he is a little more grown up he will let his tail grow?
EllenD
New member
- Aug 20, 2016
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It's not that he's "not letting his tail grow", he's most likely breaking his tail-feathers off on his cage bars, while playing, etc. If you are actually seeing him pulling-out his tail-feathers or chewing on them, then you need to get him to a Certified Avian Vet to get a wellness-exam and to have a Fecal-Culture done...Often times when they are purposely pulling=out their tail feathers or plucking the little feathers around their vents, it's because they are suffering from either a Gastrointestinal infection of some kind, or a Urinary Tract or Kidney infection of some time, especially for such a young bird. So that's not something that you can wait and see on if you're actually seeing him purposely pulling out his tail feathers. However, if you haven't seen him purposely pulling his tail feathers out or chewing on them constantly, then he's most-likely just being clumsy and knocking them out on the bars of his cage and while playing...
Also, sometimes if they are constantly knocking out or damaging their tail feathers (not purposely pulling them out or chewing on them, but doing it on the bars of the cage), it's a sign that their cage is too small for them, usually it's not wide or deep enough. So that might also be the issue.
Another thing that you need to watch is the amount of fresh fruit that you're giving him, as fruit is loaded with sugar, and should only be given as an occasional treat and in small-quantities, it should not be a part of his daily diet at all. His daily diet needs to consist of a staple, or the main-component of his daily diet needs to be a healthy, fortified pellet diet, with a small supplemental seed-mix that contains no sunflower seeds but rather a good mix of different healthy seeds, grains, legumes, dried veggies, peppers, etc., and the seed-mix part of his daily diet should only be a small fraction of his staple diet...And then he should be getting a lot of fresh vegetables every single day, he can eat as many fresh veggies as he will eat every day, the easiest way is to make him different types of "Chops", which are just different mixes of chopped-up veggies mixed together. You're best to make him chop-mixes in large batches and then put single-servings of them into little baggies and freeze them, and then you can just take them out of the freezer the night before and put them in the fridge to thaw-out....And with the exception of NEVER giving him any onions or avocados, he can pretty much eat any other fresh veggies (both onions and avocados are toxic to birds)...But as far as the fruit goes, if you give it to him every single day, please only give him a very small piece or two and that's it, because again it's loaded with sugar, and that sugar turns right into fat that gets stored in their liver, causing Fatty Liver Disease..And it can also result in them becoming diabetic. I try to only give my birds fresh fruit as a treat 3-4 times a week...
Also, sometimes if they are constantly knocking out or damaging their tail feathers (not purposely pulling them out or chewing on them, but doing it on the bars of the cage), it's a sign that their cage is too small for them, usually it's not wide or deep enough. So that might also be the issue.
Another thing that you need to watch is the amount of fresh fruit that you're giving him, as fruit is loaded with sugar, and should only be given as an occasional treat and in small-quantities, it should not be a part of his daily diet at all. His daily diet needs to consist of a staple, or the main-component of his daily diet needs to be a healthy, fortified pellet diet, with a small supplemental seed-mix that contains no sunflower seeds but rather a good mix of different healthy seeds, grains, legumes, dried veggies, peppers, etc., and the seed-mix part of his daily diet should only be a small fraction of his staple diet...And then he should be getting a lot of fresh vegetables every single day, he can eat as many fresh veggies as he will eat every day, the easiest way is to make him different types of "Chops", which are just different mixes of chopped-up veggies mixed together. You're best to make him chop-mixes in large batches and then put single-servings of them into little baggies and freeze them, and then you can just take them out of the freezer the night before and put them in the fridge to thaw-out....And with the exception of NEVER giving him any onions or avocados, he can pretty much eat any other fresh veggies (both onions and avocados are toxic to birds)...But as far as the fruit goes, if you give it to him every single day, please only give him a very small piece or two and that's it, because again it's loaded with sugar, and that sugar turns right into fat that gets stored in their liver, causing Fatty Liver Disease..And it can also result in them becoming diabetic. I try to only give my birds fresh fruit as a treat 3-4 times a week...
